A typical week aboard our NARROWBOAT. Does it get any easier?
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- Опубліковано 2 вер 2023
- Leaving Bradford-on-Avon we head towards Devizes ready to tackle Caen Hill. Unfortunately it doesn't go so smoothly...
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About our boat:
1980 Harborough Marine/Black Prince
50' Cruiser Stern
1.5 BMC Diesel Engine
Completely empty, soon to be our water based retreat
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Danni & Joe - Авто та транспорт
Hi guys. Buy yourself a small 12v buzzer and connect it to your charge light. If the belt breaks the alternator will stop running and the light and the buzzer will come on. Also warns you if the alternator fails.
Ahh yeah there’s a hole in the control panel for a charge light, I’ll try and rig that up thanks
A buzzer is a excellent idea. If you loose your water pump/alternator belt you need to shut the engine off immediately to prevent engine overheating, which can get expensive very quickly. Also, when the belt is off with the engine running, the alternator voltage regulator will be pulling maximum rotor current (about 2 amps, which will be discharging your starter battery.
You need to clean the pulleys. Use emery tape, remove the old rubber and rough them up a bit.Once you’ve tensioned the belt re-tension it again after an hour or two’s running
That’s pretty much exactly what I did in the end and have them a light score almost. I need to re-adjust it though thanks for re-minding me!
New Sub, What a lovely couple you are,nice pleasant and natural together,there are so many Vloger's on here,but you're Natural
's .obviously iff your Alt/belt snaps you're not charging and you're water pump,s not cooling you're Engine,there,s lots off remedies, iff you have a Bar of hand soap rub it on the Belt,itt makes it sticky, also you could try con verting your mount over to a self adjuster which uses a strong Spring to constantly adjust the tension. Blessings .
Thank you very much!
Haven’t heard the soap one I’ll have to try it!
Danni, I think Joe was trying to confuse you when you were mooring. To get the backend in, you need the rope twice round the bollard so you can hold the boat against the engine. And Joe clearly demonstrated how not to do it when the rope slipped off 😅.
Handle of the windlass needs to go right through the belt loop, right up to the bits that go on to the paddle spindle.
Yeah that lesson didn’t go very well, I was sure that’s how I usually do it but it didn’t work 😫😂
It’s great to see you using a glass not drinking out of the bottle
Always!
Golden Bitter. Found online Massey's Golden Bitter by Heritage Brewing Company.
Oooh I’ll check it out! Cheers!
Love your videos, so relatable with the little mishaps lol, keeping it real 😂
😫😂 Thank you!
Looking forward to seeing you do Caen Hill. It should make fantastic footage. Enjoy.
Thank you we’re really pleased with how the video turned out (will be out on Sunday!)
Another beltin video guys ❤
Thank you!
Hi Danni,For your info, as you don''t seem sure, I looked up Winding Hole, and it's pronounced Win ding Hole not Wine ding. Hope this helps. Love the vlogs. BInge watching at the moment as we have been away caravanning for 3 weeks with no reception.
Handy to know! Thanks for watching 😊
Your Bike rake needs some triangle bracing, your fan belt can be over tighten and one must put the right belt on. I noticed your engine moving a little to much on its engine mounts these need to be checked as this can cause engine damage. The engine mounts are there to absorb vibration while in operation. Maybe more engine checks are needed to ensure no failures occur. The advice from 2954 is something you should implement as soon as possible a couple of dollars spent will save 1000's on motor replacement, I would also install a oil pressure, temp gauge.
Hi Danni and Joe. A great cruise. Interesting watching you moor up. The huge family of swans was very cute. Glad no damage was done when the engine belt failed. Excellent Vlog. Thank you. Spoolbox
Thank you! Yeah we only ever see probably three or four max with their parents so ten was a real shock 😂
Great Vvlog guys... you doing welll.....
Thank you! Yes both not too bad, we’re moving on fairly quickly now to get up to London!
Love watching you guy’s it’s almost like a comedy act 😊.
😂 thank you!
U guys need to get the tiller it very own spirit animal pin.
I want to complete re-furnish the tiller and the bearing etc so I’ll look into getting one then!
I have to say I'm finding your vlogs very useful and not only for the DIY but because your travelling along the K&A which is where I'm going to be getting my boat from next year so will be the first canal I go on so it's great to get a good preview
Ahh glad to hear they’re helpful! We loved the K&A!
Hey Guys Alternator belt etc. Watts = Amps x Volts. So using the Alternator rating in Amps x 13.8Vdc for example will give you wattage. Then look up how many watts per Horsepower. It's surprising how much horsepower is needed via belts. If Alternator has been changed you may need a double pulley on engine. So one belt for just for water pump and just another belt for Alternator that will need spacers on mtg bolts. Or twin belt pulley on engine, twin pulley on Alternator, twin pulley on water pump. Expensive. George
Thanks for that! Yeah does convert to a considerable amount of watts constantly going through a belt
Try a Kevlar wrapped belt, Those things are TOUGH. They come is almost every size.
Joe, the only reason belts fail is A/ age… B/ Too loose which would be obvious by noise or burning smell and flat batteries… C/ Pulleys out of line causing extreme wear on belt. Also with belt “Off” spin the water pump pulley by hand to see if it feels free or it binds/stiff? Water pumps fail if they start to seize up! Check out “Calcutta Boats” or “ASAP Marine” for spares for BMC 1500…👍🏻
Hope all goes well, take your time and be safe 👍🏻
Thanks for that!
So the one before was new, that slipped but ran the water pump (just slipping on alternator), it wore out so replaced again with a new one (that’s the one that snapped as I used a crowbar to lever it tight), I’ve since replaced with the toothed one, using the crowbar to tension again but leaving a little bit of slack and fingers crossed it’s holding - I used a straight edge and all appears inline, I did clean the pulleys off though as there was dust/sticky bits which definitely wouldn’t have helped
@@DanniandJoe we do ask a lot from what was originally an automotive set up, my engine for example would have been in an early Sherpa van, Morris Marina diesel or a taxi cab with no more than a old dynamo or early alternator. Today my poor old engine has to turn a 90amp Bosch alternator charging a 390AH battery bank via a 30amp Victron DC to DC charger! so I do expect it to wear belts etc a lot quicker, the trick with canal boats is “regular checks and maintenance” , I check my oil and coolant before “every trip”… 👍🏻
I did a couple of years work as youngster on the Caen hill flight during school holidays in the late 80's when it was disused so it could be opened again. Very fond memories although it would probably be illegal today under child labour laws.
Awesome! Ha yeah wouldn’t get away with that now!
Wind (as in what blows the branches on the trees 🌬) ing hole is the correct pronunciation. I used to get it wrong too!! Stay safe and enjoy your new adventures.
Yeah I was corrected before & thought I remembered the right way round but I’ve got it wrong again 😂😂 I was reading up on it and people still argue both sides as to the origin
Great video! I was told it's winding hole as in, the wind helps you make the turn. Seems to make more sense than winding (as in winding a clock) your way round. So I'm going with that. But I'm still not certain!
Yeah I remembered after it was wind 💨, although it makes you wonder why it’s pronounced windlass when it’s designed to wind 🕰️ 😂
Bentley's Yorkshire Brewery used to do a Golden Bitter Ale, I don't know if its the same.
Yates also do a Golden Bitter.
Yaaay! New waters 👏🏻 look forward to seeing you tackle Caen hill! You got this
Thank you! It was actually quite enjoyable thanks to the helpers 😂😂
Love to I’ve on a narrow boat
I'd just say your both doing great, whether in a boat or house problems come up. Take care.
Thank you! Appreciate it
Lovely cruise. Hope the belt holds out. My old Reno kept going thru belts and was because the tensioners were faulty whatever that means lol. Hence I’m electric now 😂. Best wishes ❤
Thanks Trevor! I’d love to convert the boat to electric when the time comes and the engine doesn’t want to work anymore
From the video it appears that your belt is running quite deep into the pulley vee, it should run on the shoulders and not on the bottom of the pulley. The length looks right but check the belt width. If this is not right the belt will appear to tension but squeal and wear really quickly
Ah okay I’ll see if there’s a size up!
Cheers Joe &Danni, thanks for sharing, you replacing fan belt, and oil check. What sort of Drone is yours? Later,s 🎉😂
The belt was probably slipping to melt and snap like that. The toothed gates belts will usually grip better and last longer. Living aboard puts a lot of strain on belts because of the battery charging demand so worth checking before each trip. An over temperature switch and alarm might help give advance warning of a belt failure or engine getting too hot
Thanks for that! Yeah fingers crossed the toothed belt replaced I’ve fitted seems to be doing the job!
Hi there. Jon says try Gates fan belts. We had the same problem and check that pullies are all in line. Great video 😊😊
Thanks for that!
Other folks might have said the same but you could tie a line around your bikes and onto the pushpit to reduce their weight on the rack.
Ahh yeah that’s a good idea!
Hi guy's you really know your stuff. The video is great. Love the filming and drone shots high above the sky. So magnificent to see. Your both are professionals. The details you put into it is amazing. Fabulous 😍😍 you make it look easy ❤
Thank you very much really appreciate lovely comments like this!
When it goes right it is beautiful, when it goes wrong it is a complete pain. Get a boat, they said, it will be fun, they said.
Has Vincent gone to a new home yet?
😂😂thank you!
No not yet, someone did leave a deposit but couldn’t complete sale!
Heat in the engine bay is not only a problem for an alternator, duck boards down don't help either.
Cruising air frames best with clip on pram cover when you are forced to cruising in bad weather.
A camera in the engine bay with screen to view might be doable.
A ratchet windlass for those pesky stiff paddles a solution.
Something is not quite right if fan belts keep on snapping misalignment seems the likely cause.
A chat about it with engine manufacturers should give possible solutions.
Hope you are both well
Safe journey travels.
Thanks for your time and efforts to produce your volgs.
Thank you!
Yeah I’ve always thought there doesn’t seem to be enough ventilation in there, I’ll take a look as to what I can come up with!
Your going to have to install a serpentine belt and pulleys on that. For the sake of the money it will cost it will save your engine and battery when either your engine overheats and kills the head gasket (or worse) or the alternator keeps letting the battery go flat and kills the battery for good. Make sure those pulleys are perfectly aligned too (as you probably already know). Happy cruising...
Cheers yeah I might have to look into upgrading it to run on its own pulley!
Hi guys, you need to check that your pulled are correctly in line Get yourself a straight edge and put it across the engine pulley, and it should touch both sides of the alternator pulley and the water pump pulley. If not, this is why you’re chewing belts
Thanks for that yeah I did check with a straight edge but seems fine! I’ve got a new belt on now with teeth and touch wood it seems to be holding (with slightly less tension than the last) so hopefully it doesn’t snap!
I love a pint of massey's golden bitter its my favourite bitter the last time I had massey's was in a old town pub in Diss Norfolk lovely stuff not drank it in about 5-6 years now as I can't get it in the West Midlands I've moved to Brownhills Walsall with my wife now
Hi Danni and Joe, love you videos, from experience the cause of shredding a belt like that and in that fast time scale will most likely be a miss alignment of the pulleys, this can be caused by a failing bearing in either the water pump, alternator or the crank shaft, the alignment doesn’t have to be far out to cause this. It could just be that the alternator brackets are either bent or are bending during use. Hope this helps
Hi Danni and Joe, I'm glad your cruise problems were not the type that cause injury, but more of a learning experience.
Joe, in addition to the other comments about the belt failure, I wanted to add that your alternator is mounted incorrectly (possibly mounted that way from the factory). From the video, I am only seeing about 60 degrees of belt contact with the alternator pulley, which is not enough. To guarentee slip free belt performance, you need about twice that much belt contact. As is, about the only thing you can do to partially remedy the problem, is get the belt super tight, which can be difficult without a special tool. The best tool I have found for this is called a "Belt Tensioning Jack". It's kind of a turnbuckle rod that pushes against the alternator and crankshaft pulleys, making the tightening job much easier.
Thanks Bill! That makes a lot of sense about not having enough contact. Wondering if a tensioner could be fitted to push the belt up and hold it around more of the alternator pulley.
Although it does seem to be holding now with the upgraded toothed belt and what I think is the right amount of tension
@@DanniandJoe I'm sure a bent tensioner would help if (1) you can find one and (2) you can mount it with a very sturdy bracket. Then you could increase the belt length another 2 inches (50 mm) or so for proper fitment. Anyway, let's see how the new belt holds up. You will see the most problem with slip when you start your cruise early in the morning when the leisure batteries are discharged from nighttime use and (of course) no appreciable solar power coming in. The alternator will be killing itself to get that battery voltage back up to 14 volts and if the engine is running at a slow idle, the torque required to spin the alternator will be very high. In such instances (where the leisure batteries are significantly discharged), I suggest running the engine speed at 1,500 to 2,000 rpm for the first few minutes to help keep the alternator cool.
Hi Guy's, great to see you both again.
I see you are having trouble with your fan/drive belt tightening, I use to use a lever to tighten my old fan belt on my car alternator, but not sure on a narrow boat engine.
Try levering the alternator, while one of you guys tightens the fixing bolts, leaving a quarter inch play, then secure tightening.
Hope this helps it stops any loosening?
Hope you have better luck than you've been experiencing.
Loving you're Vlogs 😊
Thanks for that! Yeah I used a mini crowbar to tighten it this time and that’s when it snapped, I’ve tried it with a little less tension and seems better
Really enjoyable ! Thanks guys
Thank you!
I'm with you on the Guinness thing , it is so much better in Ireland, it doesn't travel well , 😁👍
100%!
Hi Dannie and Joe. Definitely looks like you needed a barge pole. Hope you managed to sort out the fan belt issue. Take care. Nick
😂😂 cheers Nick!
We used to live in hillperton for a couple of years and wa liked along the canal with our jack russell,keep up the good work ,how is your camper van going or has it gone now✅🍺🇬🇧
Lovely area!
Yes had quite a bit of interest, someone left a deposit but couldn’t go ahead with the sale unfortunately!
you guys you are about as organised as a piss up in a brewery, walked from Bristol train station to Reading along the Avon and the canal in 3 days on my own to raise money for Cancer research
Really good video!
Thanks you!
Check that your pulleys are all in alingment. If they are not all lined up, it will wear your belts.
Cheers yeah seem to be aligned!
Another great shinanagin video ,loved it have great week 😊
Thank you!
hi Dannykins Joe still waiting for the U F O footage 🤔
Hi Danni and Joe, nice vlog.... shame the Lionesses lost ! When you were getting ready to go to pub Danni took her medication out ? What are the meds for ? Now looking forward to seeing you master the Kane Hill flight !!!!😯. You can do it !!!
Thank you!
She’s very low on iron so mainly iron and a few other vitamins as she was nearly anaemic!
@@DanniandJoe OK, thank you Joe for answering it makes all the difference. Hope she is OK. Love you two ! Please the care.🙏.
Hi D and J please stop me wetting myself watching danni Moor up, I know it's not funny at the time, but we've all been there. Danni get yourself some grippy gloves Joe knows what I mean, they really do help holding the mooring lines when tying up. They will stop you hurting your hands. Look after yourselves, be safe and have fun. Joe you can change the pulley wheel on the alternator for a wider one it might help, and then get a wider belt. ???
😂😂 cheers!
Yeah that’s an option for a wider belt, the most expensive part is the pulley on the crankshaft
Hi Joe and Danni - you produce great videos - keep it up! I think the problem could be, and I don’t know but if you have Lithium batteries, they take so much more energy out of the alternator I.e. higher currents. This results in a higher force required to generate energy and charge the batteries. Originally, the alternator would have just charged lead acid batteries - requiring less rotational force and therefore, less force on the pulleys and belt. Maybe a thicker/wider belt might sort it ( with pulleys on the alternator and drive from the engine? Additionally, think about having a separate drive to the water pump?
😀👍
Cheers!
Use a straight edge and see if your alternator pulley is perfectly in line with your water pump pulley, misalignment will eat belts.
Cheers yeah seems to be aligned OK
You passed me! I didn't see you though :( I think I may have been bang on with my four week prediction though! (Semington swing bridge)
Also, there are glow worms at Seend, they might still be glowing at night - they were a fortnight ago anyway
Although the football talk just made me realise there's a time lapse and you actually passed me in Seend a fortnight ago aha
Ahh yeah already past! We did see the glow worms though how cool!!!
Golden bitter was my usual pint forty years ago, lovely 😊
Ahhh lovely!
Who brewed it?
@@markbeach7253 someone else commented saying Massey’s!
Did I miss it? What happened to the bird on the chimney?
Danni may have got it caught in a hedge!
Can u get a drill attachment for the locks gate things? Seems like hard work and slow
Yeah I guess an impact wrench would work - It's quite nice getting the exercise in to be honest though!
You might need a different sized hitch ball for the bike carrier.
Yeah there’s the older smaller sized ones isn’t there?
@@DanniandJoe Indeed
❤
Thank you!
We are currently busy building a narrowbaot from a historic Hull upwards. We have just finished fabricating the whole steel to from steel and are going g to be needing some electric doing and wondered if this is a project you might want to work on and cost for us?
Sorry about the delay in getting back to you! That’s something I’d love to get my teeth into but our schedules packed for at-least a year or so!
Curiosity question but how deep is the average canal?
So what do you think was wrong with the drone? Just purchased the DJI Mini 2 so a bit nervous of it yet 😱
It’s over two years old to be fair, it’s a connection issue between the drone and controller. It only happened after an update which is annoying! It’s built in safety features bring it back down to land anyway it’s just difficult when on a moving boat!
Tights as an emergency
Yes my dad always used to say that!
Nobody will go to Dignitas anymore.
The problems are there to be solved and so far you both have solved them well ... apart from a bird now and then
By the way ... why did you use helmets on your vacation but not now?
Cheers!
We don’t tend to wear them if just cycling on the tow path but any roads we do (although forgot last time!)
Never get off the Boat. As said in Apocalypse Now….
Hi Guys, Good luck with the 29 Locks! WoW
Loving your Vlog's
Thank you!