dreadnought

Hi all,I've noticed that when I go to turn my stern tube greaser the tube is leaking more than usual,so I've been tightening it up over the last two or three years and now it's nearly out of adjustment,so I'm going to get some more packing in there,my question is do I grease up the new packing before I put it in or put it in dry,many thanks...

Hi guys,I have a bmc 1800 in my narrow boat and always use classic 20/50 engine oil and it never used a drop, this last oil change I was told by an engine "expert"that I should be using 15/40 oil, but since using the different grade its using oil,not leaking as I can see so it must be burning oil,do you guys think it's a coincidence it's using oil or is it down to the oil,any ideas?many thanks..

Good shout,but if the engine was in front of me I wouldn't have a problem,it's two hundred miles away in its mooring,I was hoping to gather together all I need for a service before I travel down to it,it's a spinner by the by, cheers...

hi guys,could someone let me know what oil filter i should be fitting to my bmc 1800,many thanks..

i always warm the engine up first,i`ve tried emptying both ways from down the dipstick hole with a pump,and also the pump thats on the side of the engine,still only about two litres,

hi, i`ve just fitted a lithium battery in a hybrid configuration,150ah,and on starting up the alternator temperature, steadied off at about 70c after about an hour,the alternator is a simple lucas type 127 70amp,i have two lead acid.The lithium battery was at 37 percent so was taking as much as the alternator could give but the alternator belt was screeching at cruising revs,the belt is tight,so is there anthing i can do to stop this screeching or should i upgrade the alternator to what?any help much appreciated,many thanks

hi,we are thinking of getting a counter top freezer for the nb this summer,i was wondering if any one on the forum uses a stand alone freezer and how do you power it,ie,12v or do you have an inverter running 24/7,we bought a dometic camping compressor fridge freezer its ok as a fridge but terrible as a freezer,any options welcome please,many thanks

hi guys, i change the oil on my 1800 bmc at the start of every season, the book(workshop manual) says it holds about 4.5 litres but from the full marker on the dipstick to empty sump its only 2litres, is this normal on this engine?many thanks...

hi,just wondering what wi fi boaters are using and if they are happy with there provider,i`m currently on 3 but the contracts about up and thinking of moving,any recommendations please,many thanks

hi,i`m thinking of going hybrid on my nb,if i do would i have to use the same size cable to connect the lithium battery to the LA`s. The cable is 95m on my battery bank. Many thanks

hi,i`m thinking of introducing a lithium battery to my battery bank,at present i have four lead acids i`m going to reduce this to two lead acids and one lithium( a hybrid system),my question is,the charging cable from my 70 amp alternator to the battery bank has to be longer and offer a certain amount of resistance can i get your thoughts on this cable size please?.many thanks

hi all,can anyone recommend somewhere i can get some self adhesive vinyl coach lines for my nb please, many thanks

hi all,has anyone on the forum fitted the blink wireless security cameras the the outside of there nb,was wondering if the signal gets inside ok with the boat being steel,tia

Hi all,we are on the llangollen but thinking of checking out the Montgomery canal on the way up, does anyone know of any restrictions on the Montgomery, it says in my Nicholson that the locks at the start of the canal are only open certain times of the day,but my Nicholson guide is very old and wondered if this was still the case,many thanks in advance

hi all,is it acceptable to add an extra battery to the existing battery bank via car jump leads,there are three 130 amp battery's in the existing bank now ,asking for a friend,many thanks Just to add a bit of background, there are three batteries in the bank,300 watts of solar,but still having to run engine twice a day to top batts up,so he is going to pop another battery in the bank to get through the summer, tia

hi all,has anyone had any experience with the blink outdoor cctv cameras,im thinking of getting a pair of them for my nb,they are wireless but im thinking will the signal be ok on the steel boat,will it get to the router ok on board, has anyone got any better cctv systems,many thanks in advance

hi all, can anyone tell me how to obtain a roamer licence from crt please,i cant seem to get any info on them,many thanks

hi all, i was wondering if anyone could recommend a car hire company near lichfield off the coventry canal,got to get to a hospital appointment,many thanks

hi all, i have 4 leisure and a starter battery on my nb,i also have 300watts of solar,i recently fitted a smart gauge to monitor state of charge. i have noticed that there seems to be 14volts going into the battery bank constantly from the solar panels even when the gauge shows 100% charged,is this ok,or will it fry my batteries,many thanks in advance...

so are you saying,alternator to vsr from vsr to domestic bank as a priority then secondly to starter battery ?

hi all,i`m going to take out my split charge relay soon(its packed up)and was wondering if i just connected the alternator charging cable direct to the leisure bank and took another cable from the alternator to the starter battery would this work ok,i only have a single alternator, many thanks

hi all,now we are back in the marina for the winter months,and the boat will be left empty for long periods should i leave the shore line plugged in or disconnect it,we have a galvanic isolator and Solar power.our mooring is in a row of finger moorings with about ten narrowboats on it,all on power hook up,any advice please,many thanks

hi guy,we are looking to buy a new sofa for the nb but are struggling to find one that is comfortable,has anyone got any recommendations for us,many thanks

hi all,can anyone tell me if the five year rule still applies (being able to sell a boat without an RCD after five years)are there new regulations come in since 2017? many thanks

hi all,a friend of mine is going to sell her 2018 widebeam, she fitted it out herself and is a live aboard,after having a word with the local broker she was told that before it can be sold it would have to be inspected and have an RCD certificate and the price of this is nearly three grand,does this sound right? many thanks