Jonathan

Robin, I'm not a heating/cooling engineer so someone else may be able to explain this much more eloquently than I can, but there are two disadvantages to using the "office" system you suggest (both points below assume you are cooling the cabin, but the same is true when heating with a heat-pump). Firstly: The specific heat capacity of air is much less than water. This means that you have to shift a much greater volume of air through your "hot" radiator to cool it than you would with water. That in turn means that the radiator and fan need to be bigger, noisier and power-hungry. Secondly: The air temperature outside the cabin (in Summer) is likely to be quite warm, whereas the water will be a lot cooler. The air-conditioning unit has to work much harder when there is not much temperature difference between the "inside" and "outside" radiators. It is far more efficient (and therefore less power-hungry) to transfer "cold" from a cold radiator to a hot cabin and many "air-conditioning" systems only guarantee to reduce the temperature by a specified number of degrees for this reason (think of those 12V electric cool boxes). As you said, this is why the ground-based heat pumps are preferred to the "air source" ones. I don't want to sound too negative. I'm sure your ideas will work; I'm just adding a few more things for you to worry about (as if you don't already have enough with this project). Keep us up-to-date!

I will echo Springsong's recommendation. David is a very friendly and helpful person, but I would guess that you already know that!

Robin, Firstly let me say that I have no idea what I’m talking about when it comes to boats and you have obviously put a lot of time and effort into your research, but the report details would worry me! Some (uninformed) thoughts follow: If the sea cocks have not been tested or exercised because of poor access, then replacing them might be an “interesting” job. If the anodes have needed replacing then that might have caused the rudder bearing (and possibly other) problems. The owners seem to have spent a lot of money on gadgets. You have mentioned navigation equipment, interior accommodation items and the rib, but it sounds like they have neglected the routine maintenance. To my mind, they have had their priorities wrong, and that rings alarm bells for me too. The stern photograph shows the name “Lily Jean”. Unfortunately, none of the photographs seem to show anything that the report talks about so there are no clues about remedial work having been carried out, although if the photographs were taken recently (as you say) then it would have been foolish to lift the boat out and NOT attend to several of those points. I think you need to go and look in person, and if possible take a marine surveyor with you, or at the very least a volunteer who “knows a thing or two about boats”, at least then you will know what the current state is, and how many of these jobs have been done. I don’t want to sound too negative! I’m enjoying this exciting “journey” with you, and I hope you achieve another of your ambitions! …. Thoughts for a name: “Another Ambition”.

DM, It might be worth trying another browser. It works in Chrome, Edge and an old version if Internet Explorer (on Windows 10) I do not use Firefox though. Also, you might try a wider window (if you are not already full-screen) because some browsers assume that you need a different layout if the window is narrow.

Thank you for the picture. That makes the problems you describe much clearer! I can now see the difficulty you would have extending the prop' shaft, it would mean either using a smaller propeller or moving the bearing up a bit, and changing the angle of the drive shaft and motor, which would be a major modification at this stage! I hope your faster motor solves the problems for you.

Grendel, I realise that you want more speed too, but with regard to turning circle: I don't recall a picture of your model prop' and rudder, but would it not be possible to extend the rudder a small amount ahead of the pivot? That way you gain rudder area and get nearer to the propeller too. I know nothing about model boats so apologise if it's a stupid suggestion! I recall that the handling of the full sized version was improved by adding a bigger rudder, but presumably that addition was all behind the pivot.

More good advice from Grendel above. I agree: "not responding" is quite different from not working. It you are lucky then it will eventually get there. You might consider transferring the data another way using something like dropbox, or an SD card or USB "stick" in the post.

Hockham Admiral, I don't know what you mean by "Outlook won't work". Are you saying you cannot start it at all, or that you are not seeing new e-mails? Grendel has suggested a restart. You should achieve almost the same by choosing the "Shut down" or "Restart" options from the power menu (bottom-left of the "start" menu) see screen capture. It might be, that your office application needs to update too: Try starting the Store application, then click on the "user" icon just to the left of the search box. Choose "Downloads and Updates" and then "Get updates". ... and wait. You might also try: At the start menu: Type control and it should find "control panel Desktop app" as the best match. Select that. Choose Programs Programs and Features Scroll down the list to find your Outlook installation which is probably "Microsoft Office ...something " Right-click that and choose "Change" From the menu that pops up choose "Repair" Wait! Finally, if something is corrupt on the disk try: From the start menu type cmd The "Command Prompt desktop app" should be selected: Right-click that and choose "Run as administrator", then "yes" to the UAC warning. type sfc /scannow Wait (a long time) and see if it does any repairs. If it does then re-boot! Good luck!

Great explanation Vaughan! I agree, it's something that could be mentioned on a trial run if it is progressing well. It could also be written in the on-board handbook for those who are interested. Two comments: 1. The propellor,blades are not flat. There is a "twist" from hub to circumference which is designed to compensate for the fact that the tip is travelling faster than the hub. there is also a bit of "dishing", curving the surfaces to provide more thrust, in the same way as an aircraft wing or a "full" sail. Both of these shape optimisations are for forward motion and make the propellor less efficient when it is going backwards, so it does a lot more "churning" and the thrust force ("A" in the first diagram above) is reduces but the outward ("B") force is probably more; so the resolved or combined force ("C") is at a greater angle off-axis from the centre-line of the boat. Also, because the reverse thrust is less efficient, more engine rev's may be used! 2. Fine and coarse pitch: A fine pitch is analogous to a low gear in a car. It provides more "pull" at low speeds but is not good for going fast. A coarse pitch (like a high gear) allows lower engine rpm for a higher speed through the water but it works less well (is less efficient) at low speeds.

What more can be said? Jill's photographs certainly brought the broads into sharp focus for us all and often provoked a deep sigh. Now that sigh is in sorrow on hearing the sad news. I hope someone who knows the family will be able to let them know how much many of us that never met her, appreciated and will miss her contributions.

OK. I'm a wimp, but as someone who hires and has some experience (but not necessarily expertise) I like those rubber-headed mallets that are sold very cheaply in the supermarkets. When attempting a "wild" mooring with unfavourable tide or wind it is often necessary to get a rhond in quickly and then attend to the other end of the boat, even if you go back and re-secure the rhond properly in a better location a few minutes later. ps. I hate tents!

Thingamybob, Apologies in advance for a tangent to your thread but I thought I would comment on your first paragraph. Firstly, let me say that I cannot grow anything, so cannot help at all with your question. Sorry! A good friend of mine has grown tomatoes commercially for many years. He has been awarded “grower of the year” (or similar accolade) for this, and in blind tasting events at trade conferences, his crop was voted as “best” more than once. Similarly he received many complementary comments and reports from supermarket executives who visited his greenhouses. He has gone out of business. The supermarkets insisted on contracts which did not allow him to sell elsewhere. I have seen skip-fulls of “perfect” tomatoes which were slightly too big, or the wrong shape etc.! The supermarkets would request a particular quantity level of supply per week, which would be put into production, but the supermarket might not take that supply (which could not be sold elsewhere) if they could buy it cheaper elsewhere. Foreign producers do not need to put the same level of heating into their greenhouses, do not need to pay the same wages, do not comply with U.K. H&S and hygiene regulations (and so on). His greenhouses are always pristine. Genuinely cleaner than my house! He was also frustrated to see produce on the supermarket shelves that would have been rejected if he had supplied it. Luckily for him and his family, he has been able to transfer his skills into another business, but the U.K public have lost a good-tasting product and I have lost a source of (reject or surplus) tomatoes!

Paul, I can't really help with suggesting a good one, but beware that a lot of these displays (particularly the cheap ones) are very difficult to see in sunlit conditions. In their designed mounting location, under the shadow of a roof, they are not too bad, but take one outside and the image is almost invisible. When you find a review, they will often talk about camera and screen resolution (also important!) but rarely how clear the screen is in an un-shaded location.

As mentioned above, there are often accidents at that spot. Having the heavy engine right at the back is part of the problem, it will always want to "overtake" the wheels when downhill or decelerating, and being a long way from the axel(s) it has a nice long lever to use to its advantage. The other problem it will cause is that even if there is a good weight on the towing hook when stationary, if the trailer goes over a bump then the engine stays where it is and the trailer acts as a see-saw and tries to lift the back end of the car. Once the rear wheels are lifted, if the trailer is pushing the car at all, even slightly off-straight, it will pivot around its front wheels unless you use the front-wheel drive to "pull" the combination straight again: Hence the "accelerate out of it" advice above. Better advice would be to distribute the weight evenly along the trailer (don't have a very heavy lump at the back) and ensure that the weight on the tow hook is towards the maximum allowed for your vehicle, also make sure the trailer brakes are working well.

Actually, they have put up a brand new, taller transmitter mast at Tacolneston to transmit the digital TV signals, so it's not just an analogue versus digital thing. Also, the frequencies have changed, so the aerial required to receive the digital signals is not the same as that for the old analogue signals. Old aerials will still work, but are not designed for the new frequencies and so will supply a poorer signal. In other words, with the correct aerial, an amplifier should not be necessary (most of the time!).

Timbo, I was taught to write like that at primary school! I offer the following translations: Gentleman of the name of Taylor, but who I seldom see. the crops promise an abundant harvest, we grow no wheat or crops of any kind with the exception of hay, which consists of lucerne oats wheat & and Hot Sun, soon sufficiently I have received 2 news papers lately

Phil, Welcome, and thank you for the facts. It's good that some real thought and attention goes into improving the "customer experience". I'm not convinced that electric seat adjustment is necessary, but I can see it is a real "deluxe" feature for the brochure.

Terrible news. A real blow to the forum. We will all miss those blunt comments and unique perspective. Condolences to Iain's family who must be feeling a deep loss.

Grendel, I know it's being a bit "picky", but in the photograph it looks like the narrow bit at the bottom is less than half the width of the bit at the top (guess 40%) so your model looks like it needs a bit more "taper".. Having said that I'm amazed at the lengths that you are going to to get the "details" right.

Robin, The metal bits (propeller etc.) in the water act a bit like the electrodes in a battery. The water is an electrolyte (because it is not pure distilled water) and so a potential difference is created (again exactly like a battery). The green earth wire in your diagram "shorts out" the cell and so flattens the battery which wears away the metal anode. A separate earth would not help. You need to break the circuit and isolate the two. I have just seen your post to Vaughan: Yes, it IS DC and that is the problem. But the earth in AC circuits accelerates it by "shorting out" the DC path (as in your diagram). You either need to block the DC with an isolator or provide a sacrificial anode

The middle switch is a crossover switch. It CAN be done with a double pole double throw switch if you connect pole one throw one to pole two throw two and pole one throw two to pole two throw one!

MM, Presumably, you understand the case where two switches are used to control one light. This uses two-way switches where the common terminal of the switch is connected to one "live" or the other "live" terminal depending on the switch position. If you connect one side of the battery to the bulb and the other side to one switches common terminal, the other side of the bulb is connected to the other switch common terminal then connect the "live one" of one switch to the "live one" of the other, and similarly "live two" to "live two". Now the light will be controlled by either switch. If you want to use a third switch then you need a different sort of switch! You can get "crossover" switches which have two input terminals and two output terminals. In one switch position the first input terminal is connected to the first output terminal and the second input to the second output terminal (straight-through); in the other switch position the first input is connected to the second output, and the second input to the first output (crossover). If you put this switch between the "live one" to "live one" and "live two" to "live two" connections of the two-switch circuit then you have one light controlled by any one of three switches.

I think Robin is trying to get out of doing any more work on B.A.. Someone might find a new use for a tile cutter if he tried that on the boat!

Either sort of core should work. Solid cores are better for "pushing" (in this case closing) the choke. If you find that the choke is reluctant to close with a stranded core then a return spring on the choke lever on the carburetor might be needed. When routing the cable try to avoid any sharp bends. The extra foot of length might actually make the routing worse. You could try disconnecting your existing cable inner from the engine. make it as straight as possible and then pull the entire inner out by the choke knob. See if there is any evidence of rust or wear on the inner, and the position of that will show you where the routing problems are! If you are VERY lucky then just cleaning the core and lubricating with light oil might cure the problem, but if there are any kinks or bending of the exposed (engine) end then it may be impossible to put it back.

... and any new signs will have to be much bigger to get "...member of the national parks family" across the bottom!