magnetman

blockquote widget For some reason I can't post without quoting someone. Blockquote widget. Blockquote widget Bit of an odd software gremlin. Using an android phone.

Photos of my 1.5s just to compare. Obviously the second picture is of the starboard unit due to the green label. 

The fact there arrrr mooring buoys outside makes me think it is on a river. ETA probably on a weir stream. Somewhere on the Thames me thinks.

Mine goes in the front of my belt without any extra equipment. No worries it is 100% secure there but it is a fairly small single socket hand forged lock key so not at all bulky. I'm also rather slim which probably helps. Wouldn't fancy a double head carried like that. A Dunton double single socket is ok though if a bit bulky. Back of belt is quite dangerous if you slip and land on it. Someone told me you could receive very significant injuries but I don't know how true that is.

I quite like the look of it as it is but apart from anything else it seems a bit impractical and possibly slightly dodgy in locks. To be fair looking at it there is no obvious danger but it seems to be an extra worry which would perhaps be good to avoid. I bet one would find other narrow boat steerers giving way at bridge holes fairly readily though which could be quite enjoyable.

It's a serious question. This boat (Tycho) would look lovely without that ram on it, a real honey of a short narrow boat but everyone would be chattering about the ram being taken off and how rude it was to do that with it being so hysterically important despite there being no thick ice any more. It's a catch 22 situation. It really would look good without it, a nice boat rather than an ice boat. ETA There is a nice Yarwoods boat behind there I believe The best solution seems to be to remove the ram (perhaps it's just a few rivets) and store it in a safe location then use the boat.

Who is going to cut the ram off

First picture from alan fincher blog site. The bow of Arcas seems to have a distinct starving dog look in the colour picture. I guess it's ageing. I did wonder if the bows might prove the ID story but maybe not.

Linear actuators. Bearing in mind you would only really need two positions so it could be arranged so that the limit switches on the actuator stop it in the right place either left or right propulsion. It is heath robinson but a hell of a lot cheaper than a bow thruster and less invasive. It might be an alternative idea to fit a bow mounted rudder to counter wind effects. If you had a blade on a vertical bearing you would only need to be able to move it a few inches to one side to have a major effect on the direction of the boat. Maybe a motor isn't even needed at least when underway.

Random guess Hyperion.

I used to get occasional little stones sucked into the pipework and lodged in pipe unions on a little Kubota engine I had. That was indirect river water cooled with a little Jabsco/Johnson pump.

I think you could quite easily mount a Minn Kota trolling motor on some sort of customised bow mount and arrange 180 degree rotation for it. If you got something like a 60lb or more 24v unit it would have quite a bit of grunt. Might look a bit funny but much easier than a tube based thruster. If it was mounted in a vertical tube near the anchor roller it could be lifted out easily enough. Set it so that "park" would be pushing the boat directly backwards and allow 90 degrees each side. It might even act as a generator when not being used if it was set up opposite direction to the main propulsion. That would be quite a fun project actually. Lower units for Minn Kota's are not too much money even shipped from the US. Then customise the mounting and use a PWM speed controller for it. Example motor unit about £300 plus about £40 for the right prop. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MINN-KOTA-SALTWATER-RIPTIDE-80-POUND-LOWER-UNIT-ASSEMBLY-VARIABLE-PN-2886227-/253003779562 I've used one of these on one of the boats and it has a hell of a lot of poke. Not very efficient for full time use but as a thruster it would be very effective.

Wide beams One unusual aspect of the Act was that it specified that the canal could open between 4:00 am and 10:00 pm, and that the maximum size of barges was to be 60 by 8 feet (18.3 by 2.4 m) with a draught of 3.5 feet (1.1 m).[2]

I prefer the alternative version of the famous Kenneth Grahame quote - "There is nothing, absolute nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing around in pools of money" Always good to be realistic !