I've Been A Bit Of A Chump

I've been a bit of a chump. Yep! even me who is normally very, very careful with measuring, checking, measuring, reading the manual / instruction, and then doing it all again just for good measure etc.

Especially when there is expensive equipment at hand! 

So what did I do? 

In a perverse way I did exactly what I was doing to avoid doing what I did. When I put the inverter in I was concerned that it should be somewhere cool so I decided the engine room bulkhead would be ideal. OK, I know it gets warm in there when the engine is running, but when stationary it's the coolest place and besides when we are on the move the inverter is not really being used that hard. It seems to get hottest when charging which would be on hookup which has so far been never, or on the generator. 

With the top calorifier pipe running inches away from the inverter, several blog readers voiced their concerns that it really wasn't a good setup. I had to agree in hindsight. So  a few weeks ago it was "move the inverter day". The move was from the engine room side of the bulkhead:- 

 

to the cabin side under the stairs. 

Something that with a bit of floor hole cutting for cold air from the bilge to be drawn in and a bit of carpentry modification to the back of the stairs, a bit of cable re-routing etc. should have taken only 3-4 hours with cups of tea and ponder time. 

Having done the necessary I powered up the inverter only to hear a massive "CRACK". That's the sound a 400amp fuse makes when it lets go. 

So what had I done? Well despite having to put 2 very large +ve and -ve wires on each terminal in the inverter and despite the inverter having very clear "Battery +" and "Battery -" instruction on the terminals, somehow in a complete an utter parallel universe I had actually managed to ignore these very simple but fundamental instructions. I really don't know how I did it, I truly don't. My wife thinks its the onset of something more sinister, and TBH so do I. Despondently I realised what I'd done and set about investigating inside the inverter expecting to see a mass of exploded components, but with fingers crossed there was a trip or something I could reset, sort of like an idiot button. But there was no trace of either.

I contacted my Supplier Intellitec who rather than laugh at my stupidity said to send it back and they would make it better again. Within a few days the problem had been resolved and my inverter was back safe and well.  What brilliant and speedy service.  So a big thank you to them.

So with repaired inverter in hand last week I set about finishing the job.  This time doing it as per the instruction not my way. In under haft an hour the inverter was back fully working in its new home under the stairs.

So in attempt to move the inverter to stop it getting damaged, I damaged the inverter moving it.  What a knob!  I am however consoled by the fact that if the calorifier pipe did blow the damage that could cause would have been worse for the inverter than my faux par.

Lesson Learnt!!

River Lark Timelapse

I did some timelapse recording while cruising about during our month aboard.  I used a GoPro camera in timelapse mode taking 1 x 5mega pixel shot every 2 seconds.  In this video the final edit there are 7515 shots. These are then reduced in size to 1024 x 768 which takes so long to do I set the PC to do this task overnight.  Also for the assembly software to compile the images they have to be consecutively numbered.  The software used to reduce the size and re-number is Infranview.

The next stage is to compile the stills into a movie.  For this I use VirtualDub  The result is this:-

 First cut

There's still a bit more to do to this so check back for sound and titles.

I have now been told  3.5 mph over 3.5 hours = 12.25 miles travelled which is about right . To cover that distance in 2 minutes you'd have to be doing 367.5mph (12.25 x 60/2)

Electric Bike

I decided that to get about from moorings to local shops etc. a moped would be a good idea.  I have an old but nearly mint Puch Maxi

But weighing in at 48kg and that it requires tax, MOT, insurance and servicing and that it would mean having petrol on board it became clear pretty quickly it wasn't relay a sensible option.

So the search was on for an electric bike.  A good look around the market and a lot of research I came up with this little beauty.

I have to admit I wasn't expecting much when I ordered it but knowing I had the 7 day remote selling laws on my side I thought I have nothing to lose.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It's a very capable and sturdy bike and a very welcome addition to the boat kit.

The longest journey so far has been a shopping trip to a supermarket which was 4 miles each way.  On the way out I used pedal assist, on the way back I just used power only.  This I thought would cane the batteries and I would be peddling back too, but to my surprise this trip left the battery indicator still showing full.

Otherwise I've just used it to nip about instead of walking.  Weighing in at only 20kg it's easy to get on and off the boat too.

Conclusion.  Well pleased.

The gumph:-

Frame: Aluminum Alloy Folding Frame

Motor: 250 Watt Brushless Hub Motor

Gears & Speed: 7-Speed Shimano (Tourney) Gear System

Battery: 36V/10ah Lithium Ion Battery

Charger: Hi Power for Li-ion 36 volt Smart Charger with 5 - 6 Hours charging Time (depending on use)

Tyres: 20" x 1.95"

Speed: 15 mph (24 kph) (Motor Only) – UK Speed Limit

Distance: Up to 30 miles (48 km) range (depending on weather conditions and terrain)

Throttle: Twist Throttle and Pedal Assistance System (PAS)

Braking System: Front V- Brake and Rear Servo Brake

Front Forks: ZOOM CH-650 DH, Alloy Double-Crown Adjustable Suspension

Saddle Post: Alloy and Zoom Suspension

Mudguards: Front and Rear

Storage: Rear Carrier Included

  

 Weight Capacity: 100 kg (220 lbs)

Bike Weight: 15kg Without Battery

Battery Pack: Removable (quick release) and Lockable

Battery Weight: 4 kg (9lbs)

Legalities: No road tax or driving licence required. Insurance or helmet also not required

A Little Problem

We have spent the last few weeks exploring some of the tributaries of the Gt. Ouse, The River Wissey, The Lt. Ouse and The River Lark.  As lovely as these rivers are they are pretty weedy and so a couple of times the exhaust temperature light came on meaning the raw water intake filters were clogged.  Trouble with this is this starves the rubber impeller of water and it runs dry.

Once back on the deep and straight Gt. Ouse and the engine has nearly 100 hours I decided for the first time to open the engine up and let a good deal of the 114hp have its wicked way.  Top RPM is 2500 so I held back to 90% or 2250rpm  The main engine temperature remained at 85c which is normal.


After about 3 minutes the exhaust temperature warning came on.  I was a little concerned as I had cleared the filters before setting off about 20 minutes earlier and the Gt. Ouse is mostly weed free.


I cut the engine and drifted into the side to investigate.  I checked the filters and they were clear.  So after letting the engine cool down I restarted and saw nothing being drawn up from the river.  I removed the water uptake tube and felt inside the impeller housing and could feel damaged impeller blades.  As the system wouldn't self prime I filled the filter manually which was enough to get it primed. After which we were able to continue as before at about 1400rpm.


Once back at Ely I checked with Ely Chandlers to see if they had an impeller for my engine but they were unable to help but they kindly let me use their address for delivery when I found one in Leeds.  So many thanks for their help.


This afternoon it arrived and I swapped it out which took about 30 minutes.

Left buggered, right new

The new one has an 2 extra blades so I guess the original has been superseded.  Once changed and the system primed manually everything was back to normal, well at least on static tests.  A moving test will be done tomorrow.

Clearly the impeller is intolerant to running dry.  In the service book the impeller is a 1000 hour inspection so I think I have just been unlucky for now.  It's all a learning curve.

AVALON:- It's official now.

I spent all day yesterday, well that was available, between the regular and heavy rain showers cleaning and machine polishing and buffing the paintwork ready for the vinyl signs I had made last week.

This morning was dry and windless so after breakfast I marked out the area and positioned the letters.

I split the template into 3 x 2 letters to make application easier.

After a very long cruise, well about 45 minutes and 2 miles later we stopped on a very rural mooring on the River Wissey.  With the canopy down and a tretrious lean over the stern I applied the rear name. 

It's strange after all the work to this point how something like this seems so important to me.  I'll fit the starboard side whe we moor that side.

As we approached this mooring fellow boaters and bloggers Graham & Jill and Joe & Leslie 

called out to say a BBQ was planned for 2pm, so that settled it for us. A combined mash up of food from all boats stores and good weather resulted in a very pleasant afternoon for 6 boaters, 6 dogs and a cat.

High spot was Deb falling off her chair.

 Soft uneven ground apparently!

RESULTS for the sound insulation.

A few days ago I installed the under deck sound insulation.  Here are the reasults.

I've posted these at the end of the original post to keep it in context.

Doing A Doughnut In My Boat

You may recall I decided to make a Shilling rudder.

This short video shows what it can do.

Enjoy. Sorry about the reflection

It works as you can see and I'm glad I went to the extra effort.