Bee
-
Posts
4,389 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
25
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Blogs
Store
Posts posted by Bee
-
-
The water pump on my Beta 43, the one on the end of the camshaft with the rubber impeller, Jabsco?? started to leak a couple of years ago. Took the old seal and bearing to the local bearing shop -£3 for new ones. Fiddly job but still perfect
-
I would say that although 70` x 12` can theoretically fit various bits of the system that is a mighty big boat. One of the things that most people like about canal boating is that you can start the engine, untie the thing and go somewhere. A very big boat makes that simple pleasure into something else and finding places to tie let alone finding a mooring to leave it on is going to be a worry. Somewhere there is a compromise between as big as you can theoretically go (and afford) and as small as you can squeeze into, this will be a happier place than the biggest possible.
-
1
-
-
I really would not recommend it. Our boat is 10m x 3.4, that is a bit over 32` x 11` and has a chined hull and a slightly V bottom. She is a replica Dutch tug but is shallow draft. We have traversed the K&A and it is hard work. We have a big advantage in that we can get right into the edge because of the hull shape. Most wide boats are box shaped and trying to find a bit of bank 70` long to get into to moor up will be hard work. We have also been up the GU as far as Braunston and that was tough in places too, the GU has a few narrow bridges too where you may well stick tight. If you were to go ahead with this you would probably find it so awkward as to regret it and depreciation on it would be very painful. I must also mention running costs, licencing a boat like this is getting expensive, finding a mooring will be a worry and as for mooring costs, that will be a bit of a shock. 'Bee' was built for European waterways and lives in France now and is happy on all but the biggest commercial waterways which can be a bit bouncy but in my opinion the boat you are proposing will not really fit anywhere, including European waterways where anything over 20 metres falls into a different category.
-
1
-
-
This is one of those things that happens when the glass is recessed, those corners or the bottom just rot out or rust out. Is yours steel? I have wooden pigeon boxes, all nicely varnished and I fixed a clear perspex or polycarbonate sheet over the whole 'leaf'. I did this partly for safety - I could imagine someone tripping on the roof and putting a hand through the glass but also because of the trapping water thing. I used black foam tape sticky both sides and it works well
-
Somewhere there will be a rotating part that you can jam by putting a piece of wood under a nut and the other end on the bottom of the boat and torquing up the crankshaft nut. Maybe stillsons on the prop shaft, maybe from under a nut on a coupling to the floor, maybe some other thingy. If you do find something be careful you don't damage anything,
-
I was going to suggest an engine mount knocking against the bearers but when I had that on mine it was a knock and not a tick. I would try standing on the engine or grabbing the thing and holding it firmly to see if anything changed and then loosening each injector pipe in turn as both those suggestions can find all sorts of noises. Presumably it speeds up / slows down with the engine speed? Cold engine? warm engine? If you run it with the rocker box off that might well give you a clue, it does sound top end though.
-
That should be a lovely thing. Makes you realise there is more to narrow boats than 6`10" wide and right angles everywhere.
-
1
-
-
I love wooden boats but I really do not want to own one. As soon as you convert one or fit one out you are building dead air spaces that will rot and you cannot get at it without taking it all apart. The big problem is rot and if, for instance the stempost is rotting there is a good chance that every plank that fits into it is also rotting at the ends and that is a Very Big Job to fix. Steel corrodes and has it's problems but is much easier to repair. GRP (fibreglass) is possibly the best material for most boats except narrowboats which have large flat areas and that tends to be vulnerable to damage.
-
Years ago I lived in Bath, city centre, just round the corner from the Royal Crescent, shared flat, no problem finding the rent and I had a very ordinary job - lorry driving driving. There is no way I or anybody treading a similar path could afford to do that now. It would have to be living in a van, a boat or a tent in the woods. All illegal. Any organisation evicting people from these choices that are often just a fraction better than being homeless seem to me to be acting in the interests of those who are relatively rich and are offended by the sight of people who have next to nothing. If the law only protects the feelings of these priveleged people (and I am now one) then the law is unfair and I reckon it is perfectly OK to ignore it. Others might not agree.
-
4
-
-
Nothing wrong with 70` boats (or even a little bit longer) but licence and moorings cost more and in my experience you have to think about the layout. Getting heat to the ends can be tricky and as the back end sits deeper in perishing cold water it is wise to have the layout light and airy and not stuffed with cupboards and storage or condensation and mould can be a problem. Am working on plans for a telescopic boat - 35` when moored or for licencing, 72` for living on.
-
1
-
1
-
-
Thanks, I'll have a look at the horrible thing next time I'm on the boat. Stupid air leaks.
-
Mine did this for a while and still occasionally does it, I found that if I bled the thing right through it would start, run, cough a bit then die, If I removed the filter it was not full, there was a good 1/2 inch of air in it and therefore it must have been sucking air, I have gone through every inch of pipework and remade every joint and it still sometimes does it. These things can be really infuriating. I sometimes think a day tank above the engine is the last resort.
-
Interesting things. I wonder how you could clear them of weed though, I can imagine that in really thick weed they would clog even worse than a simple propeller.
-
David Mack is right. Don't sit anything straight on the steel.
-
1
-
-
Who do you pay for the mooring? This is their battle not yours. If some wally blocks the entrance then the owner should be the one jumping up and down. I don't think CRT will want to get involved unless it is their moorings and anything to do with legal shenanigans is to be avoided at all costs. I have moved boats before now and never thought twice about it and other people have moved mine, unless it starts a feud or is done with malice and everything is left secure it should not be a problem
-
1
-
-
A pair fitted to a wooden BCN Day boat - 'Moonraker' with a Russel Newbery engine I last saw In the 1980's, Shouldn't think it exists now.
-
9 minutes ago, Slim said:
YES.
If I speed it's an illegal act even if I don't receive a ticket. If I break into your boat/house it's illegal, even if I'm not caught and prosecuted.
I always used to break a speed limit by just a teensy weensy bit on the way to work, it made me feel good just not doing as I was told (Yes, I know its silly and childish) These days it's hard to get past my breakfast cornflakes without breaking some sort of rule or regulation.
-
I can't see a propeller or anything so it would need an outboard to move it. It does look a bit rusty so might well need some welding but it is a viable home so far as i can see. The marina would probably like to see it go sooner or later though so where to put it is the next thing to think about. (edit) Needs to go on a truck to move it too.
-
20 minutes ago, dogless said:
However the question remains if regulations require simple compliance, how should authorities handle determined none compliance ?
Rog
And that is the problem. CRT has a range of sanctions for people who fail to comply and most of us are relatively honest and able to pay and seldom cross swords with CRT. If someone has mental or physical problems and just refuses to engage with any rules then there is not a lot anyone can do. If I wake up tomorrow and find him on my front lawn with all his stuff I could very likely get rid of him but CRT and anyone who has to do things properly and legally have a real problem.
-
3
-
-
2 minutes ago, David Mack said:
Which is fine, until the whole canal network becomes a reed bed full of boats which are homes (of sorts) falling apart in their own time, and with none of those boats contributing anything by way of licence and mooring fees to the upkeep of the waterways, and with many of those boats, having no BSC and no insurance, being a risk to their occupants and to those of surrounding boats. Is that a world you want?
Not at all but the bloke is a bit of a one off. He doesn't fit into any of the usual boxes, Years ago he would have been a mad hermit, nowadays he might end up living in a heap of rags in the middle of a roundabout. As it is he's ended up living in a wreck of a boat. I can't see many others wanting to live like that just to avoid paying licence and mooring fees although some of the boats I have known and the people who have lived on them have been getting close to it - the difference is that they didn't stay on the cut long and didn't have mental health issues
-
8 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:
Well, if he rocked up on an inflateable surely he should/would get a hotel room?
He might also get bunged in an old barracks behind barbed wire for a couple of years
-
1
-
-
Ah, so it exists and has a usable interior, in that case you need to repair and replace whatever is needed and fit a stove and sort out the leaky windows. It does not need a whole refit.
-
So if and when he is evicted from the 'boat' that is his property what happens then? He becomes the local authority's problem and /or the NHS mental health team. Neither of these organisations are flush with money or resources. It might annoy CRT and some canal users but he has got a home (of sorts) and if the boat could be shunted off to a reed bed somewhere to fall apart in its own time that is probably the best thing to do unless anybody has a better suggestion.
-
1
-
-
You need a lot of skills, woodwork. plumbing, mechanical etc. and a lot of tools for each skill. You really need electricity for power tools otherwise the work is just too hard except for the most determined. You need a car with a roof rack to get the materials to the boat, you need a lot of plywood so find out what 1 sheet costs then have a think what a boat costs. It is expensive no matter how careful you are. Others have mentioned regulations, you must follow these or you will run into all sorts of problems and even the experienced fall foul of these. Many people think that living on a boat is relatively stress free, it can be but if you are being harassed by CRT because you are working on a boat on the towpath or cannot get a licence because your boat does not comply or 101 other aggravations that can happen it is the most stressful and worrying way of life imaginable unless you are immune from anxiety. I would put this plan on the back burner for a while. As for putting a price on your plan I would reckon it might just be possible to do it at the most basic level for £25,000 but you can very easily spend that amount and end up with a poor hull and a big heap of offcuts that you would be lucky to sell for half that. Sorry to be so bleak, keep looking and you will at least learn a lot and just maybe an opportunity will open up. Good Luck
Harborough Marine narrowboat
in New to Boating?
Posted · Edited by Bee
It needs looking at carefully. 1973 is an old boat. It was almost certainly built with 1/4" bottom and 3/16 sides and that top is fibreglass, that overlap is where the GRP 'lid' was fixed on. The chances of the hull not being overplated are very small indeed and in fact if I was buying it I would prefer seeing overplating. A 50 year old boat will have a lot of corrosion. I think it will have a straight through bilge and you will need to have a look at what lies beneath the floor, it might not be pretty. This looks like an attractive proposition but there is a great deal that might be wrong with it, be very careful, i fear its beauty might be cosmetic only and underneath it might be a raddled old hag.