Chaotic River

This guy fairly bounced my boat about on the Lancaster last month with his speeding, good job I was moored on sheet piling with chains. He did slow right down to pass but the wash overtook him. When I first saw him he was not only throwing water onto the towpath, it was going over the hedge too.

I recently replaced a rotten steel flue pipe with vitreous. I used short stainless steel self tapping screws to secure the sections. The boat passed the BSS exam at the weekend.

The boat was re-floated on the next tide, with lifeboat assistance. http://www.lythamlifeboats.co.uk/inews/7521-lytham-st-annes-volunteer-lifeboat-crew-called-out-again-just-eleven-hours-after-returning-from-an-early-morning-service.html

Not sure you would agree if you heard it, on tick over it's a nice sound, but when I open the throttle it's like an orchestra of blacksmiths tuning up...

Thanks for the replies, I have ordered a 1¼" silencer. Having heard the noise from engines without silencers, I would not recommend it on the canal. I am hopeful that replacing the whole exhaust system on my boat will reduce the noise level. Her indoors has started calling the engine "bam bam"....

I need to replace the exhaust on my boat, the engine is a Lister SR2, outlet pipe is 1¼", the pipe on the roof of the boat is 1½". She is currently fitted with a 1¼ silencer. My question is, would I get any benefit from fitting 1½" silencer, of should I stick to the original size. I know that on high performance engines the exhaust design makes a significant difference, but on a slow revving diesel??

Thanks for that, I will get some blue Hylomar. The dip stick is showing a gradual decrease in oil level that seems to be consistent with the amount of oil that's leaking.

We were lucky enough to be on holiday during the heat in the past week so we took the boat out for a few days. I was worried to see oil on the floor of the engine room on the way home! Have cleaned up the engine and ran her for a few minutes this morning, returned after lunch and there is some oil leaking from the {1/2 inch bsp) plug marked with a blue arrow in the photo. This is on the side of the engine below the fuel pump. I have tried the plug with a spanner and it does not appear to be loose. Two questions before I unscrew it: 1> Is this likely to be below the sump oil level? 2> My usual way of fixing leaks on tapered threaded fittings would be PTFE tape, would there be a better way to seal it? Thanks in advance

There, I have said it so maybe I had better explain... On my way to work today, walking along the towpath of the Lancaster canal, I noticed a lot more water in a field below the canal embankment than usual, and I could hear running water... So a quick email from my phone at 6am to report it. At 2pm I got this reply: "Thank you for your email today reporting the sound of running water below the canal embankment close to Bridge 46 on the Lancaster Canal. I forwarded your report to the local team who have visited site and have fixed the problem. Thank you for taking the time to contact us and letting us know, all reports are very appreciated." I walked past this evening and they have been out and fixed it

Have not seen this on here yet, thought it might be of interest to folks in or heading for that part of Yorkshire: http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/argy-bargey-narrowboater-hounded-out-12633130

http://www.lep.co.uk/your-lancashire/lancaster/lancaster-canal-boater-narrowly-escapes-after-barge-goes-up-in-flames-1-8354304 Hope the boater is ok

Thanks for that Dave, well worth considering.

Yes, thats is what it looks like to me. Yes, the top plain bearing is loose and rotates with the rudder. If I push the rudder back and forth, the top bearing moves a few millimeters in the deck. My guess is that the bolt in the rudder tube used to hold the bearing, but due to corrosion on the tube, the bearing has been rotating in the deck. I will take some measurements this afternoon to see if it's possible to replace the plain bearing with a flanged ball bearing.

Thank you for the opinions, helpful as always. The survey was just a hull survey, so the surveyor didn't look inside the boat. To me it looks like either Denso tape, or fibre glass on the tube, have not crawled that far in between the fuel tanks. I suspect the Tony is correct, the whole thing just moves around in the deck, so might have worn the deck plate. The boat is needs to come out of the water for blacking soon, so I will have to investigate further.

Got my first boat in August, only had a hull survey done, and was advised that the bottom rudder bearing needed replacing. Now I have been using the boat I realise that the top bearing (or bush) is in need of repair. The rudder is sloppy, feels like a bearing has lost it's balls, and at cruising speed I need to use my hip to force the rudder over. The boat is a 1975 Teddesley, 30 footer, steel hull, with GRP top. I wonder if anyone can advise me on the rudder bearing arrangement. I have searched on here I can't seem to find any that look like this. Above deck Below deck

I have not posted much, because I have been able to find all the information I need from searching this amazing forum... My forum name was one suggested by Microsoft messenger many years ago. Now I have got up to 3 posts

Only got our first boat in August, already braved the Ribble link to move her closer to home. Looking forward to exploring the Lancaster canal without having to get a hire boat back by a certain time...

Saw the "Weary banker" on the Lancaster canal a few times, but have not seen it recently.