Morningmist

As my old mechanic friend said, 'cut it, knock it, weld it'. Thanks for the tip about the coper slip very much appreciated.

BES yes I have delt with them before and the are very good. Thank you BEngo for the link , Sounds if I am going to have fun, a mechanic I new as a young man use to say when ever there was a problem 'cut it, knock it and weld it' I usually find lots of tea helps as well! Cheers for all the advice.

Since my lats post I have discovered that the existing flexable exhaust is threaded into the threaded 90* bend before entering the bottom of my hospital silencer. and as David rightly suggests a suitable length can be purchased from Midlands Chandlers. I shall continue dismantling the system and order the various parts as necessary. Many thanks for your very helpful advise as I have very little knowledge of these matters. BES yes I have delt with them before and the are very good. Thank you BEngo for the link

Many thanks Tony, the pipe I am looking at is custom built exhaust pipe with custom flange ends from Every Exhaust Part Ltd. Thanks for the advise about removing my failed lagged exhaust very much appreciated..

Is flexable stainless steep piping suitable for mt Beta 43 Dry exhaust and if so should I lag it whit exhaust tape to prevent heat transfer.

Many thanks Drayke & John6767 for the marinas that stock smokeless Coal, when I get closer to Reading I will give them a call. I have telephoned leaving massages for Chris on Fuel Boat Merchant, but as, yet I have had no reply. Many thanks to you all for your help.

Closures on this part of the Thames as far as I am aware have all been lifted, I have tried to contact Chris by email and phone without success. I believe we passed by his barge in Staines Upon Thames the other day, but it looked very much still laid up. So I will try to contact him again.

Many thanks for that information, Magnetman, will definitely call into Bourne End Marina when passing. Moored up today, enjoying this gentle breeze!

Thank you, PD 1964 I have done as you suggested and have been able to open up a couple of useful leads. No coal yet, but there is hope.

Slightly off track, We are livaboards on a narrow boat making our way up the River Thames, currently at Windsor slowly making our way towards Oxford. We are running low on smokeless coal. Anybody out there who knows where we can stock up? We don't have access to a vehicle.

Slightly off track, We are livaboards on a narrow boat making our way up the River Thames, currently at Windsor slowly making our way towards Oxford. We are running low on smokeless coal. Anybody out there who knows where we can stock up? We don't have access to a vehicle.

Yes, that's just about our lifestyle as well, progress driven only for the need of fuel, water, provisions and the sense of curiosity. Thank you for your honest insight to winter voyaging, with added delays due to river levels and winter stoppages, and for the valuable advice given by local lockkeepers.

Admittedly ferry gliding a 70ft narrow boat for the first time will concentrate my mind somewhat, but at a displacement of 25 tons I don't even want to imagine the damage I could cause if it all went wrong. So I think I will take it quite easy, and I don't need unnecessary self-imposed excitement at my stage of life, been there dun that!!!, My engine is the standard Beta 43 driving an 18" Crowther propeller, so I hope it will be up to what I ask of it. Thank you all again, this is giving me plenty to think about and the link with the tidal gauges is excellent and live webcams as well, 90 cubic m of water per second is a lot of water, certainly far more than can come out of some CRT water taps!.

Brilliant, thank you very much for the links, have just signed up for their notifications and newsletter.

Cheers for that, and respect duly given to old father Thames. Apart from the warning boards, does the Environment agency or Thames Authority issue navigation notices similar to CRT? Is there a suitable App or web page to follow or download?