X Alan W

Have you tried motor home caravan repairers/parts suppliers

That should be handy when it slips over the side &winds itself around shaft &prop which by sods law it will at some time in the boats lifeIf your boat is 27 t long a rope of 14ft or longer will do the job nicely the prop wrapping that is + 14 ft wont help alot with your problem I would stem the cill gently (uphill) in forward gear (tickover )& open the paddle/s enough for a smooth ride Down hill it will sit still in the lock & you can take the bow line ashore

You & me both the nightmares that is the rail way Paxmans had problems with using a different manifold /turbo chamber that suffered cracking causing shut down of the unit several different variations were tried & on a visit to fit yet a different version along with the chief engineer I sugested the marine manifold be tried this was poo whood by the C E & the rail hob knobs however Paxman asked if they could have a loco to "work on'" several manifolds were made/fitted but in the end a bog std manifold with modded out lets was fitted & as far as I know never had any further bother

Worked with a guy who went on to work for Napier he used to call the Deltic " Delightfully eccentric" Paxmans were another company whose engine served both rail & water along with GM & GE in terms of strictly marine the Scandinavians had a telephone directory size book listing marine engine of which a good # were 1 pot up semi diesels from around 5hp upwards to "Ginormous multi cylinder units "

I thought BP's top of the line offering around that time was Viscostatic. & their std stuff Energol IIRC the metric came in some 6months after the money changed around the pint beer glasses had the etched line around them some 1/2inch from the top to conform with the 500ML in the local pub the regulars still had them filled to the top & paid a few pence extra

It came in pints ,quarts, & gallons +5 &10gallon drums & 25& 40 g allon barrel IIRC it was 1/6£ sd in 67/8 per pimt fo Q 20/50 super shade of green when unused Paul Wallace B&M was on a proposed Duckams run from E port to Aldridge when his loaded boat "Yeoford"rolled over the tank design left the CofG to high tanks were redesigned but the traffic never got properly going Duckhams were the first company to introduce ring pull disposable cans in the UK at that time most oils came in refillable bottles stored in crates similar to milk

To answer Tumshie's post which stated she would not be replying as it was dis respectful to the war dead & was confused that because i was engaged as a game bird beater it gave me more insight into the gentry. I in no way intended to not show respect (see earlier post) my beef was the incompetence/arrogance of some officers taking decisions that cost many foot solders their lives ( Written up in War records which I have read ) & the way we as beaters were treated by the upper class on game shoots ,also which I have not mentioned the way working boaters were treated, in my working days, by sections of land dwellers & shop keepers It was assumed without finding out ,that working boaters were illiterate just to add when I took up the occupation I was up to city & guilds in mechanical engineering & my late wife was a barrister so we wer both OK on the R&R front, although we were always referred to as them off the water & in some cases treated as though we were not there & talked about not to. Came as a bit of a shock to some folk to find we had better education than they did & were always pleased to help out any boater family with reading/writing matters As an aside I did military service & spent some months in Korea so I have expieranced war & officers first hand & like all things in life there are good & bad only problem in that line of work a bad "un" with a wrong decision can cost you your life.

A mate of mine uses Chainsaw BAR OIL he reckons it stays on better As the "Seffle "was total loss oiling I used to use that it was slightly discoloured but OK

I appreciate you view/take on the above subject but if you study some of the reports on battles /outcomes of WW 1 some decisions taken by officers in both Army & Navy that were questioned as to the outcome /viability were rank pulled & carried on with with catastrophic results surely if they were in the crapping themselves syndrome they would have at least considered the other input not dismissed it out of hand & carried on regardless attitude of that jumped up little snot is not telling me how to do any thing A a teen I did beating for phesent shoots to earn extra money I 'v'e experienced the class hierarchy first hand .In some cases waste of space Richard Cranium's with nothing but handed down cash which they thought was the be all to end all would not accept advice from any one even the shoot guys who wee real experts were treated like village idiots although 1 of them had more gumption than 6of the monied mob

I guess a lot of lives could have been spared if the stone age methods + incompetence /arrogance & general belief that some of the upper crust officers of the day had that they & they alone knew what was what ,proved by the catastrophic life loss that they didn't ,at least with modern military that has improved some what over the last 100 odd years but then again warfare has totally changed & the foot soldier is required in less numbers although they still get the shitty end of the stick, to each & every one who lost their life defending future freedom Sir /Madam I salute & thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Or as the Skipper of a "Dale H" barge I worked on as engineer used to say"Long enough to reach the bottom & a bit to spare

Any would be better than rust & corrosion,I doubt if they are up to a specified product, cheapest would work but with the modern way of thinking & legislation I guess you'll have to put up crap maintained gear In some ways the modern world has become a sad place, if the restoration guys gals of the 50/60s had been required to conform to today's thinking I don't think you folk presently boating would have had the amount/choice of routes

So whats the difference between mangling your finger winding up rusty racks& pinions & doing the same with a set of gears getting greased? answer greasy flat fingers so if you get a whack with a windlass paddle winding is it a claim Jobbie

You could very well speak truthfully they would have to consult the sub contractors & I doubt that some one willin to help would want to hang around a fortnight to acquire a tin of grease to perform a good turn

Covered by the march of progress sealed for life bearings no maintenance parts with basically stone age technology it' a better bet to maintain with stone age servicing but that requires more constant man power

The thinking in regard to cooperation tween the authority & boater has changed ,back in the day a conversation between then BW & boater in regard to stiff lock gear & if the boater was known to the BW staff & were returning through the locks with stiff gear often a tin of grease would be offered with a request to lube the racks & pinions more often than not this would be taken up & the offending bits lubed if that was the problem. Changes in materials ,attitude , & knowledge of some users have made this a none event now days in a good #of cases + the attitude of some users into the fact that C&RT should sort the problems as against a bit of all "Mucking " in possibly depends on the enthusiast spirit of the boater rather than just a user of the system/facilities. Possibly "elfin/safety ois also problematic also

Pushrods only operate the valves in a OHV motor with mid motor height cam shaft you still have to have a connection twixt crank & cam shaft either gear or chain drive for ohv or the same +belt for O HC (over head camshaft ) suspect the op's motor would be gear

The bow fender will last (wear wise) much longer with a piece of tyre fitted over it if you can source an old fabric carcass cross ply one it will be easier to work than a steel carcass radial