grendel

it will ensure nothing is left on to drain the batteries while you are not there, the important things such as bilge pumps should be wired into the batteries direct, bypassing the isolator, but if for example you left the fridge switched on, you could find dead batteries and expensive replacement necessary.

the zig is the older technology, so may have already been unwired to allow for the circuit breakers.

the zig unit looks like standard caravan electrics, a commercial panel the second unit looks like a standard 240V setup with circuit breakers, maybe a started but not completed job, if you are not an electrician, it might be worth getting a marine electrician in to check it over and tell you what you have got, remember if that panel is plugged into 240V, then its as dangerous as your house wring. whether your house battery and engine battery are charged from the shore power will very much be determined by the charger installed, some can be configured to independently charge both sets of batteries, but once again a marine electrician can tell you that. As an electrical designer, I know enough to decide what not to touch, and what I can work through, the big problem will be if an amateur has got their hands on it and everything is a squirrels nest of wires, all the same colour as that is what they had available.

many surveys have been carried out that prove the bridge isnt sinking, however water levels.........

(r)egrets, I have had a few, but then again too few to mention

well from personal experience traipsing around the shops this morning, the only shortage I saw was the expensive brand of lightweight cat litter, more than adequately compensated for by a plentiful supply of the cheaper heavier brand, other than that, in 3 different supermarkets the shelves were full as usual.

Final sanding and shaping done, preliminary coat of 20% varnish, 80% turps applied, first of many

Hole noticed through using the morticer, shaped as it tapers, with chisels, then fixed to the mast, preliminary shaping started with a belt sander

This was of course worked on the big metalworking lathe as greenheart is pretty tough as wood goes.

Unfortunately the lump of greenheart I had to hand wasn't quite as wide as I hoped, so the top is a bit narrower, but it gets the idea across, next to put a square hole right through for the mast to sit in, then some sanding and shaping

original link edited as well

yes, it all has to start somewhere though

Before and after cleaning

in theory yes I could, except the mast sticks through the middle, and I will be remaking that part in timber anyway.

Also considering whether to slim the top down to just this

As removing the varnish and sanding has reduced the thickness of the mast leaving gaps on the cross trees the screw holes have been plugged with dowels and will be redrilled at reassembly in the correct locations.

this is what it did look like, a hotch potch of smaller pieces screwed glued and nailed to the top of the mast

Since the connection between the mast and top Bob were all cracked and misshapen I removed them and am working on a design for the new top connection, I am doing this first in cad and 3d printing prior to making it in timber, I need a smooth flowing shape, pleasing to the eye. For me the slightly more inwardly curved shape looks better, so next to reproduce it in timber.

Screws get chucked up in a Dremel for polishing on a scotchbrite pad, before and after

Brass cable clips, these and the screws will need cleaning and polishing too. Pretty much all of the brass work is like this ( or worse).

Sanding is nearing completion, just a few marks to get out still, meanwhile design is in process for the new mount for the mast topper, I have removed the existing cracked timber and am designing a new interface part, that needs to transition from square to round.

So sanding is proceeding, meanwhile the brass strips are atrocious, I have had to scrape the varnish off, however with a little sanding and a Dremel mop loaded in honing paste and they are coming up nicely.

yes, a mop in the river to clean off the decks is the traditional method

I thought I would start a new thread for Water Rails maintenance, as I have brought some homework back with me, Water Rails original mast needed some TLC, the worst bit was the masthead light on the top that was cock-eyed, it bugged me every time I looked at it. Anyway I bought the mast home and have stripped it to it's components, and started removing the old varnish, it turns out that under all that varnish it's quite a lovely piece of close grained Douglas fir ( I believe). Sanding has been started, and it's a job I can do while working when I get a moment or two. Brass parts will get cleaned up and polished then maybe a coat of lacquer to preserve the finish.

21st August Geldeston, Back to Oulton Broad, and then Home. I still have to check out the video I took over the holiday to see if any of it is useable