nebulae

Personaly,the only two things I would be concerned about are the condition of the hull and the engine/gearbox. Things like insulation,wiring you have to relate to price. If the boat is cheap enough and you have checked secondary items(which are still quite expensive)like cooker,fridge,water heater,inverter-charger then you have to make a judgement. Our last boat was bought on a whim and suited us well for 11 years .In the end ,condition of the bottom plate(6mm) pushed us to selling up.(The new purchaser was aware of the problem) In retrospect,I wish we had spent a bit more on a newer boat with a 10mm bottom plate. On length ,going down hill on a boat the max size for any given lock,you may get very wet. There are some very leaky loch gates out there.

Some years ago,I was told of an elderly couple who bought a boat above the first lock on the Hatherton Branch. A few days after they had taken over the boat,another boater engaged them in conversation and asked when they were going to take the boat out. They said they were waiting for the Lock Keeper to work them through. Not sure if I believe the story,but from reading this post,it sounds credible.

Like I say,I am not an expert. I imagine,if paint reacts to any chemical,then it will show as softening,fading or other failure. I would not want anybody to damage their paint because they followed my suggestion.

I can not think that a product designed to be sent down the foul water drain is any more harmfull to the environment than other domestic washing powder( Bio washing powder). Could be that anybody with a washing machine on their boat runs it into their grey water and thence into the canal. However,I am not an expert in these matters. As an aside, it might be a good idea to test whichever product on a small area of the boats paintwork first,to make sure it does not react with the paint.

We have a big problem with moss and green algae covering our farmyard. It is tarmacked and cost a lot of money and the moss actualy eats the tarmac. I happened to come across a You Tube video posted by an Irish lady. She sprinkled Biological washing powder across the moss. Nothing to lose,I sprinkled Lidle Bio washing powder over the affected areas. Worked a treat. Moss has not come back yet. Might work on a boat. Jumbo box cost a fiver.

I dont think that enough attention is paid to the condition of the bottom plate. I have had a 45ft narrow boat which looked very tidy. Within a short time of buying it, a rust hole in the base plate caused some panic welding on my part. Sold my last boat(which if I say so myself) looked very presentable,but had a very thin bottom plate. No corrosion at all on the sides.Yes,it could have been plated,but this is not the same as a sound,thicker,plate on a newer boat. Many earlier boats had a bottom plate off 6mm or less. Many of these boats are as old as I am(which is quite old) Many of these boats will NEVER have had any treatment to the bottom plate. The most important thing for any boat is that it keeps on floating. Beware rusty,cheap old boats.

Stressless chair and stool is £1,300. I had one from local recycling center for £8.00. Also a nice 4 hp Evinrude outboard in good working order for £20.00

Changed the engine from a Lister SR2 TO a Isuzu with a PRM150. Never bothered to change the Lister prop(l.hand) for a right hand. Did thousands of lock miles with no trouble. If I remember correctly,the get you home ability(by locking the box)only works with a right hand prop(but you could lock it and get home backwards)

I see that the contract has been let by Gloucestershire County Council for the building of the new canal section under the Bristol Road roundabout. This involves the canal going under both carriageways of the roundabout and I think ,a new lock to replace the old Bristol Road Lock. The contractor is Alun Griffiths. They recently finished the Newtown(Powys) bypass and have made a briliant job of it. Work due to start soon. This is the first stage of the conection between the Gloucester and Sharpness canal at Saul and the restored section below Dock Lock.

Isuzu 42 with standard mounts and Python drive. Cant tell if the engine is running in the front cockpit. Noise inside the boat not excesive. However,the engine is water cooled by raw water passing through a heat exchanger. The water is then ejected through the exhaust, This is standard practice for seagoing boats and does quieten the exhaust a lot.

Still got my Rover P5b. Standard appart from a LT77 manual box,electronic ignition and electric fuel pump. Can still give modern cars a run for there money(but not round corners) Got a modern BMW as well. I do use the indicators and let other cars out of side turnings.

The holes in the bottom of my boat were repaired by localised welding. Worked all the time I had the boat. Less drastic than plating the bottom and a lot cheaper

Cant say whether there were any special circumstances which caused the problem,as I had only just bought the boat. The anodes were O.K. I was told that it may have been a piece of carbon grit rolled into the plate? The bottom was badly pitted all over. Has anybody ever had a boat sink because the bottom plate has rusted through? Maybe we worry to much?

I had a boat grit blasted underneath,many years ago. The boat was 10 years old, The grit blasting went through the bottom in one place. I think the bottom was 6mm from memory.

I think this engine has a cam belt and a separate belt driven balancer shaft.The 2.5 certainly has. Also a rubber bonded crank pully? The 2.8 is About 125 hp,so water skiing behind the boat could be a viable option.

Have had several cruiser stern boats because of availability and cost at the time. Have hired semi trad. Seats on the semi trad uncomfortable due to tumblehome. Hated cruiser stern. Got a trad stern. Loved it. I can see that a cruiser stern works with a canopy, Never had a canopy on any of my boats so cant comment. I suppose depends on your cruising area whether you can cruise with the canopy up.

We had indirect cooling with a 42hp Isuzu. We had indirect raw water cooling ,as the Isuzu replaced an air cooled Lister,so we had no skin tanks. Over10years,we had no problems. With raw water cooling the exhaust was very quiet. The Isuzu with indirect raw water cooling was normaly supplied for sea and river boats and had a P.R.M 120 as standard. We were advised to upgrade to a P.R.M. 150 for canal use and I think this was good advice. This engine gave 1.6 litres per hour overall. The ocasional thrash on deep open water was most impressive pushing up a bow wave. However,the max speed on G.P.S. was just under 6 knots.(On a 50ft boat). At this speed,the engine/boat combination had nothing more to give and the fuel consumpion went through the roof.

Are you intending to use tyres on wheels,ie floating? Quite heavy and awkward to tie a rope to. Never had a problem on the Shroppy finding somewhere to moor that needed anything bigger than my mini tyres. Some bank edges would need at least 60/70mm to keep the boat away from the concrete.

Last time I was on the G&S I seem to remember that the bridge which opperates the next unmanned bridge (Sandford) is the only one appart from Llanthony which has V.H.F.

My experience is that lockies do not always respond to V.H.F. In one case,the locky told me he could hear me,but had not done the course,so he could only listen. They do seem to phone the next lock,if you are going through,so they will be expecting you. Not had much luck speaking to the locky at Gloucester until within sight and that is with a fixed set.

Boat was getting old and so were we. At age 70,gave up active boating. One accident on the Autherley Flight and a very close shave on the Wigan Flight. Do miss the boat though. Still enjoy walking the towpath. Visitted the Wey and Arun recentley.