Bee

The propshaft on Bee came from a boat jumble, dunno about the taper, the prop fits OK but the nut on the end is Whitworth. Must get a spare sometime 'cos the chances of finding another half way down the Burgundy canal is absolutely zero.

I have the opposite problem - no weed hatch. Our problem is canals with less traffic, we are mostly on French canals and the water is sometimes gin clear and weed growth is rapid plus there are lots of invasive species that grow like crazy. I'm not exaggerating when I say that sometimes we are brought to a virtual standstill every couple of hundred yards or so. The good old muddy and opaque UK canals don't usually grow dense weed so much. We use a pole with a sharp pointed steel hook on the end to rip stuff off the prop but it really is a damned nuisance. Hopefully the same horrible weed will not make it across the channel otherwise it will be a nightmare.

That Vetus 'tiller' might go a bit higher - just an inch or so - on the rudder shaft and if the hydraulic ram itself was made to bolt on from above the arm instead of below with a couple of inches of packing and longer bolts to lift the cylinder that might just give enough clearance to help a bit. Maybe lengthen the rudder shaft a bit if there is enough room ???

From memory mine is the P60 k, the shaft dia of Bee is 1.5 inch, very common on narrowboats, but there are tapered inserts to fit different sized shafts in that particular unit. If you have a propshaft rebuilders nearby they will certainly be able to help you. The place I used was in Wolverhampton but I can't find them on Google so they might have gone.

Pretty much what I did, I think the pair of joints I got were for a Ford Sierra or VW bus or something like that but thanks for the part number. They are indeed very expensive from the manufacturer.

That's awkward. Removing that Vetus tiller arm every time you use the weed hatch is not really an option, It has two clamp bolts on it that are not easy to access and no doubt the stops are at the full extent of the travel of the ram so that won't help either. I think your only option is to do something with the 'cavitation plate' below the lid and I guess that cutting bits off the thing until it clears the stuff that is in the way is probably the way forward. Having removed it there might (!) be some sort of obvious solution. Maybe fix the lower plate on some sort of 'dogleg' strut arrangement so that you can lift the assembly up by a few inches then tilt it over. Good Luck

I think a two part lid would be a horribly clattery affair. Even if you could move the limiting stops I would guess that it probably would not make enough difference to extract the lid and its plate as that would still leave you with the ram and other bits. I think you might have a problem that can only be solved by reducing the depth of the lid and its lower plate. i wonder if it would make much difference to anything if the cavitation plate did not go right to the bottom of the weed hatch? That seems the simplest solution. either that have two lids, a top waterproof one and a bottom lid that was hinged to a ledge at the bottom of the 'hole'. Sounds a bit of a bodge but Can't think of much else.

I would e mail the paint manufacturer. Last autumn I had to do a lot of prep to the underwater hull of Bee, Poor old thing was covered in barnacles and mussels as she had been in brackish water for a while. That left a surface a bit like your roof. Jotun recommended just painting on Jotun 90 with no other primer or treatment.

Depending on the boat and space available they can be quite useful as movable ballast. Careful with the terminals though, cover them just in case.

You are looking for the connections between the wheel and the rudder. Chain steering usually works by winding in and letting out chain that is wound around a drum behind the wheel. This pulls an attachment at the top of the shaft that the rudder is attached to. This stuff is often hidden behind lockers, panelling and suchlike along the sides of the boat just below the gunwhales to the stern and is usually is led around a pulley or two. The chain can fall off the pulleys and then it doesn't work. There are often springs and things to keep everything in place. Whatever the problem it will be in the most greasy, oily, dark, cramped and innaccesible part of the entire boat. It might even be cables of some sort and not chain or even hydraulics.

Had a day out at this museum yesterday and have to say it was brilliant. Not directly related to canal boats but nevertheless a good day and the cafe does a decent cup of tea. The volunteers really knew what they were talking about too. Even Mrs. Bee pretended to be mildly interested until I started explaining how the Napier Deltic engine worked.

Sadly you are right. I really must stop assuming the world is full of sensible people despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

I think the answer is in the picture. Massive power station in the background burning trainloads of coal - not a good idea. Small and rather lovely steamboat on the river burning a few kilos of coal (or gas) an hour - unlikely to do a measurable difference to anything. The really, really important thing is that burning coal, gas and oil is reduced as much as humanly possible. 100% cut would be good, that won't happen but a few steam locos, boats and old cars are not going to destroy the world

Epoxy is superior to bitumen, I don't think there are many who would argue with that. If the baseplate has never been painted you have a good opportunity to get under the boat with an angle grinder and with a heap of coarse sanding flap wheel thingys you can get a good enough surface to get, for example, a coat of Jotun 90, a surface tolerant epoxy on it, then another couple of coats and it should be OK for 4 or 5 years or more.

Don't know much about the frame of these hatches or the camber of your boat roof but my guess is that whatever seal you use - and I would use tape - the screws need to be tightened from the centre towards the edges to pull the hatch down evenly. In fact I would probably use G clamps on the corners to pull it down before tightening the screws

Same here. Boat is used continously every summer. When we leave it for he winter I check the nuts are not loose, they never are but it saves worrying. Python drive and plummer block. I am convinced that most problems associated with stern gear are because of misalignment or flexibly mounted engines putting stress on the stern gland. No problems for the last 15 years.

I would imagine that the only realistic way to get assistance with costs of maintaining a boat is if you are unable to work for various reasons, possibly mental health issues and have a social worker who can guide you.

If your present 'conventional' arrangement is OK, I would not bother to change it. If it is dripping a lot and giving trouble then the chances are that the shaft is running out of true. Ideally there should be a plummer block in front of the stuffing box to keep the shaft in line . then some sort of flexible coupling to prevent wear on the gearbox rear bearing. If you can manage that lot and have the space for it then that should prevent the shaft running out or wobbling if the engine is flexibly mounted. Apart from a bit of straightforward welding I would reckon that would be cheaper, easier and just as satisfactory as any PSS seal . Good luck.