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Admiraldingley

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  1. That's a good idea, now I know what I'm going to be doing with the two spare water pumps I pulled out of my scrap tourer.
  2. The warden warned me a few weeks back that it was going to be a high tide, but I fell asleep before sorting out the fenders, it took some gouges our of the paintwork, it made me realize just how easy that concrete can gouge chunks out of fibreglass. I saw one couple had made a custom line that they tie from one post to the next, it has fenders & weights that just drop over the side. I picked up some scrap fenders from Doug the facebook fender man so I can make one.
  3. As of yet I'm only guessing how they'll impede my vision when on the move, whether I'd have to lower them to move, or whether I could install a camera system that I can hook up to with the laptop, I'm certainly thinking of some reversing camera's on either side of the boat anyway. I know I have ambitious plans for our boat, but that's only 'cos I already have the stuff to make it doable. I just need the time to actually do it. For example, next job will be to take out that vent that's been sillyconed up next to the hatch so I can fit the front brackets on, it's right in the way of where i need my wooden block to go (which in itself is going to be a pain, sanding to the profile of the roof section 'cos it isn't a straight cut.
  4. Very perceptive of you, I think they're either 3ft x 5ft or 4ft x 6ft, I don't recall without looking at the notes :) I don't appear to have any photo's of the underside of the vent, that's also braced & sealed. They'll look (and act) like big solar sails, one on either side, I'll be able to lower them for bridges and i'll pop some hydraulic arms on them so they lift themselves back up. (I'm letting the weather take the paint back to plastic, I scrape a bit more off each time I visit and give it a quick sand, I expect to gel coat it in 2038).
  5. I know I already stated above that modern tech is a whole new tech. But it isn't really an upgrade on old tech, its just different tech, sometimes though smart tech just isn't needed. I'll be a little more specific, I'll be having 2 x 600w solar panels that will be feeding my battery bank on a totally separate loom, this is pretty much going to be a top of the range install. Then with the 240v wiring, considering I have about 200mt of external hook up cable I know I have more than I need to run feeds around the boat, at the front of the boat there will be a stand alone leisure battery in its custom built housing with its little 30 year old charging unit fed from the breaker switch, a switch will be mounted on the facia to turn the charger on/off (alongside battery gauge, usb sockets, stereo and so on. With the exception of the stereo & speakers I can't see this battery doing more than charging up phones & portable battery banks. And then they'll intersect where necessary. At present I'm only at the stage where I'm mapping out the nest of cables, and determining what is and isn't usable. I'm going to give this PSU a good bench & pat test now that I've got it free, the caravan battery needs charging anyway, so its now my guinea pig. Anyway, each of the boats looms (including new console panel) will be built and tested at home, and then one by one transplanted into the boat. I'm also trying to cable it with future light show parades in mind whilst I'm at it.
  6. Should I rewire my house 'cos the cabling in it is from the 50s (most of England's 240v residential cabling is pre-50s, I'm no more concerned about a house fire than I am a boat fire, as long as my load doesn't exceed the wirings looms capability, fire will never be an issue. This thread really isn't about my judgement on the cable or equipment's usability, it was merely a request for a heads up on what I need to watch out for in a BSS assessment. I have taken the advice given on board, no matter how absurd I may consider it, I'll read the fluff and at the very least advice given has deterred me from installing household solid core twin & earth, 'cos that is what I was planning. Now it doesn't seem so far fetched to be using standard internal appliance cabling, although I'll likely replace it with external extension cabling instead, the only real difference being in how long the sheathing lasts (this internal stuff has lasted since it was installed in 2002, going by the receipts and has passed its BSS test a few times with it). I think I've about exhausted this thread, I do appreciate the help, I've downloaded the BSS requirements, going to go through it when I get a chance.
  7. Again dom I hear what you're saying, and I can agree that the modern equipment that micromanage charging and have autodetection hardware installed are indeed modern tech, with galvanic resistors and the like. But the old style PSU units don't have processors, and although it may not be able to de-sulphate and repair batteries, I have 3 stand alone charging units that can do that if needed. This PSU is strictly for running a cable from the mains to the front of the boat where this psu will charge a leisure battery (solely for the purpose of kids usb devices and car stereo/speakers. Back to the technology though, resistors/capacitors/transformers/diodes and the like are still the same patented designs they've always been, there have been no tech upgrades with the exception of the new silicone galvanic style tech which isn't really a tech upgrade but a whole different tech altogether, it also can't be repaired if ought goes wrong, 'cos not many people can replace machine soldered joints. With the old tech if a capacitor pops you can easily buy a new one and replace it, one of the reasons I'm opting for this charging unit. I have an NVQ lvl 3 in Electronics (granted the course was taken in my teens over 20 years ago) but I'm a dab hand with a multi-meter & soldering Iron, I also had 3 years experience fault finding & fixing old CRT monitors, so I'm confident in the tech I can see, it may be 30+ years old, but so's my record player, Atari ST & Amstrad 6128k, I don't worry about these items catching fire either.
  8. I do hear what your saying about the age of cables, as a data installation engineer I'm aware of age and attenuation issues in copper cabling, to say the least. I currently have the ceiling panels down in both cabins, whilst I have access to the original cabling I intend to replace it. I have purchased 15a off the shelf cable from Halfords, but imo the older sheathing is far superior to the modern stuff that you can tell by touch will turn brittle quicker. It'd be too expensive atm replacing the whole boat loom for new cabling (although I will be using new cables for runs that will be permanently closed off). I have some good usable stuff that has been contained in walls & trunking, yes there is a risk of degradation, but I think its a slim one. I can keep a lot of what is already there and working as is, I can replace spliced cables and the like for proper connections, replacing the old cables as and when I replace the console equipment & gauges etc. And in future when I have the time and money I can replace them with new cabling. I can assure you in regards to the PSU that has 12v charging capabilities technology hasn't shifted one mm in the last 30 years, each component, capacitors, resistors, transformers, all of it is still identical to how they were made 30 years ago. I'm currently repairing me 3000w Renogy inverter (again), its all exactly the same off the shelf parts as they've always been. Solar charging units are a different kettle of fish though, those are predominantly new technology. I think I will pop open the 240v-12v charging unit I purchased to make sure it is repairable, it's designed to be a permanent charger.
  9. White & coloured flex, lights were green, sockets brown & things like water heater / pumps / taps are blue.
  10. Yes my thoughts exactly, but I also have to re-cable the entire of my boat, 240v side for certain, but the 12v side is also the original 1960s cabling, the tourer was mid 1990s, apart from the age its pretty much the same stuff give or take 5amps here for the 12v stuff at least. Hmm maybe I was wrong in assuming the cabling to be incorrect then, I mean yes its incorrect 'cos it's internal appliance cable, but I guess external extension cabling would be the way to go with wiring up the sockets from the fuse box. tbh I was kind of hoping the answer would be a simple, yes, so that I can just prune off what I don't want from this caravan loom, utilize the odd perk here and there that the boat doesn't currently have (240v/12v fridge integration) and so on.
  11. ah right ok I'll start from scratch. I have a seamaster 25 admiral, that was never wired up correctly for a 240v system. It has standard internal appliance cables running from a standard 240v fuse box & breakers to power 2 x twin power sockets, the hookup plug is adjacent to the fuse box and both are mounted on the outside of the seating beside a twin plug socket, right under where you're likely to stand on them if you're not careful getting in the boat, and I have kids that aren't. And then an additional 2 x 2 socket facia's (no safety fuse between them). Beyond that it has the original 12v cabling system intact with an additional (15a car wire) loom to 3 lights. Then it's had a solar bodge thrown in at some point, with redundant cables here there and everywhere. I'm replacing the solar system for a proper setup. I intend to keep as much of the original cabling as possible. But seeing as I have a wiring loom already capable of charging a 12v battery from the mains, + all the cabling for 12v devices, sockets etc. The only twin & earth sections of the loom are the standard external extention cabling.
  12. Hi I have recently scrapped my touring caravan, whilst doing so I took the entire wiring loom out intact. We have a seamaster 25 admiral, would a caravans 12v/240v wiring loom be deemed safe for a boat? And more specifically would it pass the BSS certificate I have due in January. Assume I know what I'm doing with the installation side (I just need to know if there are any generic issues with passing the BSS) I have already been informed that I'd have to swap the hook up cable from the tourer for a hook up socket on the outside of the boat.
  13. the weed filter we checked pretty much straight after, surprisingly considering the amount of mud we kicked up it was relatively unblocked in comparison to say how quick algae clogs it up. I'll be pulling it out in winter to see what damage I've done, so far it appears the vessel didn't break a sweat.
  14. So we came down last friday night, spent the night on sirlingham moor enjoying the peace and quiet. Nice breakfast the following day, followed by a trip & night in Norwich. Moored up at the power points by Waters Edge pub and spent the night recharging all everything. Monday we set off late to Great Yarmouth, Cantley was the furthest we'd been. The moorings at reedham were taken, so were the moorings between reedham & the open waters were sparse and I wasn't confident enough for the one spot I might have been able to squeeze into. It was a lovely enough passing through the estuary, got to yarmouth at high tide to find that it was high tide, which I expected, but it was also pitch black, the waters were very choppy and I couldn't see far ahead, so we took the decision to head back and spend the night travelling back to our mooring. I'd already dug most of the way from the opposite banking back to the deep channel, I'd also paid attention whilst the tide was out where the closest natural tidal gulley was that lead back to deep waters, I'd just been sat waiting for high tide to brave it, but when those two lovely rangers turned up, I couldn't have then sat around for three hours, or worse calling out the coastguard for an even more embarrassing recovery. So I stuck it in forward & reverse, swung the rudder from side to side to dig a nice big hole I could swing around in. Took it back down that track I'd already dug out, spun it around again and full throttle, minding to stay in my channel and aim for my landmark, managed to get most of the way towards where I expected the gulley to be, reverse forward, reverse forward, wiggle it just a little bit, until i felt the rudder & propeller slide into the gulley, this is where a 1.8ft draft comes in handy. Sailed the boat sideways down the gulley using the waves to give me the odd bounce over any raised bits. Then I hit deep water and used half a tank of diesel. We love our boat. The second photo was kindly donated by the rangers who saw us right, thank you guys, keep up the good work, glad you could see the fun in my foolishness.
  15. My grandfather used to own a warehouse that people would store their boats in through winter, he'd do repair work for them, black them, replenish wooden hulls etc. The only thing I remember about that warehouse it that he'd built a train track that ran all around the warehouse walls, and fabricated a little steam train that ran around the track. He also had a cruiser on the broads and day boat that he liked to take out to sea. I can't have been much older than 4/5 years old when I spent my first holiday on the broads, one of the memories I have is my father (who was a big bloke) would grab the back of my shorts, and rest my throat in his palms, he'd swing me in the air and launch me with all his force into the air, for those few seconds of going up I'd pretend to be superman. And then splash, again, again. My boys are a little too big to be lifted up I'd need a trebuchet fitting to the bow, but I'd like to give them some of the childhood memories I have of boating.
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