I have a perfectly working automatic bilge pump on my steel canal boat. However, due to its design, it always leaves about an inch (2.5 cm) of standing water behind. Because a damp environment inside a metal boat is a recipe for rust, this always worries me. When the main bilge pump kicks in, it removes high volumes of water very quickly, but that last little bit is incredibly annoying.
This was a quick test checking we could embed and customise a map for use on another website (Love Canals). Developing this for them ment we can have made this available to other websites to use for non commercial purposes (at our discretion). If you are a commercial user (Hire Boat company, Marina Group etc etc) we are happy to chat and develop custom maps). The map links are unique to your…
Slowly we are redirecting the map on this website to our new home for maps www.canalmaps.co.uk, it will take a while as I am tidying up as I go. So please don’t be to surprised if the get a redirection to the Canal Maps website, this site will remain but will be more of a blog or our travels and upgrades etc to our boat Floydtilla. Also soon you can get a version of the Canal Maps Maps for…
Whether you are cruising the Grand Union, moored up on the Kennet & Avon, or navigating the northern reaches of the system, there is one thing every boat-based business needs: to be found. As many of you know, I’ve been working on the Canal Traders Map over at canalmaps.co.uk. It’s a project designed to bridge the gap between the people living and traveling on the towpath and the…
This a quick test of the Canal Maps Boat Log to see if we can embed a map on a different website, the map is completely dynamic, any updates will update here as well. Try pressing a few of the buttons to see what happens.
Since January we have been developing new software for our maps. It is all new code, with thousands of extra locations already added. We have approximately 1,000 items on our fix list, and thousands more locations scouted out and ready to add. Among the new features is a Layers option in the top right corner of the map. This lets you switch certain layers on or off — so you can choose to…
The problem has always been: How much water do I have it the tank? This is part 3, the development of our solution. Software development is now pretty much complete, and the User Interface is detailed below. Next will come the installation process, but this will have to wait till warmer weather. Next Part 4 – installation and testing…
To see what happens I decided to give an AI a shot at assisting me with the code development. The chosen AI this time was Gemini from google (Other code writing AI’s are available). What had to do first was write down what I wanted the AI to produce, what IDE (Arduino) I was using, the hardware configurations, boards and accessories and how they are wired together.
This is the eternal question normally just before taking a shower or putting on the washing machine. On a boat first hired we had a water gauge, but it did not work very well, most of the time it did not move. When we got our own boat, it did not have a gauge and we tended to fill up as often as we could. I researched retro fitting a sensor in the tank, but it seemed to be a lot of hassle with…
While in Birmingham this year we noticed a couple of Accessible Moorings Signs, so started the project to find as many as possible and to produce a map specifically to make them easy to find and also add them to our other maps. Now these signs are not everywhere that you find an Accessible mooring, many of them that the CRT have classified as such are just normal visitor moorings…
Having check our database of locations we have a little bit of work sorting some anomalies that have arisen over the past couple of years, but for the moment this gives a guide to what we have done so far. BUT – this page updates as new records are added to the database..
As you will know we went to see Robbie Cummings on tour a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed the Robbie Cummings YouTube Channel and the subsequent TV series. One of his most popular segments in the YouTube channel was the “Pub of the week” section, so as I already map most of the canal & river pubs, I decided to mark the ones mentioned on his channel and put them in a map homage to his channel .
We were almost too late to get tickets for this event. When I booked there were only 10 seats left and only two place where we could sit next to each other. WOW I was surprised as the event was held at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton, which is probably about as far from a canal as you can get. If you have watched his YouTube Channel or see the TV series Canal Boat Diaries you will…
Our plan was to be in Birmingham for about a week, walking about and taking pictures while enjoying the city, but as normal our plans change. We initially moored up on the Sheepcote Street 4 Day Visitor Moorings, an ideal place for our walking trips this visit. One of our first visits was to The Coffin Works where we took the guided tour. Heather explained the history and process that…
Our plan for this cruise was to initially travel to Worcester to meet up with Mary, she wanted to come and visit and collect some stuff to take home to Cambridge. From Worcester we would then travel the full length of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal filling in any missing photographs of places on the way to add to the maps and collecting new locations as we find them. We arrived on the…
The Pen Museum is based in the former pen factory of W. E. Wiley and explains the history of pen nib production and development in an around Birmingham. The factory was built in 1863 and was named the Albert Works after Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert. Production ended in 1876 after a merger with another pen manufacturers Josiah Mason and Perry’s & Co The building was renamed the…
We have fitted two 425W solar panels on tilting mounts, so we could have 850W of solar available on the perfect day, but the best we have seen and I don’t watch this all the time has been about 725W on a good day with the sun directly overhead. We have a Victron MPPT 100/50 solar controller, I have articles on our solar installation if you wish to read them. We normally have our…
This is cafe/gallery is well worth hunting down, even if you are not into the art on display, which at the time of our visit was mostly black and while photography, the cafe part is amazing. The Medicine Bakery is very well hidden but in plain site on New Street in Birmingham. The entrance is just a doorway next to a new Poppeyes restaurant, could easily be a doctor’s office or a fancy…
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