Vlog 260: Power Ranger
A sit-down chat about how the new 540W solar panel helped over winter, and mention of the lead carbon batteries I installed in summer 2019.
Go Boating!
Canal Life
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Gas (propane) use on canal boats
January 23, 2024
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How many boats are on the British canals?
February 23, 2024
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Diesel engine servicing: the basics
January 23, 2024
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Canal etiquette: the dos and don’ts
January 23, 2024
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Using your horn & lights on the canal
January 23, 2024
Do the “modern” longboats (with solar) tend to have have a state-of-charge meter (shunt)? Determining SOC by terminal voltage is a very inexact method at best.
Depends very much on the boat and the batteries (and they’re absolutely not “longboats” by the way! Canal boats or narrowboats). Older boats with traditional lead-acid batteries might use voltage, newer ones with lithium tend to have shunts.
As you mentioned looking forward to being 70, you might want to forgo a house and rent instead. I personally gave up owning homes coming of an age where home upkeep just got too much. I now reside in a great apartment complex, where all of the maintenance is done for me. Personally, if it was not to much to move again, my preference now is renting a condo, which is more like residing in a house than an apartment. Anyway, glad I found your website, as I am ridding every aspect of cancel culture which includes Google and of course YouTube.
Hi, renting is both insecure and very expensive over here; I would hate to be thrown out in my old age hence my preference to own. Cheers
What does it cost to be shore power, is not worth being there all the time while in the marina, or is that cost prohibitive? To me it would be a lot more convenient!
Cheers,
Nigel
The actual power cost is relatively minimal, as I was paying to be in the marina anyway. But the powered pontoons put you side by side by side with other boats so you’re packed in like sardines staring into the next door boat’s window. On my (unpowered) mooring to the side of the marina, I had a view of fields to one side and the open marina basin the other – much nicer to live with.
David, it’s always lovely to hear and see you. You are, by far, the most professional and natural of the various narrowboat channels. It seems to me that every live-aboard does so for different reasons and for different purposes. I’m sorry you lost your joy of cruising, and being purely selfish, it would be nice to see you soo that again. Thank you for letting us into your life.
Thank you. I have no plans to cruise on my own boat again though, it’s more fun to go with friends on adventures.
Have you thought about a small vertical wind generator
Unfortunately, they’re fairly useless on the canals. Noisy, expensive, little output unless there’s a continuous very strong breeze.