Scholar Gypsy

Silly question from me: what model of engine? You should be able to see both an oil filter and a fuel filter. It should be easy to work out which one is the fuel filter - various pipes in and out, connecting to the injector pump etc. The other one will be the oil filter. I am 99% confident they are not interchangeable - indeed on my boat they are completely different shapes and sizes!

Another more general issue for me is how the river is marked. I think this is relevant to C&RT's plans to encourage greater (and safe) leisure use of the river. For example: I've been through Marton Rack both ways recently. The charts produced by the Boating Association are pretty clear - you need to traverse this area on a transit line joining two white poles on the east bank, a rather different course to the normal "stick to the outside of the bend" approach. This was OK going downstream - although it's a bit tricky to do a transit with one marker behind you and one in front. But going upstream, even though I knew the poles were there, tree growth was such that it was impossible to see the downstream pole until you'd practically gone though the danger area. Of course I could rely on knowing where the channel was (and I was keeping an eye on my depth sounder as well), and the risk was less anyway as the tide was rising. Anyway, my general point is whether we need to encourage C&RT to look at buoys and other markers, to make it clearer (where there is any doubt) where the channel actually is? I am mainly focussing on the C&RT stretch upstream of Gainsborough. I don't think the section from Gainsborough to Keadby is particularly tricky - and of course Keadby to Trent Falls is a whole different ball game ....

I picked up some barbed wire on the Witham Navigable drains this summer. Then I learnt that my bolt cutters were too big to go down the hatch. I now have a smaller pair as well...

And there's a segment about Sister Mary in this episode of Canals: the making of a nation, including an interview with the author of the new book. Some nice shots of SCULPTOR as well...

Rather strange. Does anyone know of any incidents where a boat going through on the level has actually been damaged, or the gates have been damaged (by being slammed shut, I assume)? One of the lock keepers I spoke to earlier in the year did talk about the risk of a boat being trapped between closing gates - that would clearly be very dangerous for the boat, and not good for the sea defences either. This notice does not make much sense for boats inbound on a rising tide, as you can shut the outward pointing gates and then wait for the tide to rise, at which point you can open the inward pointing (top) gates. See photo below. I didn't get my ruler out, but I am pretty confident there would be room for a 70 foot narrow boat, maybe at an angle and maybe overlapping the Cill marker a bit more than I was, which is unlikely to be a problem...

Possibly - but see comments above on the risk of overcooling.

Many thanks Tony - fascinating stuff. Is it Herbert in these photos - taken on the occasion of my last visit in 1990 - I guess not given the colours. [sorry for the poor quality - I must find a better way to get 35mm transparencies into digital!]

I enjoyed the geology one, which I have just watched. Pedant warning: the intermediate gates on a staircase lock are no bigger than the bottom gates on a normal lock - as their overall height is equal to the rise of the lock, plus the difference between the lower water level and the lower cill. What is different, compared to a normal lock, is that you can see the whole of the gate, when the lower lock is empty.

Thanks - looking again at those photos I can't see any paddles/sluices in or near those outer gates, which would explain why they cannot any longer lock people up into the Trent!

Yes, you are right the outer flood doors are hand operated - even with those large balance beams, that must be quite a task! (ETA - they may be winch assisted?) As these photos show there are three sets of outward facing gates, with the tops getting successively higher nearer the Trent. I can't see any point in using the short lock formed from the middle and outer gates, as 1) this would disturb the teapots 2) as you say, there would probably not be enough headroom under the bridge. So that means one could only lock up to the Trent if it was up to say three feet higher than the Fossdyke - above that the lock is not useable (as well as there being a current of X knots on the Trent which would suggest staying in the pub is the right thing to do...)

Wd it be a good idea to ask the mods to move this to the maintenance etc forum? I can't quite work how many separate bits there are, and which ones are meant to come undone. eg is the one on the right meant to be moved or not??

And here (with acknowledgements to Naughty Cal) is a photo that shows said teapots. I assume that old outward pointing gate is no longer in use.

Unless - as happened to me - when the boat was stretched the polarity for the horn cables got switched somewhere amidships, so the red wire has to be fixed to the horn bracket .... It took me several blown fuses to work out what was going on, after I replaced the horn a few years ago.

Paul C, on 31 Aug 2015 - 6:57 PM, said: It depends on how your system is set up. On my boat - and I think this is not unusual: the calorifier runs from the bypass circuit, the output for this is taken before the thermostat (so that the water has somewhere to go when the thermostat is shut) when the engine warms up, the thermostat opens and then the water can flow around the keel tank etc So if you put too many heat sinks into the calorifier circuit, then it can take longer for the engine to warm up, and indeed if you are running it gently (narrow canals etc) it may never get to its optimum temperature. With our engine the boatyard didn't want to put any radiators into the calorifier circuit The rads I mentioned above run from the main heat exchanger. That only gets hot once the thermostat has opened ie the engine has reached 82 degC.

I'd support your mad idea too - I added two radiators running off the heat exchanger that came with my engine, but was not used. (Photos) In addition to the point about not adding too much to the bypass circuit, as that can make the engine run too cool, the advantage of using heat exchangers is that it minimizes the size and complexity of the primary circuit. That matters to me, as a leak or burst or other failing in the primary circuit is mission critical ie your engine will overheat and then stop. A leak in a secondary circuit just results in a less toasty boat and water (and antifreeze) all over the cabin floor - annoying but not mission critical.

Thanks - very interesting. I was struck that the conversion in 1902 from counterbalanced hydraulic to independent electriccooperation took only a 38 day stoppage ....

.. and just to add that you may also want some breast lines in addition (more or less at right angles at right angles to the bank), but I would suggest only using them when you want to get on or off the boat, ie to hold the boat tighter into the bank - wherever the bank is today. Leave them slack when you leave the boat. This photo (Wisbech) gives a rough idea - the springs are a little longer than ideal because of where the bollards were

Thanks - I would agree with all you say (apart from the bit about the top section, as I did got get beyond Worksop). Some photos from my trip here: this canal definitely needs MORE BOATS.

If you fancy a detour, C&RT sell fuel at West Stockwith...

If you zoom in then it shows each canal in 1 km lengths, eg the example above GU-172-001 is an asset between 171 and 172km from Bordesley. I was interested to see Dukes Cut appears on the map, but then I read the disclaimer above which means they may not own it after all.

And the side ponds appear out of use, though the interconnecting paddles are visible?

Here's an extract from latest CRT boaters' update, which does imply there's quite a bit of sorting going on already? Improved Customer Recycling - As mentioned in last month’s update, we are adding recycling to around 100 customer sites. The first have been introduced in north Wales and Cheshire, with the remainder following. We divert over 66% of the rubbish we collect from landfill and we will improve further.

Yes - that's quite right. "of the order of" is mathematician code for "you need to multiply this by a number somewhere between 0.1 and 10 but I can't be bothered to work it out". [My engineer friends say they always multiply the answer by 10 anyway, just to be prudent.] One can use the same geometry to measure the radius of the earth e.g. when travelling along the Old Bedford River, or indeed any other long section of level water.

I can't believe that is Banbury Lane bridge on the GU. I also can't think of many bits of the Oxford Canal in Banbury that are that straight - could be the section by the station, with the lift bridge just behind the photographer? Too many trees though. Some of the other photos of Banbury in that collection are fabulous eg this set of the lift bridge just above the lock, before the whole area was cleared and the ugly bus station (Mark 1) was built Not Bunbury either (and that is on the SU of course)..

I've found inline filters to be very good. You might also want to change (I know nothing much about Barrus engines ...): Fan / drive belt (alternator and water pump) gearbox oil / automatic transmission fluid (depending on the make)? filter in your fuel pump, if you have an electric one I found the most useful bit of the course I did was the discussion about how you know whether the fuel filter is a) undertightened or b ) overtightened - both of which we were told can cause leaks! So do make sure you ask your trainer that question.