oldironsides

Meaford by the top lock.

Our Armstrong starts straight away, warm or cold. How? We fitted a thermostart in the inlet manifold. Absolutely brilliant!! Cost less than £30 with all the bits.

Buy a spare engine, readily available on Ebay, and keep it in the hold just by the back end bulkhead; adds about 350kgs weight so you can chuck out some ballast. Then, run the boat like you stole it and you will always have that elusive spare part for if it goes wrong. Very few parts are marinised, so an old baler agricultural engine will do you fine. Don't forget:enjoy!!

I know the hole is big but there is an underwater bar of silt or mud at the front which means you cannot turn a boat. CRT know the problem, their solution is to dredge it out. In 2019.

Hi, Martin, its at Birches Head, sorry don't mean to be rude! I have complained about the bar of mud across the winding hole many times as there is nowhere to turn between Hanley and Milton, despite the three winding holes marked on CRT maps. All are impossible for full length boats to turn. CRT have them down for dredging in 2019, think they are having a laugh! I don't think there are sunk boats in the hole, just hard mud. There are several iron day(?)boats used as bank support on the sides of a stream further towards Milton from Birches Head

Be careful if you use actual lead oxide paint as it will give you problems if you need to have any steel work done. It is horrendous to deal with cutting, grinding or otherwise disturbing it. The elf 'n safety implications are strict. Don't forget children used to get lead poisoning from lead based paint, some died. That is why it was banned.

If you want oil based, not primer, Johnstone's red oxide paint is very good. For cellulose paint in Staffs the best and cheapest is Regal floor paint, good colour, great coverage and very cheap. You collect from their manufactory near Cellarhead and that is an experience in itself! give them a ring first to tell them you are coming and ask for directions. After cleaning all loose rust off, we put a coat of Vactan on and then use Johnstone's.

And they will post it, too!

Up for £1200 in the not so distant past, IIRC. Wrong reduction, but has electric start, lot of work to fit into a narrowboat. Probably still a bit more expensive than one would hope.

Now open.

Our 'F' gearbox dipstick is stamped 'Parson's F' so have always assumed it is correct!

Be careful, that gearbox is not the standard fit, or indeed a Parsons box. It is also quite expensive, if you are just looking for spares. I think most AS2s in narrow boats run the 3:1 box. Conversion to variable speed is relatively easy, so I was advised by much missed Tim Leech. It requires changing springs apparently. The maintenance manual from AS (on Ebay) and also the installation and maintenance manuals issued by Parsons are available from the current owners of Parsons who are Mathway Parsons in Southampton.

Keep an eye out on Ebay and buy a spare engine or two. AS2s available every now and again, runners go from cheap to silly money! You should get one for less than £600 in good nick.

Where did you get the valves from? There is now a Facebook group for us merganser folk: http://www.facebook.com/groups/1160593650620627/

I have had just had a reply to my email about the naming of lock 38 from David Fern at CRT. He thanks me for my information and says that they have changed their records to show that it is named Twyford's. Excellent, well done CRT.