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I really don't agree with you. Welding in steel sheet to replace large bus windows would, I expect, involve considerable stripping out of the interior in the window area to prevent heat damage to panels, insulation etc. This would not be a straightforward job that could be undertaken during a typical repaint as far as I am aware. Not an issue with a shell but very tricky with a fitted boat. I think the Kedian insert panels would be straightforward to fit and would look amazing when painted.

This one isn't needless but its useless

Especially in a new to you boat. The Trent requires hours of engine running at sustained load and shows up any cooling problems it might have. An overheated engine on a tidal river is not a pleasant experience. Lots of boats do the Trent each year without incident, but there are some right epics too. Not a good place for your first boating experience. Definitely stick to the canals, though there are short lengths of non tidal Trent to negotiate between Beeston and Derwent Mouth and also at Alrewas, which can be dicey in high water and impassible in flood. After you've done this trip, you'll be a boating old hand and more ready to tackle bigger and tidal river stretches. Jen

You seem to be missing the point of the Kedian insert. It is designed specifically so that it can be installed in an existing lined out boat, with minimal disruption to adjacent material, and without the need for hot processes. Of course its a compromise, and of course there are other ways of doing the job. But that doesn't mean it isn't a suitable option in some cases. And anyone thinking every boat alteration job should involve grit blasting back to bare metal and never using filler is living in cloud cuckoo land!

The Trent is tidal and not a great idea for new boaters. Exiting at Keadby is quite tricky. I suggest you go via the Trent & Mersey, Bridgewater and the Leeds & Liverpool canals

If anybody wants any rubber pipe fenders I have found a way to obtain a large number of these free of charge, I just open up the weedhatch and there is another bugger down there. Got another one today. A plea to boaters...., take pride in your boat and boating and get some proper rope fenders, and only deploy them when moored. Never cruise with fenders down. Pipe fenders are cheap, nasty and the work of the devil. Gillie was driving and shouted me to say she had a pipe fender round the prop, no need to look, she knows the sound that they make 😀

Starter motor - if it spins up but does not engage it could be the axial position is off relative to the ring gear and it needs sliding up or down a bit. This can be critical, as some of the starter motors of this era have a two stage current - low to extend and engage them and only near the fully extended position do you get full current to turn the engine. You would need to look up whether this the case for yours and what the position should be. Big old CAV starter motors such as this are not inherently expensive to have or service, but they do require more hunting around. Getting it overhauled by someone with all the necessary parts in the first instance would probably be advisable. In the meantime, figure out what else they fit on and keep an eye out for a spare listed as the starter motor for that. I have a BS5. On the Kelvin J2 they are moderately expensive (£350 or so outright sale) but the same starter motor fits a pre-war Bentley and if advertised as such it is usually around £2000. However, it also has other applications and I have picked up a couple of spares of the correct voltage and rotation for around £40-60 each. The pinion, which is the part that wears, also fits the U6 and I picked one up that way which was advertised as for a Gardner. This can make quite a saving. Alec

I'm not aware of any book specifically bout narrowboat maintenance and DIY. A good resource is @Tony Brooks web site tb-training.co.uk/

Don’t Just don’t

What ended up being called the Brewery Tap in recent years was originally the Ram Inn, but allegedly somebody objected to having this opposite the Spread Eagle... 😉

The OP has had the engine running so it seems likely the motor itself is alright but the working end needs cleaning. It could easily be a low hours engine which has just been sitting around a lot.

Why? You could fit the insert to the inside of the cabin plating, and attach it with countersunk machine screws. Dress the edge of the opening and tidy up with filler, and it need not be apparent this is bolted in. Yes it's not the only way to do the job, but it doesn't need welding facilities at the boat nor the potential heat distortion of steel or heat damage to insulation etc., and could be installed by a competent DIYer.

As staunch traditionalist, I far prefer to keep the cabin top free of everything but essential bits of kit. Bags of fuel, planters etc are a no no for me. As far as the coal bags are concerned, unless they have air space beneath , are a prime culprit for causing paint failure. I’ve seen it more than once. Just saying….

Tipcats & button looks like a proper boat where as button does not

Surely by now you don't expect her posts to be factually correct, do you?

Is it a big problem or is this something else the CWF are trying fix that doesn't need it.

Really?

It's less environmentally damaging than burning coal, or the least that's the argument, it's certainly not environmentally friendly that's the wrong term to use

Why is the location wrong. Where have the builders put the bow then ?

I had a bit of a look at these photos and there appear to be a void to the left of the hole in the far bank. There also appears to be a partial cup or bearing visible through the hole in the near bank. My current guess is that a flood gate could be constructed with stub top and bottom pivots. The top stub pivot would be short enough to be pushed under the steel plate and up with the gate tilted. The gate would then be lifted slightly to allow the gate bottom stub pivot to drop into a socket on the canal bed. The gate would be contained in the recess by placing a square plate with a shallow socket in the underside over the top pivot. The gate could be swung either automatically by the flow or possibly manually by a vertical bar if the flow was too slow. Course I could be talking complete rubbish. 😄

I’d go for the adventure and take it down the river. Take a mate and a crate of tinnies. There’ll be lots of people on the way to give local advice. Only live once, take a few risks Enjoy

Diesel is 0.82 to 0.845 kg/litre and 1kg is 2.2lb, so for the lb/bhp/hr column, divide by 1.804 ( 2.2*0.82) to give litres/bhp/hr. However, that figure is for the engine at full load, which on a canal it will hardly ever be, so these fuel consumption figures will be gross over estimates for canal use. 37.5bhp at 1800rpm would give (0.4/1.804)*37.5 = 8.3l/hr.

So did I, there were quite a few Courage pubs in the City of London in those days. Courage, Fullers and Shepherd Neame were lunchtime staples for us back then. Shepherd Neame had an odour that could be kindly described as an acquired taste. Or perhaps less kindly as smelling of farts. Anyway, I'm currently moored outside the Boathouse in Braunston (yes, I know... but when 50% of the boat's crew has a foot problem the options are limited!) and I noticed earlier that they currently have Courage Directors on draught (plus Hobgoblin Ruby, Wainwright and one other that I can't remember) so we'll be going in shortly to try it.

No meat or dairy products. We were not checked for food. They just checked that our gas was turned off. We did smuggle a couple of bits over. Dog food, some bacon and sausage but to be honest we won't bother next time. The shops are so superior to UK ones here that there isn't really any point. We will just do a stock up shop when we get here. .............. Our last night in France tonight and a free aire by the seaside at Wissant to finish off with. Only a short 15 minute drive to Calais in the morning to catch our train.

Since his boat is 8ft 3in wide that option is not available to the OP. It's 22ft long. So he could go through sideways! (Keadby Lock is 22ft 6ins wide).

Rats, my name isn't Thomason. Where can I wind?

Here's one running. And this one has a raised hand start. According to the discussion at https://ukengineforum.forumotion.com/t6516-coventry-victor-diesel they have something of a reputation for being poor starters - hot air up the inlet or easy start are suggested - but once warmed up they will run all day and restart easily. And a nice sounding engine too. Definitely worth keeping if you can.

It's not the fenders - they sink like solid rubber stones - it's the cheapo polypropylene rope they come with. Anchored to the bottom by the fender, the poly rope positions itself like a stalactite awaiting a victim. It's the canal equivalent of a sea mine.

My own suggestion is sort of related to the above. My advice is to find the optimum number, keep adding bags to the roof until the boat capsizes, then take one off.

Theres lots of us about.