Serendipity

When we bought our boat several years ago, it came fully equipped to cruise. Fortunately all of the crocks, cookware, and cutlery were to our taste, albeit chosen for us, a bit like going to a rental cottage. The only things we bought were bedding and towel sets which again are kept unique to the boat. Couple of weeks ago the Missus replaced all our mugs at home, and being as I don't like waste, I said we'd take the few decent ones from the old set to the boat. As soon as I saw them out on the side it jarred. I said they'd have to go as they reminded me of home, and the boat's the boat, home is home. At that point I was told I'd lost the plot - have I?

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I was once asked by a gongoozler in passing how long it took boats to get to Devizes from Watford. I said I had no idea whilst wondering whether he had the trip in mind. Ten minutes later I twigged - and, no, it's not on my boat

Hmmm, I see the problem. On the K&A, South of Marlborough I think, there are a couple of hydrant type markers on each side of the canal. Instead of 'Water' they're marked 'Esso'. Now that might be worthwhile.

Have you tried setting spring lines Graham?

Noo the boat is '91, and 500 hours on makes me wonder whether 'tis the plate, especially as the prop shaft (lazily) rotates in neutral. So why would gently putting it in gear result in extra noise from the plate when it's already (inadvertantly) turning the prop, and why (as I mentioned earlier), different noise profile when cold. I wonder whether it's more gearbox centric as Arthur has suggested.

Quite right for private offerings if you've no intention to purchase, but I know that Devizes Brokerage as has been mentioned, are well used to folks just having a mooch. They don't mind as it could eventually lead to a sale.

Given your experience with the wrong plate David, I think I'd rather leave well alone for now. Do you recall what plate worked for you in the end, and what effect do you suppose the temperature has on it? Cheers Julian<p>

Mine were siliconed in, and had a couple of leaks. When we re-painted the boat (windows out), the silicone was a b*gg*r to get off, and then even a crumb or two left is spread by the sander and your paint 'orange peels'. I wouldn't use silicone for that reason, and also the cleanup required when it inevitably leaks out when fitting the window. Windows went back in with the self adhesive foam strip sold by the chandlers, or I've had good service from Seals Direct. One length right across the top of the window, and another length butted to the bottom of the top length so the butt is on the side of the window not the top. Then cut several V notches to get the tape round the curves at the bottom of the window, and back to the top in one piece. Screwing the window back in compresses the foam and tightens the butt joints.

Precisely what mine has done since my ownership three years ago (500 hours or so). I would add that in my case:- 1) If engaging gear slowly, it is prefaced with a bit of 'clatter', and then as you further increase revs the noise you describe appears until you move out of the tickover/fast tickover range. 2) When started from cold, and particularly in winter, a hundred revs or so more than fast tickover are required to make it go away. After twenty minutes running it's only noticeable at slow tickover again. I live with it, but would obviously be very interested to know what you come up with. Julian

Did you have any holes in the bottom like this 'un, as I think the drag might be more effective with them? Whether it works even so though, I'll try at some point.

A change of mooring means I now have some extensive reversing to contend with. This isn't normally a problem since I tried out a trick I learnt here which was to do it fast. Sure enough, once I've got the line setup it is much more controllable, except when the wind gusts up. I was just wondering whether something like a bucket with holes chucked off the bow on ten feet of line might help?

Chap called Paul who is Wadworths brewery's signwriter. He often takes on private work. I'm quite taken with the 'fairground' stylee.

From a chap in the pub. I should have said pictures don't do any justice to the 'depth' of Phil's paints. I've had several unprompted comments about the type of paint when folks are up close.

Craftmaster Black primer, and two coats Roller then layed off here.

Must be That's bizarre - I have it on two XP machines, one a home PC, t'other a netbook hooked up to the interweb via my Nokia N95, and it's considerably and consistently faster than IE or FFox on either machine?

What other stuff?

How ????

Moved over from Firefox when it came out. You will find it much faster, and I love the way you just enter a search in the address bar. A few sites don't like it though and you'll need to revert to another browser, and at some point in that session you'll enter a search in the address bar and curse it for not having such an obvious feature Downside is I find my PC locks up occasionally when it's in use, but this is not sufficient for it not to be my browser of choice now. Others will have views on Google's privacy aspects.

I never knew that, and as sometimes it doesn't seem to do very much that would explain a lot - thanks. Can you actually 'feel' that you are pumping effectively, or do you just judge by no result after a few mins?

Strange things happened around the 60's - Some may remember the Morris Oxford or Austin Cambridge cars (first car I learnt to drive on). If I recall, the Austin was fitted with a 4 litre RR engine, and called the Vanden Plas version. I believe the engines came from a cancelled army order, so even in those days someone spotted an opportunity for making a premium product on the cheap. A little searchet for Vanden Plas comes up with:- The origins of the engine used in the Princess R dates back many years. In 1938, Rolls Royce's experimental design unit started a search for range of engines which would share a maximum number of common components. The outcome was the 'B'-series of military engines of the following configurations: B40 4-cylinder B60 6-cylinder B80 8-cylinder. These engines were of a modular design, such that the B80 was like two B40's stuck together. Some B80's even used 2 B40 sumps. The B40 engine found work in the Austin Champ, and the B60 in the Humber 1-ton truck and Daimler Ferret Scout Car. The B60 was also used in the 1939 Bentley Corniche. These engines were used in Rolls Royce and Bentley cars from 1945 until the arrival of the Silver Cloud II (and Bentley S2) saloons of 1959 which used the (Buick-designed) V8 engines. In 1958, it was decided to experiment with the B60 engine, and to adapt the old cast iron 6-cylinder design to make the most of modern materials and methods. There were potentially new military contracts (one of which was a lightweight vehicle to be air-transportable), but these never came to be, and the FB60 never reached production in a military vehicle. In January 1962, Rolls Royce and BMC announced technical collaboration between thefirms.There was a search for an upmarket executive car to produce in large quantities for a younger buyer. One option was for Rolls Royce to produce a Bentley in larger numbers. This went under the prototype name of Bentley Java. Even an unnamed Rolls version was contemplated. Some other projects with BMC were considered - the Bentley Bengal, Rolls Royce Rangoon & Bentley Alpha. The subject of the use of the FB60 engine came up, since there was no BMC engine with this power output. None of the projects considered materialised, but after a Princess MkII was fitted with the FB60 engine and Rolls Royce gearbox in the mid-sixties, BMC introduced the Princess R themselves. The Princess R has many of the features of the Bentley Java prototype. Rolls Royce projected sales of 6 000 FB60 units per year, but with a total run of 6 999 Princess R's over the 4-year lifespan, this seems to have been a bit optimistic. An interesting aside related to the low volumes of FB60 engines used, was the development of an Austin Healy prototype to mop up extra engines. In 1966, Donald Healy experimented with the 4 litre Rolls Royce FB60 motor in an Austin Healy. The car was cut down the middle and widened to accommodate the engine and gearbox. This car was never produced, and most experiments were junked, but a few examples still survive. In developing the B60 with modern materials, the major change is that the whole engine is cast in aluminium. The original B60 engine was made from cast iron, and with a displacement of 4.5 litres, produced 130bhp (96kW). The experimental division wanted to try an aluminium-alloy version of this six-cylinder motor. The stroke was also shortened to allow higher piston speeds, and the power was increased to 175 bhp. This produced a very light engine for its size at 450lb (204kg). This represented a saving of 85lb (38kg) over the BMC c-series 3-litre motor it replaced. In fact, the entire engine and gearbox weigh 900 lbs (408kg). Although the Princess R was the cheapest car Rolls Royce had been associated with (being the only mass-produced car fitted with a Rolls engine), the Rolls Royce strict quality on engine assembly was never compromised. Testament to this is the alarmingly quiet engine -even today - and the ability for the FB60 to clock up 200 000 miles between overhauls. Quality assembly does not negate quality maintenance, and as one article put it, "The Rolls Royce motor does not suffer fools gladly". The engine should not be allowed to run on old oil, and running even 40 miles with a faulty water pump will spell (expensive) disaster. The FB60 has an overhead inlet side exhaust valve arrangement. The engine is finished in dull shot-blasted aluminium, and this aluminium alloy is anodised to prevent corrosion. There is also Cadmium plating of all nuts and bolts. The crankshaft has 7 main bearings, and is dynamically balanced for smooth running. The fan is painted with BMC yellow, and has uneven blade spacing to reduce noise. The engine is fitted with SU HD8 twin carburettors, and uses exceptionally large inlet valves to assist breathing. The exhaust valves have automatic positive rotation to ensure even wear and to equalize heat effects. The engine also has self-adjusting hydraulic tappets to ensure silent operation and avoid the need for periodic checking and adjustment. There is also a system coupled to a warning light to indicate the requirement for an oil filter change.

Yes, only takes ten mins to get the pan off, but I suspect the blockages are loose flakes of scale lodged at the top of the rim holes. I think I'd try injecting up into rim cavity first (but it would have to be a viscous de-scaler), then more drastic measures.