magnetman

Pretty sure you are right about that. This picture posted earlier on this thread and previously is a bit of a giveaway No line between the tug and the wide bean. And there is no way that it would have been allowed to remain there for any significant amount of time. Hazard. It is clearly trapped in the weir gate.

The piles have floating plastic guards around them but with the height of the Thames last winter they may not have been working, to be fair. I think it was the weir. Orange is boat on its own. Green line is tug pulling partially submerged vessel out of the weir. (Theoretical situation as do not currently have access to the SIS recorded sat view for that particular day as it is not important and below my security clearance). A bit like this. Boat secured to piles comes loose and works it's way under the far left radial causing a situation where it needs removing asap. Tug (not EA any more it's a contractor) goes out to haul it away from the danger zone, knowing it is going to sink. I don't think "far higher" is quite right for the level. It's just above the weir. The levels don't move much above the weirs certainly not as much as below... ETA some more speculation - perhaps the boat was accidentally rammed by another heavy boat while moored up causing that damage to the stern. It's in the right place for a boat moored pointing upstream on the left hand bank. Obviously not well attended if it ended up adrift. The moorings above Sunbury are all on the left hand side.. Dark painted wide beam is a bit awkward to see in the dark with beer or Mary Jane or worse goggles. I have personally seen late night idiocy on boats in that reach, it's not a new phenomenon.

I suspect that was where it collided with part of the weir as it got pulled into the open radial gate. Whether that was due to the tug pulling it or the reason the tug was pulling it seems to be the critical question. I suspect the latter myself. I reckon it had already collided with the Weir and was viewed as a hazard which would be better left on the River bed than in a weir gate. The gates on that weir are about the right size to gobble up a wide beam but not spit it out the other side.

I'm not convinced it had been submerged for long. Suspect it may have come off its mooring lines and aligned with the Weir gate which is why the stern went down. A tug would not usually be sent out in red boards for a sunken boat but if it was a threat to the Weir itself then perhaps that changes the story. All theory. There is another picture on here somewhere showing it lying alongside the guard piles quite safely and secured both ends. Obviously with the amount of flow that would be subject to some movement... The odd thing seems to be that someone was able to secure it by ropes but unable to remove it at the same time. Strange.

The paint job looks pretty cool to me. Maybe it will set a new trend. The Fire Brigade often seem to sink boats but this one was sunk when it was hauled off Sunbury Weir by a tug during the winter floods. It had been sitting against the guard piles for quite a while and then for some reason a tug was sent out to retrieve it. I suspect because it had started to interact with part of the weir structure but I don't know this for sure. Not my photo I found it on canalworld.

It was only under water for a few weeks it's basically a shell with a bit of work to tidy it out.

Looks like they have covered the problem of it turning up in the same place and going adrift again. "Any potential purchaser should have means and proof of being able to remove this boat to a suitable refurbishment centre within 2 weeks of the sale ending. Failure to provide such proof at the time of the close of the sale will result in the cancelation of the sale, loss of deposit & the craft will be instantly offered to the under bidder, Direct from Environment Agency, On Site " What a sensible clause to put in. Environment Agency playing hard ball for a change... About time.

You'd need quite small elephants to get through the tunnel. Horses or ponies would be much easier to acquire what with the stable right beside the entrance.

Our ponies were really good swimmers in fact if the water wasn't deep enough to float them they would be happy to walk. Quite strange riding through a river wondering at what point the animal is going to start floating.

Maybe the legging boats through tunnels story is made up and what they really did was use very long ropes.

Ok thanks for the correction. I did wonder. I was told they were fitted out in Ireland by an owner of one of the 44 footers. I guess they were told this by someone with incorrect information.

I bet it ends up just being a 25ft X 9ft GRP cruiser with a Minn Kota trolling motor on the back... Years ago I was held up at Blisworth tunnel "something wide coming through" it ended up being a 25ft seamaster which of course is quite a lot more than 7ft wide so not passable in the tunnel.. These days "`wide beam" makes people think luxury floating apartment with a working diesel central heating system but there are countless wide beamed vessels which have nothing in common other than floating.

Or get it towed through by a boat with a proper oil burner in it. Or a steam engine perhaps.

I expect the windows were put in after the shells reached Ireland where they were fitted out. They still have a website but of course the OP will have seen that . http://eastwestmarine.co.uk/ I would expect them to be channelglaze windows or one of the other window makers.

I thought they had rotary brushes for cleaning graffiti off boats.

It's clever of dogs to do this DNA storage thing. They obviously know humans are a limited resource and will die out soon. Almost as clever as the cats that got ring pulls fitted to their food tins.

I don't know if you would be able to put the coracle in it though or whether HM guards would have you shot at dawn. Or on sight. Or site.

The Long Water canal at Hampton Court might fit in here. Not really a canal as such and only 3800ft long but it is a long thin straight man made waterway https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/whats-on/home-park-and-the-long-water/#gs.g1dn18

Beta marine often fit an Iskra 175a large frame unit as the auxiliary alternator. This is what I have on my Beta 90. The other one is 70a or 90a. Another one was Leece Neville /Prestolite large frame which are very good units 160a but I think they were customer specified rather than standard equipment.

I thought they would be but was unable to find one on Google searches at that size.

I used a 316 stainless steel weld elbow aka mandrel bend for car exhausts for that job on a stove with a 70mm ID horizontal outlet. It just slotted inside no problem and the swaged flue went inside the other end of the mandrel bend. Perfect. The funny thing was I bought a 316 on eBay they sent a 304 so I messaged saying "this is a 304 not a 316". They sent me the 316. So two for price of one. Out of curiousity I tried it again a while later and same thing happened. This time I got a refund rather than the correct item. You do want 316 for a flue bend ideally. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/90-Degree-1D-Tight-Radius-Elbow-Stainless-316-Dull-Polish-Mandrel-Bend-Exhaust-/352784356510 They are printed with specifications so if they send you a 304 then DO mention it to them... I'm sure it was a deliberate strategy rather than an error... They are thinner than the butt weld things but if it's 316 I reckon it'll be fine. 1.5mm wall I think it was so not incredibly thin.

I've not tried it either but did once manage to construct a flue with two small angles in it by cutting and welding the pipe. Worked ok actually. Ideally of course if possible you want a flue to be straight anyway. Adding bends just complicates things if you need to replace the flue later due to corrosion. It's nice having a straight flue you can just lower in from outside straight onto the stove and cut it off level with the top of the collar. Easy job.

114.3mm (4.5") butt weld fittings would work if you have welding options. Perhaps you could slice a 90 degree elbow to the correct angle with a slitting disc then weld it in. https://www.lockinex-store.com/weld-elbow-114-3mm.html They are nice smooth bends which would give uninterrupted gas flow which is helpful.

The charging stations would have to be bullet proof to avoid abuse though would they not. I don't think charging stations is going to happen. Too complicated. Battery swaps could be carried out "on the hoof" so to speak. It would become an industry like delivering diesel by boat is currently. Return to a secure base with charging infrastructure maybe even a canalside solar farm... Obviously the systems would need to be designed to allow reasonably comfortable battery changing without needing steel toe caps. I can't help noticing rapid advances in the weight and size ie power density of batteries. Yes they are still heavy but boats need so little power to propel them and batteries are getting lighter by the hour apparently ETA they are even talking about 1kwh per killergran. A narrow boat must be about 2kw on an efficient electric drive system so 2kg of batteries per hour doesn't seem to be too terrible. Current batteries seem to be about ten times heavier but time has a funny habit of sorting these things out. Imagine if you could buy a 13kg bottle of batteries and get a day's boating out of it then exchange for a new one. That might catch on. With your own battery as well which can be charged -if- you can find a charging point which is not being hogged by someone washing their trousers !

Possibly not ideal for cars because cars can be so easily positioned close to major infrastructure but on canals an electric charging system just won't happen. It's too complicated which is why portable energy is the only way to go.