Tacet

It rather depends on what the OP actually does. If he connects (only) a new towel rad into the engine circuit, then it will not have any effect on the existing, remaining CH system. I agree connecting several rads into the engine circuit is probably not too smart - not least because it would tend to make adding any conventional boiler more difficult. If it is desired to have the whole CH working off the engine, then a proper heat exchanger (plate exchangers are cheap) will work a lot better than using both coils and the intervening hot water in the cylinder to make the transfer - but it will need a circulation pump. Rather obviously, the towel heater/rads will only get hot when the engine is running. Ian

Well, we can confirm the above having today made the trip up from the Wey to just short of Brookwood. No real problems, but it is a bit of a faff having to book the rangers to open up 24 hours in advance, a 9.30 only start and rather laborious ways in which the locks must be worked and left. Also, whilst the water level is as high as it can get, there is not much depth in many places. Still, it had to be done. Ian

All may not be as it seems! Sunday afternoon we went down through the barrier on the last of the ebb and returned to Limehouse on the start of the flood; we had to kill a little time to provide enough water over the lock cill on the way back. On Monday morning, we set off around 07:30 with the latter part of the flood and came in at Brentford, before dashing up to Bull's Bridge and returning to Brentford Basin overnight. We set off Tuesday for Teddington. Limehouse - Thames Barrier - Brentford/Teddington on one tide (without stopping somewhere) is not so easy; assuming you wish to avoid punching the tide too much, leaving the barrier at low tide is likely to result in arriving at Brentford/Richmond/Teddington before there is sufficient depth of water, I think. Ian

Thanks very much. Ian

Yes - it was us (but not G & S Cole though!). We only ran down through the Thames Barrier and turned before the Woolwich Ferry. Tim, is there any chance of a copy of that photo in a reasonable resolution, please. One disadvantage of going alone is the difficulties of including your own boat in the photos. Ian

I should reclaim it then. Walk along any towpath and you'll be bound to find it before very long.

What is the thinking behind the "not next to the front steps" edict? Is it to reduce the chance of stumbling and scalding or is it a means-of-escape issue? Or is it something else?

Well, I can tell you it was found in a flight of wide locks, but nowhere near Little Venice. Is this the one?

It may not. The absence of boat movements means the water is so clear (unless it's) ice such that that whilst walking yesterday, we spotted an ali windlass and subsequently retrieved it with a boathook. Also found a mooring stake. Tell me exactly where you lost it on the GU, and you can have it back. Actually, you can have it anyway as they are 'orrible things. This is my windlass of choice.

My local scrap dealer was willing to sell me lead; in fact I took in a quantity of copper and the cash that I would have otherwise received was discounted by the "buying" price of the lead. This generous loss-of-margin may have been tempered by the purchase of the copper going through the books but possibly the sale of lead did not.. In my case, I wished to correct a list to port without taking up the floor - which meant that there was only a restricted space readily available. The advantage of lead is that it can be cast into a convenient shape - I used some box section steel.

I guess few of us were aware just how good a job Dusty does; 20,000 tonnes per winter is a lot of coal. It's an average of over 65 tonnes per boat, for the 300 served. Still, it must be true, I read it in.... Daily Mail Song

The basic scam is universal - you send the money and never see the boat. The slight twist is that following your expressed interest in the Boats & Outboards ad, the nice seller lists it as a "buy it now" on ebay because he/she assures you, that this way you will be protected by its policies - but you're not. The lesson, which is not a difficult one, is not to pass large sums of money to strangers without ensuring that you will actually get what your buying.

Is it likely that that the locks were dualled more to reduce congestion than save water? It is a by-product that on some, but not all, occasions water can be saved - disregarding leaky gates. I've never been a great believer in the suggestion that lockage is the prime culprit in taking water from the summit/pound. Inevitably it depends on the circumstances but evaporation and soakage losses can be substantial. I guess it is easier to limit the use of locks than address the alternatives. Your thought about the boatman doing what they wanted could well be near the mark. In the 1970s (when there seemed to be more side ponds in use - is that true?)they seemed to be viewed by most as an aid to speeding up the process; the side pond paddle would be drawn first, then a gentle stroll to the end of the lock to draw all available paddles, before returning to the side pond to drop its paddle when it was perceived the flow to the pond was about to reverse. It seemed to keep most people happy then.

I have no info at all - but that would be my guess too. Much easier to put a culvert in during construction (although it must have caused some disruption to the older lock) than subsequently and it might just prove useful somewhen.

I'm not sure that the wide lock could reclaim all its 2 feet (not in a single pass, at least) - as this being held as 4 feet in the narrow lock would, when re-used, result in a level across both locks of one third i.e. 16 inches. The maths gets more difficult if you take it further - if the single lock is next filled, the dregs would be 100% reused but if the wide lock is refilled and re-drained, the equilibrium would be 5 or so inches higher on the second pass. It might get more complicated if you consider the presence or absence of boats in each lock - too much for me. As an economy measure, the benefit of the narrow lock is likely to be mainly in its direct use rather than as a sidepond. The optimum single side pond would have a large capacity (i.e area) such that its own level remains nearly constant at mid-lock level. Ian

Try one of the new (sic) Woolwich Ferries as they are thus equipped. Not a patch on those they replaced, though. Ian

My guess is that he used the accompanying boat to pull them out. Very clever, whatever. Ian

I have used this firm My link. Seemed ok to me, but there may be better and worse. Ian

The knurled part at the very end of the pump unscrews from the main cylinder. This will release the spring and valve face, which has probably simply stuck to the seat. Reassemble and it may be ok. However, this valve is quite important as when it fails, liquid paraffin can travel up the pump and be dumped on the floor; therefore if the rubber valve has hardened, you would do well to renew it. If your pump is the type shown, that is made of aluminium, you will need part "new 155". It is included in Service Pack SP1, which can still be found in some old fashioned hardware stores and will almost certainly contain this newer valve rubber. Older style brass pumps usually have a simple disc as the valve, which sits in a brass cup. The new ones effectively mould cup and valve in one piece. Ian

Whilst suffering a boating interregnum in 2008, we hired Larch from Middlewich narrowboats. It was a great boat, with a boatman's cabin, engine room and traditional controls. It was not to the latest spec, but personally that is not an issue although it doubtless hirers should be made aware of a more specialised offer. The hiring charge was very reasonable -albeit we took a very late booking. Larch had a gas cooker - but the second cylinder was found to be empty when needed; the firm did turn out quickly when advised. Ian

If I understand it right (probably not!), when you are heating the rads with the engine, your modification will result in the hot water passing through the back boiler and some of it will disappear up the chimney. Probably not a deal breaker - more of a consideration. Ian

We have done all three this year - the L&L and Rochdale east to west and the Huddersfield west to east. My personal favourite is the Huddersfield, partly as we prefer narrow canals but the climb up and through the Pennines is, in our view, the most spectacular of the three. The disadvantage is the requirement for booking the tunnel, which rather orders the whole trip; also, of you are bothered about mooring near the bank you will need to choose your spots. The L&L is the most conventional of the routes - good scenery particularly around Skipton and is the longest too. The Rochdale is fine - but one needs to book for both Tuel Lane lock and the summit, and therefore is perhaps the middle option. Ian

Yes - I have done as you propose and it works very well. I used a plate exchanger (bought from ebay for about £30)which seems very effective at its job; it has male bsp fittings which makes it simple. You will need a pump that passes the flow adequately when it is not running in order to allow the existing system to operate Someone suggested that the conventional heat source (eberspacher in my case) could grumble at being heated whilst not itself operating - maybe upset the electronics? If that's the case, it's not caused me any problems, yet. The slight snag is, of course, that it only works when the engine is running - but still useful for those indoors, drying the washing and being warm as you tie up. If you only ran your engine for a short while, you could prejudice the temperature of the domestic hot water. One potential bonus is in providing additional cooling for the engine. I have not needed that capability, but as the engine is a twin thermostat model it can be seen that it makes a noticeable difference.