Tony Brooks

Personally, I would prefer a larger one and would not like plastic pipe just hose clipped to plain metal pipe. Too likely to blow off when the system is under pressure. This may be why you seem to have no pressure cap and why it seems to have a 72C thermostat fitted. A newer engine is likely t be expected to run pressurised. If your present engine does not have a pressure cap on it, then what you have is simply an air vent, so volume is not important (assuming the tank is higher than the engine filler point). Assuming this is not a direct raw water cooled engine coupled to a skin tank.

For the majority of canals, only a tunnel lamp is mandatory. Different after dark on some rivers and the northern canals (possibly)

No, not different things, but I doubt yours are the size and placed to accord with the SOLAS regulations. To do that is hard on a narrowboat and requires masts and things for the steaming light.

Personally, I found our 35ft wide beams cruisers on the Thames with wheel steering, provided sufficient feed back provided they had Morse single cable steering. The mechanical systems were less so and the few hydraulic ones I have driven even worse. We did mark a wheel spoke to indicate the straight ahead position.

All I can say is either we are not being told the whole story or it was a very cheap job. I did better than that on the towpath, at least I rubbed it down to a smooth finish and dealt with the rust before repainting. This type of thing is why I am convinced DIY is the best way for canal boaters.

Unless you have a shunted battery monitor then the negative goes to the boat side of the shunt, on no account fit to it the battery sdie or the monitor will not see the solar charge, get confused, and tell even bigger lies than usual.

Sorry, a very bad move. In general, you should connect the controllers to the batteries FIRST so it can decide if it's a 12V or 24V system. Disconnect it form the panels and leave disconnected to a for a day or so. Then connect to the batteries and finally the panels. Don't get too hung up over the absorption voltage, in all probability it will all work as you expect out of the box.

Presumably there is some gap between your boat and those moored either side/the pontoon. If so I would imagine getting it as far out as is reasonable and then polling the stern to one side and moving back again and repeating would get you out. Maybe have a pole waver at the front as well so you can spin it i its own length.

In that case, I bet the old pump had severely reduced output - crud in its valves.

Has anyone mentioned third party insurance, required to get a licence and probably a condition of mooring

And If they are as worried and find life that difficult it may well be that in a humane society that looks after individuals, rather than pressure groups, they would be allowed to get the pills so, at their choice of time, could slip away peacefully. I know that my only sensible choice will probably be to commit suicide, but in doing so would be likely to traumatise a number of innocent people and that is despite the latest care and medical "improvements".

I find your posts well reasoned, but can be a bit difficult to grasp at first reading. Keep it up, especially in the face of commercial interests.

Sounds like a survey for the OP to me and would be very similar for a number of boats. Seems to be no attempt to qualify the extent of any pitting or distinguish between best practice and BSS requirements. 1. You can say the same for probably over half the boats on the system, without original plate thickness and depth of worst pits it is close to bullshine. 2. Probably true, but how has the surveyor measured the pits under the strakes? You could say this about nearly all the budget hulls on the system yet they are not sinking left right and centre. However, I would certainly want to srt it on any submerged strakes. 3. All probably true, but unless the gas tank floor is perforated (again no measurements) it's just best practice, not a BSS or legal requirement. 4. Apart from the un-dimensioned pitting in the hull by the galley sink drain again just not best practice and not a BSS fail. And so on - it's a typical surveyor's arse covering survey designed to give scope for the purchaser to negotiate a price reduction. I note the OP has not given us a price so we can't assess if it is reasonable or not. I agree it would be expensive to do all that work, but question how much actually needs doing. If a purchaser brought that lot to me asking for a price reduction to cover all the work, they would get a very sharp Foxtrot Oscar, especially if I had already discounted the price a bit. After all It's a 30-year-old boat, not a 5 year old Hudson!

And with a careful bit of spending planning could ensure they do not have to pay for social care if they need it. The main reason we have savings is to ensure we can pay for major repairs to the house now we have little income, and the only reason we have a house is because we could not get onto a council house list.

I think it might be an E clip. Screwfix/Toolstation do/did sell selection boxes as I suspect Halfords might.