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That's more like it, thank you!:D

I thought this thread was going to be about the Prince of Darkness. I was looking forward to reading lots of jokes about Joseph's electrical prowess and reliability. Disappointed.

As I find myself saying to the occasional fearful visitors who panic when there's a tiny bit of boat movement: If a boat didn't roll, it would be a caravan. Or a motorhome.

I have 3 cameras in the engine room. All are cheapy Chinese cams, around £15 each, wired in to a small monitor a bit like a sat nav, with a selector switch to choose which cam is displayed. One cam looks directly down into the bilge but also shows the fuel filters at the sides, and there is...

I've been thinking about making and installing a bow protector plate, although I haven't got round to it yet. I figured on using CAD/CAM technology to make a template - that's Cardboard Aided Design, Cardboard Aided Manufacture. Get the shape and size right with a piece of cardboard, then cut...

Yes wifi only needed if you have a video camera / cctv permanently running. Some GSM alarms have sensors that will take a photo and sms it to you when triggered by motion, but I haven't gone for that. For an alarm that will contact you with all the key functions only a sim card is required...

You don't need wifi to have an effective alarm. Just Google "12v GSM alarms" and eBay will bring up dozens of cheap alternatives that just send you a text with the condition (bilge pump, power failure, etc) or call you if a door sensor is triggered. What's good is that many of the systems use...

PeterB had the best answer to the problem in post #10. Accept that you can't stop the noise, but you can reduce the volume with a bit of effort behind the scenes. Insulate the affected area of the hull on the inside with sound absorbing material, so that the volume is diminished enough that the...

I more than doubled the amount of hot water capacity on board by adding a second calorifier in line after the existing one. Thankfully there was loads of room at the rear of the engine bay for it. Now there's enough hot water for showers for 4 people one after the other, plus washing up, a wash...

Interesting to read what people do. It seems some people put information in the log that I would class as boat maintenance. I have a separate book for that. At the front of the book, all the jobs that need doing are listed. As they get done, they are ticked off and dated. I always list the...

Removal of the moisture at source is intrinsically better, I would suggest, than treating the moisture with a special additive. As I said, if there's no water, the bugs can't be there.

Not wanting to cause an argument, but I disagree. There are filters, and then there are filters. Standard particulate filters, as fitted as OEM to most older engines I agree do not polish fuel. But coalescing filters that remove dissolved and entrained water and moisture content as well as...

Doctors Yin and Yang. Hmm....

WesK has made a very valid point. It's not as if the additional weight of a hot water tank is an issue on a displacement boat, so I really can't see any advantage whatsoever in going to a tankless system. Plus, from my experience with tankless systems it takes ages running the tap before the...

I'm amazed you only have a 6 gal hot water tank, if I've understood correctly. No wonder you're constantly having to use supplementary heating. But it's at a cost, and it's inefficient, even if it works for you. My boat originally had a 9 US gal hw tank, which ran out after 2 people had a...

Interesting link, thanks for that. But I'm really surprised they seem to be trying to heat all their water by electricity, no wonder their consumption is so high. There's no mention whatesoever of a calorifier, which would provide all the hot water they would need for up to 36 hours in a well...

Here's a link to the gauge that I fitted, for those who are interested. I went for the deluxe LCD display version. Lots of graduations, not just a few lights, and as I said no moving parts. The best part is the price - especially for you at current $/£ exchange rates! Waste Water Gauge | MCS...

I can't believe all this talk of flush counters. What a complicated / over the top way of working! It's equivalent to not being prepared to drive a car unless it has a range estimator on it so you know how many miles you have left. That's a relatively new feature on cars, but it's by no means a...

When we first bought our boat it had a 25litre hot water tank with engine heated coil calorifier and 240v immersion heater (2kw). After using the boat for a while we discovered that the 25 litre hot water tank wasn't really big enough. 2 people could have a shower, with just enough left over to...

I take the points above regarding charging system compatibility, and from that I can see why carbon foam batts are of interest. Two points though, Magnesium batteries could still be 20 years away - as stated in one of the links in your post. Also, Lithium supplies aren't limited at all...

But these carbon batteries aren't any better than Lithiums are they? Do they recharge quicker? - No Do they last longer - probably not, maybe about the same Can they take deeper DOD than Lithium? - No Are they lighter weight than Lithium? - No Are they cheaper than Lithium? - probably about...

I agree with Twistedtree. These batts may be a step change better than traditional LA, but then so is their price. On the other hand, so are LiFePO4 batteries. So the real question is, how do these compare to LiFePO4 batteries? Lithium batts also have many advantages, long life, deep discharge...

My fuel tanks are held down by standard type ratchet straps, like the kind you get holding loads down on a truck trailer. They are widely available in lots of sizes and are low cost. I used a really cheap one about an inch and a half wide to hold my second calorifier down, and use 2 more for...

The key to peace of mind is having the right instruments. As my engine room is directly below the helm in the wheelhouse it would be way too invasive and impractical to keep lifting the boards and having a peek mid journey. So I fitted 3x cctv cams, one on each shaft and one on the bilge and...

Volvo Penta recommend oil changes for my engines as 100 hrs or annually. As luck would have it I tend to do around 100 hrs use a year so it always gets changed about bang on the manufacturers recommended interval. And I know it was done by the previous owner who was meticulous about this. So...