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David Schweizer

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Posts posted by David Schweizer

  1. 11 hours ago, IanD said:

    Of course a discussion was expected, but some of the complaints just don't make sense given that it was a general interest TV programme about the canals not an in-depth online tutorial for students studying industrial archaeology... 😉

     

    And that is not what I expected. If I wanted that, I would be looking for an appropriately qualified presenter, but isn't Mark Benton an actor?

  2. 1 hour ago, Arthur Marshall said:

    My argument with it was the tone of the commentary. The talking heads were mostly ok, even the Cunk lady, but the main bloke and script was dreadful - patronising in that "this is jolly good fun, isn't it?" way of a 1950s government information film, or one of those Disney wildlife things they used to show in schools. As if, because he was talking to stupid, ignorant people, he'd be pretending to share the joke that this wasn't really serious, now, was it?

    The error is thinking people don't want a bit of depth, a bit of knowledge, the sense that these canals actually mattered to people - both those earning their living back in the day and those renovating or using it now.

    And nine year olds being used to light the dynamite fuses because they could run faster than grown men, that's really funny, isn't it? That's a real joke. I wonder how many died. That was when I felt it had gone beyone the pale. A serious point could and should have been made, but no, it was just a laugh a minute, building canals, and everyone was having a damn good time. There was the bit about some people losing all their money in the bubble while a few made a fortune, and that being jolly good, too. So much for economics.

    I thought it was appalling. Nice pictures, though.

     

    That more than adequately describes what I paraphrased as "poor amateurish production" with the link person's childish sense of humour and regular use of adolescent colloquialisms. I could not watch him for long, even if the subject being presented was something outside my knowledge or experience.

  3. We only watched the first fifteen minutes before turning it off. What we saw was a poor amateurish production, comprising of numerous talking heads interspersed with still pictures which rarely related to the narrative. The only live presentation was of someone digging out a canal undergoing restoration with a mechanical  digger, accompanied by narrative relating to digging the canals with shovels and barrows!! People are being paid to produce this rubbish.

  4. 3 hours ago, RichM said:

    It is back up but nothing obvious in the logs as to what it's not happy about which doesn't help me prevent it happening again...

     

    I have allocated more memory to ElasticSearch and will rebuild the search index and will go from there. 

     

    Not on my compuiter it isn't. Still getting " No results to show in this stream"

     

    Edit:  One hour later and now working correctly.

     

     

  5. 20 hours ago, MtB said:

    Hmmm a J4 I'd say. 

     

    I'd buy it! 

     

    Edit: On looking more closerer prolly a K4. Too big for my 45ft tiddler! 

     

     

     

     

     

    Not neccessarily. About 25 years ago I was single handing over the Chilterms, and paired up with an old tug, which I believe was moored at Aylesbury. It was powered by a K4, and the owner admitted that it was a bit OTT, but apparently he was descended from the Kelvin family, so it was important to him. Unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the tug.

     

     

  6. 1 hour ago, MtB said:

     

     

    I'd have thought the For Sale section here would be as likely to find a buyer as anywhere else on line. The large bookselling firms are only going to reach people who already know about the book and are searching for it, whereas everyone here already has an interest in NBs and quite a few of us like vintage engines too.

     

    I already have a copy myself by the way! 

     

     

     

    I would be happy to try and sell it on the forum, but how much should I ask for it? I know what it cost more than twenty years ago. It was expensive, and it wasn't out of print then.

     

     

  7. I have a copy of the above book (2nd Edition Aug 2002) in excellent condition which I am considering selling, as I no longer refer to it. The problem is that I have no idea of it's current value or where the best place to sell it might be, I have looked on ebay, and Abe books, but neither have had a record of any copy for sale recently. Any advice would be most welcome.

  8. On 28/02/2024 at 08:03, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

    https://www.briangreaves.com

     

    give Brian a ring,

    I saw him the other day on the Staff and Worcester heading towards the Trent and Mersey 

    ask him if he’ll be heading your way anytime soon. 
    You might be in luck. 
     

    at a glance his website is art work but I know he does plenty of boat repairs too. He can pull alongside to work. 

     

    Having used him several times in the past when he was on the K&A. I can strongly recommend Brian. We also have one of his Ripple candlesticks on our fire hearth.

     

     

    • Greenie 1
  9. 1 hour ago, Nightwatch said:

    About a year ago, and after years of it being mentioned, I contacted CRT to simply put my wife’s name, with mine, on the ownership of Nightwatch. Just in case I kicked the bucket and there was a dispute of ownership. Peace of mind etc.

     

    We have owned boats since 2002 and Nightwatch since 2005.  Anyway, not just adding Margaret’s name to the ownership CRT thinks/acts and treats us as new owners. Even sending welcome notes and boating rules regs etc. 

    It’s a bit hurtful but I’m such a sensitive character. I just thought they may have a system in place to recognise many years of ‘membership’.

     

    An observation that’s all.

     

    Was that really neccessary? We had legally witnessed docments of purchase by both my wife and myself, which I am confident would have been recognised by any Court in the extreemly unlikely event of ownership being challenged. A boat being licenced jointly by two people is not in itself Legal proof of ownership by either of them.

  10. 7 hours ago, blackrose said:

    I made the mistake of painting my engine space with Vactan followed by two coats of Rustoleum. The prep was pretty good, it was all taken back to bare metal and my bilges have remained generally dry. However after only a couple of years some areas couldn't handle a bit of condensation and were starting to peel.

     

    I'd never use Vactan again for anything and I'd never use any single part paint in an area subject to any significant moisture. Having made the effort to go back to bare steel I was stupid not to epoxy it. 

     

    I gave upon Vactan very early on, having found that it never seemed to work well as a primer, and started to peel after less than a year. On the other hand I found that both Rustoleum and Hammerite Smooth (formerly Smoothrite) did what it said on the tin. I have a cast iron bench in the garden which I painted with two coats of Hamerite Smooth more than ten years age, Apart from places where the paint surface has been damaged, there is no sign of any rust breaking through.

     

     

  11. 1 hour ago, LadyG said:

    If I needed a good job done the engine would come out and engine hole prepped, then rust removal, then the tough red oxide as long as it will be undercoat to bilge paint. Or use two pack epoxy. Needs to be oil resistant.

    Take technical advice from technical adviser of marine paint suppliers, I don't mean the local marina 

     

    When the engine in Helvetia came out for a re-build, I cleaned and de-greased the engine box, after which I gave it two good coats of Finnigans Smoothrite. The manufacturers confirmed that the paint was both heat and oil resistant once cured, and as it was going to be a couple of months before the engind was reinstalled, the paint surface was fine, and had survived both heat and oil after more than ten years when we sold the boat.

    • Greenie 1
  12. 1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

    I was  under the impression that red oxide is porous, so left with no top coat in a wet bilge will not last long. The water based red oxide of today is not a patch on the oil based stuff off old. 

     

    I epoxy coated the bilge of our engine room a few years ago, and that has stood up pretty well, but does require good prep. 

    It depends on which Red Oxide paint you choose, I painted my bilges with Finnigans Red Oxde, which is (or used to be) a non porous paint which worked well and showed no rust after more tha ten years. Nowadays I would probably choose Rustoleum Paint.

     

     

  13. On 19/02/2024 at 19:53, Andyaero said:

    Yeah just wondered if anyone would stick their head above the parapet or is everyone totally legit. I do plan to continue to use my dodgy Firestick for TV reception.

    It would cause all sorts of problems if I put diesel in my car, it runs on petrol😀

  14. 58 minutes ago, LadyG said:

    'Scuse  ignorance, but is duplex  an L shaped seating with table that is on a dropping table leg, rather than my American diner with a table that fits in to the base to make a double bed 6×4' ?

    I think I like the American diner, I have one, it was recently upgraded with a nice 1" thickoak table, and a polished steel or chrome fixed leg.

    I have a boat which was fitted out by owner, he had certain skills, but finish was basic, OK for holidays, but not for liveaboard unless you have low aesthetic aspirations.

    I have upgraded all the fittings, all the cabin linings, all the upholstery, not a problem as I knew I'd have to do this when. I bought the boat, but when you are fitting out, it will be expensive, and the temptation must be to say "that will do".

    Think it out carefully.

    Do you mean something like this?

     

    Setee 4.JPG

  15. I have been clearing out my workshop and have found an unopened 5 litre tin of Rylard Premium Protection Bitumen Coating, which I no longer need as we sold the boat a few years ago. I could just take it down the re-cycling depot, but would be happier for someone with a boat to collect it from my house near Bradford on Avon, Free of Charge.  If you are interested please PM me. 

     

    Re-posted in " For Sale or "Wanted"

     

     

  16. 2 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

    I've not said it was incorrect - simply that to pose a converted butty without towline in a picture supposedly of an ethnic canal scene is jarring to my eyes. If he wished to avoid incorrectness the engine house would not be there.

     

    Fair enough, except that the addition of a tow rope would have compounded the artistic licence inaccuracies.

  17. 4 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

     

    It seems odd to me to simplify the setting and reposition the engine house to suggest an 'ethnic' canal scene, but then not to at least pretend that Nebulae was a butty under tow. I find it an irritating contradiction.

     

    The painting of Nebulae is dated 1987. Previous posters have suggested that the conversion took  place in either 1984 or 1985, if they are correct, the painting is also a correct depiction.

  18. On 25/01/2024 at 09:57, Derek R. said:

    My favourite. No signature (though it may be behind the masking).

    A GWR small pannier tank at a country branch line. It evokes an aire of what I would wish was 'normality'.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     

    The painting is "Country Connection" (1981) by Don Brecon, who is my favouruite Railway Artist. Both the top and bottom of the painting has been cropped, presumably to fit the frame. The signature is clearly visible in the bottom right hand corner on the copy I have.

     

    DSCN0796.JPG.b0989e532092a08938d142f9117c0e08.JPG

     

    This Painting "Evening Service" is one of my favourites

     

    image.png.3e9e94cd2bfb1c6a061826221964dc98.png

     

    9 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

    My thoughts exactly...

     

    Perhaps it has a hydraulic motor in the rudder...

     

    I think your guess is correct, AFAIK it was converted by Balliol Fowden in the late 1970's / early 1980's.

  19. 2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

     Once she is out of hospital and fit again, some photos may help.

     

    That could be some while. The OP says she is currently in hospital being treated for Pneumoniam, If her experience is anything like mine, she will not be recovered for quite a while. I was admitted into hospital with pneunomia at the begining of June last year, and it took several months for me to start feeling much better. I certainly would not have had the stamina to operate a boat for at least three months, hopefully she will recover sooner.

  20. 12 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

    This may only be camera angle but:

     

    Look at the washers at the front mount and the lands on the alternator bracket and water pump. It looks to me as if the bolt is in at an angle, so may be oversized hole/holes or undersized bolt.

     

    Also, it looks as if the belt and pulley are not aligned. The whole alternator might be twisted anticlockwise, or it might be mounted too far back.

     

    I can't see part 64, but the sliding bush in the alternator back bracket implies it is NOT a dynamo mount.

     

    I don't think that is an A127 clone, but happy to be corrected.

     

    You are correct Tony , but  you already knew that!  This is a Lucas A127

     

                                   image.jpeg.d20dbe42adc9bfc882928ebb46d768eb.jpeg

     

     

     

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