I Have A Generator

A few weeks ago a CWF forum member posted to say he had a Vetus generator that had broken down.  The engine he said was fine but there was no 240v being produced.  He wanted it removed from his NB and it was free to whoever could get it out.  I contacted him and arranged to see it in situ.  It was put in with a fork lift with a long reach pole.  Space and access was very limited to say the least, and there were a range of water and hydraulic pipes right in the way. Getting it out was not going to be easy.  I went away to scratch my head.  A couple of weeks later I went for another visit to see if my mental picture and plan were feasible.  I decided it was, and took some measurements and went away to make the key bit of kit.  A pipe that could be used as a pulling point.  The unit needed to be lifted 8" but there was only 9" of space.

 The essential pole

So this morning I set of with all the tools and equipment I needed.  The NB owner had removed all the covers and bolts holding it down to make the job easier with the very limited space I had.

This was the test lift

Having decided it was safe to lift higher some blocks were cut and a big type of Jenga set was made as using a ratchet strap the spool soon fills up and then the load has to be dropped back and the slack strap pulled up ready for the  next lift.  This process was repeated several times until the maximum height was reached.  A long board was then slid under the leading edge.

The unit was pulled again using a ratchet strap until it was clear enough to turn to go through the side hatch.

Once it was turned 2 ratchet straps were used to drag it up the ramp.  A 3rd one was used to hold the unit while the main 2 were 'reset'.  It took about 20 minutes to get the unit to the point of balance.

Once out of the NB it was put on a trolley.  

Job done

Start to finish was about 2 hours.

Once home I put the covers on

Just need to find out now why its not producing power.  It could be a simple as a bridge rectifier or primary exciter winding, or it could be a much bigger problem.  I have spoken to someone already who is going to come an look at it once I can run it up.

Windows Arrived Today

My windows arrived today.  They are beautifully made, I'm delighted with them.  Thank you Graham of Worcester Marine Windows  great service and very nice chap and easy to deal with, realistically priced too.

I chose bright polished anodised finish

There are 8 of these and 3 18" portholes.  Its not going to be a dull interior.

Hmmm Rusty

Mother nature is dealing with the mill scale very nicely now.

By the time the motorhome goes to the spray shop in a couple of weeks this should be ready.

I Got Heckled Today

Well not heckled as such but a comment made on a forum reminded me I haven't blogged for a while.

My time has been spent on the motorhome project as its got to be ready to go to the spray shop shortly.

I have been doing stuff in the back ground while nature is talking it course on the mill scale. 

I have been researching engines, gearbox's props etc etc.  I have bought a Victron 3k inverter that came up on a good deal although its not needed yet.  

The plan is to get started on the boat again while the MH is at the spray shop.  It's going to be there for about 3-4 weeks.  By the time it goes the windows should have arrived.

So nothing of real interest to blog about just now, but rest assured there is stuff going on.  To see what I have been up to have a look here.

We spent the weekend on our NB going down to open it up.  I am pleased to say there was nothing that needed attention, everything fired up without a hitch, even the Lister which hasn't been started for nearly 4 months fired into life in about 10 seconds on a battery that has sat idle.  On our mooring we don't leave the boat plugged in so none of the batteries get charged.  The domestic bank started at 30 amps but soon stepped down to 2.5, and after the engine was run for an hour down to 1.6 amps.

The toughest job was cleaning the spider poo off the Venetian blinds.  It took hours, so my wife said.  I was busy fiddling elsewhere but did do one of them and it was well stuck on for sure.

I have been thinking ahead about ballast.  Thinking that ready-mix concrete might be the answer I started a thread about concrete as ballast on CWF and the resulting discussion I think I might have found the perfect ballast material.  Seems concrete might not be a good idea.  I say might as there seems to be no clear feeling about it accept in France boats built after 1997 are not permitted to use it. DBA article

So then I thought Granite. I rang my brother (he owns a stone workshop) and asked what he did with his scrap, i.e. the bits he cuts out for cookers, sinks and other wastage. He puts it in the skip he told me, about 3 tons a month!  30mm thick is 90kg sq/m its non porous, its lose and for me best of all its free.

These are typical off-cuts and I can use it in 3 layers if need be. Each one of my bays is .8sq/m so I could get over 200kg in each.

Back To Inside Welding

Took the welder back inside again to do some more welding. Remember the slots I made a while back in the top of the sides?  This is why.

The middle weld is the the reason.  This weld joins the back of the D section on the outside to the top of the side panel and provides a hidden weld to make the bottom of the of the D section stable.  The other 2 welds are long tacks just to add more strength to the roof to side panels.

 Here from the outside as a reminder

Non Visual Stuff

I have been busy this week doing background stuff.

I have been discussing engines, cooling , gearboxes, drive gear, bow thrusters, with a very helpful chap.  I had originally wondered why my shell had been built with a mud box instead of keel cooling.  On deciding on the engine power (I want around 90hp) it was clear after running a calculator that I could not put efficient skin tanks in.  90hp needs 22.5 sq/ft of contact area.  Realisticly this is going to be a non starter.  So it looks like the mud box or raw water cooling via a heat exchanger is going to be the answer which is why it has a mud box.

I have also ordered the windows.  8 off 36"w x 24"h Dutch barge style windows and 3 off 18" port hole windows.

Building a boat is more than just tools and graft.  There is a shed load of research too, especially if it's your first one.

I have also bought an inverter.  Probably a bit premature but it was a good price so it can go into store for now.