lameduck

I think it's the members of this Forum who have been taken for a ride - apparently ' Jessie ' was advertised for sale on Apollo Duck as recently as December 2017 - the ad has been taken down but the reference number was 550259 so it would be easy enough for the powers that be to obtain details from Apollo Duck as to who placed the advert and who responded if there is any need to establish this. It's getting a bit near to April 1st so rather than skulduggery I suspect tomfoolery may be the explanation in this instance, Les

Went to take a look at progress of repairs etc. No pumps on site at Wardle Lock (circa mid-day) but trickle of water entering the canal further up, possibly run-off from a storm drain. Noticed that two of the stranded boats had suffered broken windows, probably due to vandalism. One had two portholes and a large rectangular window smashed (Casa Dwr, Reg. No. 515773); the other just one porthole (Lakatoi, Reg No. 513537). Speaking to a local out walking his dog he said that it must have occurred overnight. Notified C & RT on their Incident hotline but got put on hold when referred to the local team. I imagine that they are aware already but the owners may not have been notified yet. If anyone knows who they are please relay this information to them.

The Planning Inspector dealing with the appeals against Cheshire East Council's refusal to grant planning permission for a new Marina in the village of Wrenbury and with respect to a separate application for another new Marina close by on the same stretch of the Llangollen Canal at Wrenbury Heath, has come down in favour of the proposal on the edge of the village conservation area, and which backs onto the Cotton Arms Pub and is close to the historic lifting bridge over the canal. Planning permission has been granted for the development subject to conditions. The rival plan at Wrenbury Heath Bridge was refused for what the Inspector perceived as " adverse landscape and visual impacts " amongst other reasons. The decision letters dated 16 June 2015 can be viewed on the Cheshire East Planning website, reference No. 14/1579N ( Land to the North of Cholmondeley Road, Wrenbury Frith ) for the village site and reference No. 13/4049N (Land to the West of Wrenbury Heath Bridge, Nantwich Road, Wrenbury ) for the other. Or visit the planning portal website and enter the Appeal reference nos. 2228777 and 2228481 respectively into the seach facility.

As no one seems to have noticed my earlier posting on another thread I thought members might like to know that Planning Application No. 13/4286N for a Marina Basin on land to the north of Cholmondeley Road, Wrenbury Frith (near the Cotton Arms pub) has been withdrawn as of yesterday 16th January 2014. There is a letter confirming this on the Cheshire East Planning website. I have been informed by the Planning Officer dealing with the other proposed Marina near Wrenbury Heath Bridge that this application (No. 13/4049N) will be going before the Strategic Planning Committee " in the next few months ". It's the Cottons versus the Starkeys all over again !

As of today, 16th January 2014, the Planning Application No. 13/4286N for a 2.37 hectare 200 berth Marina basin on land to the north of Cholmondeley Road, Wrenbury Frith has been withdrawn. There is a letter confirming this on the Cheshire East Planning website. I have been informed by the Planning Officer dealing with the other application for a Marina on land to the west of Wrenbury Heath Bridge (Application no. 13/4049N) that no date has been set for the Stategic Planning Board to consider this matter - it should be sometime in the next few months. It's the Cottons versus the Starkeys all over again !

Thanks 'Doorman' for the advice on the Mikuni MX40 coolant preheater/ diesel boiler. " Bleed and Purge " is now my Mantra. Tried again yesterday, but quickly got an 'overheat shutdown'. The heating system on the boat is a simple layout with a feed to the calorifier and pipes to two small radiators in the saloon and forecabin/bedroom. You mention that the coolant outlet from the heater should have a gradual rise towards the header tank - I take it from this that you are referring to the return pipe part of the circuit as on our boat the header tank is teeded-in at a point just before the water intake to the heater. The hot water from the outlet on top of the heater has to be pumped down (or falls?) to near floor level in the saloon through a couple of right-angle bends (elbows) - would this be likely to cause resistance and / or an air lock ? There is a pressure relief valve in the hot water outlet pipe on top of the heater - when this is backed-off water seeps out - i havn't tried it with the pump on ! As a point of general interest, I can confirm that the sequence of flashes given by the LED in the on/off switch is not the same as those given by the self-diagnosis lamp visible when looking in the control box window / viewing aperture. The differences between them are indicated in diagrammatic form in the original operation manual, my interpretation is as follows : (1) When first switched on the operation LED (on the on/off switch) pulses with a slow, steady flash (initiating combustion). (2) When the heater enters steady combustion, the LED stays on constantly. (3) When the switch is returned to off, the heater enters the post-purge phase and the LED pulses with a slow, steady flash again and then goes out. (4) Should an 'Overheat shutdown' occur then the switch LED will give three long pulses followed by six short pulses (as observed by 'Chilligibbon') but the self-diagnosis lamp in the control box gives a fault code of nine equal flashes, = 'Overheating failure'. If the fault is cleared by switching off and then switching on again the power supply, (remembering to reset the operational switch to off) the control box might then indicate a specific fault,e.g., four equal flashes = 'Water pump failure'. This could be something as simple as a blown fuse, so don't automatically assume that the component itself is dead. (5) 'Ignition failure' is indicated by rapid pulsing of the switch LED after three automatic attempts have been made to initiate combustion, and the same occurs if combustion is interrupted. The self diagnosis lamp on the control box gives just one flash at regular intervals. (6) If 'Inadequate voltage' is detected whist the heater is operating, the switch LED pulses rapidly and the self-diagnosis lamp gives eight equal flashes indicating 'High or low voltage'. (7) When operating normally under low-load conditions, the heater can cycle down, going through the post-purge phase, stopping and then re-starting, during which the switch LED will pulse slowly and evenly, presumably until steady combustion is established again and the LED then remains constantly on as per example (2). When I have achieved this happy state of affairs, I will let you know ! I must stress this is my own interpretation of the information in the manufacturer's handbook and is subject to amendment in the light of experience. Regards, Les

Hi - Trying to deal with a sequence of events similar to that experienced by 'Chilligibbon'. Mikuni MX40 started heating rads but cut out abruptly without going through post-purge sequence. 'Overheat' indicated on Control Box flashing LED code, but once system re-set (by turning off main power supply) on turning power on again new fault code indicated 'water pump failure'. This turned out to be a blown fuse ( 3 amp). Rplaced fuse, bled rads and checked header tank. The same fault occured at least twice more, each time resulting in an 'overheat' warning as a result of the water pump fuse blowing and bringing the heater to a sudden stop without it having had chance to cool down as it would normally do. Touch wood the last repacement fuse seems to be holding, although I did experience 'ignition failure' which may have been something to do with the glow plug leads being loose. It fired up O.K. once this had been sorted, initially with great clouds of white smoke but then cleanly and powerfully for about thirty minutes, the rads got very hot, but it seemed to trigger the overheat thermostat causing the heater to enter the post-purge sequence and then shut down, rather than going into a low / hi phase of operation, i.e., with the circulating pump continuing to operate and the heater re-starting after the water temperature has fallen below a certain level. 'NMEA' can you confirm that the plug, part no. 36 on the MX40 parts drawing is definitely a bleed screw, and that it is O.K. to open this to bleed air from the system ? When I asked someone at Mikuni if this was so, they said no, don't touch it ! I am frustrated by the lack of technical information available although I have picked up some valuable stuff from this forum. If anyone has a copy of the service manual available I should appreciate a copy - I only have the operation manual for it's original function as an engine preheater, which is short on illustrations and troubleshooting advice. As the service engineer has said it will be at least ten days before he can come out, I need some good advice now! Regards, Les

The Minutes of the latest meeting of RUG 3 (13th February 2013) are out on www.riverusergroups.co.uk with their response to this issue. Tim Mountain was absent from the meeting. Interestingly, in the Minutes of the previous meeting (10 October 2012) under 'Reports from Group Members' " Tim Mountain passed on concerns about boats, mainly narrow boats, not displaying names." Why? So he could look them up on Jim Shead's website ? Les

There is a RLM Bahama by the name of 'Harpagon' Built 1969., Length 30 feet 10 inches., Beam 9 feet 6 inches., 2 Diesel inboard engines total power of 120 HP., E.A. Thames Registration No. 35978 on the archived Boat Listing. In a posting dated 07/07/2009 on another boating related website someone by the name of Timothy mentions "our RLM Bahama is heading off from Oxford to the Medway " and in an earlier posting he berates himself as a "sad anorak" for his obsession with maintaining an accurate log of his voyages. I believe this individual to be Mr. Timothy Mountain, the man who back in 2005 launched a vituperative attack on Jim Shead and his excellent website, and who could well go down in history as the 'sad anorak' who through his obstructive behaviour has denied the simple pleasure of purusing a list of boat names and specifications to hundreds of his fellow boaters. That he should still be obsessing over this trivial intrusion into his privileged existence beggars belief, and I sincerely hope that he realises the strength of feeling this has engendered and comes down off his high-horse, or should that be climbs down, Mr Mountain ? Les