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Showing content with the highest reputation on 29/01/23 in all areas

  1. Even at my age I still have a photographic memory. Unfortunately it no longer offers a same day service... 😥
    5 points
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  4. I can't quite recall why I didn't, though when I arrived at the boatyard the first thing they offered me was to black her using epoxy over my bitumen (after a scrape and pressure wash), saying that's what they did as standard now. There are 2 things being talked about here. 1: The correct application of epoxy to a bare metal surface, giving maximum adhesion and longevity, up to 10 years. Following the instructions to the letter. There is no shortcut to this, and no snake oil solution. Dr Bob is right. 2: Scraping and washing loose bitumen off then applying epoxy. Repeat every 2 years. What comes off, comes off, and you're gradually getting better adhesion. But it's totally not scenario 1.
    3 points
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  6. It was more complicated than that. The original increase in the number of cones came after the EU introduced Set-Aside, where farmers were paid to take land out of use. This was aimed at reducing the wine lakes, butter mountains and so on. The British government saw an opportunity and reclassified the countries motorway and trunk road network as agricultural land. They then took miles of dual carriageway and motorway lanes out of use with rows of cones, allowing them to lie fallow and pocketing the EU cash. A welcome boost to the vital road cone industry, so almost every one was a winner. Excepting people driving of course.
    3 points
  7. The last thing I want when I'm looking over a boat to consider buying it is the owner or a broker at my elbow the whole time prattling away at me.
    3 points
  8. They're all the worn out ones! The ones that look complete are 9" ones worn down, actual useable ones are kept dry. I'm not intending to, the surface rust is a good thing in my book as it's removing the mill scale from the steel. It's a lot easier to remove light surface rust than it is to remove mill scale by grinder/scabbler It is a Harborough, wooden top, been overplated, now thin again underneath. Previous owners purchased it for £25k, it then sank, they sold it for £10k and it needs re-bottoming and re-cabin-ing, so possibly more of a project than this? I'm pretty sure mine isn't a Harborough, I think it's a Fernie, despite it being registered as an H&L. Or at least what's left of it is...
    2 points
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  14. 2 points
  15. More on Smith's Canal I decided I wanted to know more about this remote canal, so travelled to Swansea last week to see what more could be found. The reality is that even where there should be remnants - because the canal hasn't been built over - it is remarkably difficult to get to the original line of the canal. From Llansamlet church eastwards to the starting point, the canal should be accessible and as it's the absolute middle of winter, there is minimum vegetation. But still it's almost impossible to quickly or easily access the line of the canal. This is the Plough and Harrow pub, and looking east. The canal ran towards me along the tarmac (which is now the entrance to the Llansamlet Community Centre). The pub car park is to the left. There is a b&w photo of this scene and is the only photo I have seen of the canal fully in water, although without any boats. This is now looking west from the south side of the community centre. The canal ran alongside the rough grass and the lower brick wall at the end is where the canal continued. Most of the next mile is covered by the Swansea Enterprise Park. On the other side of Church Road in Llansamlet, looking east. I had hoped to walk this stretch towards the start of the canal. But it just wasn't possible. The fly-tipped rubbish is obvious. The land beyond doesn't seem to be used but access is tricky as there are few public footpaths. It's not even clear who owns the land. I'm not overly bothered about trespassing as long as I'm not damaging crops, fences, assets, etc. But physically it wasn't possible. The water can be seen here. This is the route of a public bridleway (not just a footpath!) from the end of Tawe Road (off Peniel Green Road) and it goes north towards the new B4625. Completely impassable and no sign of a path. The wall on the right is the wall of the former Swansea Vale Railway. Long gone. Getting to the canal from the north - the B4625 - is a lot easier although the path is obviously little used. The fly-tipping at the southern end might have something to do with it. The canal line is straight ahead along the line of the young trees, with marsh to the right, and this is heading NE. Ive learnt that on many disused canals, the trees tend to grow out of the former canal bed rather than the bank or the former towpath. The canal crosses the B4625 here but no trace on either side beyond some small ridges. The canal was crossed by the Swansea Vale Railway. However, as the canal was closed in 1852, I'm not even sure if there was a bridge over the canal. This is a field between the old railway embankment and the M4 embankment off to the right. In early 6" OS maps, there is clearly a line of marsh and even 'canal width' open water across this field, with the latter more or less where these ponies are standing. The start of the canal was the Gwernllwynchwyth estate and the pits around it. The most likely end point (ignoring what Coflein record as they are clearly wrong) was Scott's Pit, seen here. The old engine house remains and can be seen on a rise in the middle right of the photo. The canal almost definitely ended in this copse in the field. It is possible that the canal continued just beyond the barbed wire at the lower edge of the photo. However, this seems to be on a slight rise whereas the copse is flat. This is the road and parking opposite the Scott's Pit site (to the right). However, this odd road shape shape has been here since the earliest OS maps and must surely have something to do with the canal and/or local waggonways. The engine house at Scott's Pit. There has been little excavations done to date. The field to the immediate south of Scott's Pit with the copse beyond the frost on the far side of the field. The photo of the copse above was taken from the gap in the trees on the upper left. An additional twist to this story is the Gwernllwynchwyth (try saying that to a taxi driver after a few pints) which is now completely ruined and overgrown with absolutely no attempt to even make it safe let alone any form of interpretation. The estate was the focal point of the coal estate, with pits scattered around. Smith's Canal (Smith bought the estate early on) was replaced and it is likely that the upper 0.75km was closed early on and a waggonway ran from the pits around Gwernllwynchwyth for about 500m to a 'new' terminal basin. As a final treat (I will do an update on the Hafod-Morfa end of the canal in due course) this is part of an artificial water supply system known as Chauncey's Great Leat that supplied water from streams in the Gwernllwynchwyth estate to coal mines and early industry in Pentrechwyth several miles to the southwest, close to the Tawe. This arrangement doesn't make total sense because one immediately asks the question why not get water from the Nant y Fendrod or even the Tawe itself. Bricks and stone linings can be seen in the watercourse, but - as everywhere with this long-lost canal - it's so difficult to access. There is no connection possible between Smith's Canal and the Swansea Canal. The former is on the eastern side of the Tawe, the latter alongside-ish on the western side.
    2 points
  16. You've just got to be careful that the wire brush isn't polishing rather than keying. Clive has a massive angle grinder with a huge sanding disc that he might lend you if you ask nicely. If you're gentle you could give the steel a key without removing good steel. Or just do the same with a mini angle grinder as you'll probably have more control. A coarse flap wheel disc will do it but you'll have to be gentle. You don't want to remove good steel.
    2 points
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  25. Excellent news, thanks for the update! I think we can safely blame the sausages.
    2 points
  26. I solved the problem, folks. My incompetence knows no bounds: I forgot I set the fridge's temperature dial (it was hidden behind some sausages) to 0. I just turned it now and the fridge came back to life. Gonna go cook those sausages now...
    2 points
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  29. Been down to the boat today for the first time this year, pleased to report that all is well. Did a bit more welding and measured up a few bits for the next steps. Thought I'd get some photos of her as she sits now, quite striking proportions! There's a few bits of life that are happening in the background that are a bit drastic but should really benefit the progression of this as a project, it's probably going to be moved to a more convenient yard fairly shortly
    2 points
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  31. Yea, and my comments haven't changed. Epoxies are hard rigid coatings that work by stopping oxygen and water getting to the substrate. They are excellent at the job due to their excellent adhesion to well prepared steel. They will not work well over soft single pack coatings. You may get some years out of them but its a poor solution.
    1 point
  32. Ballastic Epoxy 5L This advanced product bridges the gap between having to sand, or blast back, a steel canal boat to bare metal before applying a two-pack epoxy primer, for a 10 year paint system and having to apply a bitumen-based product every year or so. Ballastic Epoxy is a two-pack primer but it can be applied over existing bitumen paint and has all the protection of an epoxy primer which will allow the use of better quality two-pack topcoats. When mixed the two components make 5 litres of paint.
    1 point
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  35. Do you have a double skin chimney with the inner slightly set down into the flue and the gap between the inner and outer insulated? I think often the drips originate inside a single skin chimney, drip down onto the collar and leak between collar and flue.
    1 point
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  37. Looking at you tube everyone is on the Llangollen.
    1 point
  38. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
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  40. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  41. I can't remember the details. But I'm sure tony mentioned an idea to do some European boating (don't mention brexit. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it.)
    1 point
  42. I couldn't agree more Rusty, but I won't elaborate as it will initiate another brexit debate that will occupy 10 pointless pages, and I'm hoping this thread might garner me some actual useful info.
    1 point
  43. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  44. I do think you have become somewhat of a punching bag for the cry of hypocrisy and it's unpleasant and wrong, yes you can be a touch evangelical about the subject but good for you, this place is mostly the better of the presence of those that actually do the stuff rather than talk about it
    1 point
  45. 12V router. No LAN ports though.
    1 point
  46. Paint the inside white, take it down to London, write a blog saying it cost nothing to live on the boat,
    1 point
  47. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  48. I live on another boat - the one I am referring to is a holiday boat which is a cc er so it would need to be left unattended occasionally. I am mainly interested in the general roughness of the tidal bit - I did get a bit wet steering on the back deck once when passing HMS Belfast with wind against tide. The boat has quite a low buoyancy at the front and chines rather than vertical dide plates so she'll roll and dive a bit... Side plates Its this boat but not quite as clean and tidy now 15 years on http://www.pickwellandarnold.co.uk/Profile_Other/Cobo/Cobo.htm
    1 point
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