BEngo

The Aylesbury arm taircase locks will be closed on 8th, 9th and 10th April. Details on the CRT site talk of by-wash improvements. Local information is that it is to divert the paddle culvert between locks 1 and 2 out of the old concrete works which is now a development site. N

It might be room sealed but the vertical flue can't be shortened, so may protrude to far in many installations and it is fan-flued so you are dependent on the inverter for a safety function. A horizontal flue might work if you can hack the continuous requirement for 240 V and modify the cabin side where the flue passes through. Thread here on fitting www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=24807. Seems to me that an OE fit could be OK but retro fit ain't going to be easy. N

Glyphosate doesn't work on moss or algae. DAMHIKT. Patio Magic does work. So does washing soda, which is cheaper and will get the dirt off! N

If the original steel was actually blasted and primed plate then the original two pack should have lasted better. It did not so probably the boat builder did not properly prepare the areas where through welding/grinding etc. the protective primer coat was damaged. Putting a non-epoxy coating over the top limits your options. The rust along the waterline will either need to be ground off or blasted off or it will always come back. Water line rust is chemically different to underwater rust ( underwater rust is hydrated or something IIRC.) As a result pressure washing doesn't shift it and wire brushing mainly polishes the rust. Even if you shift the waterline rust, bitumen products are attacked by the very thin layer of diesel which sits on most canals, so then the waterline goes rusty again. I wouldn't bother with any more bitumen, but get it blasted and re-epoxied if funds permit. N

Yes. There is various building and piling work going on, but there are still visitor moorings and you can still turn. There is probably more water space to turn in than when ACS were there and busy! N

I reckon this is a goer, provided the ramp is not too steep. Ideally it will be 1:15 or less. Steel rollers would be better than wooden ones as they will give less and make the pull easier. Some basic physics on the slope and the weight of the boat will tell you what the minimum pull will be. An 11 kW winch will shift 30 tons on a trolley up 1:15 rails at 10 m/minute. You need to watch the stern immersion carefully, particularly if fitted with Lister-type cooling air holes in the sides. Jacking a boat up to get under it is easy, if it's on the level, but requires a toe jack to get started some decent jacks for the main lift and some sleepers to rest the boat on. Go up a bit at a time, one end at a time, from alternate ends, and pack it in stages. Done regularly in Braunston to get a boat off the trolley in the shed. Down is just the reverse operation. N Edited to add the winch bit.

It depends on what concentration you want- for anti corrosive properties the lowest manufacturer recommended concentration will be OK. 10 l might be OK for that. For maximum frost protection the suggestion is 50% antifreeze. 10 l is not likely to be enough for that. If you only want corrosion protection use a central heating corrosion protector- by such as Fernox or the DIY sheds' own brews. N

Is that one of the the big-bore ones, with megaphones and chrome bits at the end? N

I was speaking to a marina operator the other day. ( Not TC). At the moment he reckons demand is very patchy. One of his newer marinas is at 40 % occupancy, and is losing money another has a waiting list of over 100% of capacity. Cutting prices doesn't seem to help as much as improving facilities does. BWML have a brief to make money, and there are rumours that they are not doing so well enough to satisfy their owners. I have even heard that CRT are thinking of selling off BWML. The capital raised can apparently be better invested elsewhere. Certainly I would not like to see a CRT (or anyone else) monopoly of moorings- that way lies unaffordable moorings and probably a major NCCC problem with thousands of boats on the towpath because they can't afford moorings and the boat won't sell for lack of people who can afford the moorings. N

Well no, not really. You are assuming that a 10 A fuse blows if you put more than 10 A through it. It doesn't, unless it's a very special type of fuse. A standard fuse will pass at least twice the current for one second- in your case 20A. The cable is OK with this, because it has quite a bit of thermal mass to heat up before damage starts to occur. A transformer will not, because it has lots of turns of fine wire which heat up quickly if overloaded. The start up current of your pump will be well above 10 A because the resistance of the rotor is very low. You may be able to measure it with a decent multimeter and calculate the initial current. Of course once the motor starts to go it produces an opposing EMF which reduces the effective voltage across the pump and so the current falls to 3 amps or so. The other issue is that transformers produce AC and your pump is DC. Most pump motors are permanent magnet devices and they will be happy with AC. If your pump has fancy electronics to control it, like the variable speed ones which claim they don't need an accumulator the it is not likely to be happy to be given AC. N

They sell them in packs of two for a reason! Dormer or a similar quality brand are better value if you have a lot of holes to drill. For one-offs, and without the capability to sharpen them the Toolstation stuff will do the job. N

I have used black International Floor Paint on the engine 'ole boards for the last 20-odd years. It wears well and doesn't seem to go slippery if you get water or oil on it. I have used both high VOC base and water base varieties. The water based stuff seems to be OK inside ( it is carp on the roof but that's another story) and dries quicker. The solvent stuff lasted longer (four or five years as opposed to two or three). N

Proper HSS or High-speed steel with Cobalt, HSSCo, will hold its hardness beyond dull red. HSS lathe Tools can only be forged at yellow heat. A drill doesn't stay sharp all that long if you work it red hot though. Some of the supposed HSS from China wouldn't drill cheese, let alone hold hardness at red heat. N

Take a good supply of the right size shackles- if you have more than enough you won't drop any in the cut, but if not.... You will also need pliers or a spike that goes in the pin-ends to tighten the shackle pins . The really anal might use thread lock! Spare chain may be handy- not all fender chains are long enough. Depending on the arrangement of your fender eyes, some plastic tube that goes over the chains can be handy for preventing chafing where the chains pass over the edge of the back cants. If you treat the fenders then a piece of thickish plastic between the tip cat and the paint is worth while as it stops the fender treatment taking the paint off . If not it reduces the chafing.- Builders Damp Proof Membrane is good. If they are poly-something fenders then a light proof cover for when not boating will make them last longer by reducing actinic degradation of the outer rope. N

I heard Schrodingers cat ate them? I did ask Heisenberg, but he was uncertain where they were. N.

A wonderful technique for mucky bridge holes. Towing boat stops, towed boat thumps it up the fender and over the obstruction. Towing boat winds it on and the towed boat is snatched over the obstruction. Done this many times on the BCN. Can be a bit bloody hard on tipcats and stern buttons. N

Not with a Lister JP or SW (water cooled SR) or with a Kelvin J or K. All have mechanical drive to the water pump. Not sure about the Lister HRW, the HAW/HBW or FR or the various Rustons. As for Bolinders, up to and including the key-start ones, Seffles and Kromhout semis, or even the Industries, I don't know. N

I believe Pridewater Estates are not a million miles from the same management as Greenford or T Harrison Chaplin, the waterside contractors. N

Have a look at the flame through the window in the fridge. If it's sort of orange and sparkly it's likely that a bit of rust from the flame tube has fallen down and bridged the spark gap, then been dislodged when you moved the fridge. In that event, or if it does it again, take the little tin cover off the flame gubbins at the bottom ( 2 small Philips screws), waggle the twisted metal thing in the flame tube enthusiastically ( a small flue brush is better,) then give the flame gubbins a good blow/hoover out. Try not to disturb the spark electrode. Push the button a few times to confirm you are getting a spark. Then refit the tin cover and light it. Your on-off home/away usage is ideal for promoting rust in the flue tube so really a good boogie out once a year is needed. N

The Both position is where you should leave it when cruising. You should switch to 2 when you are moored up. 'Both' ensures that the starter battery is charged and the domestic batteries are charged. On '1' only the starter battery is being charged and on '2' only the domestic battery. Your routine is OK, until the starter battery is more discharged than usual. ( cold morning, forgot the stop pull...) at that point 10 minutes on '1' and then change to '2' will not re-charge it and it will sit all day partly charged. That is damaging. On both' the alternator would re-charge it at he same time as the domestics, no matter how long it needs. N

The 600mm is the overall flue length from the heater to the end of the bit outside. The installation instructions should tell you whether to seal the flue to the heater, and what is suitable if needed. N

Yes, but baths are generally up against a wall on one side and at one end at least so no need for curtains on two sides. If it's side only mounted then the tap is normally in the middle so a U shape works for that. If your bath is free-standing then the bathroom's probably big enough for a separate shower! N

Epifanes yacht varnish. Traditional as a Yeoman Warder and only 9 coats, according to the tin. Le Tonkinois also has a good reputation as a traditional varnish. N

Cos it's off visiting with the condients. N