Don't tell him Pike!

My boat is a dawncraft rover, which as some of you may know has large spaces under the aft deck either side of the engine room designed to be big enough to fit bunks, like the smaller dandy. In my boat the port side space is filled with a deisel tank, but the starboard side is just wasted space. the galley is to the rear of the cabin and at the back end is storage space. Now, i'd ike to put the battery box in this wasted space, but as it is very difficult to access I'd like to put it on rails so it can be slid into the more accessible storage space when the batteries need to be accessed. I was thinking the rails could come from a car seat, ideally from a people carrier as these would be longer, thus the mechanism that locks car seats in place could be used to lock the battery box in place. It would need to contain sealed batteries only as these don't need a vent, so that just leaves the cables. I was thinking the cables could be coiled like a telephone lead so that the box could be drawn back and forth, otherwise there could be a straight connection that would need to be disconnected prior to moving the box. The accessible space could then house a set of fitted containers which could easily be lifted out when the batteries need to be accessed. Does anyone have any thoughts/advice on whether this is feasible/could pass the BSS? Thanks.

Hi, My z drive was damaged after becoming trapped between lock gates last week, the swivel plate broke on one side allowing the fork to become loose and the drive shaft to pop out of the cv. A limp home bodge was done to get it back into position and this has held, initially it was very difficult to engage reverse but otherwise ok, but after using reverse when entering a lock it now won't stay in forward gear unless I stay at low revs and tug the gear selector with the boat hook. Even then it pops out every couple of minutes. Reverse works fine. Work commitments mean I need to navigate the trent in a week or so so I need to be able to trust it to stay in gear. Any help much appreciated.

Ah, Cheers. It had occurred to me that it might drain the starter battery in the evenings, but I'm not an early riser so at this time of the year the solar should get it well over 12v by the time I set off...

I've been cruising a couple of days and it has become apparent the domestic batteries are only being charged by the solar (1x100w), which isn't enough to run the fridge and isn't enough full stop on cloudy days like this. Now, when the engine is running the dashboard gauge reads 14v so the alternator is working and presumably charging the starter battery. I can't find any issues with the wiring so I suspect the box that sends alternator charge to the leisure batteries (what do call one of them?) is knackered. I was thinking I could simply connect the starter battery to the leisure batteries to make a single battery bank. Is this a good idea? What are the potential problems?

Hi, This morning I broke down when the diesel pipe that connects to the top of the injectors sheared off. The fuel line is now repaired but the pump isn't ticking. Someone suggested it has air in, but didn't suggest how to deal with this. I've tried bleeding from the filter an injectors without any luck, any ideas? Thanks!

Heh, flipped the thermostat over and now it's holding temp just above 80c, probably slightly over because the cap is still off so the system isn't pressurised. In my mechanic's defense, he's in his mid 70's and probably isn't as sharp as he once was (he eagerly volunteered his services free of charge because he hates retirement)...

Yeah the first time I started it I ran without the cap until it overheated, worth another try i suppose...

Before the work the head gasket had failed and it was overheating, but seems to be worse now. I had a professional mechanic helping with the rebuild so I doubt the thermostat is upside down...

The cooling system is enclosed, it goes into the floor and we're not sure what's under there, but I suspect there's a tank working as a heat exchanger with the canal water below.

Hi guys, This is my Thornycroft Engine - it's just had the head skimmed and refurbished, water pump cleaned out, new headgasket, new thermostat, new belt. But it's overheating. It gradually reaches about 80c over five minutes, then continues to climb. The thermostat housing (bottom right) gets hot, but the pipe you see leading to the manifold tank remains cold, and the manifold tank itsself only slightly warms. Any suggestions on how to proceed? I'm wondering if it's a duff thermostat but I'm reluctant to get it out as it's all nicely sealed. Any help much appreciated.

The reducer is for the collar, which I really don't want to have to remove because that'll mean taking down part of the ceiling cladding which though designed to be removable at the edges is likely to be an awkward job and may result in damage to the cladding. Also I'd rather not replace what seems like a perfectly good collar.

I'm replacing the old pot belly on my boat with a multifuel stove, but I'm not entirely clear about fitting the flue. The roof collar is 4" so I'm going to need a reducer on the flue, also the old flue was a tight fit into this collar, seemingly just sealed with cement. I've been looking at this thread - http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=56710 so am I right in thinking a bit of putty alone will suffice for the top? Then some sort of fire rope/putty combination for the joins on the stove and reducer? Also how is easiest to slot it all together? I'm thinking I'd need to raise the stove with a jack to slot the overlapping joins together? Thanks!

I plan on fitting a solar panel next week and pretty much know what goes where and when, but I'm a little unclear about where the connectors marked 'load' should go. Is it ok to connect the live feed to the isolator switch, so that it powers the on board 12v system but can be turned off with the switch? I was worrying it might be an issue that it is practically connected to the batteries. I also gather inverters should not be connected to it, but I'm guessing if the load output is on the same circuit the batteries are connected to the inverter will drain the extra current needed from the batteries?

Hmm. I have four wires as follows - Blue (large spade) heater plugs Brown (large spade) seems to go to starter grey (smaller spade) would also seem to go to starter red (small spade) goes to all the dials and seems to end up at the fuel pump. So that would surely mean blue goes to 3, brown to 1 (the only other large spade) grey to 4 and red...1? 2? No sign of life either way, and seemingly no other wires. My brain erts...

Brilliant, cheers Tony! Already figured I'd need to trace the wires, pretty much got that covered. I couldn't find any labelling...

I unscrewed the interior dash of my boat in order to fit cladding to the ceiling, but have found that as it dangled all the spades came off the back of the ignition barrel, and i can't figure out which one goes where. I've been looking for a wiring guide online and have found a million people selling the same barrel but no fitting guide. If anyone could tell me what goes where that'd be great - see link below for images... http://www.jcrsupplies.co.uk/products/SWITCHES_AND_WARNING_INDICATOR_LAMPS/IGNITION_SWITCHES/4_POSITION_IGNITION_SWITCH_OFF-IGNITION-PRE_HEAT-HEAT_START_035106.html

That's what she said. Seriously though, hadn't thought of connecting it to the light switch, I shall look into doing that. Cheers guys!

I'm currently refurbishing the bathroom, at the moment it has a steam problem. this was previously vented via a gap on the back wall, but I've closed that off because of the...noise and smell that escapes from it (a friend of mine craps like a racehorse). This means you need to open the window when showering or you'll choke in steam, but this is a dawncraft with sliding windows and even an inch means potentially flashing passers by. So...my proposed solution is to stick a mushroom vent on the roof and fit a waterproof 12v fan concealed behind the inner grill. Is there any reason this might be a bad idea? Also, been looking for a suitable on/off switch, without any success. A full size pull cord switch would look daft in that tiny room with three inches of cord on it and I can't find any mini ones. Anyone got any ideas?

I wanted to go through a year or so ago, had to go up the rochdale canal. At the time you had to go in with one of their guys on board, who would navigate the awkward bits themselfs. I wonder if their insurance has a clause stopping them from taking GRP boats through due to the expense of recovery should the hull rupture at one of these awkward bits whilst their guy is at the helm...

I was refused a mooring at Victoria Quays (Sheffield canal basin) due to boat being GRP. He said it'll get bashed by a steel boat and split open, but there's almost no traffic up there, and the permenant moorings are behind a swing bridge so the only boats using the water are residents. It just seemed like an excuse to me, especially given there are three GRP boats already moored there (who I'm told they inherited from BW's ownership, but still...). Must admit it annoys me that the basin was sold off at all, it's a listed peice of history at the end of a lenghy canal with a big old lock flight, visitors should be able to stay for more than a couple of nights without having to hand money to a private firm.

I want to repaint my dawncraft rover. Most of this I shall do on hard standings, but i want to get the roof done at the marina. Trouble is, the roof paint is peeling in places, and I can't really sand it down because the roof is textured, and I really don't fancy taking a blowtorch to it. So, is there a thinner i can use to soften the paint without damaging the gelcoat underneath? preferably also eco friendly in case any goes in the water. Thanks!

The Sheffield basin is rather cosmopolitain these days, complete with trendy bar/eatery. Must say, the conisborough sections of the s&syn are some of the most impressive bits of water I've naviagted, especially as there was an atmospheric mist the day I passed through...(though southerners should note that the canal also passes through some of south yorkshire's worst crapholes...and there's a guy on a boat moored in rotherham that stares at passing boaters like he wants to murder them, even if you do slow down...) MJG...were you the poor sod I saw passing through the tinsley locks in the pouring rain? (oh, and the water...a colleague of mine divides his time between here and Kent, when he goes to kent he fills a couple of large bottles with yorkshire water to make a proper cuppa with...)

My boat could do with some substantial refurbishing - not quite a full refit but I do need to redo the galley, ceiling, fireplace and a few other bits. Obviously there's a lot of info on this site, but sometimes I do tire of staring at a big recatngular light bulb. Can anyone reccommend a good reference/guide book for boat builders, focusing on the interior fit out? Muchly ta!

I do't mean the term 'booze cruise' disrespectfully, it's just the only way i could think to describe it at that moment - 'leisure cruise' seems to bring to mind a norman 20' or something, not a huge widebeam. Maybe party cruiser? Or is that just as bad?

The guys who operate the booze cruise out of the sheffield canal basin are selling their old boat - broad beam with bay window at front, generally windows everywhere. It'd make a stunning liveaboard with enough time spent but needs a total fit-out and exterior rennovation, but they've got it on at just under £30,000, so not cheap. Maybe worth bartering? In fact come to think about it, Someone needs to buy the Caldbeck - a lovely broad beam liveaboard at Tinsley in a rotten state of neglect, now in custody of BW due - I think - to it's previous owner dying.