Practical Boat Owner - February 2016

Letters

SEADOG OF

THE MONTH

Seadogs

galore!

Visit our seadog gallery at

http://www.pbo.co.uk/seadogs or scan

this QR code with your smartphone.

Send us your seadog photos for our

web gallery and your pet may be

lucky enough to become Seadog

of the Month and win you £

 This is my ‘Westie on

watch’: his name is Indy, after

Indiana Jones. He isn’t a very

good watchkeeper, though!

Mark G

http://www.twitter.com/p_b_o http://www.facebook.com/practicalboatownermag

Insulating boots are available to

fi t Deltron 20A crocodile clips

Nude: shocking

 Re ’17 battery chargers

tested’ (PBO December), I was

astonished to see that battery

chargers are still being sold with

what I call ‘nude’ crocodile clips.

Legally, this is OK as the charger

output is extra-low voltage:

practically, however, it is a

absolute disaster when the

chargers are used by a person

more accident-prone than the

TV character Mr Bean.

This person lived on a boat,

and he bought two Banner

Buffalo 12V batteries rated for

1,200 cold-cranking amperes.

Allegedly, the batteries were

former standby generators and

two years old when purchased.

The intention was to keep these

batteries in good condition by

charging them with shore

power, but for some reason

this person said: ‘The battery

chargers are always blowing-

up!’ I was puzzled by this, until

I noticed how ‘Mr Bean’ was

using them.

The Bean method. (1) Plug

Gland tidings

 Re ‘A fair system of charges’

(PBO January), I noted the

problem PBO editor David Pugh

had with the through-deck gland

from the solar panel on the PBO

Project Boat. I am just about to fi t

a panel to my Hunter Ranger, and

have found a side-entry deck gland

made by Index Marine which

should get around the problem of

the cable having to come up from

the panel and then down through

the gland. They come in different

sizes, designated SE1, 2 etc.

Andrew Poyner, by email

red boots are Farnell part

number 152-327 and the black

boots are part number 152-328.

Another useful modifi cation is to

get rid of split-shell mains plugs

that are really only suitable for

use in dry heated buildings.

Condensation can get between

the halves of the plug and give

one a nasty surprise!

David Norman, by email

Self betterment

 I have been researching an

incomplete self-steering system

that came with my Yarmouth 23,

and discovered that it is a

Quartermaster self-steering

mechanism for trim tabs, possibly

designed by Hasler. A company

called Trailer Marine Supplies can

supply the parts I need, but I am

interested to know if PBO readers

have any more information about

this mechanism?

David Hedley, Poole Yacht Club

The side-entry deck gland

PEYTON’S PICK FROM THE PAST

Taken from Practical Boat Owner November 1988

‘But darling, you normally like photos of your boat...’

charger into mains. (2) Carry

charger to the battery with the

crocodile clips swinging together.

(3) Complain that the charger has

‘blown-up’.

Help was at hand, however, from

Farnell Components, who sell

insulating boots that fi t Deltron 20A

crocodile clips. The good thing

about these is that they open wide

enough to grip a battery post. The

Nearly shafted by

careless work
 Re Martin Bence-Wilkins’ letter
‘Contractual obligations’ (PBO
December), I have a similar tale.
While I was in France this summer
my boat incurred a problem
wherein I was unable to select
forward or reverse gear while the
engine was running. Two French
mechanics inspected the problem
for four hours and said the problem
was in the gearbox, but declined to
take on the repair work. We sailed
back to UK and took the boat to a
well-known boatyard. They fi tted
new cables to the accelerator and
gearbox and also checked and
adjusted the engine alignment,
which involved uncoupling the

propshaft from the gearbox then

re-coupling it. On collection, they

demonstrated the improved engine

running and normal gear changing,

and assured me that the boat was

ready to take away.

My trip home was undertaken

over two days and involved a total

journey of about 25 miles: the

motoring time was 2.5 hours at

about 2,300rpm or less. When I was

about four miles from home and in

Southampton Water’s busy, narrow

channel, I started the engine to

motor out of the channel (the wind

was variable and light) and noted a

loud knocking from the engine,

which was at tickover speed.

Immediate inspection showed

the engine jumping violently on its

mountings and the propshaft in

vastly distorted rotation. I stopped

the motor quickly, and we managed

to sail into safer water. I climbed over

the engine and found three bolts

missing from the gearbox/propshaft

coupling and one remaining bolt

hanging on by two or three threads.

I found the missing bolts in the bilge

and reassembled them so that we

could get back to our mooring very

gently under motor. The boat is

now slipped for the winter, and the

boatyard has agreed to inspect it,

but will not admit liability.

In different conditions this could

have been a very serious problem.

I may now also have a damaged

propshaft and centre bearing.

Robin Bridger, by email

Insulating boots are available to fi t Deltron 20A crocodile clips