Kae

It often isn't possible to inspect the inner hull. Many (I'd hazard to say most?) boats don't have easy access to large areas of the inner hull. The external ultrasound though will tell you the thickness of the "good" steel, irrespective of where any rust has removed metal. So a reading of 9.5mm will take into account any corrosion internally or externally - so by the sounds of it, you don't have much to worry about on that front. You've got an advantage of being able to talk to the actual seller here, so ask any questions you may have to him directly, then just instruct the broker on what you want done - at the end of the day, they're making a lot of money out of just selling the thing, so they can do as they're told!

It must be leaking, simples. If the water is hot enough, it may not even hang around long enough to appear wet, but you'll see a blue/white residue left behind where it's leaking and evaporating. Any "mayo" in the oil? What type of water cooling?

I was caught on camera by James on Nb Chance as we shared Big Lock in Middlewich on Tuesday: http://narrowboatchance.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/meeting-people.html

The simple answer is "yes". The rough calculation used is engine bhp/4 = skin tank size in square feet. So 46/4 = 11.5 square feet of sking tank. There are alternatives to skin tanks. For example you could have an external pipe run around the swim to provide cooling. The "best" course of action would be to have a proper skin tank installed (in my opinion). More details here: http://www.betamarine.co.uk/inland/keel_cooling.html

Just ensure they're far enough away so as not to get too hot.

Sounds like the alternator's regulator may be doing the work? Have you tried disabling the sterling to see if there's a difference? I know on my version, disconnecting the white sense wire does this.

Catching up on washing, staying firmly moored to the VM in Nantwich today! Chilly and very wet here!

It's less than 300ml per 3 meters of 15mm pipework, you have less water in the pipe than you'd think.

This is my experience too. 6.5mph was achievable without the engine sounding like it was going to jump from under the boards.

Can't say I've noticed the difference, but then again, I think mines a domestic free standing oven/hob with an lpg conversion.

Something doesn't sound right. When you're charging the batteries, the voltage should be 14.4v or there abouts. If the voltage isn't raising, you may have an issue with your charging circuit. You should see 14.4v (14-14.8 really depending on the setting) on the smartgauge and the charge percentage slowly raise to 100%.

Do they have doughnuts? Hmmmm optical doughnuts!

Doesn't this get a bit cold though in the winter?

Your questions aside, it sounds like you're unsure enough of this to make it a bad idea. If you're not completely comfortable with what you're getting yourself in for, then walk away. Even if there were no issues with the boat at all, you'd still have a lot of work to do to get it "right". I know this from painful experience! By the sounds of it, you would end up completely refitting or you'd have constant niggles in the back of your mind. Not worth it.

I think they're as comfortable as you make them. A poor fitout in a steel boat will be very uncomfortable, whilst a GRP designed as a liveaboard would be very pleasant.

Yeah, the manual is very sparse! Fortunately it's a fit and forget item. Just connect it up and off you go.

Swap polish for wax and you're a good way there.

I've tried to do this in the past, but I've been told they can't pre-authorise a transaction and they'll give me a call if it flags up.

Google boiled linseed oil and have a read

Sorry to hear of your loss Colin. Had to have my westie put to sleep at just under 16 years of age, two years ago. He was a grumpy git but it was hard. Thinking of both yourself and your wife.

I suppose strictly not, as whenever the little men with their over-sized calculators are about, you'll be registered in the same location continually.