Sir Percy

Sorry, I was thinking of screws.

I still have some of the old ballast (pavers) on board which I haven't yet removed, but...too much ballast? I'll see how it behaves when it's removed.

I've just added ~1.47 metric tonnes of ballast to my boat, and while it's all nice and level, it feels more prone to rocking when i step on/off the gunwale. What should I do?

The problem that comes to mind with Oak and metal fixings is staining; the tannic acid in the wood can react to form a black stain, I think. Solution is to use stainless steel fixings, but these have to be used with care as they can be brittle. edit: Or brass Others more experienced may be able to confirm or correct.

Is it on the London Boaters Facebook group? Steve Haywood used to be a member of it.

I liked the look of the four young actors. Not seen any of them before.

Scene-setting intro. No huge laffs. Might give the second ep. a watch to see where it goes. Getaway boat was quite tidy. One thing that did pass through my mind while watching was, every extra that played a zombie looked like they'd had a bad night in the +1 berth.

More than 28 Days Later...

Well, here's a new take: TV comedy(?) on ITV2 just started - 'Zomboat!' A couple of sisters escape the zombie apocalypse by high-tailing low-washing it out of Birmingham on a narrowboat. Different, I suppose.

I was really just wondering about the hull strength the ability to withstand uneven forces. My particular boat does have a steel hull and a keelson, and is only 40' in length so I do think it would withstand a fair load. No plans to destruction test it, though!

...and by 'unsupported', I mean when the boat is being craned out of the water. I was moving some old paving slabs out of the way for new ballast, and tucked a lot of it (about six layers) away under the foredeck. That's a fair old lump of weight. I was just wondering if anyone has a similar load in an extreme point of the boat (Aga? Extra large water tank?) and whether this is a concern when lifting out?

I blame Kevin McCloud.

You like walking on cold concrete?

I'm just about to put new floors down myself. The old boards didn't have any insulation, but I'll be backing the new boards with 25mm sheet insulation underneath, which will keep an air gap between the insulation and the ballast.

Thanks - just for a bit of background, I'd read some of the MAIB reports of NB fire-related deaths on board. There's the obvious lessons to be learnt from them as to how to prevent or lessen the risk of a fire starting, but chancing on the fire-retardant products made me wonder whether it was worth the cost/effort slow down the spread of fire in the event of one occurring, to give yourself and anyone else on board time to escape. If you've already installed fire and smoke detectors as belt and braces, would such a further measure make any significant difference, I wondered. 1. I was careful to use the term 'fire-retardant. 2. Would have been as an alternative to 'standard' varnish. Hadn't looked into how it holds up over time. 5. How widepread the use of it was what I was wanting to find out, but your last sentence is interesting in conjunction with 4. - perhaps it's not used in domestic applications because of dangerous by-products? I can only find this: But anyway, conclusion is as you say, that most people wouldn't bother.

Thanks. The form came back saying something had gone wrong, looked like it required tags. I saw that two topics had been created but couldn't see how to delete. Thanks. On my boat, the hull insulation (Celotex) is going to be boarded over with pine T&G. Am I being too fire-safety conscious in considering a fire-retardant finish? I found the product you've linked to, on a web search, but I don't know how commonly it is applied on wooden boat interiors. Does anyone know if boat builders offer this on similarly-finished sailaways? Cheers

Hi, Does anyone have any experience of, or thoughts on using a fire-retardant finish (paint or varnish) on a wooden interior? Thanks

near Reading...

google 'oilbank'

The thought of a larger lady in stiletto heels pops into my mind. Anyway, about your wacky idea...

That's helpful, thanks. Looks very steampunk! Presumably, don't know. The floor would have been put in at some point afterwards, I think. Paving stones underneath.

yup

Thanks for the replies, everyone! Definitely some food for thought there. (Decades) too late to complain to the builders!

These jobs are bespoke, but fair dos - hadn't realised that he'd got sorted. Cheers!

I'm about ready to put down bearers for the floor in the fore cabin. I suppose I could arrange them as per the old ones I've removed, but maybe there's a better way...? The old ones ran 'athwartships', from the keelson to the hull side (not fixed, but wedged in tight) along the angles welded to the hull bottom. There are gaps/holes at the ends of the angles, but the old bearers made for a water trap. (hope the photos make sense of this - first pic is looking towards the stern, second towards the bow with all the crap stowed under the foredeck) Have bought lengths of 2x4 - the height of the keelson is just less than the width of the timber. The original floor sat on top of the keelson, but I think the new one should sit a little higher with a gap between the floor and the top of the keelson. Any ideas / standard practice? Cheers!