harrybsmith

Hi all A whirlwind of circumstances has meant that I'm looking fairly seriously at buying a bit of canalside land, that's definitely had a boat moored on it in the past but currently has no mooring rights with it. I've read the CRT website which was useful, but I'm wondering if anyone has recent experience of applying for "end of garden" moorings etc after the changes that came into place in 2017 And yes, I'm looking at a mooring because that absolute rustbucket project boat some may remember my thread on is now ready to float off into the sunset

Yes I have press tooling for 0, 2, 4, 6 and 7 and a BW crest, I successfully remade mine. If you could supply a scan (from a printer/scanner) of your licence plate (or a good photo taken square on) I'll CAD up other numbers and knock out whatever is required

Well... Mine's now a chute type too. Built it and fitted today, 450*180mm so pretty big. Theoretically I can change a prop through it if need be. Thanks for the input all, very helpful I'll get some pictures next weekend (maybe even update the build blog, who knows)

I think the idea is that they complement eachother, with Debdale having more of a maintenance focus. Not sure North Kilworth would be overly impressed with much of the work that goes on at the Debdale hard standing for example... Weltonfield is now owned by the same owner too I believe

How does a cavitation plate* work on a chute type weed hatch? *Heard it referred to as such, the bit of plate that sits coplanar with the uxter plate, not sure it's got anything directly to do with cavitation...

Interesting, thanks both, never come across a chute type, I'll certainly contemplate it. I'm fairly young and bendy so not adverse to a std type either though, I'll do some drawing and work out what a chute would look like

Hi all, I'm making a new weed hatch for my boat next weekend, interested to hear your thoughts on any nice features you've seen? Favourite closure mechanism? Good size etc. there's currently just a fresh uxter plate there with no hole cut in it Aware of draft/height requirements This is for Josephine, the narrowboat I've replated that I did have a build thread on here for then that sort of fell by the wayside. The original weed hatch was tiny, corroded through and had a lid that bolted on- I don't see much point in mimicking that

Well done for catching it- I've seen baaaaad things happen to diesels if the problem of "making oil" is left unaddressed and the level continues to build. It's a relatively common thing to happen to all mechanical diesels, a new lift pump should be about £30 or so and is no bad thing to fit as they do get weaker with age. Even if it's not the injectors they're also about £30 each* to have tested and rebuilt, and that's not a bad idea either, spray patterns can go a bit wayward with age and make the engine less efficient. So if you're not adverse to spending a bit of money then I'd get both of those done, chances are it'll fix your issue and your engine will be much happier for it. *Welham Diesels, Leicester, normally 3-5 day turnaround

Talk to the guy with the scruffiest boat in the marina, they probably know what they're on about, they'll sort it for you Oh wait, that's me, suppose I'll see you tomorrow ; )

I agree, loading up the generator is a key concern, I'm contemplating all sorts of stuff from an electric shower (as well as a Paloma gas water heater for when the engine isn't running) to an electric towel rail to a bitcoin mine, all as switchable loads to ensure there's always some load on the Genny. Insulation hasn't split, the only slight criticism of my method is it compresses the board on the inner face, which of course excludes the air from inside it, which makes it a bit less insulative

I totally agree, I can even get the engine out the doors with the flywheel housing removed, standard 60cm appliances go with no bother, it's just a lot easier with a boat on the hard to not have to lift them to nearly head height to get them on the stern Also "when are you closing up the big hole in the back of your boat" seems to be the most frequently asked question in real life, and the answer is not for another couple of months yet

And the rest! The stern is the only area that remains that's unrepaired, and it's atrocious. The tube the bearing sits on (rudder tube?) is seriously frilly and there's a big hole in front of the weed hatch. New uxter plate, a decent chunk of swim and counter repairs all planned, for now I'm making the best of a massive hole to get things like a washing machine and kitchen units in. It really shows that boats tend to deteriorate pretty uniformly, I think the hole that sunk her originally was probably in the bow, but there's been at least 10 holes throughout the hull that all could have

Currently registering my project with National Historic Ships (and might see whether HNBC are interested...) If I had a silly amount of money i'd buy Mabel and Forget Me Not (which I believe are still for sale, keeping on topic) and return them to hotel boat guise, a "Frobisher" style narrowboat with horrible sildey plastic roof and a Taylors cruiser. All historically significant and not really preserved much

Well i'm frankly disappointed in you all... Not one guess at an engine. Lister HR3 is the answer. I picked up this genset with 5 hours on the clock from a local farm after a chance chat with someone who worked there. The SR3 mentioned earlier in the thread is fully rebuilt now (and very shiny) so if anyone wants a reverse rotation SR with electric start then give me a shout, happy for it to go cheapish as it's no longer needed In no way is it implied this was driven on the road with the engine in the back The reason i've gone for the HR3 is because by having the generator it gives me absolutely buckets of power (25 KVA...) for running kit like a washing machine, allows me to offset the engine from the centreline of the boat by running a 3 phase motor to drive the prop and I have a rough idea to build a workshop butty after this, and being able to plug that into 3 phase would be mega. To get it in was a bit of a game, step 1 was to cut a massive hole in the stern. Much of this needed replacement anyway and i've held off doing it for this reason After that the Land Rover could be backed up some ramps to get it level with the counter And the engine pulled off using a chain puller Then craned down with an engine crane In other news i've been distracted by painting other people's boats rather than my own... (Wey & Arun Canal Trust's dredger float) Still more to come

Paints and compatibility is a minefield, one of the next updates will contain some even more controversial stuff... Ultimately the best thing would be to shotblast everything back aggresively, prime with an active primer and follow it up with a topcoat system, all while keeping the shell dry and preferably at 20 degrees c. That simply isn't possible here, I can't remember the last time it was 20 degrees C and the only reason it isn't raining currently is because it's snowing! Withams Zinc Phos primer is absolutely OK for use as a primer over Vactan, I do concede you're losing the active benefits of the zinc phos bit but as it's the only primer approved for use under their bilge paint then it's the best option here. As a test sample i've tried it without a rust converter and it performs less well