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31/05/2006 We went to Sandhills to see how things
were going today. The concrete
ballast and first layer of flooring has been laid and most of the battening
has been done ready for spray foaming early next week. Battens have been positioned
immediately on each side of each bulkhead, leaving a gap of about 19mm for
the bulkhead itself, so seeing these helped us to visualise the space
available in each room. Hopefully
we will see the bulkheads in place on our next trip – this will
probably confirm to us that ‘cat swinging’ will not be possible
in most of the rooms [good news for cats!]. We have added some pictures to our gallery
[apologies for the quality, but lighting was tricky – will try harder
next time]. We also received a call today from
Shardlow Marina – would we like a residential mooring? Proof that they
do come up from time to time – we have been on their waiting list since
September 2005. Too late now with
us having taken on our mooring at Fradley Junction. They do not allow ‘new’
dogs on their residential moorings either, so with us also having our
‘love us, love our dog’ policy in place, we said no thanks. Sure I saw Beth the dog smirk when she
heard this. Bad news today – my pride and joy
Ducati fell over in the garden |
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25/05/2006 Not much BELLE stuff to report this week
either! We are assured that work
continues and that the bilge has been waxoiled, the concrete slab ballast layed
with the first layer of timber flooring over the top and that the cabin wall
/ roof battening is nearly done.
Foam spraying is booked for 05 June 2006. We shall be going over to Sandhills to
see how things are progressing next week (probably Wednesday). We shall take some pictures as usual
and put a selection in the gallery. Our new leather chairs turned up this
week, having spent most of the last five months on a ‘slow boat from |
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19/05/2006 Back in time….……. Not much BELLE stuff to report this
week. Called in at Fradley
Junction on the way back from
I’m not an expert on these
vehicles, but it appeared to me that, whoever it was that did all of the
restoration work, they have made a good job of it. Wonder if they argue amongst
themselves as to who will be driving it instead of the customary BW tranny
van? |
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10/05/2006 BELLE is
transferred from Alexander Boatbuilders to Sandhills
Narrowboats….……. BELLE was transferred from Alexander Boatbuilders to
Sandhills Narrowboats Limited by truck on 10 May 2006. Here she will undergo fitting out to
the stage possible / practicable on dry land. Thereafter, she will be transferred
into the water at Hanbury Wharf on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal where
her trim will be checked and her ballasting adjusted as required, a few small
finishing jobs carried out and then she will be commissioned. If all goes according to plan, then we
should take delivery at the end of August / early September 2006. We have added some pictures and some more words to our gallery. |
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08/05/2006 Some graphics
for the bathroom….……. We have been experimenting a bit with the finishes for
the bathroom – our latest thoughts are to make use of some gloss black
laminate on the walls, whilst maintaining the natural wood finish for all of
the doors, shower framework, floor and the ceiling. A special thanks to Kerrie [our
daughter] for preparing some graphics to help us visualise the effect.
We still have some more work to do, but things are
shaping up. We are trying to
achieve that ‘classy’ look using this black laminate in
combination with chromed radiators / towel rails and some other chromed
fittings, etc., whilst maintaining a good balance with the natural finish of
the wood. However, there is a risk
that this might make the room too dark, so we must be careful we do not
overdo it. |
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05/05/2006 Trip to Beta
Marine…………. The Beta Marine BV1903S engine unit has a good service
history and it has more or less become a standard fitment for Sandhills
Narrowboats Limited. We have seen
several of these engine units in boats and we have studied the technical
literature and spoken with others to learn if they have encountered any
significant problems, etc. All
feedback to date has been positive, so why make any changes? So, OK, there may be a few quid saved
here and there if we did use an engine unit from another manufacturer, but we
know of no significant technical advantages that would make it worthwhile. Nevertheless, we thought that it would be worth investing
some time in having a closer look at an engine unit outside of the boat so as
to get a better appreciation of where all the fiddly bits are located,
etc. All that was required was a
telephone call to Beta Marine and the next day I was biking to their factory
near Stroud in Gloucestershire for a look-see. Nice ride – dry/sunny day and
some really twisty roads south of Evesham with smooth tarmac and no speed
traps! Gave me an opportunity to
scrub the edges of the tyres down a bit!
Anyway, where was I – oh yes, Beta Marine. A very big thank you to Andrew Growcoot
for allowing me an opportunity to look at a BV1903S engine unit on test. I found Andrew a really nice and
helpful bloke who was more than willing to take time out to answer some
questions and offer some advice.
Our engine unit will be much the same as the one I saw on test, just
that ours will also have a hydraulic pump fitted for powering the bow
thruster. Steve and his colleague
Simon explained all the features of the engine unit – these guys will
be the last ones at Beta Marine to lay their hands on our engine unit before
it is dispatched to Sandhills Narrowboats around the end of May 2006.
As can be seen, this engine unit is fully enclosed by an
acoustic housing – as such, you can hardly hear it running, both when
ticking over and when running at about 1600 rpm with a full output from the
Electrolux Travel Power generator [3.5kW], i.e. in ‘washing machine /
tumble dryer mode’. There
should be very little vibration transferred to the structure of the boat
– the engine is on flexible mounts and what does get past these should
be damped out by the foam lined structure of the boat. Something tells me that you would be
hard pushed to sense that this engine unit is running when on-board. Service connections to the engine unit are
straightforward with all pipes [fuel inlet/return, cooling water
inlet/return, etc.] and the heavy wiring [e.g. to the starter motor and the
alternators for the starter/domestic batteries, etc.] having connection
points in the wall of the housing.
Connections for the electrical controls are via multi-pin plugs and
sockets. The mechanical
connections to the throttle and gearbox controls are via Bowden cables. The engine is of course water cooled,
but a motor driven fan has also been incorporated for maintaining a flow of
cool air through the housing – this air is used mainly for cooling the
alternators / generator. The upper portions of the acoustic housing come away in
five separate pieces [no tools required for doing this]. Once removed, access to all of the
bits you need to access for general maintenance is easy. When in the boat, access should still
be OK because the lower portion of the acoustic housing is about level with
the top of the swim anyway. We
must assess things again when the engine unit is offered into the boat,
because some items will be mounted on top of the swim [e.g. batteries, engine
silencer, hydraulic tank for the bow thruster, etc.].
There is a small hand operated pump mounted on the side
of the engine that can be used during oil changes for pumping the oil from
the engine sump and the gearbox via a flexible tube into a container for
disposal. This should make life
easier and minimise the risk of oil spillages into the bottom of the
enclosure and thereafter into the bilge.
However [thanks to Mo for pointing this one out] there might be some
slight oil spillage from the oil filter cartridge when removing it because
this is mounted horizontally to the side of the engine - so be ready with a
small tray or cloth when tackling this one. All in all, an interesting event and worth the effort
– too much covered to report it all here. |
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30/04/2006 Grass – cutting it, not smoking it……… After a grand tour of the DIY and
gardening shops, we are £150 lighter but nevertheless, the proud owners
of a new Ryobi strimmer / brush cutter.
Armed with this and enough petrol to fuel a strimming mission to the
Amazon rainforest, we set off to conquer the now mutant turf at our mooring. What a day! Somehow we manage to avoid
dropping vital items into the canal en route – this is quite an
achievement considering that we must keep crossing the canal via the lock
gates [no bridge]. Note for the
diary: Must try some dredging and some magnet dangling here - we expect that
there will be quite a collection of stuff on the bottom, dropped in over the
years and just waiting to be salvaged. Could not resist the before and after
shots – looks a bit tidier doesn’t it? Hopefully the locals will forgive us
for the row we made with the strimmer.
We hung on till about 10:00 thinking that they would all be up and at
it by then. Nobody came along and
threatened to throw us both in the cut, so we got away with it this time!
Just as we were about to leave, a Shakespeare
Line cruiser pulled up to our mooring and asked if it would be OK if they
moored there for an hour whilst they had breakfast! A couple of South Africans were on
their first canal trip and had collected this cruiser from Barton Turns the
night before, destined for
|
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19/04/2006 Closer look at our new mooring……… Having conveniently forgotten just what
kind of a chore cutting the grass can be, we had a wake-up call when we
visited our new mooring today and copped sight of the springtime surge that
has occurred since we saw it a few weeks back. The entrance to our mooring site
is offside at Hunts Lock – we are about nine moorings down from here.
How are we going to keep this down? We parted with our old mower when we
sold our house last year. Truth
be known, our old mower probably would have struggled to cope with the
terrain here anyway. No other
option really – we’ll just have to invest in a strimmer / brush
cutter beefy enough to cope with this lot. Hmmm, we have a problem; no boat = no
electrical supply. It’ll
have to be a petrol engined jobbie then. Beth introduced herself to some of the
locals. She seemed to be
muttering something along the lines of Any
way you like, either with or without the orange sauce… [wise ducks
these – because they sensed this and very soon thereafter they assumed
their original formation and they were on their travels again] … Well, maybe some other time then?.... I
can wait.
As can be seen from these pictures, the
weather was poor and it rapidly deteriorated so we opted for a couple of
coffees and a bite to eat in the BW café between Hunts Lock and
Fradley Junction. Nice place
– heaven only knows what it was like here over the Easter break though
– probably boats and people flying in all directions! |
|
16/04/2006
We had a bit of time to spare today and the weather
looked promising, so we packed some sandwiches and went for a walk along a
section of the Grantham Canal near Owthorpe to see how things are progressing
on the canal restoration side of things.
This section of the canal is about 10 miles from the River Trent.
The Grantham Canal Restoration Society has a huge task on its
hands if the section of the canal we walked on this map is anything to go
by. We found water in the section
from Devils Elbow to the parking/picnic place just south of Mackley’s Farm. In fact, the width and depth of the
channel here is almost navigable.
However, the next section of the canal from the parking/picnic place
and right up to the top of this map and a little beyond was a completely
different story. We think that
the Grantham Canal was closed to traffic about forty years ago - apart from
some maintenance work on the towpath and the adjoining hedgerow, it would
appear that everything else has been more or less left to itself over that
period. As such, there is much
silting and vegetation and even trees growing from within the channel in some
places. Some sections do not
contain any water at all.
Another big problem for the restoration society is where
the original ‘up and over’ bridges have been replaced with
‘flat crossings’. The
crossing shown in this photograph [Bridge 23] is typical – some
crossings are lower than this though.
In this case, the Badgers have made their home in the earth above the
two pipes that have been installed for channelling water through from one
side of the crossing to the other.
It’s not all bad news though – there are many
swans that have made the watered sections of the canal their home. They can be very protective of their
territory at this time of year when nesting, so watch out – there was a
lot of spitting and hissing and wing flapping going on when we walked passed.
Something tells us that it will be many years before the |
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15/04/2006 Build progress………. The build is coming along nicely. We have now reached the stage where
the cabin sides and cabin roof are in place. Most of the portholes have been cut,
as have the side door apertures.
There is still some work to do around the stern, the roof hatch apertures
to cut and the removable gunwale sections to construct. This will be followed by a fair bit of
welding, which then just leaves door and hatch fitting, bow thruster grilles
and sacrificial anode fitting and then onto final fettling and dressing ready
for the first coat of primer and hull blacking. It would be fair to say that BELLE now
actually looks like a 65’ narrowboat, rather than a very long rowing
boat! Up to now, each time we
have viewed her, she seemed to be getting shorter and we wondered if she
would ever be big enough? But,
now that the sides and roof are in place, she has taken on a totally
different appearance. This has
certainly helped us to visualise the room layout and our confidence in having
enough space on-board has been restored.
Shell construction should be complete at
the end of this month. BELLE will
then be transferred to Sandhills Narrowboats Limited for fitting out. Diesel – will our tanks be big enough?…….... We understand that most narrowboats have
a total diesel fuel capacity of around 50 – 60 gallons [about 250
– 300 litres]. When we
wrote the specification for BELLE, we thought that it would be a good idea to
try and boost this a bit because a] we will be living on-board for most of
the time and b] we suspected that this capacity might not fully account for
the additional demands from our diesel fired central heating boiler, plus our
diesel fired stove in the saloon.
We also decided that we would have two separate tanks so that we could
run our engine on DERV whilst still running our central heating / saloon
stove on ‘red diesel’.
In saying this, we were assuming the worst, i.e. the threat of
abolition of the A more recent discovery was the
variability of the fuel sold on the cut under the general heading of
‘red diesel’ and the effects that some of these fuels can have on
the performance of central heating boilers; see BLOG for February 2006. Having two separate tanks will also
facilitate the use of a different fuel for the central heating boiler and the
saloon stove, e.g. paraffin and some other fuel oils, but not more volatile
fuels such as petrol, etc. That’s the background – we
reached the stage this month where we needed to find sufficient space for
them! Our original thoughts were to
have one fuel tank at the stern [where it is usually located] and a second
fuel tank at the bow under our ‘extended’ well deck’. We envisaged that each of these tanks
would have a capacity of approximately 50 gallons [250 litres]. Alternatively, we thought that it
might be possible to ‘expand’ the more usual fuel tank
arrangement at the stern so as to achieve about 100 gallons [500 litres]
capacity and then effectively ‘split’ this tank into two separate
50 gallon [250 litre] tanks by adding a rigid ‘diaphragm’. The tank on each side of this
diaphragm would have its own filler, fuel take-off point and breather. We had a go at calculating the fuel
consumption to see whether a total capacity of around 100 gallons [500
litres] was really necessary.
This sort of calculation is fraught with difficulties because there
are so many variables to consider; the analogy that comes to mind being
‘how long is a piece of string?’ Nevertheless, we have given it
our best shot. If you would like
to see how we have set about things and the assumptions we have used, etc.,
then you can download the calculation here. We
believe that we have erred towards the pessimistic and that in the real
world; fuel consumption is probably going to be significantly less than that
calculated. Our main findings were as follows:
Some thoughts that came to mind were;
What if we are ‘iced-in’ during the winter and cannot get to the
nearest diesel supply point? When
out cruising, how far could we ever be from the nearest diesel supply point? We felt that the likelihood of us being
iced-in for any longer than about a week in this day and age is pretty
remote, as is the likelihood of us being more than a week away from the
nearest diesel supply point. When
on our normal / winter mooring, albeit that we would have to physically move
BELLE up to the diesel supply point, at least there is one about ¼
mile away. If the worst came to the worst, then a few trips along the towpath
with jerry cans and a barrow would keep us going. The shell build has reached a stage
where we can see quite clearly that accommodating a total of 71 gallons [355
litres] at the stern is possible, but no more, otherwise there is a high risk
of compromising the installation of all the other equipment in this
area. This means that the
additional 29 gallons [145 litres] that we had set our sights on would have
to be located at the bow.
However, with our calculations and our simple risk assessment
suggesting to us that around 50 gallons (250 litres) was workable, we quickly
warmed to the idea that 71 gallons [355 litres] should be more than enough
for our needs. Also, we thought
that accommodating an additional tank at the bow might bring about a few
problems. One that immediately
came to mind was the need to fit another pump because, with this tank having
to go under the bow well deck, the pressure head would be insufficient for
supporting a gravity feed to the saloon stove. Therefore, we decided that we would
settle for the 71 gallons [355 litres] capacity at the stern and do away with
the idea of an additional fuel tank at the bow. We have added a picture of our fuel
tank arrangement to our gallery [see 13/04/06]. We felt that there was little point in
having the fuel tank for the engine significantly bigger than the fuel tank
for the central heating boiler / saloon stove. Therefore, the diaphragm has been
positioned just to one side of the tube for the rudder post so as to make
construction that little bit easier.
This means that one fuel tank has a capacity of about 39 gallons [195
litres] and the other fuel tank has a capacity of about 32 gallons [160
litres]. We will keep an eye on
fuel consumption during the summer months and when cruising and whether any
‘imbalance’ from tank to tank is having a significant effect on
the trim. If we are using red
diesel throughout, then no problem because the tanks are linked and the fuel
levels could be balanced very easily.
Using different fuels might necessitate more regular fills in order to
keep the trim, which could be a bit inconvenient, but nothing more serious
than that. |
|
31/03/2006 Build
progress………. As can be seen from the pictures in our gallery, progress
with the shell build for BELLE to date has been very good indeed – as
we write, shell completion and transfer from Alexander Boatbuilders to Sandhills
Narrowboats Limited workshop should now be in about 2-3 weeks time. Construction so far has been mostly trouble free and the
quality of workmanship achieved by Alexander Boatbuilders is excellent. We did have one slight hick-up
though. We have been proceeding
on the basis that the gas locker at the bow would be 3’-6”
long. Problem was, Alexanders’ standard gas locker is
4’-0” long! This
meant that we had to find 6” elsewhere along the length of BELLE to
compensate. There were several possibilities
on the table, but we eventually agreed that the bedroom would be reduced from
9’-0” to 8’-6” and everything between here and the
gas locker would all shift 6” towards the stern. So, our layout and livery drawing
needs updating again! Moorings
–‘the down side’….. Those that have been following this BLOG will know that
we have been pursuing a complaint with British Waterways [BW] regarding their
moorings allocation policy at those marinas managed on their behalf by
British Waterways Marinas Limited [BWML], i.e. the moorings at the vast
majority of these marinas [note – a public resource!] are allocated to
those that buy boats from or via the BW/BWML boat sales office in preference
to those waiting patiently on their mooring waiting lists. Having exhausted the BW/BWML complaints procedure, we
elevated our complaint to the Waterways Ombudsman level. However, the Ombudsman has recently
notified us that they feel it inappropriate to intervene – this is
essentially on the grounds that they have no power to intervene in policy
decisions by BW or BMWL. The fact that some people are worse off because a
particular policy has been adopted does not in itself mean the policy is
unfair or that the Ombudsman can intervene. So what’s the point of having an
Ombudsman one wonders? Have we
missed something? We posted a few words about this moorings allocation
policy on the Canal
World Forum with the intention of using the response to help us judge the
level of importance [or unimportance] attached to this moorings allocation
policy by boaters in general. We
received a few replies for which we thank those that took the time and
trouble to comment, but in all other respects we found the response
disappointing. Seemingly, with our posting receiving
around 180 hits and 4 replies and a posting from somebody else about the
‘lack of meaty bits’ in Bovril receiving in excess of 700 hits
and 37 replies, boaters are much more interested in the latter. So, on balance, we have decided to drop our
complaint. We had thought about
raising this moorings allocation policy with Trading Standards, but we have
decided that, with the apparent lack of interest amongst boaters in general,
we will not be bothering. Life is
too short and we are wise enough to realise that, without a ‘weight of
numbers’ in favour of the argument we are presenting to BW/BWML, we
will get nowhere. Nevertheless,
we maintain our view that this moorings policy is unfair, not only for those
seeking moorings, but also (for example) those boat builders that cannot
offer moorings and do not market their boats via a BW/BWML sales office. The BW/BWML policy we have described
comes with some potentially serious knock-on effects. Moorings
–‘the up side’….. We now know that we have no chance of securing a mooring
for BELLE at Sawley Marina near There are other moorings in this area, but our enquiries
keep coming up with ‘computer
says no’, so we have accepted that we must seek a mooring
elsewhere. To the point then
– ‘the up side’….. Much to our great surprise, we
have secured a mooring at Fradley Junction, our old land-based haunt! Securing this mooring means that we
are spending a few hundred quid before we really need to because BELLE will
not be launched until August 2006, but better this way than delaying things
and struggling like hell to secure a suitable / reasonably priced mooring
nearer to the launch date.
One more item we can now strike off the ‘things to do’
list. |
|
13/03/2006 Build
progress……….. So this is it then, we have actually made the transition
from an ‘origami narrowboat’ to the beginnings of a real
one. The base for BELLE was laid
09 March 2006. Real metal, yes,
real metal that you can touch and stroke and covet and get all worked up
about and…..steady! We have
added some pictures to the gallery. Techies and those with a sheet metal
fetish might be interested in these pictures, but those of you more
interested in décor, furniture, upholstery and lighting and that sort
of thing might want to wait until we have some pictures of the fitting out! Boat Safety
Scheme………………. Now that the build is actually underway, we have spent
some more time familiarising ourselves with the requirements of the Boat
Safety Scheme [BSS]. You can
download a copy of the latest version of the BSS Essential Guide free of charge from the BSS website. However, if like us your preference is
to have a hard-copy to hand, then you would be advised to cough up
£5.00 to British Waterways for a copy, rather than print one off,
because there is an awful lot of paper and ink involved. We obtained our copy from the British
Waterways office at Fradley Junction.
Most British Waterways outlets will probably stock the latest version,
so there is no need to order one via the post. Having spent a couple of hours reading this guide from
cover to cover, we can confirm that it is a very comprehensive document that
is well set out and easy to understand.
Our intention is to check that all of the requirements are achieved as
BELLE’s build progresses and we shall mark
the page borders accordingly.
Next step is to obtain a copy of the Recreational Craft Directive [RCD] and associated documents so
that we might learn what must be achieved from that perspective. We sense that the RCD will be much
less straightforward; just like the vast majority of other technical
requirements that emerge from the European Union! Some thoughts
about washing machines and dryers………….. With space on-board at a premium, we shall be fitting a
combined washer/dryer unit and this will be situated in the utility
room. We will admit to not having
spent much time considering the efficiency of washers or dryers over the
years. Well, you don’t do
you? Time for a change –
mindful of the finite nature of our on-board electrical and fresh water
supplies, we felt compelled to spend some more time checking out the electrical
power and water consumption of these labour saving devices. The electrical power consumption and compatibility with
our on-board electrical supply checks out OK. Most of the combined washer/dryer
units we have seen require an electrical supply rating of around 2.3 –
2.6 kW. There will be more than
enough power available from our 3.5 kW generator, taking into consideration
that there may be a few other simultaneous 240v.ac electrical power demands. Water consumption is another matter. We have only ever used a separate
washer unit and dryer unit and all of our dryers have been the
‘vented’ type, i.e. the hot air used to dry the clothes is simply
vented (via the vent pipe that goes through the wall of the house) directly
to atmosphere, along with the water vapour that has been driven from the
clothes. So a vented dryer does
not consume any fresh water as such.
Most modern combined washer/dryer units and some separate dryers
incorporate a ‘condenser’, i.e. the hot air used to dry the
clothes is forced through a water cooled matrix [the condenser] where the
water vapour that has been driven from the clothes condenses [turns back into
a liquid state] on the cool surfaces and is then expelled via a waste
pipe. In the case of a combined
washer/dryer, this waste pipe is also used for expelling the water used in
the washing cycle. The hot air is
usually recycled in the dryer. Therefore, whilst it could be argued that there is less
electrical energy expended in heating the air that is then used to dry the
clothes, condenser dryers inevitably consume fresh water. How much water one wonders? Clearly, the water consumption is
directly linked to the operating cycle time for the dryer, but from what we
have gathered so far, this would be typically around 100 litres [20 gallons]
for a full dryer load. Add to
this, the fresh water consumed during the washing cycle for the same load,
i.e. around 60 litres [12 gallons] and we have a total fresh water
consumption of around 160 litres [32 gallons] for a complete wash-spin-dry
cycle. Ironic, is it not, that
there is considerably more water consumed whilst drying the clothes than
there is wetting them in the first place! Naturally, we will not use the washer/dryer any more than
necessary and we will do our best to ensure that it is properly loaded, but
there is little more we can do to reduce the electrical power and fresh water
consumption that would not entail dispensing with the washer/dryer
altogether! Clearly, this further
emphasises the need to carefully monitor and manage our on-board fresh water
supply. The capacity of our fresh
water tank is about 750 litres [150 gallons] and it is located under the bow
well deck. With this deck being
longer than average, we are seriously considering utilising some more of the
space in this area for accommodating a larger capacity tank. |
|
February 2006 Build
progress…………… We were hoping to report that shell construction for
BELLE had actually started, but alas not yet. Porthole and hatch positions have been
fixed and shell build work is likely to commence within the next few days. Bathrooms……………… Re-visiting the bathroom layout was the last thing on our
minds, but going through the process of fixing the porthole and hatch
positions this month in readiness for the commencement of the shell build
highlighted that there was a high risk of compromising the position of the
Houdini hatch in the bathroom.
Much as we have resisted this to date, we have decided that using a
chamfered shower arrangement will help out. In addition to this, we have relocated
the toilet door; it’s now on the side partition. Keeping the toilet door open when
actually using the bathroom as a bathroom will provide some more space to
manoeuvre between the wash basin and the shower. We would like to thank Gary and Mark
at Sandhills Narrowboats Limited for putting forward their ideas for some
improvements whilst we were trying to sort this lot out. Nuff said;
you can see the latest bathroom layout here.
[bottom of the page] Recreational
Craft Directive (RCD)……………… There was an article in this months issue of Waterways World magazine that
echoes’ many of our concerns about the application of the RCD in the At last, BW has woken up and expressed their concerns
about safety possibly being compromised on the cut and that there is indeed a
need for better policing of boat builder activities in this respect. What about the BMF? – could they
do more to support their members by offering them auditing and review
services for boat building process controls and their product designs, etc.
and carry out checks for standards compliance? Just a thought. Moorings……………… The latest British Waterways response to our complaint
about their moorings allocation policy is not very encouraging from our point
of view. We have now exhausted
the British Waterways complaints procedure. Therefore, we have elevated our
complaint to the Waterways Ombudsman level. There are some interesting views and articles concerning
a life on the cut with a ‘privatised BW’ to be found here –
most of that said could be nearer to the truth than fiction! Go and have a look, it will make you laugh for sure [and
then maybe cry with despair!] Central Heating
– Getting it right…………………. [Be warned –
you need a calculator, some patience and a hot steamy coffee for this one] My life seems to be an ongoing risk assessment –
virtually everything in life is analysed on the basis that, if it can go
wrong, it probably will and you should be prepared for it. Better still, you should do what needs
to be done to reduce the risk to a level whereby the chances of it happening
in the first place are as low as reasonably practicable. Maybe an occupational hazard with me
dealing with train brakes on a day-by-day basis. So, you can probably imagine the trouble I have
encountered whilst deciding which would be the ‘best’ central
heating system for BELLE? I am sure that there are other things that should
be dealt with at the moment [e.g. the risk of catching bird flu, or the risk
of not finding a doctor or a dentist when needed that would not entail
pledging a kidney in return for treatment, closely followed by the risks
associated with not replacing the groaning rear wheel bearings on the car,
etc.] but the thought of us having regular cold showers and/or shivering in
front of the telly of an evening due to an inadequate heating system or a
heating system failure next winter is a concern. The likelihood of me receiving some
GBH of the inner ear from Stelle because of this also helps to focus my
mind. Top this with the whining
and likely constant fidgeting from Beth the dog because she is being denied a
hot radiator to slouch against and life would be… well, let’s
just say, I should make sure it’s sorted. We have already decided that we want a ‘push the
button and we have heat’ system so this requirement rules out solid
fuel heating and we are against using gas on-board any more than really
necessary for safety reasons. So,
it’s going to be diesel-fired for sure. Which should it be then; a central
heating system from Eberspächer, Webasto or Mikuni, or a system from some other
manufacturer? It seems as if
every bit of positive advice to be found in t’Internet
forums and in magazines, etc. is countered by just as much of the negative
regarding:
Leave it all to the boatbuilder to sort out? No, we can’t do that either
– that would go against our risk management strategy. Got to manage it some other way. A t’Internet trawl
brought up a few websites with loads of [apparently] useful advice and guidance
about domestic central heating systems and some example calculations, but
nothing specifically for narrowboats.
So let’s make the best of what is available; I found this website
particularly useful. I have used the calculation regime presented on this site
and I have adapted the data as I saw fit for BELLE. To cut a long story short, this has
helped me to consolidate my thoughts about quantity and sizes/types of
radiators, the capacity of the calorifier, time/energy required for heating
the calorifier and establishing an appropriate boiler size. It would appear that a 5kW boiler will
be OK. Following the regime
presented on this site should also drive out a suitable size/rating for the
central heating pump and sizes for the interconnecting pipes. Points have been noted regarding
incorporating devices that will help achieve a ‘well balanced’
system and we may well opt for thermostatic radiator valves [TRV’s] as a result of visiting this site. Some more research is required to get right to the bottom
of the ‘is red diesel really red diesel’ conundrum and the
sensitivity of different manufacturers boilers in this respect. I would like to think that all boilers
openly advertised for use in narrowboat applications have been properly
validated for use with all forms of ‘red diesel’ to be found on
the cut, but this may not be the case. BELLE is currently scheduled to receive a system based on
the Eberspächer Hydronic
5. A telephone conversation I had
with a man from Eberspächer indicated the
following:
So, it would appear that there is indeed a significant
risk of incompatible fuels causing problems with boilers on the cut, but there
is little point in switching to a boiler from another manufacturer at this
time. It would also appear that
our decision to fit two separate tanks was a wise one, but for a slightly
different reason now, i.e. not just for splitting DERV for the engine and red
diesel for the boiler in the event that the UK red diesel derogation is not
renewed this year, but it will also facilitate the use of a number of other
types of fuel oils for the boiler, whether it be paraffin or something else. One further theory doing the rounds at the moment is that
having a boiler with a rating much higher than really necessary can also lead
to problems if it is the type that switches to a lower heat setting when the
temperature setting of the thermostat has been attained. This is because the boiler will spend
significantly more time on this lower setting and in so doing spend more time
burning the fuel at a less than optimum temperature, ergo, more deposits
(soot) to deal with. Having a
boiler rating that is closer to the actual demand will help to keep the
boiler running at an optimum temperature. So, bearing this in mind and having
calculated that a boiler rated at 5kW should be OK, we will not be having an Eberspächer Hydronic 10
just to have a ‘bit more up ones sleeve’ so to speak. As for the effect of a separate 5kW stove in the saloon?
In theory, this could effectively lead to the main boiler rating being too
high with the potential consequences described above. However, we believe that we should
stick with this separate 5kW stove for three main reasons; [a] it will
provide a quick form of local heating to make life comfortable in the saloon
whilst we are waiting for the main central heating to do the business and [b]
it will serve as a back-up in the event that the main central heating system
fails and [c] it will provide a supplementary heat source if the outside
temperature falls below the design lower limit for the central heating system
[i.e. lower than 30oF].
As an added bonus, we can put the kettle on it! If any more information turns up that has a bearing on
this lot, we will let you know. |
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January 2006 Happy New Year! We have signed the contract / construction agreement for
BELLE. Our finances have improved
a little bit more, so we have opted for three Houdini hatches instead of two
– they are now situated in the bathroom, galley and saloon. Some in-depth discussion with
Sandhills Narrowboats Limited and a site visit and sample shell examination
resulted in a last minute decision to switch from a Graham Reeves shell to a
shell from Alexander Boatbuilders.
Shell price is about the same, as is the shell delivery. However, this shift should bring about
some measurable improvements in build quality and the inclusion of some
useful, interesting and decorative features in the steelwork [e.g. scrolling
and additional rubbing strakes at the bow and stern, additional handrails,
etc.]. Some disappointing news this month; BELLE’s
delivery has slipped by about 4-6 weeks to July / August 2006 – this is
as a result of some delays with Sandhills Narrowboats Limited‘s current
build. BELLE’s
shell base should be laid in about 2-3 weeks hence, so we console ourselves
in the knowledge that we are on the verge of something tangible for all of
our efforts! We have tried to take advantage of the January
sales. Unfortunately, the prices
for white goods [e.g. washing machines, fridges and microwave ovens, etc.]
and LCD televisions and DVD players/recorders and many other items on our
shopping list are still at the pre-Christmas 2005 level. So, we decided to hang on for a while
before purchasing these particular items. The white goods prices will probably stay pretty much as
they are for the next few months.
However, the price of LCD televisions and DVD players / recorders
should come down significantly as the market gets nearer saturation point and
the next ‘must have’ entertainment equipment developments come
along at an affordable price [e.g. solid state recorders, etc.]. We will probably spend some more time exploring the
automotive accessory dealerships as well – DVD players for cars must
out of necessity be much smaller than those intended for the average living
room and this might make for a better installation in the saloon cupboard /
shelving units. First impressions
are that these DVD units are still a bit pricey and most of those we have
seen so far only play DVD’s and they do not record. We already record TV programmes using a Freeview decoder that connects to
our computer via the USB port and this little beauty is not much bigger than
a matchbox! Maybe we should just
link the TV and the computer together and be done with it?
We did stumble across some suitable chairs in the sales
though. We have been keeping our
eyes open for a chair design that is comfortable when used as an ordinary
chair, but one that will fold down flat for occasional guests to sleep on. Size is critical because; (a) the chairs must fit through the
saloon bow doors and (b) they must
not to consume all of the space available in the saloon once we have got them
in there! A tall order –
the only chairs we have seen that would meet all of the aforementioned
criteria left a lot to be desired in the workmanship department. We have also struggled to find
suitable chairs made from leather, this being another one of our
preferences. We have also looked
at quite a few hybrid armchair / office chair designs that reclined to some
extent, but they turned out to be very pricey when in leather and strong
enough to withstand the rigours of daily use. We eventually short-listed two chairs; the ‘Sarah’ leather chair on
the left and the ‘ Let’s hope that all of our measurements are OK and
that we can get these chairs through the bow doors when the time arrives!
On the moorings front. We have received a response from
British Waterways Marinas Limited [BWML] regarding the complaint we made last
year about their moorings allocation policy. Nothing positive to report we are
sorry to say. The short story
[thus rendering the two page BWML letter down somewhat] is that BWML believes
it to be acceptable as well as commercially advantageous to allocate the
moorings they are managing on behalf of British Waterways [BW] to those that
buy boats from or via their boat sales office in preference to those waiting
patiently on their mooring waiting lists. They seem to think that this approach
will have a positive effect on the amount of funding available to them to
re-invest in new moorings. From a legal perspective, it would appear that the BWML
belief is that they are sufficiently distanced from BW to operate this way
– they also make a point of advising that they pay a ground rent to BW
[the legal title holders for the marinas concerned] and business rates to the
local authorities and so on.
Quite frankly, we are having trouble getting our heads around this
whole concept. We will continue our quest for fairness for allocation of
the BW moorings [ i.e. the moorings that effectively still belong to all of
us as British citizens and taxpayers – they have not been privatized yet! ] using a waiting list
approach and first-come first-served rule. We have sent another letter to BW
asking them to elevate our complaint to the corporate level. Watch this space – the next
port-of-call may be the Ombudsman and/or Trading Standards. |
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