Plonk

Of course many say the science is settled and " Peer reviewed" so it must be right! Thomas Gold didn't think so We seem to rely on "Expert predictions" of our future. Unfortunatly expert predictions are wrong 80% of the time.

I have a couple of longish planks (not including me!) as we are on the K&A. Now we have been cruising there for a while, we are getting to know the deeper areas. There are a few if you can find them. We have had fun trying to moor at at VM's between Bradford and Bath in a couple of spots due to the profile of the canal bed and our draft, but mostly no problem.

Clearly these folks have never been on certain parts of the the K & A !

So.. after the rice paper was it the branding with the red hot Squirrel ?

I too lost half a porthole last year. Mine had a name on - Caldwells and was available off the shelf. Not cheap but easy to obtain if you can identify the manufacturer. Pat

Living out on the canal under a bridge maybe Kris? .........

Agreed, the only heat will be radiated, but I would prefer to be overcautious whilst I am doing the rest! One of my friends cats loves it under his woodburner so I suppose it cant get too hot down there. I see from the regs that in a house, the suggested constructional hearth in a fireplace is quite substantial. A bit over the top maybe?

Update - I decided to bite the bullet and have partially ripped out the old surround. Behind the stove was tiled 6mm fireboard glued to ply. I am going to improve that substantially. The hearth was just quarry tiles on ply!

Hi All. I am replacing my wonky Kabola Old English(Diesel) with a Boatman multi fuel stove (with a back boiler) and am not sure how mad to go with the hearth, insulation etc. Bearing in mind that the Kabola heat output is rated at 4kw and so is the Boatman I would have thought it a fairly straightforward swap out........! The Kabola was fitted on a quarry tiled hearth with ply under it (as i discovered upon removal), also the flue is single skinned and pases within a couple of mm of the roof ply (where the hole was cut). Also a wooden wall is only a couple of inches away from the flue hole and old flue. This is clearly unacceptable! The fire surround is about 4" from the rear corners of the new stove (it was slightly closer with the old stove). The fire surround walls seem to be 6mm fireboard on ply, tiled with small thickish tiles. I have been reluctent to destroy it to find out. As there has been no problems with the old stove catching fire to the boat and the dimensions of the Boatman being smaller (and with the back boiler, unlike the Kabola which had its water pipes in the top), I thought would add 2 or 3 layers of 9mm fireboard onto the ply base/hearth, possibly with an airgap. Fit a double skin flue through the roof, with the outer skin 50mm from combustables as recomended and angled towards the stove joining a single skin flue at an acceptable distance from the wall. I was hoping to leave the surround alone. I think the Kabola was installed back in 99 when the boat was built as the woodwork around is quite proffesionally done. Question- would leaving the old surround as is be bordering on insanity, or as it has been ok with the kabola so far would it be ok! Any other comments/advice would be gratefully recieved. If my woodworking skills and time were up to it I would be tempted to start over. Thanks

The othe one with Mercury outboard! wonder if I could water ski or paraglide behind?? lol

YAY !! it works. Just have to refit in the boat now. Pat

Thanks folks, That definitely helps. If the little terminal is a sensor which is not connected then i guess the position of the back plate is uninportant. All the other bits seem prety foolproof(I think!) also the wiring diagram shows the input to the top bar as suspected. I will give it a test.

Hi all, In theory my Bow Thruster should work. All looks ok now and no sign of burning (solonoid's were siezed). Before I apply test current I would like a little advice please. I have a (large) live feed and negative feed from the battery and two feeds to the solonoids (small), presumably left and right thrust. As the thruster hasn't worked since I owned the boat and attempts to get it working were made by the previous owner I would like to check I have the wiring right. I also removed the back plate on the motor to check the brushes and untill I refitted it I foolishly didn't realise I had a choice of 2 positions it could fit. The negative earth goes to one of the large terminals on the back of the motor. Is it the one close to the small terminal or the other one? which one attaches to the long copper solid connector bar? also, the small 3rd terminal on the back plate I beleive attaches to a wire that goes to the terminal block and then attaches to nothing. what is it for. At the moment the common earth from the solonoids attaches to the large negative feed to the back of the motor. Also it looks like the positive feed should go to the top outer buzz bar between the outer contacts. Any advice, wiring diagrames pictures etc would be much appreciated. I have no wiring diagram. Thanks. Pat.

Mine is about 15 years old. The previous owner gave up on it, not sure when but probably a good few years ago. Also there was a good 3 or 4 inches of rainwater had got into the thruster chamber. I think that open plan solonoids and damp air don't mix well. Looking at the Albright website there are component part lists, I assume the parts are current and available. I will give them a call tomorrow. Parts list here http://www.albrightinternational.com/files/downloads/spares/SW201,202.pdf sesms to be the one I have. Thanks again Murflynn.

Thanks Murflynn I have had a look and yes Nobells do use the Allbright contactors! Brilliant!

Similarly my (identical) nobels thruster is now removed for repair. Never worked, since owning the boat. The push rod in one of the solenoids was siezed solid and I damaged it whilst removing(had to drill it out). Are they and other bits available? If so where please. The rod is made of some sort of bakelite. Not very hard. Thanks.

I was thinking of painting some light bulbs black, so that when i switch them on it gets dark.

I beleive a portable calor gas heater (cabinet type) is a no-no on a boat due to the danger of carbon monoxide issues. Even on land they need LOTS of ventilation to prevent build up of poisinous gas. Plonk

Yes. Shaftesbuy born myself! Went over to the "Dark side" (Gillingham) years ago but i would like to go back one day if they will have me! Off up the Long Pound towards Crofton next week I hope.

They don't sell it! The closest is Honeystreet Wharf about 3 hrs East. There is a Diesel boat past on occasion. Spencer and Victoria from The Boatyard at Hilperton. Prices seem reasonable. I was topped up last week. Link- http://www.ukboatyard.com/

I have been mooring at Devizes marina just under a year and just wondered. So far, i have found the staff friendly and helpful and the site is clean and tidy. I certainly have no complaints so far. Could benifit from a bit more chandlery maybe. The workshops provide engineering, Painting, Blacking and carpentry. Also there is a Pub next door.

Why?

Still there on the 8th March. Passable with caution, as they say. A very sorry sight :-(

Is that the boat that was down at Bradford on Avon last year with lots of slogans and notices posters pasted on?