Ricco1

I've just bought some Andy Russell gunwale paint to cover over the horrible non matching green shade the previous owner of my boat slapped over a mixture of paint and rust. I plan to sand down and treat the rust, then prime. My question: when I apply the gunwale paint is it better to use a brush or a roller? I'd prefer to use a brush, easier to be accurate when painting up to the topsides. I'm used to using a brush and there's no separate roller tray to stand in/ kick into the canal. There again perhaps I could initially apply it by brush then quickly roller over. What do the experts on here think?

I ran a day boat for a couple of years. I'd say that around 90% of the hirers were responsible, listened to the instructions, had little or no alcohol on them and were a delight to serve. The other 10% invariably turned up late, were under 35 years old and had cases of alcohol with them. To be fair the majority of these hirers didn't have any accidents but that was just look, they could easily have. What can you do?

I don't smoke any more so have no need for a lighter. I must confess though, I have one of those long nosed lighter things, I use it to light the grill on my gas stove. Now I think on it's pretty close to my stove, certainly closer than the (empty of petrol) generator. I guess if the boat inspector doesn't fail the boat because of lpg lighters inside the boat, not in a steel box with ventilation to the outside, at the bottom, the lpg used in lighters must be a different type, and be perfectly safe.

I'm part way through a fair bit of maintenance including getting my boat looking nice again. So far I've de rusted and blacked the gas locker floor, painted my bargepole in the same colours as the boat and de rusted then painted the handrails. The next job is to paint the cruiser deck floor. This has got various paints on it with varying levels of flakiness. Also some spots where there's no paint at all and it's rusted. My idea was to have a real go at it with a scraper to remove anything that's even remotely loose. Then treat the rust patches before repainting with a deck paint. Has anyone done similar, any tips to share? There are a few rusty areas on the roof. This was painted by the previous owner with a red floor paint that's suitable for exterior use. I plan to do patch repairs rather than repaint the whole roof. I realise that there might be a slight colour difference even if I find the same paint but I'm not too concerned about this. I'm struggling to find this paint. Any ideas where I might get it? Cheers.

Ha ha I like your style! I would presume that the rather expensive alarms you've linked are intended for use when machinery or containers are on board; that have petrol in them. Rather than, machinery that once had petrol in it/ them but hasn't now for the best part of 4 months. You have got me thinking though. It's a lovely day so I'm going to dig the generators out, stick them on the cruiser deck, remove the fuel caps and let them breathe. Hopefully then the possible half a ml or so of vapourised petrol within will evapourate into the atmosphere. Then, if a spark from the stove at one end of the boat miraculously reaches the bed at the other end and one or the other of the generators allows said spark through its casing into the fuel tank the resultant explosion will be more like a wet fart than a potential armagedden.

No problem. It's on the left in my profile but in case you missed it: Rensol No problem. It's on the left of any post I make if you look but in case you missed it: Rensol. It's a green and red boat distinctive by having a (red) motorbike on the back. In addition to the (empty of petrol) generators under my bed I also currently have around 12 kilos of LGP on board. This could go with a hell of a bang if a leak developed and there was a spark at a low point. Or perhaps I could fall asleep having forgotten to turn off a gas ring on the cooker. Plenty of sparks in my stove, still lit most evenings at the moment. Fortunately though, to the best of my knowledge, neither my (empty) generators nor my gas system leaks. Mind you, it's been 3 and a half years since the (primed and full) gas system was checked for leaks, the law allows for that. All in all, best avoided I'd guess. If you see me on the cut give me a wave but feel free to proceed to what you consider to be a safe distance. Cheers.

It sounds like the lifestyle would suit you, I'd suggest you go for it. You've highlighted your potential biggest problem yourself: water. If you insist on having a 10 to 15 minute shower every day you're going to need to fill up every few days. Imagine: it's winter, pouring with rain, dark and freezing cold outside. You've just got back from work, the boat is freezing cold. Do you get a fire going to warm up, make yourself something to eat or face the hour or more journey to get water in the dark? It's already been suggested but you can wet yourself in a few seconds then turn the water off. Then soap etc. Turn the water back on and shower off, maximum a minute or two. Or, just have a wash sometimes rather than a shower, it works! If you can't face not having a long, hot relaxing shower every day I'm afraid it's likely to scupper your wider lifestyle plans.

I don't get comprehensive insurance for anything, including my boat. Even if there is a little vapour in the tank I can't see how it could ignite when it's stored under my bed. Seems far less risky to me than having a car in an attached garage with many gallons of petrol in it. I never store it inside with fuel in it though. I once had a generator leak fuel from the carb when it was stored outside. Lesson learned, always run it dry, nice and safe. I don't keep petrol on board, I syphon it from my motorbike which lives on a rack off the stern. Is that dangerous too?

Fair enough. But as I live on my boat on my own I'll make my own decisions. I guess I'll need to stick them behind a hedge when the inspector calls.

It's not clear from your post whether the generators were running or not? If they were that's hideous, very dangerous. If not it may not be a problem. My (2) generators are currently living under my bed. Tanks empty, carbs drained. I only use them in the winter, on the. I always run them dry then either chain them up outside if it's dry or inside under the bed if it's raining. Can't see a problem with that, as long as they are dry, no fuel in.

Boat safety cert is due next year. I've just noticed that the gas pipe from the regulator to the connector to the boat is stamped with "BS3212/2 1991". I'm wondering, is 1991 the year of the standard or is it more likely to be the year of manufacture of the pipe? If it's the latter does it have a lifespan in the eyes of the safety bods? It looks to be in good condition but if it's a no no I'd like to replace it before the test. Cheers.

Technically you need permission to fish from the controlling body. Much of the canal network's fishing rights are owned by various fishing clubs/ societies. The remainder is owned by CRT. In the real world though clubs who own stretches tend not to bailiff them. The same applies to CRT. Many anglers tend to work on the basis that if there are no signs around saying private fishing it's free fishing. Not to say that it's right to behave in this way, but there you have it.

Thanks for the replies. It's true, I'm no gas engineer! I do like to have a go at things though. Otherwise, every little job on a boat means calling out an expert at ££'s an hour. And that's if you can find someone suitably qualified.

Thanks I've probably got the terminology wrong! There's a little tin box where the gas burns, it's got a window in the front of it so you can see the flame. Above this is the exhaust flue. The problem is that I can't seem to remove the exhaust flue from the tin box. I've removed the little grub screw that secures one to the other and while this enables me to move the tin box up and down a little, I can't separate them. Do I need some force maybe?

Cheers. The problem I have is removing the burner. The u shaped bracket; does this connect the burner to the fridge body or the exhaust? I can move the burner up and down half an inch or so when I remove a grub screw at the bottom of the exhaust, but can't seem to slip the burner off the exhaust.

The fridge in question is an Electrolux, I don't know the model number. It's small, beige front cover, gas or 12v. The burner unit is in the back left corner, the flame is behind a little window. The element inside the fridge is top right hand side. I think it's pretty old, I've seen them in old caravans. Hopefully that identifies it. The problem I have is that while the flame itself is a reasonably clear blue it's not small and compact like it used to be. Above it is a trail or orange. This has affected the performance of the fridge, it's not as cold as it used to be. It certainly needs cleaning. I've removed what looks like a heat shield from the back of the fridge to access the burner unit. The 'exhaust' slides over the top of the burner, held in place with a small screw. The problem I have is that when I undo this screw I'm unable to separate the exhaust from the burner. I can slide the burner up and down a little, and doing this repeatedly released quite a bit of gunk from the bottom of the burner. Seeing as the trail of orange above the flame is above the burner it's the bottom of the exhaust that needs cleaning out but I can't access it. Does anyone know this fridge, any idea how I can separate the exhaust from the burner? Thanks.

125cc motorbike for me. It lives on a purpose made rack off the back of my boat. It's done me proud for the best part of 3 years now. The only downsides: I need to moor close to places where I can wheel the bike off the towpath. There are plenty of places, but sometimes you can go a few miles with no opportunity to get it off. Also, the way the rack is designed, the towpath needs to be neither too high nor too low. Not really a problem this, can get it onto the towpath in probably 75% of places. The other thing is I need to remove the rack for the top box, back light cover and bulb before going through locks. This makes the bike 6 foot four front to back, the bike goes within half an inch of the lock walls as the boat swings from side to side. I'm always on the look out for uneven lock walls, they could present a problem.

I thought I'd better paint my 2 year old pine bargepole before it starts rotting away. I've started with 2 coats of primer and one undercoat, it's now time to think about the top layer. My boat is green and red with white stripes, I have supplies of all 3 colours. Rather than just painting it one colour I thought I made spend a bit of time making it look nicer, by using all 3 colours. I've seen one or two done with some kind of spiral design but I've no idea where to start with that. Otherwise I was thinking of painting the whole thing one colour then overpainting sections in the other colours, using low tack masking tape. Any hints or tips? Thanks.

I'm at Congleton heading towards Kidsgrove. Probably about a weeks worth of gas left, don't want to run out! Anywhere to buy a bottle? Is there a fuel boat due at all? Thanks.

Has anyone, ever, had their 'self declared' percentage of diesel that's intended to be used for propulsion questioned by HMRC? No? I thought so. In that case common sense dictates that this percentage should be minimal.