Bod

One lesson I learnt, regarding grub screws, always check you have all of them out! It's not unknown that one has been put on top of the first, for "security". Bod.

Choosing and using a boat, is all about compromise. There are many things in your list, that everyone wants, very few get. At first if you wish to "liveaboard" then residential marina berth will allow you to learn the boat in comfort. Bod

I'm on the summit at present, the water level is at the normal point, going by the water spillways, and the dip in the concrete edging at the Welford junction. Bod

Something in the back of my mind is saying, an imperial shaft has a 1:12 taper, but a metric shaft will have a 1:10 taper. Bod

It is thought that when the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun was mummified, it was a botched job that led to him being burnt, due to the oils used combusting, after being wrapped too soon after anointing. I suggest an experiment, 2 sheets of linseed oil soaked kitchen paper, one left flat in the open, the other wrapped tightly with string, again left in the open. See the results in 24/48 hours. Bod.

On a more useful note. Carefully check the prop for any numbers, then clean and photograph them, for future reference, when this one falls off, you know what to order, without getting wet! Bod.

Does this engine have "Electronic" ignition under the rotar arm, or is the original contact breaker and condenser still fitted? I'm wondering if the "modern" electronic ignition is providing too stronger current for an old type coil. Bod

Plugs fouled black, Engine starts ok when cold.....once the engine is running, do you adjust the "Choke"? Running with the choke closed will cause problems, once warmed up. Bod Calling @bizzard he might have a comment on this.

"aviation creeping oil (American, brilliant stuff beats WD40 any day,) " @Mike on Sea Hustler Could you name this fluid, and is it available in the UK? Thanks Bod

What has changed in the last year? Has there been any changes to the boats plumbing system? Do the batteries have enough strenght to run the water heater fully? Is the fuel supply to the heater good enough? No blocked filters? Has the system been checked for air locks? When was the system last serviced? A whole heap of questions that need investigating, before an expensive solution is put into a possibly simple problem. Bod

Yes as you say, the show was quite an eye opener for them. Bod

To be fair to the Fitter out company, they are working with a new hull material, with a different shape, and time ran out, so an unfinished boat had to be shown, not the first at the show by any means, as a Crick moorer, the smell of new paint, the sound of last minute working the night before the show opens is quite remarkable, and is the same every year! As to Adrift Narrowboats, input to the design, I an not sure at which point they became involved, it may have been very late on, after the hull was complete, and they had to work with what was there. The motor/drive system, this was supplied by Vetus, possibly by the Off Shore division with no experience of inland waterways, having said that it may be the best development since the horse was put out to pasture, till it's tried who know? Bod.

Having spoken with Shaun and the rest of the stand staff at Crick, their company is a Plastic Fabrication company, rather than a boat builder. As such, the building of boat is not a normal run of the mill project, various problems regarding expansion were tackled with the first boat, a Naval Architect was consulted for the second boat, the show boat. Unfortunately the Architect was not an inland water ways specialist. ( as we all know, these boats exist in a very small world of their own. Would you go to a canal boat builder, for a deep sea fishing boat?) Hence the overall look of the show boat. One hundred and fifty years ago, a bright spark, felt iron might make a usable boat...."What do you know...iron doesn't float" One day someone thought, I'll fit a lorry engine, the horse is dangerous, it bit me, and tried to kick me! The Crick show was the first time some of the staff had seen a narrow boat in the flesh, out of the water. The idea I put to them was for next years show, an empty shell, would show their skills off much better, as fabrication specialists, not fitter outers. MK 3 boat would incorporate the information gained from the show and the trials of MK 2. Bod

Post a picture of the rudder top bearing, (the bit where the tiller arm goes down through the back deck.), There's not many variations of this, ther may be an easy solution. What "Hull works" are needed? Repaint, or holes welded up? Engine, make and model, any idea why it won't run? It may be an easy fix, if we know what it is. This sounds like an old boat that has been neglected for a long time, there is a rule in narrowboating, a job will take at least 3 times longer than expected, and cost twice as much! Bod

Our Vetus M414, much older model, required the Head bolts to be re-tightened at 50 hrs, as well as the filters changed. Check the hand book. Bod