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very easy to take off... just aim at the nearest low bridge Sorry!

Hi all I had rather hoped that the photos had generated a tad more interest, though I suspect that many forum members have little interest in traditional ways. A few days ago I stripped the can back to bare metal, primed then base coated and applied decoration for the owner. This is it prior to varnishing. I always put decoration on to undercoat and then varnish, this gives a better key than varnishing gloss paint. Dave

I have been meaning to do this for ages. What I want to do is illustrate what you will find inside the engine, what's most likely to be the cause of a leak and what might also happen in rare cases. Here goes: Overall There are three areas where you may find internal diesel leaks: Behind the fuel pump door Under the rocker covers The low pressure fuel pump These pictures are of an SR2, the arrangements are much the same on the rest of the S range and in the H range too Fuel pumps: Here we have the two fuel pumps. Running across the middle of the picture is the fuel feed pipe, a copper one in this engine. Coming out of the pumps and running up inside the fuel pump housing are the delivery pipes Rocker covers: The injector is in the centre here, held down by the beam with the stud at each end. The injector pipe is coming up from the pump between the push rods. The spill rail is on the far side, comes out of the injector, loops under the beam and out the side of the engine under the rocker cover joint To try to make things clearer, this is the fuel system with the engine removed (?!) Pumps at the bottom linked by the feed pipe, injectors at the top of the injector pipes and the spill rail. There are no prizes for pointing out what is wrong with this set up Feed Pipe The feed pipe connects to the fuel pump with a banjo bolt There is a seal each side, in this case they are Dowty washers, older installations may have copper washers Common problems: Loose banjo bolts, Damaged sealing washers. Either of these will show up as leaks around the washers. As a first step, check the banjo bolt is tight Uncommon problems. Broken fuel pipe. The pumps are held down by a Y shaped clamp with a central bolt: If this bolt is loose, the pumps can move around which can cause fatigue cracking of the pipe. On engines with a lift pump, operating the priming lever may show fuel squirting out of cracked pipes Bleed point Each pump has it's own bleed point, used for bleeding air out of the pump body There's a copper sealing washer that seals the screw to the body Common problems: Loose bleed screw, damaged sealing washer. As a first step, check the bleed screw is tight Delivery valve housing On top of the pump are two hexagonal parts. The upper one is the nut on the end of the injector pipe. The lower is the hexagon that is used to tighten the deliver valve housing into the pump. The correct way to undo or tighten the injector pipe is to put a spanner onto each of these hexagons and squeeze. This doesn't always happen, and it is possible to loosen the delivery valve housing, which will cause a leak. To check this, with two spanners, slacken the nut on the injector pipe. Then tighten the delivery valve housing into the pump, finally with two spanners retighten the injector pipe A loose delivery valve housing will cause erratic running, and also leaks when the engine is not running Injector pipe Again, a loose injector pipe will give poor running as well as leaks when the engine isn't running. If the delivery valve is working OK, this is much less likely, so leaks here, at the delivery valve housing and at the injector are much less likely. You're going to notice a cylinder not working more than a leak. Having said that, three cylinder Listers do seem to run OK on two cylinders The injector pipe connections at the pump and the injector are metal to metal seals: As long as the connections are tight, they should be fine. A damaged nipple on the pipe will cause poor running Richard

Surely you just send the butler out to stand over the porthole with an umbrella when it is raining.

No, the tank is a typical NB stern tank the OP says, so the diesel level in the tank is always above water level. So the diesel will be leaking OUT rather than water leaking IN. I expect trails of rainbow water develop around the stern when moored up, which is how he knows about the leak. This also means even if the boat is out of the water, diesel will continue to leak out unless the tank is totally and completely drained. I've heard about diesel tanks being welded with deisel in, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere near at the time!

On my previous boat the connector was tucked away under a overhanging roof, with this in mind when we swapped our cruiser for a NB I got some closed cell plastic and made a shroud to go over the shore power connector, this easy to make and does a good job keeping water out. Phil

They do actually exist! Sadly not common enough though...it just seems too low down the' must have' list for new buyers...and then just gets left as is I guess as the boat gets sold on ......

UPDATE I talked to United Automation Technical Dept today but he said they would be concerned that the SSC-25 Soft Start Controller will not be suitable for an inverter situation. However he did tell me there is another newer, more robust, (more expensive?) product available with a relay bypass - but not yet on their website - so is going to send details via email.

Try again. I didn't introduce the possible fatal results of irresponsible behaviour, and I didn't wish them on you. I speculated on the consequences (post 30). The lack of an irony emoji has deceived you. At post 40, however, you expressed your indifference to the fates of your wife and son in such an eventuality. I do not need to repeat my epithet.

Could you please add a 'Help' page for newbies. For example, How do I ad a 'label' (flag?) to a post? If you DO add a Help, (or one already exists) can you make it easy to find?

That all depends upon whether your sequence is increasing or decreasing intelligence. Though I think Thunderboat members are more aligned with the Stephen Hawking end of the scale.

Macclesfield - start with Heritage Narrowboats at Scholar Green.

If you have solar and need to top it up, do it in the morning so the engine is doing the bulk phase and then let the solar does the rest.

When CO and smoke alarms are so cheap it is idiotic, nay, moronic not to fit them.

I would have expected the impellor to have 'dry-welded' the vanes to the housing and as soon as the engine turns over these will be shredded with the possibility of getting bits of rubber into the waterway 'orifices' which will cause you overheating trouble in the future due to blocked / partly blocked waterways. Replace the impellor before attempting to start it.

Thanks! Okay, also need a plan for equalising. The real question here is, why the hell did I moor under a tree!

I don't display a valid licence or mooring permit but I did worry about this when on the Severn at Easter. Wasn't a problem as it turned out. The inconsistency is the problem. And you can 'see' the lack of licence from the point where you would need to start slowing down? Slow down past all moored boats; it's not your business to be deciding who is legitimate and who is not. It shouldn't make any difference to your behaviour in any case. JP

There are many situations where one is given no choice in agreement to a supposed 'contract' - as in buying a bus or rail ticket for example, the very act of which [according to the fine print] allegedly binds you to agreed terms. In law, however, such alleged agreement, being involuntary, is of no effect. In CaRT's case, you have merely done what you have had to do in order to obtain what you have no option but to obtain, and the fact that CaRT allege this binds you to a unilaterally drafted 'contract' is utterly ineffectual. It is not, in my opinion - as discussed elsewhere - possible to sign away statutory rights.

Lovely, I particularly like the arrow ascending out of the chimbley.

Where motors are concerned the energy in the harmonics is generally at the wrong frequency so of little help, it just makes everything get hot. Some of the Chinese pure sine wave inverters are now really cheap so not much point in using MSW, just buy from a reputable dealer and rate very conservatively, if you need 1000W then get a 2kW jobbie. and, now that the conservatives are the foolish and reckless party do we have to stop using the word conservative to mean safe with a big safety margin???? ..............Dave

That Shire specific oil looks silly expensive. Millers oils are, I believe, very well respected, and the one already listed in this thread is considerably cheaper for exactly the same viscosity and API spec. I'm not sure I'd pay £9 extra just to have it say Shire on the container!

I like Phils posts but having squinted at the other place once a month or two ago and finding the so called forum owner and his buddies fing and cing at each other have decided that my combination of two working brain cells is one too many for such a forum.

I don't think arriving by boat reduces your carbon footprint. I can go much further on a litre of diesel in my car than I can in my boat, even discounting the 42 locks between Huddersfield and Standedge.

I seem to remember 2 or 3 years ago 'they' were looking for a new commentator as the guy presently doing it was wanting to hang up his microphone. If my memory is correct nobody suitable came forwardand that is why he has carried on doing it. Perhaps those criticising would like to offer to do the job? Or even assist on the day by handing the correct sheets prior to the boats arrival in view?

And I won't be taking part in Thunderboat given this style of unnecessarily rude and combative post is considered normal over there. Encouraged even.

I think its probably down to where people live. I have lived aboard a boat for so many years that without thinking I never leave anything switched on or running as subconsciously I know I will have to top up or replace whatever it is too quickly or recharge batteries etc. We never leave even a tiny standby light on on stuff we arnt using. I still am amazed when any of the kids visit and leave the tap running for instance when cleaning their teeth I havnt done that for donkeys years or switch tv off with remote but not at switch etc etc etc. I believe if everybody in the uk lived off grid in their houses then wastage of water and lectric would reduce massively.

Who's we? Do you speak for everyone on Thunderboat? I've seen many derogatory comments about Mike on TB and at least two threads purely started to attack him. I don't blame him for not joining and question how many "we" represents.

Road, wife will die if I die. son is 22 and can look after himself

The thing is though, most boaters are perfectly happy with the T&Cs they are instructed to accept, seeing the sense in all boaters being bound by them. It's only the rump of boaters known as the Awkward Squad who will always want to make an issue out of the T&Cs whatever they might say, and I suspect they don't have the support of the majority of boaters on CRT waters. I certainly don't find the T&Cs restricting me in any way I find objectionable. Edit to add a worm.

This may help http://www.eamonmcnicholas.com/boats.html A bit more info here with the forms that should be used http://www.articles.scopulus.co.uk/HM Revenue and Customs Brief 38/09.htm and I think Colin Stone also published something here http://www.luxe-motor-kei.co.uk/vat.htm

So should I be banned from riding my motor bike, banned from going surfing, banned from going wilderness camping without phoning someone every day to let them know I'm OK? Should the maintains of Snowdonia, the Lake district and the Scottish ranges be cordoned off as unsafe places to visit any more?

I just can't agree. How many things could save lives. Life jackets, anchor, vhf, lifebelts, boarding ladder. At some point adults have to make their own decisions. There are many pastimes that claim lives. It's unfortunate but having decided an alarm is a good idea doesn't empower me to impose my decision on others. If people choose to put THEMSELVES at risk by not having an alarm, biking without a helmet or quite unnecessarily scaling a rock face then that is a matter for them alone.

In short CART do not change their rules every year and are very easy to comply with. Tom Keeling is your man for the survey.