Bloomsberry

I don't understand why it is important to have the baseplate bottom blacked but it's deemed ok to have water on top of the baseplate

Is it twice as good though ? If it saves on docking fees and repairs to the hull then maybe it is

Has it suddenly started happening, gradually getting worse or always done it ? My rudder judders when I'm going rather fast, I think it's the boat telling me to slow down a bit !

I think you need to ask another question, "was it successful ?" In the last 5 years of ownership I had mine blacked with bitumen, 2x by boatyards and once myself after a lengthy prep. Each time I had rust on the waterline within the year. Needless to say this did not meet my expectations. I had it out the water again this summer and attempted a DIY epoxy job, prep was very time consuming but managed to cover the waterline, weld seams and pitted areas.Early days yet but I'm hoping for more success than the bitumen blackings.

Thanks Phil, I got that :-)

Excellent, so silicone's the way to go then. Thanks for the replies.

Is it essential that fire rope is used to seal the flue to the roof collar or is fire cement sufficient ? Is fire rope needed to provide movement in the flue to allow for expansion ?

No , but I'll definitly give it a try next time. Thanks.

Can dowty washers be used on banjo bolts ? I had problems getting the diesel spill rail on my BMC 1.5 to seal using copper washers even when using annealed and new washers. I think this was partly due to being apprehensive about how much to tighten the bolts.

I've never done it myself but a simple test to see how corrosion resistant the antifreeze is is to take a small sample and place a steel object in it ie. nail. If after a day or so there is no corrosion then the antifreeze's corrosion resistance is probably ok.

It sounds like there is a flow but not much. You could try bleeding the system to clear any potential air locks, have you checked the header tank ? Another thing to check is that valves are fully open and not restricting flow. The pipework could be gunged up somewhere which I would have thought be between the first rad and the stove. Can't think of anything else

I assume a CO detector with an analog display are best as it shows when there are low levels. There's one at Screwfix with a built in lithium battery that is supposed to last 7 years. I've read that over time the sensors deteorate anyway so after 7 years it would be a good idea to replace it ? http://www.screwfix.com/p/fireangel-co-9d-7-year-digital-co-alarm/92361

It's not uncommon to get mild spells in November / December when you might get away with it but I wouldn't bank on it. Days are getting shorter so the window of opertunity is going to be pretty slim. Do what you think is best and if it turns out crap then have another go in the spring and put it all down as a learning experiance.

I'm assuming there's a breaker in the 240v supply from the inverter so I would knock this off to make sure nothing is being supplied.

with the flooding we've had in recent years I would have thought river levels would have been the greatest concern. As others have stated , if the antifreeze level is ok then you should have nothing to worry about.

I've got one of these too, it's ok for light loads but the problem I find is the handle doesn't extend up far enough and you have to stoop down if you're carrying a heavy load and that ain't good for the back. I wouldn't like to try carrying 80kg with it

I DIY'd the blacking on my own boat at Shobnall 4 years ago and there was a couple sharing the dock with me who slept on their boat overnight. The smell of the fumes at the end of the day wasn't pleasant though with all that blacking curing and I wouldn't have thought spending the night amongst it would have done their health much good.

I used fairy liquid with hot water to clean my bilge of oil & diesel , worked a treat.

The landscape surrounding the Bridge pub at Branston is starting to change and not for the better unfortunatly. As part of the development work for the new housing project , a new bridge over the canal is being built and they were putting the pillings in for it as I rode past. Here are a couple of photos of the work in progress.

How difficult would it be to lower the bed frame ? I lowered mine earlier this year as I wasn't happy with the height. I lost some storage space underneath but have since put some shelves higher up and so this hasn't been a problem. In fact things are more accessible on the shelves than they were before, diving under the bed.

If you want to record HDTV onto a memory stick to keep then I recommend an August DVB400 https://www.amazon.co.uk/August-DVB400-Freeview-Receiver-Recording/dp/B00BPAZGCG The user interface is a bit crap but it's the only device I know of that can record HDTV to memory stick that can be stored on hard drive.