SPRING SPRUNG

I have spent the past six weeks trying to get my boat ready for BSS having engaged Mike Ellis to do a pre-inspection back at New Year. He advised the only issues were to fit a bubbler and a proper tray for the starter battery.  They were done in Grand Union Boatyard at Gayton Junction for the grand sum of £483 which put a dent in my finances.

Since then, I have been budgeting seriously which has meant a change in activity.  I now spend less time on the boat.  It can be downright boring lying there in the dark waiting for dawn.  However, I am very pleased with the Hampshire heater which has kept the cabin at 15C and higher on demand and I sleep very well on board waking to recharge the fire. I am also eating very well with the revised diet working now for almost twelve months and weight static at 82kg.

My real concern has been line voltage on board.  I sussed that two of the VARTAs were kaput and the other two very weak. Lack of solar power was a major factor, this having been a winter of grey skies.  Now, with days getting longer, dawn earlier and the boat in a good place, the weak batteries are just holding their own.  Unless line voltage is over 10.0v, phones will not charge and this is still difficult to achieve but each visit sees an improvement.

I have managed to make weekly visits and having the boat at Weedon I even managed one day trip. If staying on board t is most economical to stay a minimum of two or three days and the last time it was six. Reason id it takes the Hampshire at least six hours to have any effect at all on the cabin temperature and at least twelve before the fabric starts to retain heat. Once into the third day though all is well. Of course being on board nibbles into the charcoal and now I am down to the last of the five bags I got at Bridge 13 in early December. 

The onboard line voltage makes for an interesting study hen the 'problem' of charging mobiles and laptops is introduced. I have various Samsung Android devices including J3, via A40, to A04e and found different reactions to electricity supply.  J3s are voltage sensitive and heavy users.  A40 will charge if the supply stays above 9.7 and although it suspends below that it restarts if the voltage improves. It has been tested overnight and was fully charged in the morning. It also appears to use very little current.  The A04e is demanding and needs voltage over 10.5v work at all. another factor in the saga is the type of cable used.

Cheap and cheerful cables which come as OEM with Samsung phones are of the absolute minimum standard capable of doing the job.  However phone shops in the sticks do not carry high quality gear due to the price.  I have always known that the only grade for electronic gear is military. But Joe Public does not understand how a meter of wire could vary in price from £3 to £13 .  I am currently trying to find cables of different quality and so far the key words seem to be braided and high speed ... WIP

An overnight visit to the boat on Wed25/Thu26 to empty out the bilges after a torrent showed line voltage at 11.5 and improving in sunlight to 11.9. Running the engine for a while showed a highest reading of 12.1v