Vintage Boat Electrics

[Murphyv310]

                   

These are the LED lights I use in the shed, all 12v and fed from batteries and solar panels, I also have 12v fed into the house and use this for lighting too.
There is still mins lighting but mostly in the shed I use the LED's I also feed some other 12v items from the system.

[Nowhere-Man]

There is only one problem. I think I want to keep the boat with a seventies theme. I mean, it's an unwanted wreck I restored over time in fits and starts. It still has its original navigation lights. My best bet may be put a breaker between the tube lights and any LED lights. Luckily I have 2 LED lamps 12 years old. I am just having a break as my drill ran out of charge. I just had a KB and McMichael radio dropped off. Interesting projects. Much easier than my German set as only the standards MW and LW. And typical repair scenario of broken pot, old caps and broken dial chord. The work I have now is plain scary. I am doing great with the boat but I'm a slow worker and I don't know how to cope with all this maintenance.

[Murphyv310]

12 year old LED's will be rubbish as the technology has come a long way since. Don't forget those old fluorescent 12 v lights have an inverter and will play havoc with your AM radios. If it were me I'd fit LED strip lights in your existing enclosures.

[Nowhere-Man]

Well, the water is now up and running. And I seem to have a very unusual tap. It's pressure controlled by a potentiometer. When you turn the dial the tap gushes water into the sink and the force is regulated by the dial. All narrowboats have shining taps but for my fibreglass I wanted to keep with the vintage feel. So, I have this unusual electric tap.
Time to speed it up as I need to have a functional boat. Next stage is the shower.
All the lights I collected so I have many. They are all now obsolete.
I will try again with the Jabsco. Sometimes you need to make a fresh effort. For now my Shurflo is pumping great and it sits next to the sink on a wooden platform.

[Nowhere-Man]

A lot of the basic design had to be re-thought. My shower drain plug outlet was facing the wrong way for a start. It's had to be done in stages but I am close now to having a proper shower room.
As of yet I have no alternator. The outboard is pull start and has no alternator. Solar will help and maybe I could make a DIY wind generator.
Anyway the boat now has AC sockets, RCD and MCB safety trip and light circuit. It also has a sink and tap. It's not on a par with the average narrowboat but it will be far less maintenance.

[Nowhere-Man]

Boat work is pretty hard. I've just had to lie down. I finally converted a shabby recess into a nice shower-room. I used a combination of ceramic and wall tiles. Today I did some more painting. Nearly ready to lay down my home-made shower tray.
This boat is full of radios such as McMichael, K.B., Pye and Bush. However, I have 3 radios to finish before I can look at them. I have a wheelhouse to build, an alternator belt to change and solar power to install. Really I somehow took too much on.

[Nowhere-Man]

Yesterda I was unwell. Dehydrated and fatigued. There was only me working in the heat and I got too hot. Even bigger factor was hayfever. Pollen count must be astronomical.
I built a neat boatman's cabin that looks very garden like, made of timber. The roof has curved cross beans like wicker work, soon to be canvased. I built a window and painted the whole thing in a red oxide base.
Electrics will be double pole protected and no DC ground. I do have both shower and water supply pump working and both were repaired so I saved 200 quid. Today I am not going to be out in the heat if it escalates. Certainly no good for glossing.
Someone I know has bought a 130 year old iron boat with a riveted hull. Far superior to modern steel hulls. The hull is solid. Built to last and the guy will live on it.