ChrisPy

the BT sceptics are SO easy to wind up .................... misplaced puritanism .......... (but I'm glad I didn't live in the 17th century) :lol:

definite case of sense of humour shortfall syndrome PS try reversing in or out of some marinas in a cross wind in reverse. Leeds lock wiggle is child's play.

Mike, I tend to ignore the smart-asses who know that BTs are unnecessary. Of course they are the experts, they are right, and we should know better. So I just turn my deaf ear to them. Just for badness I'm considering fitting a BT to my Frolic 21 'toy boat'. It is very difficult to turn in a narrow channel.

no, but why does it matter? the BT is a crude and effective device. balance is irrelevant. I agree with the second point.

memory fade - senior moment

for Vetus there are 2 circular holes to be cut in the top of the tube. use the gasket supplied as a template, then use a hole cutter. one hole takes the drive shaft, the second is just a locating pin to prevent rotation.

similar to Jenolite, Fertan, etc. difference with vactan as Mike says, the acid is contained within a polymer layer. not sure if that is a good or a bad thing, depends on the individual circumstances I s'pose.

touch wood - here at Bristol marina, close to the centre of the city, I have kept a boat either in the yard or on a mooring for the past 6 years and have never heard of any theft or break-in of a boat, apart from one famous incident when some scallies arrived by boat and tried to steal some outboards. the word went out and the police soon apprehended the oiks. I have often left tools and materials lying around and they have never been touched. all down to the community spirit - unofficial neighbourhood watch.

use coach line self adhesive vinyl (e.g. from SAC Boatnames). If done carefully the edge is almost indistinguishable, and it will not fall off.

which matches the advice given in all the safety training I've received suffered in the past 10 years.

what stops a fat cat from setting up a 'charity' that only benefits him or his family?

you do not need an isolation valve near the cooker if the cooker is the only appliance; in such a case the isolation valve on the cylinder will suffice. for me having a bubble tester is a no-brainer. without it how can you check your system is gas tight, both on a routine basis and especially in preparation for your BSS examination? my examiner allows a discount for using the bubble tester because it shortens the time taken to do the examination.

the most reputable CANAL BOAT BUILDERS will almost certainly offer you a stock design. on that basis you should judge the builder on the appearance and reputation of his similar boats. it is unlikely that any reputable builder will want to accommodate your specifications if they differ much from his proven designs. remember that most builders probably got their first/second boats a bit wrong, and they established their reputations by perfecting their design after building several boats.

specify the displacement and the required speed, then it can be calculated quite easily from established formulae. otherwise it's a more question of a long piece of string ..............

blimey that's good value! about half the price of a manual crimper.

in what way does lime not like steel? traditional way of rustproofing steel tanks was with limewash.

your canal/river water must be clearer than mine. the sunshine won't reach much beyond a foot or so here.

suggest to refer to the recent thread on the downsides of pea gravel before following this advice.

Wise advice, but I'm sure most canal boats are just boxes with pointy ends. In fact, many of the widebeams lifted out at our marina are just that. Some of them even avoid too much curving of plates by joining the swims to the central hull at an angle. Only a few traditional hull builders actually incorporate the hydrodynamic lessons to be learned from the past 200 years. I think the very best advice for the OP is to examine some good ("pretty" on the basis that what looks good usually is good) examples of old traditional hulls and try to incorporate the proportions as far as possible.

no. products of biodegradation - CO2, methane, etc. ... oh, and H2S which is not nice (kills in seconds in moderately high concentrations).

that'll teach you not to dump biodegradable stuff under the boat when no-one's looking ............... coat

not to mention the poor sod who may be breasted up to you. you have a responsibility to others apart from those on board your boat.