Tacet

I spent the Saturday before last bouncing a club hammer off 3m lengths of 4mm glass in a conservatory roof. I had thought the glass would not come out without breaking - and it would best be bust in situ - and when I was expecting it, hence the hammer. But after it refused to break, I managed to remove every pane intact. And on Wednesday, a 6mm fixed pane in a shower screen broke, without warning, . No idea why. It was a hot day - but the room faces north and it broke spectacularly around 10.00 pm. Unfortunately, the conservatory glass will not fit the shower.

I doubt there are enough stern wheeler narrowboats for there to be standard drive, bit I recall Jethro Tull was chain driven to a large sprocket at one end of the paddle wheel. Steering was by two rudders linked together in a parallelogram fashion and operated by a tiller that reached over the stern wheel.

Jethro Tull drove through its stern wheel when we followed it along the K & A the year Devizes re-opened (1990?). It travelled at a good speed to - but it was noisy due to the paddle slapping the water.

We kept a boat on the Bow Backs and then further up the Lee and there was a period in the 1970s and 1980s when you simply didn't stop between Little Venice and Limehouse. And neither did you use Limehouse Cut after 11.00 am.

A Freeman 30 is over 7ft beam - so it cannot be done using only inland waterways. Without lifting it out (or cutting it up) you would have to resort to running up the East Coast from the Thames Estuary to the River Witham, near Boston. Or something braver still.

The sale only relates to a long headlease. Come July 2740 and you'll have nothing, which may not be a great concern, just the same. Lincoln City Council is the superior landlord.

Doesn't usually apply to a canal, but if a river shifts by accretion, the legal boundary travels with it.

I have been trying to think of the most unsuitable engine oil and can only come up with two-stroke oil and Castrol R. Can anyone do better? Or worse?

I had a similar issue when the hot and cold feeds to a thermostatic shower valve were reversed.....

The language has crept from commercial operator to commercial transaction via commercial operation. Does that mean the school PTA is a commercial operator because it charges 50p for admission to its Fete? Or an otherwise non-trading charity that pays bank charges? Whilst a charity (or a club) may enter into commercial transactions, it would not usually be called a commercial operator. Registered Charities are required to keep accounts and make them available - but that does not in itself make one a commercial operator

Upload a picture of the switch - or at least set out all its markings. And tell us were it has been pointing. Sounds very much like you have flat batteries - probably due to not charging

Yes - there is a tendency for the bow to rise as more weight is added to the stern. But it is not a simple, balanced rotation like a see-saw or wheel. If it were, the boat would move from horizontal to vertical when a sparrow landed on the bow.

With a see-saw (or your hypothetical boat balanced on a roller) the centre of gravity is higher than the rotation point but essentially it is balanced with (over a limited arc) only a limited weight going over centre from one end of the travel to the other. Hence each kid can push the see saw up with ease - and you might be able to shift the boat. But in the water, the boat does not see-saw about a single point. It is correct that as you lift (or cill) the stern, the bow will descend and eventually sink. However, the weight will not be transferred from one end to the other in full; it's quite complex. As a further thought experiment, put your hand between the cill/underwater obstruction and the underside of the boat - and you will feel some significant, if hypothetical pain quite quickly. Or, if you really want to try an experiment. get in a shallow canal and try lifting the back end by, say 6 inches. If it was nicely balanced at mid length, it will take no effort as the bow drops by the same. You could even change the propeller with your other hand.

Kawasaki often had double overhead camshafts with bucket and shims atop the valve stems, directly operated by the cams. You needed to check the clearances, remove the camshafts, measure the existing shims and then replace with different shims before before putting back the camshafts -and checking the new clearances. The bike I bought was a poor starter - as some valves were being held open even when cold. So, it wasn't possible to work out the size of the required shims without a couple of tries.

Araldite a nut or (better still) and drilled-and-tapped length of strip metal to the underside.

Some later Reliants used Austin 7 engines which supports the Reliant theory.

I was fortunate to have a trip into the tunnel whilst the repairs were being undertaken in 1983. We climbed into the spoil removing dumper truck at the Blisworth end which reversed at an alarming speed to the the site of the repair. Definitely a good day out.

Paddle steamers (full size) seemed to have used oscillating engines. But I think many incorporated mechanical valve gear rather than Mamod type timing - so were these double-acting too?

We hired a couple of Freeman 22s in, I think, 1970. There were the Water Gypsy and Water Fairy - but I can't now recall the boatyard. It was downstream of Windsor - but Timms does not sound correct and you say the "Water" was its usual suffix anyway. Any ideas?

You don't want to break down or overheat on the tideway - but (especially) the depart Limehouse direction means running with the tide so you don't need to push the engine any more than is necessary to maintain good steerage. It needs respect of course - but retain some perspective. It's now close to 50 years since I first made this trip with my Dad; he never used VHF and I only once saw him reach for the 10 shilling, ex Board of Trade life vest.

It is a Shetland - and I think a 535 from maybe the 1970s. Price will depend on condition and fit out - and whether trailer and outboard is included but these gives an idea http://www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/boat-sales/shetland-535-boat-for-sale-6865.htm lhttps://boats-from.co.uk/not-specified/shetland-535-boat-fishing-boat-shetland-fishing-cruiser-24801 A quick google suggests 350kg bare or 650kg with a 60hp motor. The engine won't add that much in isolation - so take you pick but should be readily towable behind a conventional car, particularly if you remove the outboard. This type of boat is about the max (in my view) for towing, launching and recovery without being too much trouble - so a good boat to explore detached waterways. Do you fancy a boat share?

My late father has a certificate for stupidity from the Odd Boats Society for exploring Waterworks River via Prescott sluice in 1981. Allegedly no-one had navigate for decades. Timing was critical as there was around 30 minutes to balance air and water draft over the cill and under the guillotine against the tide. I put it to him that if he failed to make it back in time, he need only wait the next tide if a soft patch could be found. But it wasn't the delay that bothered him - it was a day's stoning. We also crossed the Thames Estuary from the Medway - beaching it on the shingle at Southend for the day. When we came to depart, the sea was less than calm and we had an unplanned retreat round the back of Canvey Island.

Sorry - I meant to say without brushing the gauge away. Ie. Has pretty much every boat passing through the tunnel previously failed the gauge test?

We failed to pass through on the first occasion - having to reverse out. Next time, the water tank was filled and the well deck stacked with coal - and we got through. The water level may have changed, of course. Has anyone managed to pass under the gauge with brushing it away?