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Just Giving page in memory of John

https://www.justgiving.com/page/john-sloan-1719664855235?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fjohn-sloan-1719664855235&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

The boat Jack was a horse boat. The running line went from the T stud through running blocks and the mast to the horse. The running line was released slowly when the horse started the tow so to ease the strain of starting from stationary. The T stud was removable. Another picture.

Today I had a serious professional welder fill in the deepest pits on the old girl, I brought a boat surveyor to tell me would it be plausible and he said it would. Actually there was not many 2mm deep, but we did them all, I'm not grinding the weld off (he did long runs over 3 or 4 at a time) overplating would have cost a small fortune, so this may help others with pitting, this old girl was built in 1979, so not bad considering.

most are mature age people who choose to have an old boat for a range of reasons. Frequently because thats what they have done for 30 plus years, and have no desire for a modern boat. They do not carry , do not play at carrying, are careful with their boats, and act in a fashion not dissimilar to the owners of other craft. Personally I do not own a waistcoat a bowler hat nor a red neckerchief, and I did not wear such items even when I was making a living on the boats.

Today at Braunston from another boat

People don't swim in the Thames anymore, they just go through the motions.

So, last six months I've been suffering, stiffening up. Anyone over the age of 65 who has just done eight locks on the Calder and Hebble will be lucky to walk away without some muscular strain.... So, booked a Thai massage in Sowerby (therapist has good understanding of English), mostly relaxing, mostly. Immediate results, taken five years off the body stiffness. I'll be booking in again. There is a chiropractor next door if you need manipulation:)

A few things which can confuse matters. In some languages the same word is used for brass and bronze. This means it does not always translate back properly to English. There are several copper alloys colloquially known as bronzes. Bronze should really only be used for a copper tin alloy. Tin is very close to copper electrochemically, so whilst it could come out preferentially to the copper, the rate at which it did so would be very slow. It works more by forming a continuous hard oxide coating across the surface which means the metal is protected from environmental attack. Aluminium and silicon do the same but are more sacrificial. Zinc is highly sacrificial because although it is not quite as reactive as aluminium, the oxide it forms is not very protective so it keeps dissolving. If you add tin to the zinc and copper, it forms a tin oxide skin over the surface which is highly protective, giving a cheaper, stronger alloy than ordinary bronze. This is naval brass (sometimes known as naval bronze) which if alloyed properly is very good in marine environments, being what it was specifically developed for in the 1930s. Alec

DZR is usually what you want for underwater fittings. Is the size not cast or stamped on the boss somewhere? Where is the FMM 595 mark?

Surely bronze contains no zinc, only tin, unless it is so-called aluminium bronze. Brass is the stuff that loses zinc.

There are online prop calculators that will make a stab of what you want. You will need waterline length, hull type (displacement or planing), engine power and max RPM, gearbox reduction and the largest diameter the prop can be allowing for sufficient tip clearance, but I feel the results need treating as a guide rater than gospel and experience is always helpful. Just Google "marine propeller calculator" and play with a few.

After many years researching canal history, I have come across very few deaths or serious injuries mentioned, either in canal records or in newspapers. I suspect the standard of training was higher 100 to 200+ years ago, and management that had actual experience of what they were managing.

Outside the Greyhound in 1968:-

50yrs, well before my age for drinking. That’s back in another century. what I will do is go this evening and see if it still tastes the same as it did the other day. Can’t say fairer than that.

Ok. Anyway, I've replaced that plastic block with p-clips to make it look more "professional".

Its often a tough call. My little girl is a senior HSE inspector and puts the files together for prosecution. We dont talk about work as after all its just work but she told me of a house she went to that was having a swimming pool built in the back garden. Neighbours were worried so she had to go look. There was a large 3 metres deep hole she tells me with blokes working in the bottom, she told them to stop for various reasons and was confronted by burly builders who said it had been passed only yesterday by buildings control and so she could sod off. She explained she was elf and safety and in a nutshell to desist or else. Work stopped, next day she was back as one wall had collapsed and taken next door neighbours garden in with it and fence. Had anyone been working down there it would have been goodbye Vienna, her actions probably saved lives.

The Victoria Propeller Calculator at vicprop.com is fairly simple to use and is I believe the one which has previously been discussed on here. One thing to bear in mind is your engine size vs boat size and where you use it. The calculator generally assumes you want the best transmitted power but if you have a relatively shallow boat with an efficient hull design and a relatively large engine you can easily lose the ability to go slow enough on a canal so some derating is needed. I agree with Bee that this is where knowledge is needed. I also agree that dezincification would be surprising as most props are made of bronze, which is a copper tin alloy or naval brass which is copper tin zinc where there is enough tin in the alloy to be protective. A zinc copper brass would be possible, but not generally used as it would be vulnerable to corrosion. Alec

Hi Everybody Many thanks for your interesting and valuable comments. Essentially, it would seem that the jury is out. Several of you have the same clauses in your own contracts, some see it as fair and others as questionable. Of course, it is relatively easy to sidestep the clause and take the boat elsewhere for work (always assuming that the boat can actually move!) but just being able to circumvent the clause does not make it right in the first place, of course! The comparison with pubs, service stations, corkage, etc. is an interesting one, but I think all such outlets are subject to competition pressures that they cannot escape whereas one might argue that the marina is using its position of power to force a control over competition. It is much more straightforward to change pub than it is to change marina. I do realise, however, that the final choice is mine. I can either accept the conditions, fight them or change marina, but I am still concerned that competition is being manipulated to the marina’s advantage, and no, I cannot afford to take it to a lawyer! If anyone still has the energy to contribute, I would welcome any further thoughts. In particular, on a scale of ‘Typical /Fairly Typical /Not Typical’ how wide-spread do you think such a practice relating to marina engineers is? I will not be able to respond for a day or two, but many thanks to you all. It has been very helpful. Old Tim

If they are going to allow other tradesmen to work in their marina they are entitled to take reasonable steps to ensure that the tradesman is insured and not a risk to the marina itself or to the other boats moored there and is not going to cause undue disturbance to marina staff, other moorers or neighbours. It follows that they can make a reasonable charge for verifying the tradesman's status. Whether £50 per day is a reasonable charge in the circumstances is a matter that could ultimately only be determined by a court. The easy answer, as suggested above, is to have the work done outside the marina.

I think the OP was just unlucky. On the L&L CRT have/are actively encouraging paddlists so we meet a lot of them... mostly they seem petrified of boats and scatter or make for the bank....not had any cross words so far... Did have a slightly odd one , single canoeist paddling furiously and closing from astern... more or less caught up with me as I eased up for a bridge hole on a bend... think he was going to overtake in the bridge hole but changed his mind....