Bod

Section 8 1983 Act. 1st paragraph. By your description none of this section is appropriate to your situation. Should this go any further, you need proper knowledgeable legal advice, as this is the method C&RT use to wrongly seize boats, by removing the licence, then, saying the boat is unlicensed therefore we have the right to remove the boat. The difficulty C&RT have is there are very limited reasons to remove a licence, and the legal right to have a license is enshrined in law. Bod.

Which British Waterway Act? This should be in the letter. There are several different ones, over the years each with different clauses 8&13. Bod.

6 months before travel, you will be looking on "Apollo Duck" and most of the uk brokers websites at least weekly to get a feel for prices and speed of sale. (Bearing in mind the uk season of the year, slow sales in winter, quick sales in spring/summer.) 6 weeks before, this will become daily. 6 days before travel, contact will be made with the owners/brokers of interesting boats, to check the exact availability. -2 days after traveling, appointments will be made to view interesting available boats. This will be at short notice, think hours, waiting days, the boat will be sold elswhere. Try to keep your interesting boats in the same area, ie Midlands, and base yourself in that same area. You will need the 2 days to settle in and arrange transport, don't rely on public transport, theres not much of it! Also bear in mind uk money laundering rules, there may be difficulties in transfering and spending large quantities of money into the uk. Bod.

The "correct polarity light", how does the bulb test out? The bulb is not blown? Bod

Does anyone remember the thread where a wooden top was taken off, and bigger taller up stands were welded to the gunnels? I've tried to find it, as it would show how the top is fixed to the hull, and the amount of work involved. Bod The wooden roof and sides, how good or otherwise is the quality of the joints, and methods of construction? Chippy grade, butt joints and nails. Carpenter grade, some angle joints and screws. Thru to Cabinet grade, no visible joints, brass screws (with slots all lined up) and varnished. Bod

"Walls and roof are plywood" Is this only on the inside, or is this a wooden top boat? Certianly it is possible to raise the roof level, or change a leaky wooden top for a steel cabin. Whether the cost is worth it, is the question. This might be, just tidy up and sell on. Bod

Hi Terry Have you read the "Dear Newcomer To The Forum" section in the General boating forum? To get you and your friend the best accurate advice we will need a lot more information. Where is the boat? What has been done already? Is the starter battery fully charged? Is there plenty of diesel in the tank? Any fuel cut-off taps open? What happened the last time it ran? Simple questions at this point, but they do need answering before more technical questions can be aked. Bod.

Do the batteries have screw on/off caps? if so when was the acid level last checked/topped up? Photos of your batteries will help a great deal towards knowing exactly what you have. Bod

Talking of batteries, I've just looked at the age of mine. Boat purchased in 2010, witha set of 4, 6volt domestics, that had been previously fitted to a Cherry Picker. 2013 enquires were made into replacing these as one had a duff cell, it was discovered that the manufacture of this type had ceased 9 years previously. Current batteries were fitted in 2013, and are still working fine, for non liveaboard use, charged by solar when the boat is unused. Acid level checked once a month. Bod

One item not mentioned, is the propellor firmly fixed to the shalf? Engine stopped, gearbox in neutral, weedhatch open, reach down touching the propellor, feel right down the blades to the centre, there should be a hexagon nut with a split pin through to secure the nut. You are checking to ensure both these are present, and not loose.

Be aware both Watford and Foxton locks have opening hours, and are locked up outside these hours. Arrive, moor up, find the Lockie with the list, they will tell you when to move, in busy times be prepared for a long wait, the best way of getting through in busy times is to help others through. Bod.

Before fitting solar, we charged from a shore line, with a 7 day timer, set to charge for 48 hrs a week, with a Sterling 40 amp charger. Bod

One simple thing to test in these situations, that has not been mentioned yet. Is the drive belt correctly tensioned, and not worn out? Bod

When we contacted Debdale, once they knew the size of the boat, the quote was clear, but with the caveats of the hull condition, being good enough to withstand the process. The first operation being a powerful pressure wash, that should uncover any suspect areas, then it's your choice to go ahead or return to water. Straight forward to deal with. Bod

Debdale. Just beyond Foxton locks. Had ours, grit blasted, zinc sprayed, epoxyed, comes with guarantee! Bod

Is it the place that the tap(water type) was fitted on the early car heaters? Turn on in the late autumn, off in late spring. Bod

Local Locksmith. Bod.

If you are asking about the hole with the screw fitted in, then that is directly under the rocker cover gasket, and should have a machined flush blanking plug. What can be seen through the hole? It will have been made for an internal passage which could not be cast in directly, but had to be drilled in as part of the machining processes in manufacturing. Bod

Read and understand this part of the Smartgauge website. http://www.smartgauge.co.uk/cable_type.html It is regarding selecting the correct size wire to avoid Voltage-drop. In the lenght of individual cables in your short boat the drop may not be too great, but will need to be accounted for. The length of the boat may be 36 feet, but some cable runs out and back to the battery, could be in the region of 90 feet, all the up's and downs, turns to left and right all add lenght. Volt-drop is basically the internal resistance to the volts passing through. A cable carrying 240 volts loosing 5 volts over it's distance, is not a problem. The same cable carrying 12 volts, loosing 5 volts is a major problem. The cable needs up sizing to reduce the lose to 0.05 of a volt. To size for volt-drop normally means the cable is well over specc'd for current capacity. The author of the above web-site is an acknowledged expert in this field. Bod.

Is this what you removed? It could be what the White wire does in the alternator causing your fault. Bod

British waterways act 1983 section 7. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/1983/2/pdfs/ukla_19830002_en.pdf If this section was used more often than the infamous Section 8, then many more boats would be of concern. Bod

I may be preaching to the already converted, but narrowboats exist in a world of their own, many normal world things don't appear in the narrowboat world. 1. The current BSc will become invalid once any major work starts. Will need redoing at the end of the works. 2. Boat electrics are all negative cable return, No "earth/body work" returns. Voltage drop is far more of a problem than current carrying capacity, due to cable lenght. 3. All water systems are pump pressured, no gravity system works, even sewage has to be lifted, either by pump or muscle power! 4. Spirit levels are useless on boats, Right-angles are as rare at hens teeth. 5. The ability to work on engines will be helpful, be aware boat engines are sometimes based on very old car designs, but marinised by different companies. Each installation is unique. 6. Gas work needs doing to BSc standards, by either a "competent" person or a GasSafe engineer qualified to work on LPG systems and boat systems. The average boiler installer is NOT suitably qualified. 7. It will take at least 3 times longer and cost 4 times more than expected. Bod.

Question more for the experts. Seeing the quantity of sludge, will the new oil soften the remaining sludge? To the point of frequent changes, cleaning the internals of the box? Bod.

C&RT Trustee's I expect, it is they who appoint the management to run the system. Bod

Read and understand exactly what your insurance covers. 3rd party only, will recover the boat, the rest will be up to you. Comprehensive Liveaboard, will cover the repair/replacement of most things. (often only to the value of the boat) Mementoes' photos, paperwork may be beyond recovery. Good luck. Bod