Leaderboard

Tell your bank you want to claim one of the payments back under the direct debit guarantee scheme. You will then have your money back and CRT and the bank can bicker with each other at lesiure.

Gives whack with a piece of wood. Always worked on my old Triumph Dolomite

Not that I am aware of, no. What they have done with some of the exhibits they are keeping is to put them into dry storage. They will not be "restored" as the museum reckons it will destroy the historical integretary of how they were originally constructed. I will not get into the ramifications of how the boats came to be as they are as it has been well covered elsewhere. Other people have differing views however. One exhibit that is being looked after in a floating condition is "Chocolate Charlie's" (Atkins) Mendip.

For best practice, do this on a slow water point blocking a flight of locks during Easter weekend.

I'd be far more concerned about the wastage corrosion around the waterline than the unblacked baseplate. It may well be that the boat has never been blacked since it was first launched - does the OP know its history? A 2011 boat should still be in the first flush of its youth. Yes, me, for one. The deepest baseplate pits seem to be 0.4mm, which is 4% of the total steel thickness. They may well have been there since new. Nothing to worry about at all.

No, tried that but significant issues. Number 1. When I put the deck boards back down, said deck boards interfered with the designed rotation of the fan and made a horrible banging noise that upset Mrs Bob. Mrs Bob does not like loud banging noises. Number 2. The rocker box cover is only at 70deg C therefore the heat required to spin the fan was not reaching th lower limits of accepatability, thus not providing the necessary cooling. Number 3. The only bit of the engine hot enough to drive the fan is the alternator itself, and with the fan sat on the alternator, it was even closer to the deck boards. See point 1. Number 4. Unfortunately the alternator is round in profile so said fan does not fit properly to get adequate heat transfer from hot alternator surface to bottom plate of fan so fan rotation is severely compromised. Number 5. There is no number 5. Number 6. Given the base of the fan is not magnetic - a serious drawback in the design of these articles- it cannot be mounted sideyways without the aid of some other supports. I did try some plastic tie wraps but unfortunately these melted causing the fan to fall of and make a load banging noise. See point 1. Number 7. When I finally tied it on sideyways with a bit of string, It did rotate but unfortunately this was in the wrong direction i.e. In a plane parallel to the alternator but not impacting on the alternator instead. Maybe some form of duckting might work. This time the duck was not impressed. The duck doesn't get impressed often. Number 8. I did wot Peterboat told me and bought a bilge blower with a pipe that directs the cold air from the bottom of the bilge for <£50. It doesn't make a noise so the duck and Mrs Bob are happy. Number 9. The motor on the fan (a 5 blade baby equaliser) is b**gered again so it's currently on the naughty step.

New series 'Britain by Barge' starts tonight (Friday 14th Feb.) at 9.00pm Channel 5.

maillot jeune, bien sur! maillot jeune, bien sur!

All of a sudden (and surprisingly,at my age) hope returns!

Additionally - that doesn't sound like a bad survey at all. If the surveyor thought welding was required they'd have made a recommendation to that effect. Blacking is a normal part of boat maintenance so you're highly unlikely to get a huge discount for the fact it needs doing. If you asked for anything towards welding a hull the surveyor says only needs derusting and blacking I'd begin to feel sorry for the seller. Edited to add: welcome to boat ownership!

First thing is that your surveyor should be answering these questions for you. You've paid for their opinion because it is more reliable than a bunch of strangers on an internet forum. Part of the service is them explaining it to you (by phone/in person) in a way which is useful to you. If it is one of the surveyors I'm thinking it might be (based on the prose style - feel free to message me to check) then they are good at this - just ask! In terms of blacking the bottom of your boat... There are bits at the back of it which stick down further than the majority. You don't expect to knock them off regularly in normal usage so you don't expect the blacking to be completely scraped off either. Hulls rust from the inside too but it is much easier to paint the outside. Which at least reduces than chance of rusty bits above and below meeting in the middle. I have two boats older than this one insured by a pretty big company (and not just for third party) who didn't ask to see surveys. One thing that would bother me slightly (depending on the kind of person selling) is that the boat is young enough to have needed RCD documentation which would probably have specified (I could be wrong here) the original thicknesses. It seems this wasn't provided for the surveyor to look at (as it sounds as though they had to guess this)

Me also, painting baseplate is a waste of time, effort and money. You will be dead before that baseplate needs repair.

Lightweight Mind you, a Yorkshireman flash with the cash? Rare indeed!

I'm sure I've seen the blue plaque commemorating the moment

I suspect it is the reporting of boat fires that has improved. Pre-internet we just did not hear about them unless local.

All fans are not the same. There's good ones, there's bad ones and there's chocolate teapot ones....... and there's ones where the motor goes wonky after 2 years!?

It has been windy enough these past few weeks. Why on earth would you want to install something to generate more? ?

Also, not much use during the hours of darkness. Unlike a wind turbine.

A couple of points to consider : 1) The canals are generally 'low down' in cuttings, surrounded by trees or houses and the wind is unreliable, and variable. 2) Do not fit it to the boat - the vibrations go all thru the boat. Mount it on the bank. 3) Do not believe the manufacturers output figures - they are normally based on something like a 50mph wind on an exposed mountain top, I know of several people who have tried and given up (hence all the 2nd hand units for sale) I'm sure there are some people somewhere who 'love it'.

Overheard as I walked past the Big Wheel at Walsall Arboretum: “Fower quid for the big whale??!!”

TMA seems to have a particularly large basin as she has to collect the litter out of it - not sure if she'll have a 'pop-up' plug. Said in a Brummy accent :- A) What's the difference between a Buffalo and a Bison ? A) You cannot wash your hands in a Buffalo.

I have looked back over the posts and can see no hostility, just some useful suggestions / advice. What you may see as arrogance is simply because folks are trying to help and make sure you are aware of the implications and costs of boat ownership - by looking at that boat for canal use, you identified someone with little knowledge of the waterways, and even having to ask if a 23 foot boat will 'fit' on the canals in London would suggest little research, so the suggestions were based on that. Had you said I have investigated licence, insurance, mooring, BSSC costs but just need some help sourcing a boat the response may have been different. Someone looking at a £200 boat gives the impression that a £10,000 - £15,000 London mooring may not be something they have considered. Hopefully the forum you have received your 'good advice' from is not one of the "of course it'll be all right, you don't need worry about C&RT or licence enforcement etc etc" forums that abound around the subject of boating in London. Have you tried the London Boaters Facebook page - they tell the truth about boating in London and should be able to give you some help.

She played the trombone better than me too! I had to get a euphonium to catch up, then she got the tuba. I play the fiddle, she plays the double bass. I play accordion, she plays church organ. There's a pattern, if only I could spot it...