James Owen

That's a Centaflex coupling. There are eight bolts clamping the coupling onto the shaft with a taper lock. Undo all eight bolts (they'll be tight) and you'll notice a further four holes spaced evenly around and in line with the eight holes you've just revealed. These four new holes are threaded, wind four of the eight bolts into these threaded holes and they will jack against the two taper lock parts and boom....it will split into two. The taper sleeve part that's left on the shaft can be tapped gently off but you'll likely need to drive a wedge (screwdriver) into the split that runs fore and aft to help spread the 'clamp' effect.

I was being facetious. The advert reads 'converted butty'.

I wonder which 'conversion' they refer to, that from 1880's horse boat to butty or perhaps from butty to powered butty?

Six thou.

In a word, no. For some years it would seem also...

We have previously used Charles King for a fair number of surveys and can't fault his work. Similarly Justin Green is known for his high standards and well earned years of experience. You really couldn't go wrong with either...

If my memory serves, the chap who bought her last year had no experience of narrow boats but had "Owned a few motor cruisers though, how hard can it be?" quote, unquote. He'd killed the L2 by the time he got south of Sutton's but, in his defence, he wasn't in custodianship of an engine with much more life ahead of it anyway so what chance did the old girl stand especially with a wooden conversion?

Words fail me...to think people buy these, for strong money, and then only for them to continue living for years afterwards...there really is no justice. The word 'soulless' springs to mind...

There's always one! ?

I caught a snap of this before it was carted away, possibly for scrappage but the haulier couldn't say for certain. I could see the boat had recently been cut up for whatever reason, all I could gather was that it had been in the way where it was and so had to go. What will become of it who knows.?

...and back in the real world.... A 24" blade married to a JP/S3??? Really, even at 1:1?

It depends on your interpretation of the word 'successfully' but cheap housing isn't my idea of an improvement.

That'll be a 1962 unit then.

I have encountered this very problem in the past and despite many hours head scratching and looking up flywheel/starter ratios, tooth lead-in etc it was ultimately solved by increasing the distance (fore and aft) between the flywheel and the starter. A heavy washer of around 5/16" between the starter and the mounting bracket on each bolt still allowed the register to locate but gave the motor, or more pertinently the bendix, a greater travel to build up rotation. Might be worth a try?

Hi Andy, I'm sorry to say the last I heard of her she was on the bank being cut up, albeit quite carefully to make getting rid of the scrap pieces easier. Nick