cuthound

If it turns out that the motor is not working, it may be worth getting Cox Auto Electrics of Atherstone to look at it. https://www.coxautoelectrics.co.uk/marine-leisure A few years ago my bow thruster motor wasn't working. I asked a boatyard to look at it and they declared that it needed a new motor at a cost of about £2k. I removed the motor and took it to Cox's, who charged me £10 to strip it down for a diagnosis (refundable if you give them permission to go ahead with the work). They diagnosed a seized motor from dampness and quoted £380 to refurbish it, including new contactors and brushes.

A friend of mine had a Shotbolt boat which had coal storage under the well deck, which was filled via a hatch in the well deck floor and emptied via a chute through the bulkhead into the saloon, right next to the stove. However this could be a costly adaptation to an existing boat. Probably cheaper to replace the coal stove with a diesel drip one such as a Refleks.

So did I.

When I worked in the critical power and cooling industry the welds on chilled water pipework was tested using magnetic particle inspection, where a penetrating liquid containing magnetic particles is painted over the welds and the pattern of the magnetic particles inspected. A faulty weld stops them from lying parallel to each other. Cheap, effective and widely used to test critical welds in industry.

Or if there is room in the saloon, buy a sofa bed. Sofabed Barn do a good range which are suitable for narrowboats and are comfortable in both modes. https://www.sofabedbarn.co.uk/

They used to say that "the way to a man's heart was through his stomach"...

If your boat doesn't steer in reverse and you haven't got a bow thruster, one technique that can work is to reverse, then when the boat invariably veers off from where you want it to go (top tip, spend more time looking where the bow is rather than just looking where the stern is going), put the boat in forward gear and whilst its momentum is still taking you backwards, steer the front to where you want it.

I didn't know it was on the Canalside Homes webpage until @ditchcrawler put a link up to the site and you tagged me in. Strange given that it hasn't been for sale (and still isn't) since I developed the moorings. It would have been nice if Sheridan had asked permission first, although I note does she acknowledge that it is not for sale at present.

True, but in practice CRT are unlikely to refuse providing it is suitable for the length of the boat. When I bought my canalside property it didn't have a mooring and I didn't want to proceed with the sale unless I could be assured I could develop one. Initially the CRT moorings manager wouldn't accept an application from me because I wasn't the property owner and the property owner didn't want the hassle of applying for one, however a quick email the the director fixed that and allowed me to apply for a mooring with a covering letter from the property owner giving his blessing. Generally CRT will not object to the development of an end of garden mooring unless it is likely to cause an obstruction to the waterway.

She needed fattening up...

This was the first trip I took my wife on. I had intended to do the Four Counties Ring in a week, starting and finishing at Anderton, but by the time we reached Banbridge Junction I realised that it was over ambitious, so turned around and went to Wigan via the Bridgewater instead. A lovely, easy trip to introduce my wife to the delights of the canals.

I thought it referred to the various politicians he chose to use in his avatar... Get well soon Tim, you are sorely missed on this forum.

Diesel is difficult to ignite unless hot enough to begin to vapourse. I recall doing a diesel generator course back in the mid 70's where the instructor demonstrated this by stubbing his lit cigarette out in a dish of diesel.

Yes, sensitive electrical equipment doesn't like being tested at 500 volts. ⚡ If the equipment is sensitive it is usual to just to test the power lead.

I expect that most large companies would be OK with you recharging your battery pack, provided you agreed to it having regular, successful Portable Appliance Tests.

Don't you just hate it when you have an argument with yourself and lose? 😂

I hope he seeks medical attention if he develops flu like symptoms. It could be Weil's disease...

I found one coat of of the stain sufficient. The UV protection comes from the 2 coats of Cetol Filter 7, the future maintenance is a quick rub over with a Scotchguard pad and another coat of Filter 7. My iroko garden gates came treated with Osmo oil. Despite following the instructions to the letter and recoating every year, they failed catastrophically after 3 years, following g a particularly damp winter.. I stripped it all off and used Sikkens 5 years ago and haven't had to re-treat them since.

It is possible to use an air fryer and/or microwave oven to cook most things if there are only 2 of you on board, however unless the boat has a large battery system designed to support such appliances, then it is wise to run the engine whilst using them. It is not practical to run the engine to support a conventional electric oven to cook for example a Sunday roast, unless you can combine it with cruising and the when it is cooked, stopping to eat it.

The external wood on my boat was originally oiled. It looked awful, because it hadn't been maintained. I removed it and used Le Tonkinous, which was OK bit needed doing every two years. Then I found that 1 coat of Sikkens Cetol HLS stain, followed by 2 coats of Sikkens Cetol Filter 7 Plus lasts at least 5 years. Not cheap but looks good and lasts much longer.