Pentargon

The dimming lights trick is a good one, Mike. Regarding "reporting your findings tomo" Star needs to find her STARTER tomo. Let's not lose sight of her original objective?

Amazing co-incidence that this thread should be re-awakened just I am due to shoot Braunston from South to North (in the next ten days on my maiden voyage) and within 5miles of departure port. Probably mid-week and on local advice in late afternoon, (praying for sunshine to light up the exit from afar). ALL donations gratefully received as to how a total novice should proceed. I've already cut'n'pasted all the previous posts to this thread so I know what has been already said. Try to concentrate if possible on: THE WATERFALL 1/3 way in. Is that only after rain or all the time? The last thing I want in there is a sudden and unexpected cold shower. so should I wear an umbrella, a dry suit or just a wide grin on my silly chops?

This is seriously but unresistable: Shackelton and Edmund Hillary would be proud of you softies with your electric blankets and hot water bottles. It's only -8 at the worst tonight. How about a hot whiskey bottle? LOL

Star. Follow the red lead from the starter battery down to where it bolts onto something and you should find the solonoid [usually] on top of the starter and 'part of it'. The starter will be bolted/screwed on to a bellhousing at the opposite end of the lump to the end where the water exits through the thermostat housing. It doesn't matter what kind of engine it is. They are all the same. But you should check that neither of the battery terminals gets hot when you try to turn the engine over on the key. Also check that the terminals of both leads are firmly attached at the engine end BEFORE you try keying it. BTW, if you have another person turn the key and you hold a finger on the metal of the solonoid you will FEEL the clunk as it engages. If the solly clunks but the starter does not turn the engine over you may hear a hum from the starter. let go of the key 'cause the starter is fcukked. Get it to a spark shop. They don't need to know what make and model your engine is or even whether your boat has a jacussi. They will just do the brushes and maybe armature and charge you a queen's ransom. Often they do an exchange where they take yours in an "here's one we prepared earlier" Where do think TV learned that trick? P S It's all right for me and Mr. Bizzard to go direct to the starter with jump leads. We have maybe 70yrs experience between us. Don't even GO there.

Thames was my old splash-around til abandoning it for t'cut. Robin is not due to go back in the water. Ever. She's staying on that pontoon and will be (if she isn't already) basically a museum and educational centre. I believe. She's too precious to get wet any more.

How to delete a superfluous post?

Les Good luck with the quest. Check this link from my own website which may give you a little shock http://pentargon.webs.com/daybeforethesurvey.htm Like you, I'm a newbie involved in trying to purchase a boat. Like you,I would not dream of buying without a survey. The link shows details a newbie would never know about.

For me this is a very interesting thread as I am buying my boat 'with mooring' not a million miles from Braunston. (The survey is tomorrow and I'm shittin bricks today so go easy on me ok?) I'd guess if the prices there are a tad up-market at Braunston, it's a combination of their being close to the centre of some universe and providing extensive facilities. Daan Sarf there are huge differences in rents and huge differences in how they compute them. On the subject of rent prices, I think mine will be £90+V20%=£108 pmpa (£1200pa) though negotiations are not yet concluded. It would make an interesting contribution esp. to newbies to know what terms are elsewhere and how they are computed. Figuring the rent has been the biggest minefield for me. EG. 86p pfpw(longterm) or 109p pfpw (temp). I've been quoted £2100 on the Lee and £2000 on the Stort and £1000 nr. Daventry for the same spec. boat. On the subject of "services", turning off water to pontoons from Dec. thru Feb. makes great sense as frost damage is hugely expensive on an overground network a long way from the sea where freezing temperatures are guaranteed every winter. I don't think I would want to be in a marina where this did not happen as I would consider it airhead management and would wonder what other kinds of tomfoolery/stupidity they were at. On-site facilities such a shops, chandelries, pumpouts, meachanics, welders, site security are all variables I can take or leave.

The main reason I came onto the thread though was to find out how people protect their ash poles? Paint does NOT protect ash which needs to breathe. Away from water, I'd use boiled linseed but would appreciate alternatives and opinions for use in wet conditions including rain(as long as you know what you are talking about). Tks.

It's a helluva long thread but I have laboured through to here. An ash pole can be lengthened by "scarfing" by a skilled joiner. You need only a jackplane and a knowledge of scarfing. A 9" scarf is about as far as you can go with 2" ash. The scarf can be lashed with fine twine to the full 9", using glue instead of wax. The join will actually add to the overall strength up about 18'. The main reason I came onto the thread though was to find out how people protect their ash poles? Paint does NOT protect ash which needs to breathe. Away from water, I'd use boiled linseed but would appreciate alternatives and opinions for use in wet conditions including rain(as long as you knw what you are talking about. Tks.

I've been in 'a few' chandleries along the GU and BW keys are pretty much always £5.95 or £6.so what is the ACTUAL price at Mudland? What is it you want to print out? A BW key? or a boater's guide?

the fuel question has been dealt with (I think) so to the calorifier. Basically, as you rightly point out, it works exactly like your immersion tank at home. Hot water is routed from your engine internals through pipes which pass through your 'calorifier' and back to the engine in a sealed loop. This is the engine coolant with the anti-freeze in it. Yes! You can run your engine and cruise the canals all day with your boat water system drained. The air inside the 'calorifier' will heat and the cylinder may feel warm because this is exactly how a radiator in your house would warm a room in your house. Any Yes. You are allowed to dry clothes or warm your hands on the 'calorifier' if you want to.

Well said Arthur and by far the most sensible post so far in this thread. Onionbargee comes a close second with his 'rant' View Post onionbargee, on 06 January 2012 - 10:06 PM, said: water is MEANT to be in the fuel tank, thats why you have a drain plug at the bottom, and a fuel line output higher up, the same as every other large fuel oil tank on the planet. People on here need to stop worrying about scare stories ... The pedants homed in on 'MEANT' because they were reading what they wanted to read rather than what was there in front of them. Proper fuel tanks take their feed from a bit above the minimum liquid level to allow for the fact that water and other shit will end up there. I myself filtered the finest of aviation 130octane through chamois in the '60s (into a Tiger Moth I used to fly then) and often found globules of water in the leather. Now if we move on to how diesel is delivered stored and supplied to boats and the lack of fuel hygiene demonstarted by most boaties who frankly don't know their arse from their elbow, it is not surprising that fuel polishers can make an excellent living on the canals.

Those of you who have actually qualified as canal skippers will know immediately why I referred to the "Herald" incident. You will have done the module where the top gate paddle was flipped open really quick and flooded the bow while the front doors were closed. The sheer weight of water filled the bow in seconds and since 200 gallons of water weighs a ton, the boat just went straight down bow first in the lock. had the doors been open at the time she would have shipped a ton of water into the cabin and sank anyway. Far too many of you jokers in t'cut forget you are [supposed to be] sailors. I don't worry about the 2% of you who know what you are talking about. I fear for the 98% who patently don't. I wish you all a soldier's wind and good night.

My best storm under sail was F8 in La Manche where we did experience 15' waves for five hours. One thing you have all seemed to miss is "perception". Out on the lumpy you take it as it comes. On t'cut it's a whole new game. I've seen people scream on the Shannon (big big irish river) in F4, choppy waters, 15" waves and later in t'pub regale the listeners with the storm they went through and the height of the waves. Terror and adrenalin as someone said earlier are great for focussing judgement. what absolutely captivates me is how the boating and landed community up there (and we seem to not even be sure as to the location) has rallied at once to get them a warm bed. AND Himself and Herself and canine and feline are all none the worse for wear. If it looks like its 15' and it feels like it's 15' and it breaks like 15' then it IS 15'. I reckon their boat went down for the same reason as the ferry in the Channel Was it the "Spirit of Free Enterprise"? They wallowed and shipped water over the bows. The water went in the front doors and the weight of water took down the bow so it shipped more water and then levelled. But now very low in the water. It then sank over the next while due to ingress via outflow pipes for pumps and things. Pure speculation of course. But based on certain experiences. As for the poster above who wondered why their bilge pumps did not work. Most canalboats I believe don't have bilge pumps and a [fitted]bilge pump will not work unless it's outflow is clear of water. EDIT: "Herald of Free Enterprise". It has it's own wiki page and canalboaters should read it.

If you go with the coin trick (and it has never failed me) you won't need the map. When you get to turn around you just sing to every boat you meet "Is this the way to Amarillo?" and when you get there write a book about it.

Go with MJGs sudocream. Acts as sunburn healer. Barrier cream. just keep listing uses. Lavender essential oil beside stove/cooker for burns. Epi-pen if like me you are anaphylactic [relax it's to bee-stings!]. Anti-histamines in case of any allergic reaction.

I'm from that part of the world. While I'm sorry for the involved, it is extremely likely they live there and you can draw certain conclusions from that assumption. The grand canal has car-bearing 'towpaths' along much of it's length. And they dont have any protection whatever. people just know. It's how we do things in over there. Check out the 'related content' at the same site to see how many people died 'accidentally' in Ireland in the same timeframe. BTW, I'm not going to suggest 'drink' was a factor in this case, but 'drink' is involved in some way in almost 80% of all road fatalities in Ireland.

Arthur! Zenataomm above has entirely the right approach. My Pentergon has an SR2. There is a 'lift' pump which sucks diesel from the tank and pumps it up to the Bryce injectors. Can we establish whether it is the single lift pump or the twin injector pumps you are worried about because in neither case would the engine have to be removed. If you can pardon the analogy, taking out an SR2 to change a lift pump is akin to undressing yourself to comb you hair. Unless you got some crazy boat where the engine was dropped into a hole so you can't get at anything. Please enlighten us here at the forum in case we can save you hundreds. BTW, the lift pump on mine was changed last Summer in 50 minutes.

Humphrey. In view of the breath-taking list of places you have been advised to stuff into your itinerary may I advise you look up Johnny Cash's song "I've been everywhere" and learn the words. You'll be a hit everywhere you go and the banters will be ninety. As for myself, I'd simply toss a coin every time I came to a junction and see where I might fetch up. And when I felt like turning round I'd do it at the next winding hole. Hope to meet you on the cut sometime.

http://www.wellscargo.co.uk/blog/?p=382 narrowboat "Belle" has such a set up. You don't mention which Lister engine you have but it would need to be beefy to handle of the drag of the alt. under load

I smell a rat here. Dasboot claims to have a Lister ST2 engine, which as Alan rightly says is air-cooled. But the engineering spec. says it has keel-cooling and I've never seen a water-cooled ST2. Where's Bizzard? There's a radiator in the washroom and pipes suggesting they are driven by the Morso solid-fuel fire which I can see. It uses a Morco to heat water for the galley and washroom. This looks like a very expensive boat to run. You have to buy diesel gas and solid fuel to cover all bases. Says at the very bottom that "the boat is coming in" to the broker at £22900. Yet they immediately knock £1000 off. It's worth a look but with a very jaundiced eye. I'd suggest offering £17,500 initially if your inspection makes you 'like' the boat. It's seriously a buyer's market right now. Have fun. Have you seen a boat called Lady Antonia which is selling down south at the mo. Compare.