Dave_P

Did I say you referred to any one being an 'idiot'? No! So please don't accuse me of it.

Whoops. My phone wasn't showing me all the posts

My bmc survived a very similar incident in my early days. Like I said, they're tough old beasts. Wouldn't want to swap mine. Has the OP tried starting it yet?

Take off the oil filler cap. If there's this nasty residue formed like dirty mayonnaise around the inside of the cap, that indicates head gasket damage.

The obvious 'adult' discussion arising from this would be along the lines of "should CaRT bother sending out reminders?" However the subtlety different discussion you started was "is the OP an idiot for forgetting to renew his license?" Do you see the difference? No? Well, to help you, both would have provoked an interesting discussion but only one would have included being offensive to the OP. I wouldn't mind so much if not for the regularity of this happening. The Internet has invented the term 'trolling' for this sort of thing.

Yet again someone starts a new thread with a valid point and instead of discussing the point he/she raised, he/she is berated for it. Then the thread is subverted into an argument. Very sad. This comes to mind.

Unlikely, since that's drinking water! More likely that your engine can heat that water, giving you hot water. You should have a seperate cooling system running to a skin tank on the inside of the hull. It does sound like your engine has overheated which can cause problems and then you tried to run the engine again without addressing them. The most likely cause of overheating is a lack of water in the cooling system. You need to locate the pressure cap above the water reservoir, undo it and check the water level inside. If there's no water, then that's the problem. The cause could be a leak in the system somewhere or possibly a worn out pressure cap. Over heating could split the head gasket too so check inside the oil filler cap to see if the oil has turned into something akin to mayonnaise which would indicate water getting into places it shouldn't. The good news is that bmcs are tough old beasts and can usually be coaxed back into life.

I know him personally. You don't know the half of it! :-)

Also city centre is gas street basin but moorings come up rarely. I should know, I have one. Towards the Black Country there are some around Tipton and caggys boatyard, also ocker hill and smethwick engine arm. Again moorings rarely come up. South of brum there's plenty online at alvechurch, online and down the arm at earlswood boat club they often have availability. I think there's moorings available right now at Lyons Boatyard about 4 miles south of the city centre. Further out there's swallow cruisers and lapworth junction. Heading north there's moorings around fazeley junction and streethay wharf or if that's too far, try cuckoos wharf (rather you than me round there though). Of course Gas Street Basin is the best mooring in the whole country even if I am biased!! It would be worth knowing how wide a radius around Birmingham you would consider.

Ok. I was hoping the app would include chat, because the mobile browser version doesn't seem to.

Fair point. I only burn smokeless coal but I do also burn wood. Cheap non-smokeless coal is a waste of time IMHO. Pound for pound I get more heat for longer from smokeless with less ash, less chimney sweeping and less lugging heavy bags around. Even cheaper smokeless coal is often a false economy. I like supertherm. Not the cheapest but it burns for ages.

Not quite. The EPA applies everywhere. You are quite entitled to complain to the council about fumes and odours coming from your neighbours, even if it is from from something as silly as smelly socks (and believe me, people do). The council has a statutory duty to investigate.

So quiet on the Llangollen then! And haven't the trees grown on the approach to the aqueduct?

Update: I've been thinking about this some more and here's what I believe to be the 2 key factors: 1. The authority of a council to declare a 'smokeless zone' is given under the clean air act. Therefore, burning wood or non smokeless coal in such a zone is an offence under the clean air act. Unless you are exempt. Which boats are. 2. To prosecute under the EPA the council must demonstrate that you have caused a statutory nuisance which is either 'prejudicial to health or a nuisance'. This applies nationwide, not just in smokeless zones. To demonstrate the existence of a stat nuisance in this case, a council officer would need to demonstrate that smoke from your chimney was entering a neighbouring premises. Otherwise anyone burning wood in any house would be potentially liable to prosecution. Can I ask which council sent the circular and perhaps you could post up a picture of it? I'd be interested to show it to my boss.

I work for a local authority environmental health dept so maybe I can shed some light / muddy the waters here. The legislation which is generally used to prosecute in smokey fuel cases is the clean air act which specifically exempts boats. That said there is nothing to stop a LA from prosecuting under the EPA except that as far as I know there is no existing case law for a boat owner being successfully prosecuted in this way. This situation commonly occurs across a range of issues where there is more than one piece of legislation which is relevant. LAs are all cash strapped at the moment so it would be a brave officer to bring a prosecution in this case, risking court costs etc. I would reply to the letter, pointing out the clean air act exemption.

Thanks Doc

Just downloaded the IP board app. Anyone know how I find this forum on there? Also how do I use the chat room on my phone?

I'm planning to go upstream in the summer sometime. Are you allowed to go solo?

I bought the trent guide from these guys a while back My link Don't know what I've done with it though. Will have to have a search.

I'm also in Yorkshire. PM me if you want to meet up for a natter about the ins and outs of living afloat.

I'm planning on tackling the tidal Trent. Scary but exciting! Never been on a tidal river before.

Me too! As awesome as i'd hoped!