tjg1677

A domestic fridge will work perfectly well off an inverter providing you have the right battery capacity. On my narrowboat I fitted a domestic fridge powered via a 2kw inverter ( needs to be min 1.5 - 2kw for the start up load ) from 3 x 110 ah batteries, it worked fine. My alternator was a 55amp one that put plenty of power back into the batteries. Ok on GK the fridge is a 24v isotherm one ( yes 24v, a barnes brinkcraft innovation ) and it also works fine. However last summer I fitted a domestic freezer and that is driven off my inverter, from my 12v system, with no problems but I do have a 100w solar panel feeding the domestic 12v batteries. It all works very well. Completely agree with Marshman about the boat thing and it is very annoying indeed when there are other ways and means. Try this link, they are magnum motorhomes here in grimsby and are generally quite competetive : http://www.magnummotorhomes.co.uk its all about personal choice and what ameneties your boat is capable of providing. cheers trev

Doesnt sound terribly well presented for a boat that is up for sale. Everything should work and generally speaking the bilges be clean and dry on a vessel that is hoping to be sold. Unless there is a very good reason for all of this i would be inclined to walk away. Sounds like it could have been laid up and uncared for for a while. Trev

In the mid seventies, in between aston boats, we hired a very strange looking boat from sandersons, I think it was called sandpiper and if I remember correctly it was a 30 foot woodie. Very odd design, what struck me was the way the cabin front swooped down to the deck and the aft cabin seemed to have a distinct upsweep to it. Unusual design but quite striking and always drew attention. I also seem to recall that there was a smaller 2 berth version too but can't remember what it was called. Cracking boat though and didnt half shift over breydon. Trev

In other news - I have secured a lovely mooring on the Broads, not where I originally planned but I will now be in Brundall. Side on, 60ftlong with my own bit of lawn by the boat, perfect. looks like we are going to be neighbours robin, we are moving to a new mooring in the spring , linear with our own lawn and bbq area....bliss

I did say roughly and what i should have perhaps explained is that the draft used is the mean average depth from the waterline to the turn of the bilge / bottom, ignoring the keel........

you can actually roughly calculate the weight of your boat using this method. very roughly multiply length by beam by draft and deduct between 15-20 percent for the taper of the bow. whatever this comes to as cubic metres will be roughly the weight of your boat. i.e. GK is 12.6 x 3.6 x 0.33 = less 15 percent = 12.43 or at 20 percent = 11.44. she actually weighs in at just a shade over 12 tonnes so I am told. Archimedes principle at its simplest. Used to do this all the time in marine engineering when adding steelwork to a ship to enable recalculation of draft and stability curves. all interesting stuff... when I replated the bottom of my narrowboat I put an extra 3 tonnes of steel in it, using the above method, I calculated the extra draft. when she was relaunched I was only 6mm out. cheers trev

Thanks for that Vaughan, really interesting stuff that I didnt know. Will have to check for the twist next time I am on her........

You are so right about design quirks Robin. On GK there are some novel features but that said there are also some dreadful ones too, notably the grab rails and lifebuoy holder which both have an irritating propensity to trap and hold water and turn everything green, so annoying. The airdraft on GK is 6 foot six inches, no screen but that is to the top of the forward nav light which is the highest fixed point. Often get under wroxham but never managed potter yet!! Vaughan, is that correct that the old fb wilds moulds were used for the hulls, I wasnt aware of that. Does that include the 42 footers too? Reason i ask is because gk has , well a sort of weird hull design or seemingly so. It is very squat looking with an extremely blunt bow. I know mine is a little unusual in that the bottom is copper impregnated in the layup, i understand that only happened for two years between 90 and 91. Cheers Trev

Wow! And here was me thinking we were venturing into the unknown. Thanks everyone for the replies and info it is much appreciated. Look forward to seeing you all around there next season. Bye for now Cheers Trev

No, dont mind you asking at all. Currently we are moored at probably the most expensive marina in Horning, not by choice but I inherited it when I bought the boat and have been looking for alternatives since. The one I am moving to is Cove Marina. Went to meet the owner in October, really nice guy and nothing is too much trouble, it is also a very pleasant looking place. Met some nice people on the moorings too, so quite looking forward to the move and the new adventure. cheers trev

Thanks for that. More or less my rationale for moving too. Shorter journey being uppermost and the big difference in mooring costs. Looking forward to exploring and finding some nice mooring spots and seeking out some pubs that do quizzes and live music too. Thanks Trev

Indeed they did. My boat is ex brink of day 2. Cheers Trev

Hello all. Have been down to Horning this weekend to winterise GK. It is a task that seems to get harder and longer to do each year, luckily I had my crew to help me. Did all the usual stuff like tube heaters in eng room, drain down fresh water, drain crap from bottom of diesel tank, fill the diesel tank for winter ( stops condensation and therefore water in the tank ), bagged up all soft furnishings, and so on and so forth. had about 25 individual items on the list to do. It was so cold on friday night, there was a hard frost in Horning overnight, managed to keep the boat warm but condensation dripping from the aluminium window frames and onto the bed was a nightmare, if someone could only invent a way to prevent this happening they would have a large market to tap into. We chickened out of another night on board, so spent saturday getting all the jobs done, had a carvery in the Ferry Inn then headed for home. We are moving moorings next spring, leaving ferry marina behind and moving to Brundall. Considerably cheaper, hopefully a bit quicker to drive to from home and more peaceful. I have to admit I will miss my favourite places on the northern broads like wild moorings on the Ant, barton broad, sutton Staithe etc ( will not miss the wacky races at Ludham Bridge when last september I nearly got clobbered by a bathtub coming full throttle the other way just as I got GK's bow into the bridge hole and before you ask, no it was not a hire boat !! ) but look forward to exploring the south and discovering some good eateries. Have already tried the Yare, rushcutters, new inn........all very good, in fact the rushcutters at cantley was a big and pleasant surprise, lovely food and good value too. So GK is now all tucked up for winter, I have someone keeping an eye on her who will visit every couple of weeks to pump the bilges and make sure the tube heaters are still working etc. Then it will be down again in February, get some outstanding maintenance jobs done on her, all ready for the move south just before easter. have a good Christmas y'all and see you about next year. cheers Trev.

In principle it is an excellent idea robin. Have done similar installations on narrowboats with great results except these systems ran off the solid fuel burner. To run it off an engine should be no problem provided the matrix output does not exceed the heat energy that the engine can put into it but with a 6 cylinder engine i cant see that being a problem. You will need a second header tank above the level of the matrix and a bleed vent fitted as close as poss to the matrix outlet. As long as the feed hose has a constant rise and the return a constant fall, then there will be no need for a circ pump. Hope this helps and good luck with it. Cheers Trev

Good start Robin and keep up the good work. Re the diesel tanks, somewhere you will have some drain cocks on each tank, these will be situated right at the bottom of the tanks below the level of the fuel take off cocks for the engines etc. With mild steel tanks you always get some settling of water in the bottom and this usually turns into the mess that you describe in the separators. Given that the boat has been stood a while and thete has been the possibility of condensation over the winter months, particularly if the tanks have not been absolutely full, this is quite normal. Personally i drain water off my tanks twice per year and you could be surprised at the yuk that comes out of them. This does not necessarily mean that you have a bug of any sort, just cruddy watery tank bottoms. Put a sawn off 5 litre water bottle under the tank drain cocks, slowly open them up and you may be surprised what comes out. Keep doing this until the fuel runs clean and clear. Highly recommend doing this before anything is run up again just for peace of mind. It is also possible to get this residue analysed to tell you if there are any nasties in the fuel too. An experienced eye can often tell. To the inexperienced eye it can look horrendous and send you into a panic as it really can look horrid but is actually quite normal given how long she has been stood. Hope this helps, good luck with the working weekend. cheers Trev

Congrats on your new and very comprehensive sounding acuisition Rob. I like the name independence and god bless all who sail in her. You are dead right what you say about the hvac system, very power hungry and not at all efficient, replacement a definite worthwhile project. It is possible that LPF means low pressure failure which does suggest a re gas. Once you get her out of the water, very interested to hear what everything is actually like, particularly the rudder bearings. Just think what with the upgrades you have planned plus all the surplus gear already onboard, you can have one hell of a boat jumble . Good luck with her and look forward to seeing her on the norfolk waters and just remember, we are all here if you need help with the hydraulic interface...... i.e. the beer fridge. Cheers Trev

Fantastic Breakfast from Scooters........

So agree with you. we often come out of ferry marina, turn left then moor up on the church mooring if it is free, it is one of the most lovely mooring spots on that particular river in my opinion. Loving the pictures, they are superb and thanks for the write up to. cheers trev

Cant speak for the hire boats but on GK a few simple modifications and all was well. The inside helm on mine is I believe different to her sisters in as much as that the helm is right up against the port front windscreen, not set way back as I have seen in others. The upper helm was easy to resolve. Have fitted a very comfortable helm seat which sits on the existing moulding but extends out towards the starboard side by some 8 inches, so you actually sit in front of the wheel now. The bowthruster is operated by a remote control worn with a lanyard round the neck, the throttle is within easy reach and I have now fitted a full canopy over the flybridge which allows all weather cruising, as well as a sunshade awning and has actually turned her into a very versatile boat indeed.

BELIEVE ME, YOU GET USED TO IT.........

Giddy kipper flies a small white ensign aft. Should i really do it - no. Do i care- no!. Am i proud to fly it - absolutely and utterly. Dont really see the point of getting overy officious about flying flags on the broads, particularly given than it is an enclosed inland waterway. If it aint offensive and if it makes you proud, within reason fly it. Cheers Trev

OK Rob, have managed to get into the survey report now. Doesnt really tell you a lot other than that there is apparently " play " in both rudder bearings, which is unfortunately rather inconclusive. Play is a fairly unquantifiable definition. If the stocks are rattling around in their bearings then, yes, there may be a bit of a problem. What the report omits to elaborate on is a. the amount of play and b. whether it is longitudal or radial. a very small amount of radial play is acceptable in rudder stocks providing that the stuffing boxes do not leak thus allowing water inboard, there is no judder or chatter in the bearings whilst under way and there is no excess longitudal play. This is a classic case of see for yourself and get a second expert opinion on the condition of the rudder stocks and bearings, you may be pleasantly surprised and find that there is no real issue. As I mentioned before, there should be threaded greasers ( the brass T handle type that you turn daily ) feeding lubricant to the bearings and if these have not been turned for a while, it could cause apparent play. If however the stocks are wobbling about in the bearings, then yes you do have a potentially quite expensive problem as the rudder linkages will have to be disconnected, the rudder pintle skegs dropped ( if fitted ) , the rudders dropped and the stocks cleaned and possibly machined and new bushes machined up and fitted. Bushes can be a variety of material ranging from bronze to a material called polypenko, this is a plastic composite common enough on small ships and barges but I am unsure if it would be used on a small boat the size of this one. ahhh did I just mention pintle skegs???? these are lower bearings fitted at the very foot of the rudder and thus hold everything inline. they tend to be fitted to larger vessels with bigger heavier rudders, so there is a fair chance she may not have them and will consequently make the whole job easier..................... Actually , Ignore that , have just looked at the pics and she does not have them. She does have quite dainty rudders though when you compare them to the size of the props, almost disproportianate. So, in conclusion, all we can do at this stage is speculate. It may be something, it may be nothing but all will be revealed when you go and see for yourself. good luck and hope all goes well mate. cheers trev

Rob, Given that she is twin rudder, auto helmed and fully hydraulic, i would be very very very surprised indeed if thete are no proper access hatches, possibly even one per rudder. Havent read the full report as yet as icant get it to open on my phone but once i have read it properly and if it tells me a bit more about the rudders, i will get back to you. Cheers Trev

Rob, whete is the LJ laying as that looks a lot like hull marina to me. I am just across the water in grimsby, not jumping in to volunteer but if she is in Hull and you need a second pair of eyes, feel free to shout and if available will gladly help. Suspect very strongly that rust streaks are from the portlight fixings, would be very surprised if the frames were the culprit. Re surveyors report, it is always difficult to comment on them until you have seen said vessel and married the the two up but that does seem quite a fair report to me. Reserving judgement on the seacocks but the rudder bearings would be my main concern. That can be an expensive job and it could be a fair assumption that they are worn as the boat has auto helm, these units do tend to wear out bearings quicker than a manual helm as they input more movements than a human if the damper settings are left at minimum. That said it could be (depending on rudder bearing and gland type ) be just a simple case of needing some grease packing into them. Good luckwith the quest

Hi chris. Long stroke engines by design are far lower revving ergo giving more torque for lower revs. On a short stroke engine the revs are upped to equal the torque that the ls version would give. Thetefore the lower reving engine whilst having a longer stroke does in fact have a lower piston velocity. Two very extreme examples at opposite ends of the spectrum. A supertanker diesel which is the size of a house runs at less than 100 rpm at full power. A napier deltic can run as high as 3000rpm. Both are two stroke engines incidentally, one very long stroke, the other very short stroke but it illustrates the difference.