Dream On

For your information, the NB BEARLY AFLOAT has been sold. At the price of 2 900 euros, to which must be added 11% of taxes. It is a priori a French who acquired it. I hope it's to restore it. https://dreamonnarrowboat.blogspot.com/2019/05/le-nb-bearly-afloat-est-vendu.html

Thank you for your comments about my blog :) It is the NB Bearly Afloat is abandoned. The NB Dream On is fine, Thanks If you have some information about other NB abandoned in France, do not hesitate to communicate them to me. Thank you.

Yes, you're right : "shoe" is a better translation, a wooden shoe

Yes, there are still Berrichons sailing like the "Blue Berry" and "Le Soleil" (it is in Paris and there are pictures of it on my blog) but they are rare ... Belgium also has this kind of boats: les "Baquets de Charleroi" (bucket of Charleroi), also called "sabot" (hoof ?) ...

Yes, dear Tam, I remember and I agree with you about mooring narrowboats in the big locks. Mooring forward and back is necessary in these locks and you need a good sailor in front of the boat to secure it. My best regards, Laurent

Please excuse my English and my misunderstanding if I make mistakes in interpretation. Of course, narrow boat are typical British boats but I think they also have their place on the French canals like Briair, Burgundy, Nivernais, Midi. This boat model is ideal for channels, not just for English channels. There were French boats with equivalent dimensions and different aspects ("fûte of the berry" or Berrichon, "flûte of the Ourcq") but there is not enough to see them on the water. I am not judgmental or opinionful about abandoning the boat. Perhaps the disease (or worse) kept the owner away. This poor boat is perhaps the visible face of another misfortune, even more serious ...

Yes, it's true that this can be the name of the old owners. The boat may have been bought by French, difficult to know because it has not been re-registered. I am a bit far to go to see (300 km) but I have a French reader of the blog (he informed me about this boat), will take pictures in about ten days ... I'm afraid it's a long adventure if the owners do not come back. The town hall can not sell the boat itself: Bearly Afloat is on municipal land but it does not own the boat. Also, Mr Cougot can not help much, just inform and wait. After 6 months of the notice of abandonment, the Court will seize the boat and put it on auction if it is still salable. If no one buys it, it will be destroyed. Apart from finding the owners, it's hard to do a few things now ... For those who want to buy it, they have a little time: they have until May 2018 to save money and prepare for a difficult adventure

Yes, you are right about Mr. Cognot : he is the deputy mayor and the police officer of the city. The boat is likely to be auctioned. About the Blackmore family, I don't know... The front window of the boat is closed by a wooden plate and I think it is often visited by young people from the area. And thanks for my great photos

Hello, A small message to report you a narrowboat abandoned in France: it is the Bearly Afloat. A "trad" that seems abandoned to Saint Satur in the Cher. The town hall has filed a notice of abandonment on November 15, 2017. The boat will be sold or destroyed on May 15, 2018 if the owner does nothing. Registration is not visible. Only the name of the boat "Bearly Afloat" and the names of the owners, or former owners, Danny & Sue Blackmore " are still visible. If you know them, send the message. Photo and notice of abandonment on my blog. There is an option at the bottom right of the page to translate the text. Best regards from France Laurent

Thank you very much for your help. My narrowboat is normal, with dry exhaust But my English is poor and I do not always have the right technical vocabulary. This morning, I found the water pump in the front of the engine, powered by a belt. Everything is normal ! And I understand and I know the engine better. My best regards, Lau

You are right: it is the same manual for the engine with heat exchange or keel-cooled. Indeed, the manual talks about the tension of the belt of the alternator driving the pump. Nothing more. So much better I learn thanks to you

Thank you very much for your answer. I'll look tomorrow morning where this pump is ... Could you confirm that there is no maintenance outside the belt monitoring? No impeller to change for example ?

I'm starting to try to do the maintenance of my boat myself: oil, filter, that's well understood. Now, I ask myself beginner questions about water pump ! My NB is equipped with a Beta Marine 43 Greenline, a RPM1500 and a keelcooling. There is no heat exchanger. However, I had some questions about the cooling system: is there a pump that takes water to keelcooling? Where is it ? I have not seen anything like this on the maintenance manual. It is only about the version with the heat exchanger ... My best regards,

Absolutely. There is a lot to learn about a boat. The engine was not my priority because the Dream On did not move much. I was doing the annual maintenance by a company but now I would like to do it myself. It is better for everything: know how, know the boat and the financial aspect too

You're right, Peter, I never did it myself. Usually, the mechanic did it but this year I would like to do it myself. I regret a bit to have not better look his work For the cooling water, he had not changed it.

Thank you very much to all of you for your answers. I think I found the drain cock on the right side of my engine. I think it is in red on the picture: Besides, if anyone knows what the part with the blue arrow can be? My best regards, Lau

Hy! I would empty and fill the keel cooling tank. Despite my research, I can not find a drain screw. How do you empty yours? Without putting water everywhere The manual states that there are 9.5 liters of cooling water in the engine, but how many in the keel cooling? The dream On is a narrowboat, equipped with a Beta Marine 43 Green line. Thanks and my best regards, Lau

Thank you for your comments and clarifications. I'm a little surprised at the temperature limit, 90 ° C. Indeed, on canals, the temperature of my engine (Beta Marine 43 Hp) is 80-85 ° C. On rivers, it often amounts to 85-90, sometimes 95 ° C depending on the number of engine revolutions. Moreover, I am always amazed at the design of the engine compartment of the narrowboat: no ventilation, sealing ... Something is missing: air to cool the engine compartment! Even the air filter of the engine must be hot ! I thought about drilling for air intakes. Someone has already done? When I'm sailing, the immersion heater is off. Is it does not cut the safety of 90 ° C ?

Let me tell you the problem I had with the hot water on my narrowboat. Undoubtedly, many people know the answer, but maybe newbies, like me, will have difficulties. Despite my research on the forum, I have not found. Perhaps because I have trouble reading English when words are too technical. And my owner's manual, yet documented, do not talk about this problem. Besides, I've realized that I do not have the user manual for my immersion heater (built by Thermtec Ldt). Therefore: After several weeks of sailing, we went back to our usual mooring place. A few days after our return, we had no hot water. We never had this problem before. The hot water is produced by the engine or by an "immersion heater". Upon arrival, as soon as we plugged into the electrical network, I turn on the immersion heater with a hidden switch under the rear stairs. But this time, although the switch was turned on, the water is not heated. After several days of research, I removed the wood panels to access the calorifier. On top of the calorifier, there is the head of the immersion heater. It is protected by a white plastic cover. Once the cover removed, I found two small blocks: one (n°2 on picture) adjusts the temperature of the hot water. The other(n°1 on picture) has a small button "reset". I pressed this button, there was a small "click" and a few minutes later, we had hot water again Well, if it can help someone ...

Thank you all for your advice. Color charts were a good idea and the conclusion is that it is a green donegal. The color of the boat is a little faded but it is donegal green. The idea of ​​the RAL / BS charts is also excellent but I keep it for when I will complete painting the boat. There, it was just to repair some scratches

Thank you very much for your response. Yes, I used google to try to find the right reference. I printed the first color but green is too bright and the second is too dark. Paint cans are quite expensive, I'd rather have good reference before ordering.

Hello, My narrowboat, Dream On, was built by Liverpool Boat Company Ldt in 2002. I bought it in November 2013. It is green. After a hundred locks past, I have some paint touch-ups to do. But I do not know the references to the color of my boat. The owner's manual states: - Gloss: International air drying gloss finish full International Toplac marine gloss enamel But I can not find the reference of this green in the documents of the boat. Is there a reference somewhere on board? One way to find the right color? Thank you in advance,

Nice poem, it's true. I had fun reading your answers and I was a little surprised by all. A little surprised because I wear hats, caps or hats for years, like many people who work outdoors. I do not see the cap as a luxury or fashion item but as a protection against the rain or sun. Obviously, I will not buy an admiral white cap or a Soviet hat . However, I thank those who recommended me some models. I just thought that the British sailors and navigators had their French counterparts as a traditional hat. For sailors and fishermen french, this is the model: Driving a boat British construction, I find it nice to wear a cap that would remind it. Rather than choosing a cowboy hat or "addidas" cap. But if there is no traditional model, it solves the problem

Camembert & Crackers !!!!! Traditionally, narrowboaters wore what kind of cap or hat? I do not think Aldi or Lidle existed in the last century

bag of fish & chip! what a great idea! I do not have it here ... but I think with the box of Camembert, it must be good also I'll take a look to find Professer Bizzard Thanks