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So this week we had the first trip on Joyce under electric power, for the technical mined-ed I have used a 48 volt DC series motor its 12 inch in diameter and about 14 inches long, it has a cooling fan, it used to live in a large forklift truck as the drive motor I am running it at 70 volts with a curtis controller, reverse is achieved by using a reverse contacter by albright [it reverses the field windings] these motors have huge torque from 1 rpm upwards, for safety it has a 300 amp cutoff if something goes wrong with wiring or my propeller gets fouled it trips. The first trip was about 2 miles with maneuvering at each end, its very easy to drive the boat as the motor which is direct drive can spin at 30 rpm or right up to 1800 rpm. The boat is very quick off the mark and slows very well as well, at 3 MPH its drawing 50 amps ish 3.3KW on the meter which on its 280 AH batter bank gives it 5 hours ish on batteries. I also have 3.6 KW of solar so on sunny days it will run from the sun. The run lasted about an hour and was deemed a success, however I have to take it all to pieces to make it BSS proof and the rectify a couple of issues. The motor was at 72 degrees after an hour so I am also adding a blower to force more air through the motor for cooling, and the flange I turned is a fraction off center which causes a slight vibration, the mounts and center flex take these out, but I would rather sort it out properly. As yet I am still having problems with CRT over the license because it 25% cheaper but that should be sorted soon, a CRT lockie who saw me on the run was amazed, and thought because of the lack of noise and smoke that I had an engine problem., a quick gander in the motor bay made him smile. Remember my boat weighs 30 odd tons and used to be pushed along by 50 hp now its done by 7.5 hp but lots of torque and is lovely and quiet perfik

Yesterdays task was barnacle busting and surface preparation before masking to ensure the blacking remained untouched. Today recoating. With a 10' 6" draft we have to be careful where we go. Waitangi 1894 built and regularly raced in her original gaff rigged form. 1200sq ft mainsail and 200sqft topsail above, no winches. 3 head sails.

Chorus : Locking down the Rochdale Nine You won‘t want to do it a second time Your hands are all blistered, your shoulders in pain And because you‘re in Manchester, down comes the rain When you‘re locking the Rochdale Nine At lock number 1 you pay thirty quid By lock number 2 you‘ll regret that you did They secure number 1 with a padlock and chain In case you change your mind and turn back again When you‘re locking the Rochdale Nine At lock number 3 the towpath‘s not there In fact the canal‘s got far more than it‘s share You can‘t get across without straddling the gates While the tillerman curses the rain as he waits When you‘re locking the Rochdale Nine Chorus At lock number 4 your feet get all wet But at locks 5 and 6 they‘ll be much wetter yet And as for the scenery it‘s not worth two hoots And you‘d give a week‘s ale for a dry pair of boots When you‘re locking the Rochdale Nine It‘s lock number 7, not one boat has passed The water is lapping up right round your raft A local is helping ‘cos the top gate won‘t close And his pet pit bull terrier‘s got hold of me clothes When you‘re locking the Rochdale Nine Chorus By lock number 8 you've given up hope Moored to the lock-side by a short length of rope The gate‘s wide enough for the old QE2 But the paddles are leaking so you crash your way through When you‘re locking the Rochdale Nine It‘s lock number 9. Thank God, it‘s the end ‘Cos most of your crew have gone right round the bend They‘re shouting and cursing and swearing out loud They sound like a part of the United crowd When you‘re locking the Rochdale Nine Locking down the Rochdale Nine You won‘t want to do it a second time Your hands are all blistered your shoulders in pain And because you‘re in Manchester down comes the rain But you've finished the Rochdale Nine http://www.waterwaysongs.co.uk/rochdale.htm

Brexit yet again!! ?

Everyone, Thanks so much for the replies! I'm always amazed at how generous everyone is with their time, advice and information! I'm really sorry for a lack of speedy reply but we took the boat back today and after we were sorted we had to move up to a new mooring so I haven't been able to get on the computer. So... We took NB Jambo back to Oxley Marine on the Staffs & Worcs this morning and they have been absolutely amazing. We were hoping yesterday after they tightened the bolts on the Centaflex (which were very loose) that everything would be sorted but as we moved away to moor on the opposite side of the canal last night (it was getting dark) the problem reappeared and again we weren't getting any forward acceleration (during testing whilst moored up at their yard it had been absolutely fine). So as we crept over the width of the canal this morning back to their side of the bank we still thought the problem was with the Centaflex but after closer inspection it was discovered the problem was actually with the gear box (at which point my heart sank as you can imagine). It turns out, despite researching on the net and getting what I thought were the correct answers, I had overfilled the gearbox oil which had led to the forward gears becoming smooth and slippery! Dave (from Oxley Marine who is an absolute legend!) found on checking the gearbox that not only was it too full but that the oil in there was not a healthy colour at all. After multiple cleanouts with diesel though the colour started to lighten and we started to get some normality to the gearbox. In reality the gearbox is pretty shot but thanks to Dave's ministrations and by mixing the ATF oil with 50ml of diesel we're able to keep on for hopefully a while longer (hopefully long enough to save up for a new gearbox!!). I can't recommend Oxley Marine enough - they're genuine, fantastic people who wanted to help and keep us running and lots of other people who we'd met on the way up the Staffordshire Worcestershire canal had also been saying really positive things about them. All the best and thanks for all your replies Martin

I was cleared of all charges The judge ruled that what I did in the privacy of my bedroom was quite legal . :)

Put a chalk or felt tip pen mark on the shaft and one on the back of the coupling inline with each other, then go backwards and forwards a few times to see if the marks still align up.

Many 230v TVs actually have a 'brick' in the power line that reduces the voltage to 12v DC look at the supply line for any TV you are looking at - if it has a 12v transformer then you can run it straight off your 12v supply. BUT they do not like 14 volts (ie when the engine is running) and can emit the 'magic smoke' so I would suggest you get a 12v to 12v stabilised supply (a couple of £s on ebay) We have a 230v TV with a stabilised power supply and it has worked perfectly for many years. If you do happen to put too many volts into it - all is not lost as you can get replacement smoke :

Look, I said I’d do it, ok? There’s no need to keep reminding me every six months.

I would add, we wear lifejackets on rivers. If you want your daughter to wear one, you wear one too. It makes rules easier to stick to Otherwise, she'll be fine. At 12 she is easily big enough to steer the boat, I've often found children and teenagers to be better steerers than adults. They don't seem to get so hung up about 'doing it wrong' Somewhere there's a lovely sequence of pictures of a six year old girl taking a motor into the Anderton Boat lift. Mind you, she would have been around boats her whole life Richard

Popcorn at the ready

Don’t be silly – they’d have been eaten by the alligators.

"My" retired Narrow Boat captain has told me that as the probability of a gas attack became unlikely from about 1943 on, the gas masks were recalled and went to the Croxley paper mills for recycling. The brass attachments were stored in a separate warehouse. The visiting boaters would grab handfuls of the links for their own use or sell on to other boaters.

Halsall works the Four Counties Ring, so is through Autherley Junction, Wolverhampton at least once a month (Currently heading north on the T&M from Great Haywood to Middlewich, then across to Nantwich area next week. Seehttps://www.facebook.com/fourcountiesfuels/ for updates or call Lee & Roberta 07491 149149

The Rochdale Canal above Dukes Lock in the 1970s and now. From the Manchester Evening News https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/rochdale-canal-dukes-92-lock-15790058

Have they found my bike?

Hi all, Just an introduction I'm Alan,seriously thinking of looking to buy a NB to live on the Lancaster canal(selling house process at the mo) I posted on a separate thread(missed this one I must be blind ) The idea of finishing work early on Friday and being free to leave the marina and go cruising at weekends(eating out at the pubs etc) along the way is drawing me in. I've done the research,pros and cons....few friends trying to advise me against for various reasons. For example it's a depreciating asset...money pit etc etc. I've taken that all aboard(excuse the pun) but the way of life still appeals to me...anyway I'll be back here with an update at some point,nice to meet you all

We have a sea toilet on a sailing boat. It never blocks either, but I've heard others say the pipes are susceptible to crudding up. (oh, sorry, you have me on block i presume)

Go onto any of the Boat sales web sites. Start with a big one like for instance Whilton. Read the sales bumf on all the boats and especialy what type of toilet is fitted. Then ask yourself why the numbers are what they are.

All sounds fine to me. Dont take much notice of you tube they are mainly noobys themselves. Money is fine and will get you a sensible boat. Only problem will be battery charging when not in the marina or on leccy hook up as engine running on CART waters between 8 and 8 is not allowed unless you are moored on your own away from others that is.

Whenever anyone mentions something that is (partly) to blame for producing pollution/greenhouse gases someone will come along to defend it as being only x% of the total and/or to blame something else. Surely what's needed is a reduction from all sources, not just the worst one (whatever that is).

Very nice too!