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nebulae

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Everything posted by nebulae

  1. We have a Kabola stove in a 50ft boat.The man I bought the boat off fitted it and he lived on board.He removed a multifuel and the boat has never had radiators.I guess it depends how you use the boat.We find it very convenient and heats the boat well.The snag is,it is quite expensive to run.
  2. When reversing,I always stand in the hatch.Very awkward to do anything else on our boat.When going forward,I sit on a comfy seat mounted on one of those Captains Perch things.Cant sit on the roof as I cant reach the tiller.Cant stand all the time as I am old.If the tiller is hard across we can still sit on the seats(just)I know some people think seats on the back are a bad idea and they are probably right.Certainly looks better without them.On the other hand they are quite high as the cabin of our boat is tall and so it would be very difficult to fall off the back.(Never have two people on the back when reversing)
  3. My elecroquest charger has gone into meltdown mode after two years.I think the cooling fan may have failed.It worked well when it was working.Back to the drawing board then?
  4. We have marine band VHF on board.Would not consider going on commercial waterways without it.The course for the licence is only one day and the vessel licence is now free.The equipment is as cheap as chips.DMSS not much help on canals but essential on semi coastal hops such as Ribble link.Why risk you life and your vessel plus trouble you can cause to rescue services if you cant communicate.We use chanel 15 to communicate between the boat and the lockwheeler who has a portable set.This is a marine unit which is waterproof.Still cost less than £100.I hope we are legal on ch15 which is a low power chanel.Obviously no chitchat,just for safety information.Range is basicaly line of site.Mobile phone for communication when out of sight,assuming a signal.
  5. Quantitive easing is an inventive way to describe printing money.When you print money you cause an inflationary presure.Both flavours of government have done this.Inevitably the cost of most things will continue to rise.Moral of the story,if you had a cristal ball and could fortell the future rate of inflation you could become very rich.What it all means is that our hobby(our home)is going to get more expensive.
  6. We use SAGA,because we are old.Reasonable price and have not asked for a survey for our 25year old boat.The cost of an out of water survey adds considerably to an insurance premium.
  7. Personaly I always empty my water tank.If a pipe freezes and comes of the water in the bilge will take forever to dry out.
  8. We had to replace ours for the last BSC.We replaced it with one from Midland Chandlers which required a 12 volt connection for the spark igniter.It was very expensive and was very flimsy compared with the old Valour cooker.Cost about £550 from memory.It does the job but I have since seen cookers in our local gas show room for a lot less money.I would not recomend our cooker as good value for money.
  9. If its got a Lister gearbox, which most will have,bear in mind that although its a strong gearbox,it can break.Spares tend to be expensive or unavailable.
  10. Been using baby oil for years on my paintwork.If its all right on a baby then I dont think it will hurt my "baby".Trick is,not to use too much.You do need to use it regularly,but it only takes 10 minutes to do both cabin sides.Obviously,dont get it on walking serfaces.
  11. When a pumpout loo fails its time for the Marigolds.I have never had much luck finding a boatyard keen to delve.Worst case senario with a casset is throw it and buy a new one(better empty it first though)
  12. Re comment about older engine being based on a Fordson Dexta/Perkins engine.From memory the Massey Fegusson 35(late model) and 135 use the same engine.I seem to remember the main difference was the Dexta used a rotary pump,the Massey an in line.Might help to know this if you are looking for a cheap replacement engine.
  13. My side fenders are two 10" mini tyres.They give a quiet nights sleep when moored againts piling.Dont need to agonise over fenders up or down, as even taking a run at a narrow lock,I am confident it wont fit.
  14. Many older tractors and construction plant use a standard Lucas key.These are fairly crude and are available in most agricultural dealers.I have seen quite a few boats fitted with this type of switch.The switches are cheap and are available to give variations of off/ignition/heat/start so suit a lot of boat engines.Agricultural parts seem to be cheaper than boat parts even when they are actualy the same part!
  15. I took a Lister SR2 out of my boat.It was noisy(air cooled)unreliable and the exhaust through the engine room cabin top tended to cover us in soot and blast brick dust from tunnel roofs.This is the third boat I have had with a Lister(SR2,ST2 and ST3)They have all driven me to distraction.4 years ago I fitted an Isusu from HMI.I was advised by an experienced engineer that retro fitting a keel cooling tank could be tricky.I took his advice and fitted a raw water cooled set up,as used in seagoing boats.The direct cooling is obviously sealed and filled with antifreeze,the raw water exits through the exhaust.This silences the exhaust note as well as cooling the it.The boat has since done 300 hours in widely different conditions with no problems.I have another boat which has been used for the last 40 years in salt water.It has a Volvo Penta MD1 diesel with direct raw water cooling.When I stripped it down recently,I was very surprised at how little corosion there was!
  16. I have used red and green Hermetite for years.Told by my local engineering supplier that the manufacturer (Hammerite?)discontinued the product several months ago.Rumour has it that Hermetite was manufactured by a company called Hylomar(Who make Blue Hylomar another good gasket sealant)They have now introduced a product called HYLOTYTE.I have used it and it seams the same as Red Hermatite.Dont know if they make a replacement for the green.Try info@hylomar.com or phone 01942 617001
  17. Very little fortunately.Not sure about our fibreglass friends.However,where there is a fridge,dead cow or whatever,there is usualy a lot of other rubbish.I once spent 3 hours removing a matress from the prop.Not the best experience on a river with a strong flow.Best advice is keep to the middle where possible and keep a good lookout.Is the river realy going over Cawood bridge?How safe is the structure?
  18. If the lock keeper at Selby is out of his cabin,he will be using his handheld VHF.In this case,range is very limited(line of sight).Even if you are using a fixed set,range is still not very good,so you may have to use your mobile.I agree with the above postings.However,the amount of rubish in the river needs to be seen to be believed.I had not realied that fridges and televisions float.
  19. We have a Wilsons one as well.Would not be without it.Windows in the sides are a matter of personal choice,but are vulnerable to damage.We have to remove the cratch for Stanedge so easy removal a good idea(depends on the air draft of your boat)One issue that relates to our boat is the walkways on lock gates on the Kennet and Avon will take out the cratch when locking downhill and opening one gate.Hope these comments are helpfull.
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