XAlan W

I agree with you 100%. If some of the boats had been put out for tender/sold years ago they would probably have been kept up together [ they could have been displayed, ie HNBOC rallys or the like] & been a much more worthwile state to get people to spend money to view [The photo`s of all but the odd boat remind me of Winsford flashes& that was supposed to be a graveyard for old boats

I think you will find if the outboard is not too old is that the ignition is electronic [no points/condenser] & that if it is the problem, it is a fit a new unit job. also check the fuel pump for air leaks [if it bolts to the motor check the gasket between pump/crankcase. If it is remote check the pipe between pump & crankcase. Also check pump diapham for slits/pin holes, also make sure the little flappy bits[fuel valves are flat & not wrinkled] hope this helps.

Does your rocker cover have small plates to locate the gasket?, When i used to race using BMC A&B series engines, I have had ones that the locating plate just caught the edge of the head/rocker cover mating surface not allowing the gasket to be squeezed down enough.2 remidies , 1 grind a small amount from the bottom of the offending lug, 2 bend the bottom edge of the tab inwards slightly to miss the seating lip & as said in other replies DO NOT over tighten.

Sorry about the cockup we had a powercut[ Should read at the end stand in the hatches]

Seeing photo`s of some of the more modern built trad stern boats make me wonder if they are not making the problems that are being aired more likely to happen [god forbid] i refer to the up stand taffrail type bits on the counter anyone standing alongside the tiller bar when it gets whipped to one side for any reason stands no chance as the rail is between knee & waist height & the the tiller bar is chest height,perfect for folding you backwards over the stern. When I started my boating[on a full length working boat] I used to get a right rollocking if I stood any where other than in the hatches to steer + having the rear doors closed behind you was another + mark Some one said when I once asked[You have to have somewhere to sit]looked at me asthough I was from another planet whenIasked why he didn Seeing photo`s of some of the more modern built trad stern boats make me wonder if they are not making the problems that are being aired more likely to happen [god forbid] i refer to the up stand taffrail type bits on the counter anyone standing alongside the tiller bar when it gets whipped to one side for any reason stands no chance as the rail is between knee & waist height & the the tiller bar is chest height,perfect for folding you backwards over the stern. When I started my boating[on a full length working boat] I used to get a right rollocking if I stood any where other than in the hatches to steer + having the rear doors closed behind you was another + mark Some one said when I once asked[You have to have somewhere to sit]looked at me asthough I was from another planet whenIasked why he didn

Seeing photo

My wife gets all her reading & listening[audio books] through www.bookmooch.com

The person who bought the boat from me was Willow Wren Kearns so I would assume that was the Ray Kearns in 1972, & at that time it had the extension silencer fitted. Re the ringing from the Gearbox? the pivot bolt on the reverse clamp used to come loose in fact I drilled & wire locked the bolt. When this happened the the reverse shoe that used to clamp around the planet wheel casing all used to jingle about & catch the spinning planet box. IIRC used to make an horrendous racket. Under normal running with things maintained it used to be reasonably silent as there was very little mechanical noise just the sucking of the air valves & a [wumph] from the exhaust Like most vintage type engines though you had to work on it a bit to keep it up together,it was certainly not a fit & forget motor. In the 9 years I owned & ran it it never let me down & i still have good memories of it although, i suppose it could have been called an aquired taste

At the time I owned LILy the SEFFLE was fitted with the water cooled expansion box plus an extension silencer which bolted to the the exp box & reached up to the engine`ole roof. IIRC unless the engine was being worked hard ie. when loaded, the exhaust note was not to noisy,the more pressing issue when being worked hard if it had not done so for a time was the red hot soot balls blown from the exhaust, you had to make sure you were wearing a hat. I am led to understand that at a later date the extension box was removed I think it was Ike Argent that told me, IIRC in about 1985, if this indeed was the case, YES it would have made the exhaust note much louder, as when i first assembled the engine & got it running the silencer was not in the pile of parts,I had to travel to braunston to collect it. At the time of you hearing it Tim it was probably less ex silencer. Or maybe as time passes you only remember it as you think it was & I would now think it was really noisy

See if you can buy a hearth tidy set [from junk shop] cut off to suit & you will have 3 [poker, brush, &dustpan]you can use the other ends for your solid fuel stove.

Thanks for your replies nice to know some of the old u`ns are still being looked after & enjoyed. At the time of of my query DORSET was unconverted,& LAIDLEY WORM had a different conversion to the one in your photo, Could it maybe have been timber, not many all steel jobbies about back then The motor I had was FMC LILY with a 25hp one pot SEFFLE[now in Jem Bates SEVERN] when we contracted on the BCN gas line originally hired for 6 weeks but lasted 10 months I leased a butty from Jim Yates think it may have been a Braitewate & Kirk all it had in the way of a name was No16 Did some work as said transporting both sheet steel& concrete piles to various parts of SUC, S&W & T&M from Drayton Had full length cabin fitted & lived aboard. Obtained a job at SUC at Norbury as engineer. Started up as single motor hotel boat based at Harry Machin`s at Drayton , bought CRATER from Frank Wood to makeup a pair but before she could be converted my wife was diagnosed with cancer so we had to give up not only hoteling but also had to sell LILY to finance a House to move to more fixed address During my time at Norbury SUC purchased BELLEROPHON[renamed IONA] which I towed back for them from Hillmorton to Norbury,Since moving to live in FRANCE my `cut` paperwork /photos are in 1 of about 25 cardboard boxes so I will have to have an asult on the garage to find exactly which it is. If/when I locate i`ll try &post some photo`s but don`t hold your breath

Searching through some boxes in my garage the other day & came across some old logs I kept whilst boating in the late 50`s/ early 60`s. The book I started to read was from 1965 & some trips we did carrying concrete piles from the concrete plant at Mk Drayton to BW yard at Norbury we used to pass 2 boats tied on SUC moorings at Norbury.Wooden motor DORSET at that time owned by `Rob Robinson`& a Large woolwich/northwich named The `LAIDLEY WORM`at that time converted but still with it`s PETTER PD2 owned by a man from the north east, don`t know it`s proper name. Any one know if either or both are still around & what was original name for the town class boat any info would be nice Thanks.

It seems as though my canal upbringing was like Tams, all the holes through the hull near or below the waterline were fitted with valves &were closed any time the boat was left. better to spend 5 mins turning off & on 2or3 valves than find your pride &joy sitting on the bottom

Similar engine I had in LILY as above & also with glow plug

A couple of years or so ago whilst visiting the Isle of Wight I bought in a chandlers a tin of anti condensation paint, either International or Watts brand can`t remember, to do the ceiling in the shower compartment of a MotoX bike transporter, worked very well, Some kind of paint with what appeared to have cork chips in it,bit of a pain to apply, but excellent results Don`t know if it`s still available.

Friend of mine had a similar problem on his boat [Dutch barge look alike would have required major surgery to remove]. He cleaned & dried & groved out crack with a Dremel tool & used a fillet of JB Water Weld That was almost 2years ago & it is still leak free. can be applied to wet surfaces aparantly, maybe worth a try & not expensive if it`s a no go

1 of the SALTAIRE`s the original fore end is now back to full length the work was carried out by my cousin Mike Harrison in 1987 when he owned the boat, at Langley Mill He has since sold the boat

In my part of the world[sW France] both the above & the tapered metal wedges are known as a COIN with a quoted weight ie 1kg 2.5 kgs The large splitting axes are known as MERLIN/S, long handled axe HACHE/S, small short handled axe HACHETTE/S. The plastic/ wood wedges used in tree falling are known locally as PITON/S don`t know if that is the country wide name though as the Occitane dialect in a lot of cases has little in common with the French spoken in other parts of the country

No I don`t think stilsons would have been allowed. IIRC the nut was approx 4 3/4 inches across flats & had to be torqued up to 670 ft lbs I remember it was a large spanner

During my R.A.F.service on high speed rescue boats the ones with 3 RR Merlin aero engines, any time the props were removed, when being refitted they were lightly lapped on the shafts, very carefully cleaned, & then blued to check the prop & shaft tapers matched up for the whole of the prop boss. The key had to have approx 30thou clearance between the outer face of the key & the bottom of the prop boss keyway, had a special set of feeler gauges for the job

1955 Trent Lock with a friend in his Home built/DIY 16ft plywood cruiser with a PERKINS 6hp outboard took us around 25mins to restart the engine as the man he bought the motor from came& fitted the motor,started it etc.& came with us to see all was ok, dropped him off as all appeared well but he didn`t tell us about the primer bulb in the fuel line & by the time we had worked out how to get through the lock etc.Say no more

I think that the little lass is Collettes 2nd child. I left the cut & UK in 1972 & the sad event took place before that. I am probably as much at fault for posting, so if any one is upset please feel free to remove my posts on this matter. We were quite friendly at the time & I was interested to know the whereabouts in later years after we left

Was Collette Wallace still living on PICTOR at that time, as the children[blonde one] look very like her eldest daughter Leah, who was unfortunatly drowned in Gas Street Basin in the 60`s