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Everything posted by waterdog
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What is your latest purchase, bargain, 'must have gadget' ?
waterdog replied to Alan de Enfield's topic in General Boating
Picked up one of these today, just in case ........ They look small enough to fit down the weed hatch though I hope I never need to find out. https://www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-bolt-cutter-366mm/p/0244525 -
Intermittent loss of drive / tiller vibration.
waterdog replied to waterdog's topic in Boat Building & Maintenance
Update, just done an hours cruise and everything working as normal, no loss of drive or funny noises ? Yesterdays cruise was in the tail end of storm Francis so there was a lot of small branches and leaves in the canal (we passed some contractors tidying up fallen trees etc) so its possible it was some crap on the prop, it was absolutely clear when I went down the hatch though but I fully expected to find an old mattress or similar from the way the boat behaved. The drivetrain bolts etc look ok from what I can tell but it will need someone younger and more flexible than me to get down there and check properly. I think its a case of monitoring the issue for the moment and see if anything develops, we have got RCR membership if we get stuck. -
Intermittent loss of drive / tiller vibration.
waterdog replied to waterdog's topic in Boat Building & Maintenance
I normally notice the noise when cruising at lower revs and it goes away when increasing the revs. Just tried it while tied up, no noise in forward but heard it in reverse at low revs. -
Intermittent loss of drive / tiller vibration.
waterdog replied to waterdog's topic in Boat Building & Maintenance
All looks normal, shaft spins freely by hand with nothing obviously untoward. No, engine sounds really sweet when revved in neutral. It seems more like a gearbox / drive train issue. -
Intermittent loss of drive / tiller vibration.
waterdog replied to waterdog's topic in Boat Building & Maintenance
The drive plate did cross my mind as there doesn't seem to be anything obviously wrong externally, are there any checks that can be made to determine if the drive plate is on its way out or is it just a case of waiting till it breaks? Lol, thankfully we just came off the Thames last week and now on the K&A. -
Thoughts and advice on the following please, I'm not sure if all of the following is connected or not but the history so far, The boat is a 2003 r&d 60ft with a beta 38 and prm 150 gearbox and been in our ownership for 18 months. From the start I noticed that the tiller had to be held slightly off centre to keep the boat straight and there was minor vibration via the tiller arm, nothing that bothered me too much tbh. Over time I also noticed an occasional very slight tinkling noise when under way which appeared to be coming from under my feet, (propeller / shaft / gearbox area). This sounded like a piece of light wire caught in the prop and hitting the underside of the boat. (it wasn't but its my best attempt at describing the sound. The tiller vibration also got a little worse as time went on but was manageable. Fast forward to today and I had several issues with loss of drive and more noises from below my feet. Moving into neutral and then reselecting drive seemed to cure it. The final one was partial loss of drive with heavy tiller vibration and boat not responding to tiller. I went down the weed hatch as soon as we tied up and the prop is clean as a whistle, the gearbox oil level is good and I can select reverse and forward gear and rev the engine with the expected water movement. I Just tried the gears for a second while tied up. Any thoughts ?
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Hope everyone is ok, We've been lucky, we just come off the Wey on Tuesday.
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that pretty much sums it up, we have two ageing labs on board. one will walk the plank but the other refuses and will try to jump whatever the gap is, so getting at least one end in close is vital.
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Not sure what its like normally but we had two weeks on last month from Lechlade to the Wey and found it very quiet during the week and busy at the weekends, mooring can be an issue though, mostly on the southern end. We found we had to carry on longer than we wanted to sometimes to find space for a 60' nb. There are loads of places a small grp could get in and a multitude of no mooring signs which made it difficult. Heading back up to the k&a from the Wey on Monday so will see if its any different going upstream.
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As title, Pyrford Marina pump out machine is out of service and according to marina staff is unlikely to be back in action before the 18th Aug as they are waiting for a new machine arriving from Germany. Recommendations for the nearest alternative that is easily accessible for a 60' nb please. We are travelling from the River Wey towards Reading.
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Last nights mooring, https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipNvcgvp_15tmDCPPywTplVaIQaxmL187QP91EE
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It's not easy in places, we are a bit ahead of you and now down at Henley on the SRB moorings, waiting for the knock on the boat to pay the £10 fee. Don't be mislead by the mooring sites marked in Nicholsons, especially the out of town ones. Some of them look like you would need an excavator to get a narrowboat in and a Kukri to hack back the vegetation The further down river you come I would plan to stop earlier to have a chance of a decent mooring, we passed the moorings at Rod Eyot about 11.00 this morning and it didn't look good for getting anything over 50ft in, loads of git gaps though.
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We phoned Merchant but they were at teddington. According to the cafe owner at Abingdon the boat services next door have been shut for months. One of the yard staff is now employed in the cafe apparently.
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True, I was thinking of Oxford as in the canal but if you join the Thames via dukes cut and head south then nothing from Enslow till Reading.
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Thanks for everyone's help, We just got fuel at Caversham boat services I didn't want to risk the extra half mile to Better Boating as I think we were pretty close to running out. Time to carry a spare jerry can of fuel I think. A word of warning for anyone thinking about the Thames, there is no fuel to be had between Oxford and Reading.
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Yes, visitor moorings on rhs as you approach the terminus, also the option to pay to moor in the basin if they have space. We have moored there several times in the last few years with no issues, there are also some nice rural moorings on the stretch between foxton & MH. Easy walk into town but all uphill on the way back if you are carrying stuff but it is easy enough to get a bus or taxi back to the basin. Pub at the basin was ok for a meal too. edited to add, -see above post GRLMK38 beat me to it.
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Looks like it's been moved, quick work https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Better+Boating+Co./@51.4628614,-0.958366,112m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x48769b25d9537313:0x8a256d89be6da542!8m2!3d51.463218!4d-0.95831 Is there room to turn a 60ft boat just after the island or is it down to the k&a junction then back up ?
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Thanks all, just had an email back from N.T. confirming that navigation is open and the licence can still be purchased at Thames lock, Next stop Caversham for fuel .......
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Hi All, We are currently on the Thames at Abingdon and heading south, we had planned to fuel up at the services next to Annie's tearoom but they appear to be closed permanently. Does anyone know anywhere on the way to Reading that is definitely open for fuel? We're not desperate but would like to fill up sooner rather than later. Also, has anyone got any info on the Wey navigation, i.e. is it open and can you still buy a Wey visitors licence at Thames lock? The N.T. website says open for navigation and that you can get a licence at Thames lock but after the hassle of trying to get a Thames licence from EA I want to be sure, otherwise we will just go onto the K&A at Reading instead. I have phoned and emailed the N.T. navigation office and Thames lock but no reply from either.
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More EA advice buried in the coronavirus updates saying not to send in postal applications as staff are working from home, the easy to find contrary advice is as Tim has quoted above.
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Yup, read all that on gov.uk. Apparently the lockies are not dealing with licences at the moment, has to be done by phone / email. It's about time EA dragged itself up to date, even C&rt will sort out your boat licence online .
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I have found the contact details for the E.A. will give them a call. Still can't see a way to apply online.
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Help, I'm struggling with getting the licence online, Do you have a link to the online application or email or phone number for EA, I can't seem to find the online application ? I have found what appears to be a pdf that needs to be printed off and sent in to them. Confused.com !!!!
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Fortuna, you must have passed us recently, we were in Thrupp for a week.
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Good questions, We're heading that way too (in Kidlington ATM) so will follow the thread with interest. Foxes afloat are heading to lechlade so some video there if interested.