Roy Batty

They are doing incredible plating here....so I believe it will be like A39 having a new Hull. Here is A Dutch barge partly replated. It is like a massive beautiful patchwork. I didn't know which images were A39 carrying coal.

Wow, that is amazing. I will get on to that immediately. Thank you Royg

Great information, thank you. Are there records kept of these build details in books or files kept somewhere?

Hi Pete, She will be overplated. I am not sure whether my phone auto-corrected my writings or if I had a short mental aberration. ?

Fabulous. L&L short boats live on. ?

Wow, what a stunning image of A39 showing just how low in the water she would sit with a full load. Thank you so much for sharing this. With each bit of information or image I am more and more happy that we saved this post of British boating heritage.

Fascinating. Thank you for the information. I will keep an eye on this thread and add images as we replate the Hull. If any further A39 info surfaces hopefully it will find its way here. Regards Roy

Dear Pluto, Are any of the other 7 A-series still afloat? I did see something very similar on the Thames last summer but didn't get a chance to find out anything about her. Regards Roy

That is so cool to know. Well rest assured that A39 will live on. She is now on the Thames awaiting welding. Thank you. Regards Roy

Hi Pluto, How are you getting on with your search? I, and a couple of friends, saved a Sheffield keel (that looks to be from the 40s or 50s) from being scrapped last summer because of a rotten hull. We bought her and intend in the coming months to have her completely underplated and touch up the superstructure so that she will last another 80 years. She is powered by stunning Gardener. I think it is a 2LW. She has had a solid timber superstructure built over the cargo hold and has been fitted with solar panels and a US military spec "Outback" power control unit so she is completely off grid. She is called A39. I hope you will add her to your list. I have no history for her at all. You might have more, in which case I would love to hear about her. Regards

Having had great advice on removing my old calorifier and installing a new one I now find myself with a new dilemma. My water is so hot that I need a mixer unit on the shower so that an unsuspecting guest doesn't scald themselves. I know that some calorifiers have mixer valves on their outlet but mine doesn't so I need to mix the water as it hits the shower hose. I have 15mm copper pipes and their centres are 95mm on an old fashioned twin tap shower unit. I would preferably like to keep the pipes at the same distance apart to avoid drilling new holes and moving pipework. Does anyone have any suggestions of a single lever or bar mixer type that would fit to my existing spec? As always, thank you for giving me the time of day with your advice. All the best Roy

Thank you Ray, Larkshall, and Jelunga, I will try to incorporate all of that. I have a horizontal tank....it is pretty useless as I think it was an old house one laid on its side. The new one is a purpose built horizontal calorifier made of stainless steel with a plastic casing. The new one has arrived so when I have a couple of days in a row off I will start digging around to see if there are and stop cocks or drain points....and I will do as you say....try to get as much water out before I try to lift the old one out. Good tip about replacing antifreeze or similar. Nervous but excited. Regards, Roy

Thank you everyone for your wonderful responses. The funny thing is that my water system was probably fine all of the time and not getting musty at all. It was actually the smell of the milton tablets that I was mistaking for it being musty. Now, I just keep on using the water and it stays fresh. I don't use milton at all now....and the water smells great....well, it doesn't smell....you know what I mean! The moral of the story? Learn what Milton sterilising tablets smell like. Happy boating everyone! PS I have posted my next cry for help....I need clues on how to drain the water systems before putting in a modern twin coil calorifier on my narrowboat.

Dear Canal World folk, I have ordered a new twin coil calorifier to upgrade the inefficient original one in my 24 year old narrowboat. I understand the principle of the thing so realise that there are three sources of water entering the old calorifier....from the water tank (via the pump and accumulator), from the gas central heating boiler, and from the engine cooling system. My issue is that the calorifier is awkward to get to and is at the lowest point in the boat.... ....so my question is: How do I go about draining the different systems the best I can so that I don't spill gallons of water inside my boat? If anyone has any experience in this matter I would be very grateful. Obviously, in the absense of any advice I will muddle through but I would prefer to cause as little water damage to the lining of my boat as possible. Thank you all in anticipation. My best regards, Roy

Thank you everyone for imparting your knowledge. You have largely confirmed my many suspicions. I have dosed the almost empty water tank with Milton....and will now run through all of the taps including the shower, making sure that the hot water tank is purged too....and then I shall not fully fill my water tank so that it doesn't stay in there long enough to get musty. Thank you for your advice. I am sure I will be back with more quieries soon. Happy boating everyone! Roy

Dear all, Please excuse me if I am asking the most obvious question ever posed to an experienced boater, but I am quite new to this world. In November I bought my first narrowboat. It is a 23 year old 48 foot trad stern narrowboat manufactured by R&D. There were lots of small jobs to do to bring her up to speed including cleaning out 23 years of silt from the fresh water tank, scraping, prepping and repainting the inside of the tank....so that I actually had clear fresh water coming from my taps rather than rusty water. I have noticed though that, because it is such a sizeable tank (built in under the bow deck) that does not need topping up for some weeks, the water coming from the taps has a strong musty smell that stays on your hands if you wash them. Is there a way to keep the water fresh in the tank? Just to add a little information, the tank is completely sealed. There is no breather point, just the cap for filling. If anyone can help I would be very grateful. Regards Roy