Sir Percy
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Posts posted by Sir Percy
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This Sunday's job: unblocking the kitchen sink. It had been put off for far too long, in the dread anticipation of the slimy grey mess that lay in wait. I couldn't have left it any longer; drainage had slowed down to the point where the water level was rising up towards the overflow after washing up just a few items.
I cleared out all of the stuff that I'd crammed in undersink, laid down newspaper and a big old ready meal foil tray, and started by unscrewing the trap. Boak. Raked out all the smelly, slimey, gunk from the trap and the hose. Gave it a tickle with a drain snake, and reassembled. Tried running some water - minimal effect.
Went at it with some caustic soda. Not good for the canal, I guess. Possibly not good for my pipes, either - they got a bit warm, but seem unscathed. A bit of improvement to drainage, not fantastic, though. Thought I'd better give the pipes a good flushing, so dumped a bucket of water into the sink and had a cup of tea and a sit-down.
Came back to find...a sinkful of water. Absolutely no drainage at all now. I must have dislodged a load of sludge to a point further down where it had blocked the outlet completely.
Out with the plunger. Not the old-school rubber cup on the end of a wooden handle, but a big plastic version with a large concertina. Gave a good old plunge and a gritty, watery sneeze came out of the overflow. Had to cover that with one hand while I tried plunging again with the other.
Water running freely again. When the time comes to unblock the sink again, I think I'd probably go through the same steps again. Anyway, that's what's worked for me.
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Notes given by someone who DIY'd their own stern cover:
Quoteused a lighter waterproof material that I'll need to treat once a year, and choosing something that doesn't shrink loads is correct too. (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B092DSRHY6?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details&th=1).
Eyelets were bastardised from my old pram hood that was falling apart since the attachment points were already on the hull in usable locations. If I was to do it from scratch then I'd imagine attaching the turn button fasteners would be the hardest bit. I used a tile scribe and a rubber mallet to punch neat holes that the prongs of the eyelets could fit through.
Stitching was the most worrisome part before I started so I bought a lot more fabric than I needed and used a lot of it to practice hemming and sewing panels together. Getting a 150cm X 10m fabric meant I only had to fabricate three panels (flat bit, sloping bit and a small one on top of the roof) and then attach them together which was hard because of the size. The seams I waterproofed with melt-in iron on tape that my mum had in her old sewing kit from the 80s!
Measuring was crucial so did it multiple times and mocked up with cheap tarp where I needed to - magnets meant this could be a one man operation. Coming back to those panels, I made it in three sections, working from the panel I had completed before moving on, any mistakes I did make were usually spotted and corrected.
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On 07/01/2024 at 19:00, nealeST said:
No way! Was it red with a white stripe down the side?
Don't know, but I suspect the white stripe might just have been from a seagull.
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https://www.davidsoul.com/david-soul-interview-my-home-is-where-my-art-is/
Lived opposite the Elsan point in Little Venice I was told, not sure, it looks like he was on a widebeam.
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On 11/12/2022 at 11:10, peterboat said:
Plenty of you tube videos on these things, mostly they seem reliable, often they are running on waste oil and running well on it!
Kerosene seems to be a popular, cheap alternative. Where you get it from, idk
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Thanks all
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Has anyone got any experience of using these: are they any good at testing for contamination (water, diesel bug, rust)?
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8 minutes ago, Yvonne samosa said:
Thank you I wouldn't know how to find it on here!
I meant the website that I'd previously referred to.
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1 minute ago, Yvonne samosa said:
Thank you ! but I only want a small plot of land next to a canal to moor our boat! 45ft . to buy or rent .
There used to be that on the website. I take it there's none on the current list? Can't help you, then.
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3 hours ago, MtB said:
This one popped up a few years ago:
https://www.watersideproperties.com/properties-for-sale/
I first noticed a scattering of their "For Sale" boards cruising along the Coventry. Boards at the end of the gardens of houses for sale so visible from the cut rather than from the road.
Yes, that was the one. Run by the same woman that's produced the list above (linked).
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That Canal Cuttings website disappeared a long time ago, and then another popped up to take its place, aggregating properties on the market. You could search by canal, whether it had a mooring, etc. It seems to have gone as well. The woman behind it seems now to be involved with French property sales, but has a list of canalside properties here:
https://www.sheridanparsons.uk/canalside-homes-list-november-2023/
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Coarse salt in a grinder should work.
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24 minutes ago, Graham and Jo said:
I built a crane to get my gas bottles out as it was cheaper than employing my physiotherapist. It consists of a standard scaffolding jib, a pole, a winch and some clamps to clamp it to the front deck, there is also a socket in the front seats.
Downside, assembly is a bore, the pole itself is a bit on the heavy side and the winch strictly speaking is not cleared for lifting. The picture shows the first winch which was actually a puller, I replaced it with the sort of thing you use to winch a dingy onto a trailer.
It works and I have saved a fortune.
Cheers Graham
There you go, I knew it was possible. Nice one.
I looked around at swing jibs and price was in the hundreds.
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12 hours ago, Slim said:
The issue of loading/lifting gas bottles or coal was a significant factor in my deciding, at the age of 76, to call it a day as far as boating was concerned. As the old adage goes "time and tide wait for no man."
Sorry to hear that. I was starting to doubt my original thought that it would have been a problem for some boaters facing older age until your reply.
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1 hour ago, Adam said:
Non electric version also available
This is more like the swing jib that I was thinking of. It's no problem to lift a 13kg bottle with one hand and step up on to the gunwale; it gets awkward stepping down into the well deck then up again to lower the bottle into the gas locker in the bow (single-handedly).
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28 minutes ago, IanD said:
Don't need the heated socks then, wee is warm... 😉
I have a dim (possibly false) memory of reading in a volume of Spike Milligan's war memoirs, a description of a sergeant's advice to his squad for how to deal with extreme cold weather: to piss themselves.
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5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
if there is no one around to help you
Fella near me just turned 85 and has stage 4 C; if I'm about he'll ask for help to get a water container onto his deck because he gets tired more easily now, but I do worry something'll happen when we're not around.
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Colonel Tom Parker could have come up with a feet-heating solution which would allow you to move about the cabin.
9 hours ago, wakey_wake said:Running the cables down the trouser legs is mildly annoying
Not for those of you who suffer from incontinence.
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7 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:
if it really is a problem then a car engine hoist is a simple solution - just as an examaple (100s of variations available) this one folds up to be quite small
My mind first started idly wandering to mounting a swing jib, but thought that might be over-engineered.
It's not really a problem for myself (atm), but I was wondering what older boaters do.
11 minutes ago, GUMPY said:gas in 10kg Flogas lite cylinders
🤔
Seems like a good idea, not got close enough to a bottle supply as yet...
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Aside from simply putting your back into it (and hopefully not out), do you have any clever solutions/techniques for transferring a heavy object onboard?
I'm specifically thinking of sacks of coal and gas bottles, especially as I get older and creakier.
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The Sound Burger appeals as a clever space-saving device, but obviously doesn't address the problem of the vinylephant in the room. I've just dug out an old Thorens deck (with suspended platter, useful on a boat) and brought that on board, with the first tranche of my record collection, which I might be able to find space for, with careful culling. CDs, I've mostly ripped onto a Brennan JB7, so I guess they can go to Oxfam. Add to that, harmon/kardon speakers chucked out on to the street by my NDN, seemingly for no other reason than his kids dropped bits of toast and toy parts down into the subwoofer hole. Bit of a design flaw, that. The only thing I've splashed out on recently is a preamp with a digital output so I can digitise the LPs. Might be a compact system eventually.
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You might find yourself having to go to the mountain.
Uxbridge, or Bulls Bridge etc., may be able to arrange for an engineer to carry out works to your engine. Check with them (with engine details) and see if you can book in. Of course, you need to arrange to be tugged down there. Might have a number for a man and tug based in Southall if you need it. Perivale is fairly near to those two; you might be able to find someone willing to give you a tow.
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1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:
I have a water detector alarm in my tray.
Interesting; do you have a link, please?
Edit: no worries, found some
The Great Unblocking
in Living Afloat
Posted
No idea. Maybe it was put in by someone with a fear of spiders.