Pyroman

As an avid angler who fishes regularly from my boat and along the tow path, I think I can add some facts. In order to fish, you basically need two levels of authorisation - first and foremost an EA rod license: http://www.postoffice.co.uk/rod-fishing-licence This gives you the basic legal right to fish - it does not give you access to a specific water or its fish stocks. For this you need the second level of authorisation - permission from the owner of fishing rights for the water in question. If it's a 'free to fish' water (formally stated or regarded as such by historical convention), this 'permission' may be assumed unless you learn otherwise (e.g. signage). If not, you need permission - in other words a day ticket / membership. It's possible that CRT have recently leased the rights on your stretch of cut to a club. They've certainly been on a drive to do this, for obvious reasons - it increases both revenue and community engagement. BW was utterly apathetic in this regard. Here on the Lancaster, the PAC have acquired the rights: http://www.pikeanglersclub.co.uk/lancaster-canal/ Overall, provided the club offers day tickets to maintain open access (some do not and I strongly oppose this) then some management and oversight of the angling interests will usually always lead to environmental improvement for all canal users - human, piscine or otherwise... Assuming the bailiff is genuine (ask for ID) then why not ask how you can buy a ticket or even join the club and get involved, if you're in the area long term?

Looking like a happy ending on this! The marina have been brilliant – really supportive and have spent the best part of a day dealing with everythingn and feeding me mars bars. My boat’s been up and down in the hoist so many times it looked like a Craggy Island funfair ride. Good news began when they hoisted her off the timbers – floor dropped back into position. Good to know the steel isn’t brittle. They then pressure washed the base and inspected it, before re-tiling my galley and re-fixing the units. Despite their assurances it would be fine, I requested a surveyor – no problem – they got called one out within hours. He identified a couple of areas of fatigued weld between the baseplate sections nearest the impact, which they are happy to grind out and re-weld for free. Here it gets serendipitous – he also identified several areas of fairly deep pitting to the plate which as far as I know has never been blacked – so I’ll pay to get these welded up in the process. Interestingly, on a 22 year old hull the sides are virtually free of pitting. Certainly settles the baseplate blacking debate for me... Thanks again for all the advice here – I’ll be making an effort to ‘chip in’ if ever I can (with my albeit limited knowledge) help anyone in return. Cheers, Chris

Here's a video, which I think shows the issue more clearly than any still photo:

Thanks folks for the replies and supportive messages...though I have to admit I wish the concensus was along the lines of "don't worry, it'll fettle itself when dropped back in't watter"! Well, I've spoken to the marina and they've had a look - so far very supportive and they seem genuinely concerned / shocked that their staff had chocked the boat in such a fashion. The chap I'm dealing with today certainly seemed to imply that a survey is the way forward - and didn't rule out them paying when I suggested this. However the marina manager and the head engineer there are off until Monday, so it's just a case of self-imposed stress management until then! The (maybe) good news is that looking in the daylight, there doesn't seem to be any visible damage to the welds at the chines or between the sections of plate - although it's hard to tell, being covered in fresh blacking. In reply to Bizzard....the boat was built in 1991, and the baseplate was 10mm then. What it is now, I don't know - I've never had a survey done in the two years I've owned here. Yes, I know I probably should have done... I've taken plenty of pictures and will upload those if anyone's interested. Next job - dig out all those insurance documents I've never properly read and notify Towergate... Cheers all.

Hi all – could use a bit of advice on a rather worrying development – so worrying it is keeping me from sleeping, hence the insomniac posting... Had my boat craned out for blacking and stood on timbers. The yard I used did all this for me and as far as I know they’re a respected yard. Having just returned to the boat tonight, I found the floor to have buckled upwards halfway down the galley. Galley units jarred out of alignment. Went outside to investigate – hoping the timbers didn’t correspond to the position of the bulge. Naturally, they do. To my horror I discovered that halfway down, they’ve used two pieces of timber instead of a continuous piece spanning the beam of the boat. And of course, one is about an inch higher than the other, the result being that one half is bearing all the load towards the centre of the baseplate, and the other half is not even touching the hull – the baseplate is hanging in the air – I can remove the timber. The (small) area of baseplate bearing the load at the centre / end of the higher timber is visibly bulged upwards. Cue horrible, nauseous, sinking feeling. The questions racing round my head right now are... Is this totally bad practice? It certainly doesn’t seem great. Even if it has been badly supported, is it likely that my baseplate must be dangerously thin for this to have happened? Could the baseplate even be split or cracked? What is the likelihood of things ‘dropping back into place’ if she’s lifted back into the water? Is it likely to have damaged welds at the chines or caused any other major structural damage? Is my boat doomed.... My plan is to notify my insurers tomorrow and speak with the yard. I will also be taking photos at first light. I presume the first priority is a full survey and I would expect them (or their insurers) to pay for this. Obviously if the results find that the baseplate is at fault then I guess I share some liability and it’s a case of overplating or worse.... If the plate is sound, and the damage is due to the method of supporting, then I guess I’ll really find out how good their customer service is... Seriously gutted at right now – was so looking forward to getting back on the water on Monday. Any thoughts or suggestions would be really appreciated! Chris

Well, this one's sorted. Not only that, but what was previously ALWAYS a sluggish starting engine now fires on pretty much one crank! Thanks in no small part to the advice here, I searched for a starter specialist - well landed on my feet to find these guys on my doorstep: http://www.startermotorsalternators.com/ Rebuilt, rewound, new solenoid, new internals, even resprayed, for a great price, and the owner of the firm couldn't have been more helpful - he even let me collect the starter from his house as he was shut on Saturdays. Oh, and he did it in 24 hours. The previous rebuild was carried out by a marine specialist, took two weeks, and lasted six months! So, I can't recommend these chaps enough. They have an eBay shop so can probably help anyone, anywhere. Thanks again for all the advice here. An interesting week! Chris

Thanks guys - really appreciate all the quick advice. Richard - since posting, I've whipped the starter off again and am going to find somewhere to have it tested tomorrow. Springy - very reassuring about the ring gear, hope you're right! It does turn over pretty easily with harder bit which I guess are compression. Haven't been able to run her since but oil and water have been checked. As for the batteries, yes I've tried jumping off the domestic bank, to no avail. All are under five months old and have been looked after. Voltage has also been checked under load - actually it barely dropped below 12 - perhaps even this is indicative of a faulty starter? I should also have mentioned that the starter caught fire within a month of me buying the boat! I had it rewound and reconditioned by a competent engineer, however given the starter's history of doom, it's always suspect in my view... Fingers crossed it is the starter - will keep all posted. Cheers, Chris

Hi All - new here, so please be gentle! I'm also a total engine novice so apologies in advance for any stupid questions! Nonetheless, I'm keen to understand my engine rather than resort to an engineer in the first instance, hence my questions. On Sunday, after a week of gentle cruising and with no prior warning, on trying to start, the starter would barely turn the engine through a single revolution. Symptoms were as if the starter was encountering serious resistance every half rev. To try and be concise, the following is my journey so far... Battery checked and bench charged anyway to eliminate any doubt - all okay Voltage checked at starter to ensure no cable loss - all okay. Due to laboured / resistant sounding starter I initially suspected flywheel or engine resistance. Can crank engine by hand so presumably engine not seized? Attention turns to flywheel. Removed starter to inspect flywheel gear ring - seems a bit burred / chipped so clearly needs attention - but could this cause sudden failure? I find it implausible that there were no prior symptoms. Tested starter once removed - spins freely, pinion engages forward as expected. Cleaned starter contacts and reassembled to engine - hoping that perhaps she may turn over on reassembly... Result - same symptoms - struggling to crank engine - dying after half a rev - sometimes not cranking at all. So....as far as an amateur like me can deduce, there is either something jamming the flywheel - or the starter motor is okay until put under load, at which point it dies. I do rather suspect the latter. Which gives me the option of either trying (i.e. buying) a new starter - or calling out an engineer to inspect the flywheel. Any experts who can offer an opinion or pointers on my best way forward? All advice much appreciated - still relatively new to (but hooked on) living aboard so keen to learn! Cheers, Chris