The weather has been a little challenging - lots of rain and high winds so on one day I literally hunkered down on the boat and read and slept ! A bit of cabin fever sent me off on a mini cruise to explore the local winding holes the next day. One draw of these moorings was the frequency (and no locks) of winding holes. There is one at the end of the moorings but it is well populated with boats from the Shebdon Wharf - a cratch cover making business I understand.
No problem just 40 minutes further on and there is a nice open country winding hole. You guessed it a boat was approaching as I winded.... he did close in on my to the point I waved him through as my bow was deep into the turn, this had the positive effect of dragging me backwards when I was over the 90 degrees in the winding hole.
I returned to my mooring in under two hours - about 1.45 whereas Fradey was two hours and two locks. I took lunch, a wee stop and tea stop then set off again to the winding hole in Grub Street cutting just past the wharf with the Rolls Royce in it !!
Yes you guessed it another boat approached. This winding hole is quite tight so he respectfully held back while I turned and tried without success to take a picture of a Kingfisher - a camera blog is pending.
Then a slow cruise back in failing light - about an hour and a half so I was back to where I started. I prefer to moor looking up the country so's to speak. I will have to alternate as the sun only hits the water side so to prevent uneven bleaching Percy will need spinning every now and again.
The test was the cooling system that did its job, got hot as it should to aid proper combustion but not anything like as hot as the Heaven and Hell cruise.
What did not fair well this little stop over were my batteries. They are knackered, they get to 100% on the Smartgauge but a bit of lights and pumps plus some telly and they are below 11 volts in the morning and we get an E02 on the Smartgauge - below a safe voltage level.They are consumables, expensive consumables but their time is up.
So is it 3 x 105ah as current, or 3 115's or even 3 135's? I relocated the starter so I could get three leisures in the battery box, so I am tempted to put in 2 135's and drop the capacity 40 ah.
My power audit suggests about 85 ah per day with no solar input. Therefore for two days use - no engine running I'd need 170 ah but to only go to 50% charge that would mean I'd need 340ah of capacity. So 3 x 115 would do me - but that is if I do not want to run every day or cruise.
I'm still unsure, I'd like to drop to two leisure and one starter to de clutter my lovely engine room. Then it's type, cheap sealed lead acid as I have now would be under £300 I could go glass mat type that I understand can go down to 20% and recharge faster but are much more expensive - certainly for 135's but a battery that can go down to say 35% is attractive.
More research and thinking but for sure what's there is Fubarr'd
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