Opener

Middle of (my) Aldi last night - a cable crimper kit. Crimper plus a moderate supply of a few varieties of connecter. Mainly red kit in a shrink wrap transparent box. Six or seven quid-ish. Not sure if it was a 'pliers' or a ratchet crimper - tightly packaged.

I always wanted to call ours Nota Bene but the crew wouldn't let me - said it was too sub-tull. ?

Hmm!,. Good point which I hadn't considered. However, there will be two schools of thought. A - your point. B - opposite so that the open end will try to screw itself through or round any blockage, hopefully before it undoes the twist. I think I did vB but was more interested in the threshing around action rather than the screwing bit.

Flexy curtain wire is your friend for many applications, and cheap too. I've been using mine on the pick up tube in the water tank. Step one was to feed it through. Step two was toremove and strip back some plastic sleeve, damage the end to make a worm/hook then cut the wire to a suitable length and stick it in an lecky drill. The threshing and hook end should help it pull itself through and clear any blockage regardless of right angle. Worth a shot.

?

Ouch!! Glad I'm re-blacking now. A lot cheaper even using 'disposable' brushes. Why is epoxy termed 'two pack' - I was assuming two different cans but the blurb seems to suggest two coats?

Final episode: tank blacking (Rylard) nice and hard after 10 days in enclosed cratch with tank lid off. Sprayed inside with detergent and sponged down vigorously. Hosed off suds and pumped/dried down. Refilled with water ? - used mainly for washing/toilet but now using for drinks - not foaming at the mouth yet. Keep checking pump filter throughout this process - some bits are bound to get filtered out no matter how careful you are.

Oops!

I have to presume that it is a ceiling version - has a central light incorporated and vents out through a munchroom. Lots of moisture from below and above so all screws nice and rusty. It ran when we first purchased the boat but only seems to have stopped recently. Well, it's running again now......

Just spent a jolly couple of hours trying to work out why the extract bit of my Manrose light/fan would not run when mounted yet ran whilst hanging by its wires. Felt like the blades were binding somewhere but could I work out where ?. Eventually separated the fan bit but it would still 'catch' - non standard solution. Quick squirt of WD40 into the housing and it now runs smoothly. Worth a try cos direct replacement seems to run between £30-odd and £98. Watch this space?

You've seen the inside of your tank. That is what the inside of your pick-up tube is going to be like but probably to a lesser degree because of the constant flow of water. Your 'Lakeland' will be fine on soap and hair (if I read that right) but the crud up your pipe will be in a different league. Be prepared to be a bit more brutal. [IIRC LBG video is more about the problem than about the solution]. A few regular Boat Tubers have posted about the process of doing a tank - worth a look just for their solutions/problems/experiences/timings. Good luck?.

Watch London Boat Girl video on YouTube - the hazards of the pick-up pipe. Having watched this I was prepared for trouble. If your tank is lined with rust, weird looking growths and cr@p, then the pick-up toob is likely to be as well. Carefully inspect the interior - yeah!, good luck with that!! I managed to remove the threaded stop tap from the outside of the tank (once the tank was emptied!!!) inside the cabin. Thus I had clear access to both ends. Pushed a length of curtain wire through the pipe. {Curtain wire is also your friend for unblocking kitchen and bathroom sink outlet). Stripped plastic off end of curtain wire and worked it in and out until it would pass freely. Then try to uncoil the far end so that you have a vicious pointed hook. Reduce to a practical length and insert other end in an electric drill. The nasty pointy end plus the flexibility of the wire as it threshes around down the pipe should clear at least a useful size of hole. Keep at it until you feel happy with how freely it pushes in and out. (I actually found a similar 'drain unblocker' in a hardware shop which actually uses the same principal but is probably no more effective). My boat had survived 15+ years without the toob blocking so form your own judgement as to whether internal blacking is actually required. I haven't done as suggested above but, if you can manage it, it sounds like a good idea.

OK - two coats of Rylard stuff drying/curing in built in steel tank. I've read the data sheet but has anyone practical experience of the process of flushing/cleaning out ready for fresh water? It's a big tank and running the pump to empty it once, never mind three times will take for ever. Contemplating Milton or detergent or camping water purifier. Might just have to bale the tank to speed emptying. What say you?

Or get your crew to push the bow out so that you have an angle between the hull and the bank/mooring. Engage forward and move off in a straight line. Never noticed a particular problem with my square bum over last seven years. Lots of deck space. Swim is not a problem - the 'above water' is square but the 'under water' is still tapered to the rudder/prop. If you want a cruiser deck then a square bum gives more extra space. But it is still, you pays your money and makes your choice. Not conscious of handling problems (7 years / 50 ft). Been up against tunnel wall - just stop, push off wall and proceed. But I spend most cruising' hours in the open air so the occasional tunnel not an issue.

Endorse all previous comments - just spent a few happy hours ? applying second coat of Rylard. Cushion! Invaluable. Accept that you will not get good coverage with your first pass - you'll always miss odd patches so concentrate on getting a coat on. The second can address the above and can be more generous. Get in those impossible corners first. Accept that you will not fit easily in the tank unless you are a world-class contortionist. Wait for the good weather. The base of your tank is not horizontal so place a full can of blacking with care?. Will it ever dry..........

OK - really stoopid question time. How do you know gas not coming through? After lack of use, gas takes an age to reach our hob/Alde. I hear it getting to the regulator as soon as I turn on at the bottle but I need to stand with the hob tap open and sparker sparking for (subjectively) ages before it lights. Instant lighting once I've re-established supply. Just a thought?

Liberal application of second hand newspapers + warm dry day.

YouTube Bloggers provide useful primers. Disposable gloves. Good lamp - painting black in a dark hole is a bit difficult. Endorse point about take up tube - mine was nearly blocked. Latest discovery - foam rubber cushion to sit/kneel/lie on. Major asset! Try Boat Paint for Rylard water tank coating - excellent service. Warm dry day Self satisfied feeling once you finish!!!

I'd probs stick with FM - not a frequent boater (sorry!) so out and out fidelity not really critical although not sure what's actually avail on the motoring after-market these days. Can you buy a simple radio as a replacement? I'm wondering why a car owner would need to buy a 'simple' set to replace what is currently fitted (which is probably better quality).

I've been toying with fitting a car radio + pod speakers - assume that my 12v system should match OK. But, what about an ariel? Modern cars seem to get away with titchy bumps at the back of the roof. I've already got good TV reception with a magnet base stub ariel - could I piggy back a lead from the coax plug to the radio?

No, not rehoused. At least one family of eight on a L&L dayboat last Monday (in the sun).

I 'use' very little white spirit. Two empty jam jars and an empty plastic milk container - 1 litre? Clean brush twice using jar 1/jar 2 - decant used spirit into milk container - leave. As stated, pigment will settle out leaving slightly discoloured liquid. Decant carefully back into two jars. Repeat. Pigment may take variable time to settle out - depends how often you want to clean brush. If it's a longish job, wrap brush in cling film between sessions. Works for me.

Oh, and wear a hat (wooly rather than 'top') ?.

Update based on two days last week working inside my tank. Coated entire inside in appropriate Rylard product in a few hours. Took with me a square of foam rubber which used to be inside a dinette cushion. Vast improvement on sitting on bare metal!! Lie on it, sit on it, lean on it - v comfy (?). Still need a good lamp, though.

Hmmmn! That could explain a lot?.