dmr

We've been let loose a couple of times in Birmingham, its no big deal. Also had a mooring rope untied and stolen in Thrupp, that was not good. If somebody gets pleasure, or vents a bit of anger (because my life is obviously much better than theirs) by letting my boat loose then best let them get on with it. Using chains or cable ties is sort of putting two fingers up at them and I suspect making them more likely to carry a knife in future to cut the ropes. Obviously on rivers its very different and chains or some sort of anchor makes sense, but I try to do this as discretely as I can and in addition to the rope so its there just to catch the boat if the ropes are let go. .............Dave

But if he thought harder he would have taken the exhaust from TW0 cylinders (adjacent in the firing order) to get the lovely sound of an uneven firing 2 cylinder motor. There is a Beta JD3 about with something similar (two silenced cylinders, one not) and it did not sound that pleasing to me, but certainly interesting and unusual. I used to work with a bloke who was something of a world expert on exhaust design and did discuss this with him. His suggestion was to totally silence the exhaust and bring it out low down and then suitably tune the intake and stick that out through the roof. .............Dave

Its not really a true slow revver as it idles at 800 and runs up to about 2400, but it is a fairly heavy and solid engine. Beta make a few little changes and adjustments to run it between 450 and 1200rpm almost like a real slow revver. This raises all sorts of concerns but mine has now done 10,000 hours so looks like Beta have got away with it (or maybe even know a lot about engines!). The flywheel is a bit lacking at the bottom end of the rev range but they use a clever drive plate which reduces the resulting problems. ..............Dave

Ive heard this said quite often, but its wrong. Deere do fit some Yanmars in their smaller stuff, like lawnmowers, and so look to have a tight working relationship with Yanmar. The JD3 (Deere 3029DF) is a John Deere engine, fitted in some smaller tractors but mostly sold as a general purpose industrial engine and used lots by companies building gensets. They also do 4 (4045) and 6 (6068) cylinder variants of the same engine, and I think offer ready marinised versions of these biguns. Inspired numberng system number of cylinders plus capacity. The Tractor variant is, I think, built in America but the industrial variant as used by Beta is surprisingly built in a Deere factory in France. We bought the boat with a very sick JD3 and I looked to do a rebuild so had to get very familiar with all this stuff, but ultimately decided to import a new base engine from John Deere. ...........Dave

The BD3 was a beta marinisation of an old 3 pot Ford. Beta discontinued it 'cus it did not meet new emissions regs. They replaced it with JD3, a marinisation of a John Deere 3 pot (nicer looking than the BD3 but not quite as slow revving). JD3 now also discontinued due to even newer emissions regs. Tony does keep pointing out that its difficult to get a DI to rev slowly without making a bit of smoke. ...............Dave

Weve done this quite a bit on the forum. You can still get FAME free diesel on the cut but most sellers don't know how to get in. Norbury and ABC both sell it, and Norbury are cheap so there is no price premium. I think the bio helps the lubricity and detergency, its the low sulphur that degrades the lubricity. The issues are sucking in water, degrading quite quickly, and I suspect the increased possibility of a bad batch, I think bio factories are less consistent than mother nature . The seal thing appears to have been overplayed and only gets a small number of older engines. .............Dave

I find it a bit sad that a lot of canalside diesel sellers have very little understanding of what they are selling. I have asked a fair few if their fuel is FAME free and some of the answers are a bit surprising, but then I am a techy sort of person. There is also a belief in some quarters that diesel and heating oil are one and the same so I would not be completely surprised if a one or two suppliers are not selling heating oil, this doesn't really explain your problems though. ..............Dave

Dunno how a Refleks works but suspect that cetane is probably not a factor, that mostly relates to compression ignition. But yes, fuel quality does vary, or perhaps more likely most is much the same but you you can get a bad batch. Last year somebody sold us a lot of really bad stuff. Engine smoked loads and could not get anywhere near full revs. I used most of it (with lots of additives to overcome any possible lack of lubricity) and eventually paid to get the last bit sucked out and disposed off to start again with a fresh tank. It came from a reputable supplier but I can only be 99% certain so won't mention names, and almost certainly due to the fuel wholesaler or delivery driver rather than the boatyard themselves. .............Dave

I know this bloke. I met him in Liverpool. I like the old quiet boozers but he took me on a pub crawl round the city centre hot spots. I went home at about 11, he hit the nightclubs and stayed out till 6. He might not know the distance from Newbury to Reading but he knows how to have a good time. Interesting bloke, makes quite a good living as a Tarot reader/fortune teller. Maybe that's was he was allowing three weeks, he foresaw problems with the swing bridge at Padworth ...........Dave

I always wondered why new engines had to be run in, now I know. When I buy new clothes I screw them up and put them in the corner of the clothes cupboard for a few months to let the newness wear off, but I don't always work. .............Dave

The easystart addiction may be true. The theory is that engines that need easystart are old and knackered with bad rings and worn bores and its just all the crud stuck around the rings that gives a bit of compression. Easystart can give an extra fierce bang when it ignites which shakes some of this crud off. As you are heading towards a new engine then don't worry about it, a start with easystart ("starts all engines first time") is infinitely better than no start at all. Congratulations on getting as far as you have with such a naughty boat, don't give up. ...................Dave

Ive only had a quick look at these, but the specs (cycle life) looks similar to semi-tractions like Trojans rather than that of real proper Tractions. Might be a nice alternative to Trojans (if the price works out ok) as its less cells to manage, but not sure they are in the same league as real proper tractions. ................Dave

I think you need to get out and meet more boaters There is a growing assumption of late that people live on the canal to get cheaper housing, but there are a huge number of people living on the cut because they choose that lifestyle, I fear some are even boat/canal fanatics. And no matter what the sartorial intention was, a few years on the cut and scruffy appears to take hold. ...........Dave

Well that is a bit young to be squandering the nestegg on a lifestyle choice, but the canal system desperately needs more youngsters. Liveaboard boating is surprisingly expensive so you may struggle to live on a boat and save for a house deposit at the same time. Owning a house (or even several) and living on a boat is certainly the best way to do things. I am surprised at how many boaters we meet, scruffy unassuming people on lived in looking boats, who could raise £1,000,000 if they needed. There is of course the big decision to as to whether you have your fun and freedom now or in later life, but with planning and a bit of luck it is possible to do both. ...............Dave

How old are? By co-incidence I was discussing this sort of stuff with a total stranger (boater) in the pub last night. At some point in life some people (especially boaters) realise that having a good lifestyle is more important than saving/investing for what is a finite future. I reckon quite a few people are still saving the day that they die whilst some youngsters go for the lifestyle choice dangerously early. Boats are not an investment but a very good way of life. .............Dave