Recent content by Nickcf

You might not even need a wifi dongle for your laptop. If you have a smartphone, some of them (ie HTC android) can act as a wifi hotspot and talk directly to your laptop using the laptop wifi connection. Only discovered this recently (although had the phone for a year!) and it works really...

Assume you have checked that water intake slots in the hull are clear ie not partially blocked with antifoul? This would reduce the water flow through the system if so.

Bit odd if it is faulty wiring why it is displaying 12v at both meters. What do the meters read with the engines off (but ignition on!)? If the wiring is faulty it would have to be presenting just the right resistance to cause the meters to read 1.5v less than actual - which is unlikely. Are...

I think this is usually caused by slight air pressure in the dipstick tube which seems to be greater on the underside of the dipstick (probably because the flat dipstick is resting against the tube). It's always the underside which reads a lower level. The cure is to leave the dipstick in for...

If available in the states use Farecla G3 compound the remove the dirt and then polish (above water line) with a good quality polish such as Autoglym

sound poor to me as well- I get about 1 mpg from 2x480hp Volvos. Maybe the OP is pushing it in displacement mode as this drinks fuel but doesn't get you anywhere, tickover or planing speed is best.

I wouldn't bother so long as the oil hasn't got any sign of water in it etc (would appear frothy). Cars seem to run for 2-3 years between services these days (my car tells me when a service is due and I've already had it for 2 1/2 yrs and it's still at least a year away....) so why is it...

Thanks for info. Does the unit need to be connected to the laptop usb port to work or can it get its usb power from a local power supply?

Can anyone recommend a good repeater so that I can access marina wifi on my laptop more reliably. I can't use an external aerial as my laptop has built in wifi. The problem seems to be with the transmit power from the laptop. Using it outside does improve things slightly but makes reading...

So did you buy red or white? If they are selling white only then go somewhere else. If you bought red then you have been conned as they will be pocketing the extra 'tax' that you have paid. As they charged you 99p I suspect it wasn't white as that is cheaper than a supermarket currently....

if the inverter gets warm/hot- then yes, that is where the 'lost' energy is going.

I have done for the last three years (International Interspeed Ultra) and previously, after pressure washing, the hull looked very clean. The boat lives in salt water (english channel). Is it necessary to antifoul every year or could I risk missing a year and just lift and wash?

[ QUOTE ] I also wonder why there are not two agreed notional splits between use for propulsion and domestic needs - one for motorboats and one for sailing vessels. The splits must be significantly different, assuming that the sailors are making proper use of their free propulsive force, of...

[ QUOTE ] what are the margins on red diesel? maybee 5 pence a liter,so up you go with your boat and tank up with 50 liters,the guys just made 2.50 and it takes him an extra 20 mins to fill in the paperwork and fill you up,businesses cant run on that sort of return,it may well be that some fuel...