Regulo

Best thing to do. Peace and quiet, no noisy neighbours - perfect. Let out plenty of slack, then you stand less chance of dragging the weight. If you don't have an electric winch, and the weight is stuck, take up as much slack as you can, fasten off, and go slow astern to break the suction. Then haul in. I've mudweighted on practically every broad.

Wasn't the minister for transport at the time Ernest Marples? Of Marples Ridgeway, the road builders of motorways? Some incentive there to close railways, if you have a cynical mind!

This is a last resort, and is usually done the other way round - to use the domestic batteries to pull up the starter battery. Not to be recommended, in my opinion.

I know I shouldn't, but am I allowed to laugh?

Postcard from Pitsea. Glad you're not here, having a lovely time. I'd say, if you keep a good eye on your batteries, intelligent regulators can make a world of difference to your cruising experience. Especially if you use the battery capacity heavily when stationary e.g. TV, heating, fridge etc. You don't have to run your engines for 6 hours to put back the juice. But they can shorten battery life, especially "sealed" types.

My avatar is a Sunbird of course.

I wonder how our buildings and infrastructure would fare in such a huge quake? I know our building standards are not required to be quake proof, but what could stand in such a strong shock? If those towns are ever rebuilt, could they be made proof against such quakes in the future? Doesn't bear thinking about - we are SO lucky to live in such a stable environment.

Never had a problem with dragging a weight after it was pointed out to lay out as much chain/rope as practical. This pulls the weight sideways through the mud, rather than skipping it across the surface. Gale force winds excepted.

MM, Sunbird had a stainless mudweight on a chain. It was never on deck, just left hanging on the chain. We did have a stainless plate fitted, so when raising the weight "blind", a reassuring klunk told us we'd reached apogee! Previously, a horseshoe fender was used. Why do you need it on deck?

Yes, I think of him too, CC - not pleasant, is it?

Having skipped through this thread, I can only say I'm glad I'm out of it now. I really missed my boat when I had to give it up, but the way things are going, there'd be no pleasure to be had in the near future, regardless of the extra expense. Kill the goose that lays the golden egg, why don't you, BA?

First adult memory of Stacey is late 70's, a soul-sapping experience that put me off visiting ever again. I did relent in the 2000's, when it briefly came under the wing of the Feathers. Good food, especially as it was 2 for 1 in midweek. Always packed, but obviously didn't work economy-wise.

The hotel sort of grew around the original pub. If you knew the original, you can still determine it's footprint within.

Me. The first time I experienced wobbly leg syndrome on exit - otherwise known as plastered!

The Eagle at Neatishead. And The Wherry at Langley dyke.

None - but I had plenty of plans when I had my boat, about 50% never turned out as expected. So much so, that it became a running joke - Dave: "How long will this take"? Me: "About an hour". Dave: "Better call the wife, and tell her we'll be home tomorrow".

Noooooooo!!!! Heinz baked bean tins did a much better job. Bit of gun gum underneath and you were good for another 100 miles at least! Aaah, the good old days, lying in the gutter with a Ford Corsair gearbox on your chest. Yes, change the clutch was a simple DIY job in those days. No wonder my back hurts just getting out of bed now.

I saw him barrel jumping on a frozen pond in Hertfordshire. He approached it somewhat differently to others, in that when they said, "Clear the barrels", he thought he had to drink them, not jump them.

That makes a bit more sense, thanks for the explanation. I have to admit I've never come across a split domestic battery set. Knowing the unreliability of some isolator switches, I'd worry I'd be introducing more trouble!

I'm still confused as to why the domestic batteries are in two banks? What advantage does this confer? There must be a reason - I await enlightenment!

Are these 4 batteries all for domestics? Can't work out why they're split into two banks? Do you have the isolator on "both" usually?

The Sterling advanced charge regulator is highly recommended by me, but it does involve getting into the alternator. Also the very high charging rate obtained will require careful and regular checking of your battery electrolyte levels. As stated there is the option to fit the temperature sensor (supplied), and I'd strongly advise it to be fitted. I do like to have an Ammeter at least on the domestic battery bank, it can give immediate indication of problems. Modern digital ammeters use a shunt locally to the battery, and light gauge wiring to the instrument itself, thus no long runs of heavy gauge cable, with the associated losses.

Feeling the inspiration for a clean up, MM?

I can't remember the last time I cried with laughter, MM!

Just the sort of fault I hate - the one that disappears on it's own. Always on tenterhooks it'll come back.