nebulae

I use good old fashioned Red Hermetite.Never had a problem.(Red Hermetite now discontinued,now called Red Hylotyte and made by Hylomar)Trouble with using silicone is there are so many specialist types,you need to know the exact spec.

Grease on rack,oil in bearings.Applied sparingly.Use biodegradeable chain oil.

Bit of a nightmare to keep within the rules with a narrow boat.Trouble is,the rules are there for a reason.On a river,with lots of lights on the bank,it can be very difficult to pick out nav. lights.If you fit compliant lights,your first transit of Stanedge will remove them.I have an ensign staff socket(easy to find in a chandlers) for my T.V. mast.I have made up a mast to fit in the socket.On the mast I have the masthead light and a bi colour port and starboard light.Takes seconds to mount and plug in.The lights are the more powerfull lights specified by colregs for a 50ft boat.The stern light is a bit of a problem.Very important to be seen by an overtaking vessel.I have mounted a stern light on the cabin top.O.K.when I am standing in the hatch.Useless when I am standing on the back deck.Cant think of a better way to do it.

One of the reasons the Company Of Proprietors Of The Stroudwater Canal aplied for a warrant of abandonment was to release them from the responsibility to maintain bridges.I think I am correct in saying that on abandonment,the responsibility for maintainance of road bridges passed to the highway authority.Presumably farm crossings became the responsibility of riparian owners?

I seem to remember a case within the last couple of years,where a man died in his sleep on a boat.The reason given at the inquest was burning MDF on the stove.Sorry I cant remember the details.

Have not got a calorifier,so used calorifier feed to a modified ford escort heater.Trad.stern,heater next to steerer.Keeps steerer and engine room cosy in all weathers.Hang wet clothes in the engine room at the end of the day.Dry by morning.Works well for us.

I presume you are talking about 6mm laminated glass.This can be cut to size by any glass merchant.Toughened glass has to be specialy made. Obviously,you would not consider using ordinary glass.6mm glass is,as you say,very heavy.I would not entertain the idea of a piece of removeable glass without some sort of edging or polishing.Have you considered a plastic lip,bonded on? Good idea to fit inside the frame against a rebate.I dont think you should fit the glass without some form of rubber or plastic gasket.Hope this comment is helpfull.

If your priority is living on board,rather than cruising,a "trad" stern gives more covered space,unless you have a pram hood.Also tends to keep your electrics dry.Can still have the engine at the back,rather than a separate engine room.Make sure you see lots of proof of ownership.Reciepts,handbooks for equipment,record of work done in boatyards etc.Dealing with a broker should be O.K.but you are dealing with a lot of money,so be cautious.Get a survey.Any doubts,walk away.

Had a Rolls Royce with a 6.2 litre G.M.v8 diesel.Same block as the Rolls engine.Sounds like a tractor,but wafts along and does 30 to the gallon.Most Rolls Royce cars do very few miles when they are in their dotage due to awsome fuel consumption.I used this one as it was reliable and cheap to run(and it had a towbar)Its on Utube with its new owner(diesel Rolls Royce)

I had a problem with a Leyland engine digger once.They are always a pig to bleed.This one sqirted fuel out of the pump and the injectors but would not fire.Eventualy found one of the valves in the lift pump had twisted in the base casting.Tapped it back true.Digger started no worries.The pump felt as though it was pumping and actualy pumped enough to look as if it was working.Its a faint chance,but worth checking. Repeat my warning.Inexperienced mechanics should not put fingers over ends of pipes or over leaks in pipes.If you dont know what a pipe does,you are placing yourself at risk.Should be no need anyway.

This boat has so many individual features,it rather looks as if it was either built for an owner with lots of ideas but not much experience,or possibly for use on rivers and wide waterways.Anything that is very different from the norm can be very difficult to sell on.Maybe your needs will change and you might want to change,at some time.If you are going to continuous cruise your budget should be enough to buy a very nice boat.Look at lots before you commit.(Are you realy sure you want a pumpout loo?)

As we have handheld as well as fixed,we use as communication between lockwheeler and boat(on low power) on inland routes.usefull safety kit on rivers.Essential on coastal hops.Very cheap to buy,licencing is straightforward.Why would you not have one.Fishermen might chit/chat but they dont block Ch16.

If you are not a competent mechanic,please DO NOT put your finger over the end of any fuel pipe.O.K.low pressure lines are not usualy a problem,but high pressure lines are dangerous.If you dont know what you are doing you could end up dead.I have seen it happen.

The radiator cap on my Rover is 40 years old.Still works fine.Engineering factors sell belts.Generic belts are sold as A,B,C,SPZ,M,section etc.i.e. an A25 eill be an A section,25 inches long.If you are lucky,your existing belt will be marked with size and section.Problem comes if it has a part number rather than a size.Always carry a spare(keep away from sunlight and oil)If you are worried about ageing of your spare,replace it regularly.If you run your engine without a belt,you will wreck it.

Midland Chandlers sell Bowman spares.

Marinisation parts are easily available for old British Leyland diesels.Also ford 1.8 if you must.Otherwise stick to Isuzu/Beta Barrus for new engines.Quite a few reasonable secondhand Lister SR/ST around at the moment.Avoid gearbox bodges like the plague.A narrow boat is very hard on its gearbox.Lots of forward/reverse and shear stresses.If you want keel cooling on a boat that has previously been air cooled,welding in keel cooling tanks may be a problem.I have indirect raw water cooling and a wet exhaustand it has not been a problem for me.

I understood that Lister/Petter were sold some years ago by Hawker Siddley Aviation, to a developer.The intention was always to develop the sites.The manufacture of engines has effectively been a sideline since the sale.The present workforce is a fraction of the size of the old company.

Been in the River Wey when the edge of the river was iced up.Total dunking.Got out so fast I hardly got wet.

I dont understand why people hand over money for an unregistered vessel.When marine mortgages were the normal way of buying a boat,the vessel HAD to be registered as a British ship.Same system for a yacht,narrow boat or the Queen Mary.You had to swear in front of a commisioner of oaths that you own 65/65ths of the vessel.O.K. a bit of hassle,but you knew when you paid the money,the boat was yours.I now register my boat on the small ship register.Not as good as full registration,but at least you are registered with the M.C.A.(Renewable every 5 years).Is it worth £25 to prove your ownership of a £100,000 boat?

Re origional post,Bridgewater and Taunton Canal.The old ship lock has long been replaced with a concrete dam,with a public footpath over it.The barge lock looks operable,but stop logs on the river side are in and back filled with mud.The electrics controling the road bridge between the inner and outer basins look to have been vandalised.I believe it is many years since the bridge has been raised.I have been told that Firepool lock is impasable due to lack of dredging.Most of the boats in Bridgewater Dock appear to be static.Does anybody on this forum keep a boat on this canal?

Many thanks for the replies.It looks as if the boat was Monarch.Interesting that such an important boat should have been in such an unloved state,but survived to be restored.I wanted to buy the boat at this time,but unfortunately,finances would not stretch.I suspect a lot of money has been spent over the last 40 years.

Like other people have said,go for good quality steel work,as new as possible.Survey with good surveyor and be present to ask questions.Some top end fit outs are of very good quality and are a nice thing to own.Onthe other hand a D.I.Y.fitout will be cheaper and probably easier to adapt to your requirements.Personaly,if living aboard,go fo a trad stern.The engine and electrics will be under cover and you will gain extra secure storage.

I should have made clear.The bend in the middle was caused by a side impact?Maybe this cauld have been jacked out?I am almost sure that the boat was composite construction and that it was moored neer the old Crosville depot(near Sprinch Yard),on the Bridgewater.I am vague about the engine,but almost sure it was a petrol parafin Morris Navigator.

I remember an old motor moored in Runcorn in the late 1960s.It belonged to a church youth group,had a full length conversion with no internal fittings and a substantial bend amidships.I think it had a Morris Navigator or similar engine and was for sale for £1,500.The name Edwardian Monark may have been painted on it,but my memory on this is very hazy.Does anybody know what happened to it?

I gather the new station in Sheffield is going to be some distance from the city centre.Sheffield Victoria was convenient to the city centre.It was demolished by visionary planners who saw no future in the railways? How is a loss making HS2 going to provide an economic boost to the country after the construction phase? .Why should we trust government to make a decision like this,when they have so often got it wrong in the past.