Troyboy

Provided you ensure the padlock is a tight fit in the hole you drill no rain water will get in . As Mtb has replied there will already be condensation in your diesel tank and I suspect you also have a water trap in your fuel line . There will be some swarf when you drill the hole so some grease on the drill bit will help catch some of that or a magnet placed on the upstand pipe . Any you don't catch will settle at the bottom of your tank and won't be worth bothering about.

Drill straight through the cap and fit a long shackle padlock.

There was a boat called Grandad Dyer moored at the Middle Nene Cruising Club , Titchmarsh a few years ago. An unusual name so probably the same boat but different owners at that time .

I have a spin on conversion on my BMC 1.5 so can only comment on what I have . There are loads of filters that will fit mine many from the VW / Audi group of cars . The actual diameters are Outer 76 mm, Seal diameter 72 mm. Height 119 mm thread 3/4 -16 UNF. Obviously the capacity depends on the length [ stop sniggering at the back ] . Crosland 652 is one filter that fits mine . A filter from an Audi 80 1990 onwards also fits . The one on your engine does look a bit small to me.

Can I ask why you are not blacking the baseplate ? They do rust and your surveyor will be testing its thickness . I know many boatyards are unable to raise the boats high enough to get underneath which I think is the reason many claim it is not necessary . Older boats do seem to have a better quality steel , hopefully previous owners of your boat have maintained it well and blacked the baseplate.

You need a multi-tool , just be careful not to cut through the frame .

Plenty of new ones on Ebay but make sure you get the correct one as there were two different types . If my memory serves me correct the impellor sizes are different .

I have a narrowboat from the 80's with a BMC 1.5 diesel engine and had similar overheating problems to yourself . It was cured by doing away with the skin cooling tank and having boxed section pipes welded along the swim . This was carried out by Charlie Fox [who is sadly no longer with us ] at March . The boats he built were all cooled this way and using this modification means the system now runs unpressurised . I've had no overheating problems since

I have a window that is leaking on my steel narrowboat and intend to remove it and reseal between the frame and steel. The window is aluminium framed manufactured by Wesley windows . On their website Wesley sell Arboseal butyl sealant so I am tempted to use that however I have been told that a local boat painter uses Neoprene tape . I have read other threads on sealing windows but there doesn't appear to be an obvious best product to use . From experience what are the advantages / disadvantages of the various sealing products ? I believe the windows are held in by screws threaded into the steel definitely not rivets . If neoprene tape was to be used what thickness would be required ?

I hadn't heard of Tractol paint until your entry on this thread . I've owned my narrowboat over 35 years and originally it was painted with Woolworths paint which was brilliant easy to apply and a nice shine that lasted a few years however Woolworths paint quality declined so I used other paint. Of course Woolworths are no more but on your recommendation I'm tempted to give Tractol a try , I know preparation is the key but to me paint is to stop the boat rusting and to look half presentable . Was Tractol recommended to you ?

Nor have I but not sure what that has got to do with this thread.

It's actually a 11/64 drill Tony . Cleaning the carbon out made a huge difference to the starting on my BMC 1.5.

13mm baseplate on a 1988 built boat makes me wonder if the baseplate has already been overplated as there weren't many boat builders using 13mm plate in 1988. In reply to the question I agree with Morris no need to overplate 6mm sides because of 1.5mm pits.