Rope wrapping railings for Arctic cold, and a DIY 12V bilge pump for expedition lifeboat. Ep100 [4K]

To HELP CHARGE ALAN'S BATTERIES for the journey north, to buy merch, and to support my videos and help them grow in scope and quality here: www.alexhibbert.com/aho
EPISODE 100
I know these aren't very substantial, but I'll share them with you anyhow. Bigger plans afoot. In the meantime - cordage wrapping and a new pump.
Model: NME A/S (Husnes, Norway) 7.5m TELB
Engine: Bukh DV48 turbo diesel
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
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Thanks to vanguardstorage.co.uk/ for warehousing facilities.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

It appears a handful of people are fixated on the location of the Tay Bridge (which is unsurprisingly over the Tay, not the Forth). Yes, I'm aware, and whilst the voiceover could have been clearer, the order I was referring to was Tay Bridge (open 1878 and collapsed a year later), Forth Bridge (open 1889) presumably having taken the tragedy into account with respect to design.

[@HDSME]

Great job Alex! Orange rope great idea and well done they will shrink thight look sharp! Cheers from Tony USA

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers

[@user-sd4gw2sp2i]

Bilge pump good move!

[@DataRew]

Thanks for the regular uploads for so long, Alex! I enjoy them quite a lot, and between you and the rebuild of Duracell, my landlocked arse gets quite a regular dose of the sea! ❤❤❤

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers

[@The_Duck_Pond]

Wow … a dedicated video - well half - to a suggestion I’m responsible for? Looking much more nautical … Impressive and I’ll have to set aside some fuel money. Now for some real flair … orange and black Turks Head knots on the ends to secure the cordage (supper glue and or epoxy for safety’s sake). Safe travels

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

😂cheers

[@Leightr]

For the wraps; If you would like a bit neater and more enduring tie-off at the end; doing a loop and pull-through might be a good alternative. Same technique for wrapping bowstrings, securing guides onto fishing rods, etc. At the start you leave a few inches of cord along the rail and then wrap over it such that the end is buried under a dozen or so wraps. When you get to the other end you take a small loop (that you cut from the cord prior to starting) and when you are a few inches from finishing you lay the loop along the rail and wrap over it to the end, leaving some loop exposed. You then take the free end of the cord, tuck it into the loop, and pull the loop back through, again burying the end under a dozen or so wraps of cord. For added tightness once you have pulled the end free, before you cut it off flush, you can grab and twist the whole wrapped section and work any slack down to the end where you can give the tucked end bit an extra tug to take up the slack. edit: I'm sure you're already aware of this technique but if not it's also handy for semi-permanent field repairs of poles/rods etc if all you have is cordage to effect the fix.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

The ends can certainly be redone if I get some time to watch ropework KZbins.

[@RichieKeane]

Nice to meet you and Alan, forgot you might be taping sorry if i messed up any footage...

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

No problem! Good to meet you.

[@strider2175]

ALAN! Nice to have more information. Looking forward to tomorrow's update. Cheers!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

👌

[@gafrers]

Great to see a new video. I personally really like the orange rope.

[@alanmahaffey3265]

Really wish I could attend the London gathering but 5,353 miles is a bit much for an evening's entertainment.

[@johnc6339]

Lightweight 😂

[@dcallan812]

the orange rope will look like Alan unravelling if it trails behind him. 🤣

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Pessimists!

[@lv_woodturner3899]

I had not appreciated the need to wrap metal railings for winter work. It makes sense. A good update. Sadly now that Alan is moored for the winter we are not able to get footage of the sights of the coastlines as you travel. So many wonderful sights you captured on the legs up the coast. The 12V bilge pumps can be a major benefit in future legs. Liquids on the floor can make for slippery conditions especially in rocky water conditions, so very good to be able to get any liquids removed fast.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Alansøn III and I will go for a winter trip.

[@Icefumy]

That pump looks like an membrane pump, which only pumps clean water, as dirty water would stop the valves in it from working correctly. An filter might help, but small particulates might still ruin the pump, not to mention reduce the flow.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I'm slightly confused. Many of the diaphragm/membrane pumps I can see are specifically marketed to transfer sediment.

[@martinhs8364]

You'll find that most manual bilge pumps are membrane pumps

[@Icefumy]

@AlexHibbertOriginals @@martinhs8364 yeah, the manual ones have big membranes.. these pumps have small ones. I got an similar model, it's manual told its 'for clean water only'.

[@UKvet246]

That's a bad choice of pump, it looks like the same type of pump we have on our narrowboat for domestic freshwater.

[@whiskeymonk4085]

Small suggesion: "nubs" spaced a foot and a half apart on the railings might come in very handy. Ice builds up over rope and can still make it slick as snot. As an ex Bering Sea fishermen I have some experience regarding this problem and thus a suggested solution. Something for the meat of your hand to rest against as you are being swung side-to-side could prove to be important. There are lightweight plastic clamps out there for cheap that would do the trick. Might want to change the bolts out with stainless though. Just a thought. Did you put handles next to the head so a person can "hold on" in bigger seas? Just curious if my one and only other suggestion was worthy to the cause. Go Alan!

[@teeanahera8949]

I thought those bolts were stainless steel.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks, and useful from someone who's been on the Bering Sea! Some of the cleverer wrapping/whipping techniques include nubs in the design, so your solution to improve my wraps may be the trick.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Correct.

[@mr_gerber]

@@teeanahera8949 I think s/he was referring to the bolts on the suggested cheap plastic clamps as candidates for replacement?

[@napster7825]

You might want to go ahead and wrap the uprights now. Even if you don't grab them, you will still need to break the ice off of them to keep from getting to top heavy. A little work now in the nice weather is better than even a little extra work when 30° below and stormy.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Maybe wise.

[@robertmurray8966]

We had problems crossing from Harris to sky in a drascome dabber when the bilge pump became blocked with paper tin covers ( all tins were packed in the bilges for added ballast) .....lt was a rough sea crossing and we had to bail with a bucket for 6 hrs......mind you the meals from Sky to Oban were interesting ....ambrosia creamed rice with mince comes to mind not forgetting custard with garden peas .So a pump strainer would be a great option...remember when ever you need a pump ,you will need it to work! And keep working!

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks - yes I have a strainer on my large 'emergency' fast pump. This is more for slower deliberate emptying from small areas.

[@sethg6157]

Thanks for the update :) I might like to make a small comment. I once had a similar pump and silicon tube set up. Mine worked really well for a good while but I noticed that it eventually developed a nasty habit. The silicon tubbing would some times get jostled and and the tube on the inlet side would collapse and choke off the pump. The pump would loose its suction for a moment and the hose would uncollapse which would let the pump pull back up to full speed which would again collapse the tube. It would then rapidly cycle like this not moving much water at all. I eventually gave up on the silicon tubing and went with a more rigged nylon tubing. That said though I was using mine for a more mission critical role so I'm sure your set up will work well for the less intensive application you mentioned, but I thought it might be a weakness you might like to know about :)

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Thanks.- yep I mentioned using a thick tube wall, as I found the same when I tested thin normal silicone tube. This one holds shape nicely even when the suction is strong.

[@greylocke100]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals You might want to add a short sections of stainless steel spring into the suction and, just 4-6 cm. You may need to clamp it into place and the silicone itself would collapse, but with the spring in the end, it won't and you will get a firm area to clamp on with. Also is that pump rated for salt water? If it isn't, you will need to thoroughly flush it after each use, or the diaphragm it uses will become brittle, also the greases it uses internally may not be rated for salt water. And it looks like a centrifugal pump in my RV, there is a small diaphragm for when it self-primes that is the one I am referring to. I was able to rebuild mine with a rebuild kit, but if you embed it, you may lose that option. So a spare maybe something to put in the parts locker.

[@XMarkxyz]

That is the right and only acceptable rope's colour

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Wise man

[@daylen577]

Have you looked at the covers you can get for in-house radiator pipes? They make some that are basically cheap open-cell foam (which is obviously not what you'd want, because that's going to start rotting away very quickly), but they also make very nice looking sleeves that do a great job of isolating. For the harder to reach spots, that might be a good way of still having a few key spots wrapped in a way that doesn't slip but also doesn't require tightening a piece of rope too much. You could wrap it around the conduit, then if you ever need to put more cables through you just open it up again and it comes right off. You'd have to test a few different options, but they work on freezing/frozen pipes in damp garages and don't mind condensation, so that might not be a terrible option.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

That might be a more flexible approach for the conduit areas, thanks.

[@87xfute]

Hi Alex, just a thought mate, what about wrapping the grab handles next to the hatchway doors on the outside and the hatch handles on the outside with that orange cord if there's any left over that is, haha. Seeya Rob

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yep - plenty left and eyeing up more things to wrap.

[@GingerPiston]

Hopefully not a daft question, but wouldn't you need to wrap the vertical grab rail (handle?) next to the door?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes. To be wrapped.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

I know absolutely nothing about winter weather, but is wrapping the metal truly advised? My intuitive thought is that if ice forms on a smooth surface, you can get it to pop off somewhat easily (like from an ice cube tray). But wouldn't the rope act like a giant wick, or the fibers in fiberglass? Becoming embedded inside whatever ice forms, giving it a solid foundation to hang on to, and meaning you must break the ice apart rather than knock it loose? I'd love to be told how I'm wrong. Anyway, if I'm not wrong, the last thing you'll want to have to do is de ice that top railing in bad seas.

[@MinePossu]

​​@@PsRohrbaughI dont know much about boating in winter. But it should help it to not form a smooth surface allowing for a better grip. And i think the rope somewhat is like a sponge under the ice when struck it will give enough for the ice to crack. I think would be pretty hard to remove ice from long smooth piece of pipe than in pieces.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Polypropylene doesn't adhere to very many things, especially water/ice. It doesn't adsorb water like other ropes. I've found in the past, perhaps counter-intuitively, that ice forms on metal like a limpet to a rock.

[@CDWCAULDRON]

On the exposed Nuts Put Rubber compound On them, from experience Rubber compound on exposed Nuts and bolts

[@Isnt_that_Aaronic]

Loving the content. Thanks for keeping at it. Looking forwerd to your scotish trips.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers

[@richardvause1607]

You where considering ways to stabilise hull at sea. I saw these options

[@simonbletsoe7059]

Can't you get hold of a manual bilge pump. I mean, I can piss harder than that. Wrapping looks nice. I dig your videos and look forward to more. Japan.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I have a large manual bilge pump. This one is to carefully empty a couple of small areas of bilge. I don't want a powerful jet of water.

[@simonbletsoe7059]

Thanks for the reply, Alex. Love to Alan. Peace.

[@scottbroadfoot3530]

Mixing the forth bridges with the tay Bridge at Dundee isn't a good look for a sasanach visiting.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I'll assume you're using the term out of neighbourly affection and not a bitter xenophobia.

[@scottbroadfoot3530]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals lol,, I'm from Fife. Sasanach means lowlander therefore I am one too. Most people just don't know it is a highlander term for everyone south of the highlands. I think your pick was the old tay bridge in Dundee. Lots died making the forth rail bridge, but i don't think there was a bridge before it. Just a ferry, as north and south Queensferry. I do like watching the endeavours of Alan. So All Thi Best for things to come.

[@benderbender1233]

😎🤙

[@BadenBadenSwitzerBaden]

...and the line is less lickable in sub-zero climates. oh, sorry, spools of orange poly-pro-pa-lick-a-rope. go ALAN go.

[@davidrumbelow]

Strange thought would pool noodles work instead of rope round the railings for wraps.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Probably not that grippy, resilient or easy to secure.

[@Zigge]

You might want to fit a basket on the end of the suction hose so it will not clog up when one of yer dirty oil filled sockes get sucked on to it.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I couldn't find an inlet filter of the right size, but will keep looking.

[@nickhomer40]

Not sure if it's an issue on my end, but the voice over seems to have some weird echo effect on it that's not present in your other videos.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Sounds ok here.

[@JustinRiedyk]

I can hear it too.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Every twenty or so videos I get a comment like this. There's some basic levels work on the sound, but no echo. Definitely sounds fine on the headphone and large speaker system I test on.

[@JustinRiedyk]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals I've done little audio work, but enough to know it's a beast when it wants to be 👀 Maybe it's an auditory hallucination on our end caused by lack of angle grinder.

[@bobafetish74]

Wasn't that the Tay Bridge Disaster that you referenced? If you're confused between the Tay and the Forth are you sure you're up to navigating unsupervised?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes, the Tay Bridge. The Tay and Forth are not the same. Stay subbed chap!

[@gordonbradford4054]

Surely that is a picture of the Tay Bridge disaster, on the Firth of Tay, you are on the Firth of Forth.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Yes, the wording didn't make that clear. I was talking about Industrial Revolution era bridges in the region. You're more polite than your countryman who commented below.

[@gordonbradford4054]

Alex, whilst I love visiting Scotland, I am actually a Geordie from Tyneside.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Sorry to have not stopped off on the Tyne as planned!

[@barclayhamer8777]

In the absence of a perminant Blige pump would it be sensible to have a bilge alarm in case you are asleep or otherwise occupied when water sneaks in?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Alan is currently so buoyant (working on it) that only one mini bilge area is below the waterline. Only very little water entered, and that was from water being forced through two (to be repacked) glands by a following sea.

[@colcol303]

Just wondering if ice accumulates on the hand rail and it breaks off and falls it can hit your solar panel. Just a thought.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I'm actually swapping those panels out for tougher ones soon.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

​@@AlexHibbertOriginalshonestly, I wouldn't worry too much about the solar panels. They're of limited use in arctic latitudes even during the summer, and of no use in the winter. Besides, the alternator puts out so much more electricity than the solar panels, they won't matter unless you turn the engine off for long periods (either because you're camping, or adrift). That said, I only realized your engine electrics were 12v relatively recently, so with that in mind I STRONGLY recommend adding a 24v alternator. Not only will it charge your house batteries much more quickly, but you can handle either alternator failing. Besides, alternators aren't really designed to be operated at maximum load for long periods, so I wouldn't want to put too much stress on the 12v one in the first place. Honestly, I'd have a 12v system that consists of just your engine alternator, that 12v battery you have, the starter motor, and any other engine electrics. Then a 24v alternator going directly to the house batteries, with a programmable voltage regulator that won't over charge them. You can use your 12/24 converters during emergencies. Just a thought. I'll re watch your older videos to make sure I understand it right. But yes, 400w of solar panels is like 100w or less of solar power, so a few amps for a few hours a day. Better than nothing, but not by much.

[@slammsonite1]

Seeing the railings being wrapped in cord reminds me what is bugging me about Alan´s railings. On ships that I have been on there is netting from the rails to the decks fo prevent you from sliding off the deck in rough weather. I would feel safer if my boat had these fitted, what do you think?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

There's a case for some additions there, yes. Although, you'd not routinely be up there in bad weather.

[@slammsonite1]

All the more important if you have to be up there. Twas just an observation @@AlexHibbertOriginals

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Cheers - will add to the list.

[@JonMadsen70]

:)

[@paddyhansen4017]

that hose will freeze ?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Where? How? Why?

[@ysesq]

dumbness this episode - no permanent auto bilge pump, collapsible hose instead of push fit UV stabilized PEX-A, not coating the rope on the rails with HALS/UVA blend topcoat.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

You're really not on form at the moment anonymous guy.

[@ptonpc]

No suggestions. Just a comment for the rhythm of algo.

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I don't thank you enough.

[@liamailiam]

AI voice?

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I wish! It was save me time.

[@slickmouse]

That's the Tay bridge that collapsed, you're at the Forth, rail and road bridge and Queensferry road bridge. Good try Englander

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

Literally the first grumpy Scot I've come across. Luckily you're not representative. Only a (luckily dying breed) of rabid anti-English Scottish nationalist would attack a nod by an English visitor lamenting the loss of life suffered during a Scottish railway disaster.

[@normanboyes4983]

@@AlexHibbertOriginalsSNP hate flag waving oik, likely from the Glasgow region.😉

[@AlexHibbertOriginals]

I thought they were too busy laundering money in campervans.

[@normanboyes4983]

@@AlexHibbertOriginals 🤣