BEngo

Churchbridge junction, or top lock? N

Talk to LRE. Send them photos of they want them. You have been given the website and phone by hider. Send it to them. It will come back in short order, fixed. Their turn round is quick. 3 days, from on engine to on engine for a BS5 starter last time I sent them a job. The charge, including the courier both ways was very reasonable. N

According to Clegg, up the GU would be about 5 hours shorter. From my perspective that gain is at the expense of a lot of heavy locking up just to come down again and there are not as many long level stretches where, if needed, it is easy to carry on later to get back on the plan. N

The Chris Clegg map reckons 60 hours cruising with a competent crew of 2. In this day an age you need to add on some slack for queues, unplanned stoppages and long lines of moored boats. Buckby is always a PITA, Atherstone can be slow if you have a bad road and progress in the Shroppie flights depends on how much traffic is moving. Avoid Autumn half term for speed! N

They are MES ( Midlands). They are good for mechanical parts, and very helpful. I am not sure they do much in the electrical components line. N

Call Lancashire Rotating Electrics. They will sort it. N

9Acids are bad for metals. Alkalis generally are not. Poured concrete ballast is fine, provided it is installed properly (well vibrated in) and the concrete/steel interface is kept dry ( no cracks in the concrete.) There are probably millions of bridges, roads, runways, and buildings worldwide that depend on the bond between concrete and steel. Most of these get worse treatment than even the most TV fisted boat steerer gives narrowboat ballast. In any concrete/ steel combo exposing the steel to the air is bad news. The corrosion will creep along the interface and rust wedging will break off chunks of the concrete.(spalling exposing more steel). In most cases it is poor (no) maintenance after mechanical damage from a vehicle strike or poor placing techniques leading to insufficient concrete covering the steel There are drawbacks to poured concrete: It is harder to get the right quantity. It is more difficult to adjust after it sets You need to pour and place it properly. It will set remarkably fast if you are not prepared. There are advantages too: Cheaper, infinitely variable quantity Easier to load than slabs Uses all the ballast space Protects the steel from any water coming in Doesnt move around Damps vibration. N

Starters for 10 Tim Wilkinson "Hold on a Minute" Eily Gayford "The Amateur Boatwomen" Emma Smith "Maidens Trip" Susan Woolfit "Idle Women" Tom Foxon "Anderton for Orders" "No 1" "Following the Trade" Sir John Knill "John Knill's Navy" John Thorpe "Windlass in my Belt" David Blagrove "Bread Upon the Waters" N

Check carefully that any or all helium tanks are not leaking. Ensure you fit extra spare thrusters. Beware of strange noises in the pointy bit. N

Give the reluctant ones a tiny squirt of Plus Gas onto each pin and round the hole. Leave for a while then work them gently up and down at the ends. You are trying to free off the hairpin spring inside the moving part. N

Buy a decent one, not the cheapest chinese stuff and it will last for ages. Then use tje other contacts as suggested. If you really want durability buy a two pole high current one as used for individual switching of storage radiators. That will also provide two contact sets. They will fit in a light switch pattress box but a single socket box is deeper and easier to wire. N

If their is water in the injectors it has to have got there via the fuel injection pump (s). These are at least as sensitive to water damage as the injectors, so will need to be looked at by a specialist ( possibly the same one that looks at the injectors). The good news is that the pumping elements are usually available. N

Starter batteries are fine. Check the charging voltages are suited to the new batteries. N

I think I might have a homeless one. It isn't perfect and will need introducing to a tin of Peek. PM me if you would like to swap some beer coupons for it. N

Judging solely by the pipe feeding the top, this is a no packing typecseal which only needs a tiny amount of special grease once a year. I would think a good clean up and mop out might reveal more. N

If you do not have NRV's you need to shut off both cylinders before disconnecting an empty one. Having NRV means jou can just swap out the empty. Usually the regulator end of the pigtail is marked with an arrow pointing toward the regulator if there is an NRV. Check by removing the pigtail and blowing through from either end. From the POL connector should blow, but from the regulator end should not. N

HMRC have already identified that the tax on inland boatrrs diesel is barely worth the effott of collecting it. Their consultation document gave some numbers IIRC. It also stated that enforcement effort would be proportional to the tax income produced. N

A series of small tanks is likely to be space inefficient, and lots of small tanks may freeze more readily in winter. The stainless solution is quite viable, but probably costly unless you can do the hull work yourself. It should be possible to cut access, fit a stainless tank and just weld the cutout back in, especially if the cutting uses a plasma cutter. That would save much work/cost Whatever solution you choose, you will still need to preserve the inside of the hole, though that should be easier with the top cut out pro tem. N

Yes. Paypal charge a bigger percentage of small donations. The Forum benefits by 90p from a £1.00 donation, but by £6.60 from a £7.00 donation and £94.95 from a £100.00 donation. All contributions are gratefully received! Nigel

Forum Finances 1 Jan 2024- 31 July 2024. I last reported on the Forum Finances as at 31 Dec 2023. This report covers the period from then until 31 July 2024. We started the year with £2508 in the bank. We have expended £1016 on running the site, with an average monthly cost of £145. We received a total of £506 in donations. The best month was May, when we received almost £208 and the lowest income was in March when we received £20. We ended the period with £1998 in the bank. We now have three major suppliers: Digital Ocean , who host the database containing all our posts, at a cost of about £125 per month, depending on traffic, and invoiced in USD. This cost will rise next month as Digital Ocean are starting to charge for the Plesk software which enables Rich M to manage the Database. Invision, who provide the core forum software, at a cost of $115 USD every 6 months IPS Focus who provide the forum themes- the pretty bits you can see and adjust. That costs $10 USD every 6 months. Thank you all for your contributions to running the Forum. Regards Nigel

"Complies with EN3 Testing" is not the same as third party tested and certified to comply with EN3. The latter is what the BSS requires. N

In the unfortunate event of a canal boat fire the primary thing needed is the ability to escape, not necessarily to put the fire out. Dry powder extinguishers are good at knocking a fire back, creating a path through the flames to an exit. That is why they are used by aircraft accident rescue teams. They are less good at actually extinguishing a fire because they do not really attack any one side of the fire triangle very well. They are also cheap, simple to use (point and squirt) and easy to service. They are likely to remain the fire appliance of choice for most inland boaters. Out at sea, all bets is different, and, Halons having been banned, I would want a lot of AFFF extinuishers as my start point. N

Someone has possibly given the ballast a coat of bitumen. If so diesel will soften it. Also possible is that it is ferric oxide- black rust in effect. The chemistry is complicated, but thick red rust turns black underneath the surface as time passes. N