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The ultimate device for cleaning things like this is the diswasher. Hottest setting, max detergent and awa' ye go. In the interests of self preservation, it may be a good idea to send 'er indoors out shopping or to a n other activity she enjoys, and to run an empty wash after the main run.🤞

This is a model I built a few years ago of (you guessed it) Shad. Its 7ft long making it 1/10th scale, metal bottom, wooden top, its not perfect, but I thought I`d show you. I can`t seem to upload anymore than 1 photo..

Why thank you for thinking of me and calling my attention to this thread. I can't have pets because of my itinerant presence in the UK, but if I could, I would love to have a boat's cat. Indeed, I took on the handle in reference to the historic British naval tradition of keeping a cat aboard ships, a practice sadly abandoned only recently (as British maritime history goes). Some friends and I have been mildly obsessed with this practice for decades. Though the rationale was pest control, the ship's cat was also a pet and mascot as well as a working animal, and often considered the most beloved member of the crew. I read one account from the sea dog era of a cat overboard which caused several crewmen to leap and launch a dinghy for a rescue. The chronicler doubted that such an effort would be made for any other crew member. Sailors are a penny a dozen.

I've had two very different cats on board! My previous cat, Stuart, was very adventurous and regarded the entire tow path as his territory. This was a little stressful, especially when terriers were being walked. We had a couple of trips to the vet from minor incidents. But overall he understood the boat was his home, and after a while would lounge happily whilst going through locks, etc... there were a few weeks while he adjusted to the various thuds and engine noises. I was worried he wouldn't adapt but he was very happy. He lived to 17 years old! My current little cat, Stella, is much more reserved and tends to only go out at night when the tow path is quiet. Or else just lounge on the hot metal of the bow. She's adjusted well, and is a very content girly. I've trained her to come when I call using treats. I tend to keep her in for the first 24 hours after moving... In my mind, this lets her cat compass recalibrate. I also avoid letting Stella out during peak dog-walking hours (first thing in the morning, and just before dusk). I think the main thing is the first time they go in the canal (and they will go in!) - once you know they can swim and climb well, that's some piece of mind. I don't do the whole carpet over the sides thing... but I'm mostly moored in places without sheer banks. I also bought a large fishing net rod thing - luckily it has never had to be used! And make sure they're locked in while cruising! Stuart was a terror for getting off for an adventure halfway up a flight of locks! It's really about the personality of the cat... you'll get a feel for it, and make adaptions to suit their tendencies. I have had one friend lose a cat to the canal, so it's not to be taken lightly. But with care and attention, it's a good life for a cat... And of course they have a long history with boats and ships, protecting grain and so on from pests... (Though on a steel narrowboat, they're more likely to bring mice in than keep them out hehe).

Great typo on the "submarine" page on this model boat club site! "You just never know what is cursing below your water line." (My emphasis.) https://gdmbc.co.uk/club-models/submarine/

My personal experience is that this is a reasonable claim from the sellers. I was sold a 2-pack for the hull (from PDI paints) that claimed to be fine over bitumen... I got as much bitumen as I could off, and applied the 2-pack. Pulled her out after 4 years and she could've gone straight back in - no issues with peeling. I think with decent prep (not just slapping in on over, but mechanically removing as much bitumen as wants to come off) the results will still be good. No job will ever be perfect (without sandblasting, perhaps), and I understand your logic... but in reality, my experience indicates good results from a product with similar claims. I've been waiting for a potable-water friendly version of the same product, so I'm very interested to see if the OP goes ahead - and the cost too.

Ok, if you remove the bitumen you'll get a much better job.

Tug No 2 was looking good last weekend

Sadly, they are not going to open this for us.

@TheShipsCat "saw this and thought of you" 😉

Departing KGV.

Lining up for a photo shoot of the Woolwich boats in King George V Dock. And the rest of the flotilla leaving the entrance lock to join us in the dock. And back in the entrance lock again.

Compare that with the Mauretania entering the same lock in 1939.

All cats are different but ours would leap off when we stopped and wander off but always uncanily returned before we set off again. We were ccers at the time between Yorkshire and Bath and he never got lost. He was a wanker on the gunwhales though and did oft get wet and one cold winters night when he was soaking wet he got in to another boat and in bed with the occupants who were not amused 😂, that was outside The George at Bathhampton.

No, they said the survey I had done in March 2024 is fine to start a policy with them, and that they don't require any additional surveys providing I stay with them. Like I say, sounds too good to be true, but that's what they've said! For sure. But my current provide will now require a lift and survey every 3 years (as my boat is over 30 years old now), so the new premium would have to go up a LOT to compete with that! I'm not trying to avoid any future surveys, so we'll see how it goes. If it's worth having a survey and changing providers in the future, so be it

What, they weren't interested in the cup hook inventory? (Installed and hot spares to be listed with a breakdown of size and degree of polish) Frankly the list reads like "we don't really want your business, but if you are so desperate for insurance..."

But does that "Recent survey" mean every three years?!😂 Think mine expires this year.😕 My last communication with GJW re our steel narrowboat insurance confirmed the next survey would need to be a full out of water survey to include: The survey should be carried out ashore Hull and superstructure – condition of hull, hull plate thickness readings (if applicable) Engines Mast, spars, sails and rigging (if applicable) Steering gear and rudder Propeller, propeller shaft and stern gland Stern gear Fastenings Windows and port lights Hand rails and stanchions Shell openings and shell fittings All underwater openings Doors and hatches Davits, boarding ladders, accesses, etc Bilge pumps and ancillary equipment Toilet installations Fuel installations Gas installations Ventilation Cathodic protection Lifesaving equipment Firefighting equipment Navigation equipment Ground tackle and mooring arrangements, serviceability of anchors, chains and winches A valuation Looks like I will be shopping around soon too.

@captain flint I just remembered that I too started a thread on this forum a couple of years back about Specialist Coatings and this product. Here it is if you're interested in having a read... Specialist Coatings The person I was speaking to who eventually stopped replying was Alison Lambert-Gorwyn.

I do drink from my tank, but I have a reverse osmosis filter fitted. There are a few available, I got mine from Offgrid Water. Main things to check are if they can cope with low pressure water feed, and if they re-mineralise the water. I'll keep you posted but you'll have to be patient - I'm leaning towards redoing my tank next year, not this. Plus - and I guess this is the real kicker - even if it goes on well and looks good I won't really be able to report much until the coating has been in place for a few years! Blimey. Do you not even use tank blacking?! Don't you worry about corrosion? Having recently helped out a neighbour who had to pull up his floors, and dry and treat his bilge, tank leaks are no joke.

I was told the same by HKJ. My only proviso would be that it’s not unknown for insurance companies to suddenly change their mind for absolutely no reason at all at renewal!! However they are all capable of this so just something you have to deal with when it happens.

When I spoke to Peter, the head fella, on the phone he told me he'd had two strokes in the last few years. So I guess it might have been health issues that caused him to go quiet, rather than irritation. Anyway he's said he'll be sending me a full guide before any purchase happens. I can't imagine I'd want more than the odd page printed out, which I can do myself That's what I thought but I wasn't sure if I was misremembering /misjargoning. The designer did say that the 2 pack element is one that's on the market, albeit significantly modified. I'm expecting the data sheet before too long. There are solvent free 2 pack epoxy systems out there, though, so I expect it's one of them Jotomastic is solvent free... I did my own last time. The only reputable option I'm aware of anywhere within reach for getting it redone (as opposed to redoing it myself) would charge £1200, which I understand, having done the job myself. It's a pig. But it is supposed to be redone every 3-5 years. £1200 isn't peanuts in itself, but if spending more might been I don't have to open up the bloody thing again for ten or fifteen years that would be amazing! And it might even represent better value for money in the long term

That "something" would be a scratch or the baseplate scraping along the canal bed.

That is exactly what he will be doing if he follows my procedure above. The slight problem is where in the earth circuit he needs to check. It could be the negative battery post connection, any terminal, the negative to the engine, or the negative hull bond, even then it could still be in the positive so he needs to follow some logical procedure to locate the position of the fault.

Me neither and I worked with batteries for over 40 years. Logically "anti-parallel" would be the opposite of parallel, i.e. series.

Good point, in which case it is amazing this model hasn't exploded already! (As we learn from YouTube happens whenever lithium batteries are installed, anywhere.)

Perhaps by saying the canal is closed to navigation and issuing a stoppage notice they are doing their bit to minimise their liability should something go wrong, but by not physically blocking the canal they are giving boaters the option to crack on if they want to.

Oh they're very good at it when there is a way, and also good at expanding a chink into a bubbling hole, but the paint technologists apparently dedicate a lot of study to the battle. I don't have more details, except to know that sometimes when fighting rust the trick is to lose so slowly that it looks like winning. 😉 My simplistic understanding is that the mixed paint is a slurry of particles in some liquid, which is in turn a solution of stuff in a solvent (here perhaps water). When the epoxy sets, I think of that as a "slurry that's set". There may be a better term. I'm sceptical that metallic zinc trapped in an epoxy matrix can function in the usual sacrificial way that galvanised steel uses, unless something breaks the encapsulation of the zinc; and I also doubt that it makes as effective a barrier against water vapour and oxygen as a metallic film. However there are paint systems that lay down sufficient metallic zinc to be effective. "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic"

Have you not seen him steer?

23 boats looking almost lost in one lock.

I know -- it's all going to be interesting, isn't it? I think quite a few boaters are going to wish that the ABC incident had never happened... 😉 (though TBH it only confirmed what some people were starting to suspect might happen sooner or later if things went badly wrong with an LFP installation...)