oldgregg

Well you could do the same thing with a diesel genset. I mean that's essentially what Brinks have done with their hybrid boats, but obviously I'm thinking in terms of modern battery tech and making sure there was a big enough genset in there to keep things adequately topped up. The real benefit here would be that you'd not hear engines at moorings between 8pm and 8am, could run silently at lower speeds, and the problems with flat batteries for hirers would be a thing of the past. I've spent far too long explaining the maths behind battery usage to syndicate owners to think that telling people to run the engine for at least 4 hours a day and not go mad with power consumption would actually work. It doesn't.

I think one of the main benefits from a fuel-cell vehicle of any type is noise. We're all used to the sound of a diesel engine and the vibration associated with it, but can you imagine how nice it would be not to have that? I don't think anyone would miss it for long. I reckon a boat with a decent-sized battery pack and a fuel cell wouldn't be a bad solution. Fuel cells are much quieter but they're not silent, so you'd not want it kicking in at 6am when you go to make a cup of tea. Perhaps you'd have the system configured to run the fuel cell between the hours of 8am and 8pm when the battery is below 25% capacity, and always run it when the vessel speed is more than 5mph SOG (easy to get from GPS) unless the battery is over 75% or so. With that config you'd have a boat that can do a week on hire, can cruise almost silently at 4mph and can let you have an electric kettle. I wouldn't like to think how much it would cost, though.

Right - Some things are now working, other things are not. But we're getting there. The problem was caused by a bug in an update for the forum software. This update was quite a big one, so the new look is actually part of the update, though some notable stuff like adverts are currently missing. The update was done over the weekend while I was out on the Broads, and while I fortunately did have my laptop with me I wasn't able to do much anyway until our hosting company started working on the issue. For the last three years, the same company has provided the forum software and hosting for us so we don't have to run our own servers and for the most part this does save us a lot of hassle. However, they don't work weekends and are based in the US so don't cover the same hours as us.

I've chased them up again today, but no unfortunately the issue is down to a bug with an update and they're taking longer than expected to resolve it. Once sorted we should be more or less back to normal. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

This is an area that really interests me and I'd have been about sooner had I not been out boating on a diesel vessel ;) Battery technology is getting there, but the old lead-acid stuff is hopeless because as Vaughan says it weighs tonnes and is really inefficient. A 100kwh Tesla Model S battery pack weighs in the region of 625KG, and has an energy density of circa 160 watt hours per kilo. Lead acid has a density of something like 35 watt hours per kilo. The very latest battery tech being developed by Samsung gets the density figure much higher (they're talking headline figures of 900w/h per kilo, but even half that would be impressive). It's probably five to ten years until we see that on the market. So perhaps in ten years' time we might see marinised packs of the right sort of capacity and weight but they still won't be cheap. I reckon a 300kwh pack would probably do the job for a Broads cruiser (and yes I've factored in domestics) but again you'd need to charge it every two to three days somewhere, depending on your usage. For pootling around quietly on the North you'd get quite a lot more out of it. But that charge would need to be at a DC fast charger, which is the real problem. Imagine 300 hire boats moored up on a Saturday morning, each trying to pull 100kw out of the grid..... I think silent cruising would be awesome (as I drove up to Dilham yesterday at 3mph it occured to me how cool that would be), but I think for some considerable time there will need to be an engine aboard. There are several diesel hybrids on hire but I don't think any of them are using modern tech, mainly because you're currently looking at probably £50K for 300kwh of Tesla batteries, and that's before you buy the motor or any of the control kit. Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

The problem is that battery monitors do need calibrating for the batteries they're being used with otherwise they're useless. Also, the usable capacity with conventional batteries is only realistically 50% of the rated capacity otherwise they'll be ruined. I have experienced the issue in syndicate with the monitor showing something like 80% charge when the batteries are clearly flat (heating not starting and then lights dimming when the water pump runs etc). Naturally, I started the engine. I think Barnes do tend to put a 50hp lump in some of their newer boats and whack a pair of big alternators on in order to ensure the batteries get a decent amount of charge even if not much running is done. Our owners used to insist they were doing 'plenty' of running and weren't responsible for the flat batteries, but the 600 engine hours a year on a 48-week boat (averaging out to just 12.5 hours a week) proved that to be complete rubbish.

I'm not a fan of sockets with integrated USB ports. On the vast majority of them there is no way of isolating the charger, so if it develops a fault (and we've all heard of problems with USB chargers going pop) and decides to cook itself then it's going to be a pretty unpleasant job of hastily removing the socket. The better ones shut the power off when the USB cable is removed, but in reality people are probably going to leave the leads plugged in for the sake of convenience. Why they don't have a switch for the USB component is beyond me.

Yeah, indeed. I like the principle of having an all-electric boat as getting rid of LPG is obviously desirable, particularly in hire. But the reality of it is that you just create a bigger problem in terms of the number of batteries and alternators needed and an absolute dependency on running the engine. When I was in a syndicate I got really fed up having to explain to other owners about the need to look after the domestic batteries, to always use shore power when they could and to make sure they did enough running each day. I think they thought I was being melodramatic, but nonetheless we were having to replace the numerous domestic batteries every year.

No I don't have much trouble with it either. I have a Mac for work reasons, but Win 10 is generally fine for me. My main work laptop (Win10) is running like a dog at present but only because of all the security crap that my colleagues in infrastructure have put on it.

If it's a link to a product that's helpful to people and isn't a product you're selling then that's totally fine.

You do appear to have used the phrases 'computer magazine' and 'experts' in the same sentence and I don't believe it was ironic

But then that's the problem is it not? How does the average user know what will and what will not be affected? When Catalina was released, lots of things did not work. Big Sur is a significant change and I'd expect more of the same.

Actually a lot of developers use them now.... MacOS is kind of like what Linux would be like if it ever got finished.

That's very good going nowadays!

Hi there and welcome back Is this the thread you mean?

I'd go for South Walsham. One of the most beautiful Broads to wake up on, in my opinion.....

No, indeed. I was thinking generally, though.

I believe government guidance is that businesses should pass on the VAT saving to customers if they can. 'Hoseasons' and 'good customer service' are not phrases I would ever find the need to use in the same sentence. I've been stung by them too often and just don't bother with them now.

Sounds like a good plan. Garnet is one of those cases where the reason no-one had done a roof like that before is because it was a crap idea.

It depends - Those times are purely a forecast and of course tides are governed by the moon as well as the wind and how much rainfall there has been. Sometimes, yes you'll have a lovely run through Yarmouth at low water but often it's a long hard slog against the tide until you're past Acle. As others have intimated, depending how much power the boat has (and what its hull speed is) at times you barely move on the narrow bit past the yacht station. I'd say that going North to South you can be a bit early, but South to North it is a lot easier at slack.

Ah yeah, good point. I think Airport, Thickthorn, Harford and Sprowston are running, though. https://www.norwichparkandride.co.uk/ https://www.konectbus.co.uk/coronavirus/

Hi The New Cut is definitely easier during slack, but I wouldn't say it's essential to go then. You'll use a bit more fuel and be steering more but it's a fairly short section so won't make a massive difference. I'd probably head for Loddon on the first night, but you could stick in the Brundall area and go for Coldham Hall or even Surlingham Ferry (it is the opposite direction, but only 15 mins from the boatyards). Reedham is less travelling than Loddon of course so that's an option but it's quite tidal so can be a pig to moor at. I don't know your experience level so that might not be an issue.

I think most of the Norwich Park & Ride sites are now back up and running, so that would be a good option..

It's good going for a Vectra! I'm guessing that's not the 1.9 diesel.... Or it's had the water pump swapped out.

Vectra?