Tony Brooks

GRP and steel cruisers boats may well have the whole hull painted in what you call enamel, but steel canal boats rarely. If the finish is smooth, hard, and won't soften when rubbed with a rag soaked in white spirit, it may be two-pack blacking. Can you talk to the previous owner or ask the yard that "painted" it what they used.

I realised last night that I had not seen a fuel filter on this engine, there is one, but it is disconnected. Unless there is one hidden away somewhere, it is not sensible running a diesel with no fuel filter. Injection pump wear or blocking tends to be expensive. Sorry to keep going on, but having looked at the OPs other topics and thinking about the no-show engineer. I wonder if he did show up, walked past the boat and assessed the amount of work probably needed and his chances of getting fully paid in a timely manner. If the boat is known in the area, or if the above is what happened, it suggests that there is a good chance no paid help will want to get involved.

If it is only advice that he wants and IF a mutually convenient time could be arranged, I would visit the boat for an hour or so, but I fear he may expect ongoing work to be done and keep coming back for more "advice". I would also need close by parking. In the end, it could still all go wrong for him, and I don't want to be the one he blames. However, looking at the cooker thread, I am far from sure what good just advice would be to him. I think that we need to know exact;y who made the boat, so some external photos would help identify it. I have just checked his posts and the OP was asking about using plastic in sliding windows. The question about who actually made the boat came up in that one and I don't think we ever got photos or a definite answer. There was a very strong hint it was the Broads based company but not confirmed. The way the calorifier seems to be beside the engine box suggest it may be a wide beam, so probably the Broads builder, and if so that 2000 date may well be correct with the implications for RCD/RCR compliance. Once a half decent professional involved, the costs could rocket if they work to the RCR.

I know it melts bitumen, so you end up with black patches in the paint. I think the OP should tell us what hull blacking he has or if it is a GRP boat.

Absolutely, and the Waeco I replaced mine with was better - even if it did not have a proper external case.

Well, if those photos are anything to go by, that raises questions. Have you secured your Bat1, bat2, both, off master switch and have you fitted the cable that seems to have been removed from the third stud connection? That switch says that you have a domestic battery bank, I can't see one, and when you move aboard you will almost certainly need one - you can't start an XLD with a starting handle. Is the electric fuel pump now properly secured? The BSS demands that it be secured with a very limited degree of movement. Then there is the white three core cable that looks like solid strand domestic house cable, with a thinner red wire connected to it by a check block. Mixing mains and domestic colour coding is rank bad practice and if it is solid core that is another no-no. It could even be a BSS fail. All cables should be multi-strand with a minimum of (I think) 20 strands, although older 14 strand cable will probably do unless it really is a 2000 boat and thus likely to be subject to the RCD/RCR. Also, I can't see a fed cable for the glow plugs, I am not saying it is not there, but if it isn't you may have problems starting it in really cold weather. I suggest that you take the 2000 date with a pinch of salt and assume it is pre-RCR, so you only need to meet the BSS. You can download the BSS guide from the Boat Safety Scheme website. Read and digest it because it will help ensure any work you do will pass the BSS inspection.

If the blacking is bitumen than a de-greaser may not be the best solution. It may well soften or remove such blacking.

My thoughts exactly, but I wanted to let him down gently. There are way too many actual and potential problems for me to get involved.

I Concur, it is a Ford XLD, but I don't think it is direct raw water cooled. It has a heat exchanger so is probably indirect raw water cooled. That is with an antifreeze mixture running around the engine to cool it, that is in turn cooled by canal water passing through the brass pump and through the heat exchanger. Looking at the BSS problems (master switch hanging off, electric lift pump hanging free and so on, I fear Garethh may well be looking at a bill for several thousand pounds. This boat MIGHT be a good buy for someone with the skills and time to sort it out. It needs far more than an engine service and a new fuel tank. I am sorry but this does not seem to be a boat Garethh should have bought unless he has lots of time and money to get it put right. It could end up costing more than it is worth. I think this will be far too time consuming for me to offer help. I suspect the boat may be well known in the local area and that is why the OP can't get anyone to show interest. When, rather than if, the cam belt snaps it is most likely to wreck the engine, so that is another load of potential expense. Changing cam belts is not as simple a changing an alternator belt and if you get it wrong its a wrecked engine, but for safety it needs changing sooner rather than later. Then one can track the hours used. Sorry, but that is the way it looks to me.

I would not be surprised if the fuel leak back is being sent back to the original tank. When that gets full, the fun will start. Luckily, if it is a BMC then the return volume is far smaller than the modern self bleeding systems. Unless it is leaking or there is proof it is rust in the tank, I would say a very bad case of bug is more likely. The first thing I would advise the OP to do is to pump whatever is in the bottom of the fuel tank out. Being a GRP I expect the tank will have an inspection hatch or a low drain point. Then once we get photos of what he has pumped out we may be able to advise further. If it has a water trap between the old tank and engine, the contents of that would be informative as well. As someone said, the pickup pipe in the tank should not reach the bottom and rust flakes tends to stay on the bottom of the tank. That is not to say it is not a split pick up pipe or a blocked gauze on the pickup pipe inside the tank, so investigation s required. The tank situation needs sorting before anything else. As described, it can't be BSS compliant and any insurance may not be valid because of the non BSS compliance.

I think that is what everyone is telling the OP, except if it is not a leaking pipe or pipe union he will need to look at other possibilities.

Don't know why I am bothering to reply after yesterday's outburst, but it might help if you tell us what engine you what serviced. I have been known to travel up to about 20 miles from Reading to help other boaters FOC, but it would be on the basis that you did the service and I supervise. Can't help with the tank, but unless it has rusted through wonder why it needs a new one.

That is until the Elsan point you have travelled to is closed or blocked. Personally, I don't begrudge £20 once every two or three weeks for the convenience of not being limited with very limited storage capacity or the need to find space for spare cassettes. I was more than happy to DIY my pump outs because that way I knew it was properly pumped out and rinsed - that is DIY at a proper pump out machine. I have never had a problem finding a pump out when needed.

Lee, for information, Nick's photo is for an engine equipped for self bleeding, yours may not have the two small pipes running up vertically from the injector pumps' bleed screws.

On no account take the actual heads off but take the two rocker covers off so you can run the engine and check for fuel leaks close to the injectors that are below the rocker covers. I think that on a two cylinder it is just one side cover.

Possibly, but more likely a broken or loose internal fuel pipe. All those engines have the fuel lines inside the engine. It has been known for the bleed screws on the internal injection pumps to come loose.

Not sure where we are in the topic, but the OP gave no confidence that he would.

Do you mean wood screws, self tappers, or machine screws? My windows passed through the steel cabin side and screwed into the wooden cabin side framing. I replaced them with stainless steel raised head self-tapping screws that will hold in decent wood. I also grease them as I fitted them.

I notice the kit includes two end feed fittings, so unless you braze/silver solder them, they should cause a BSS fail.

anyone know if the digital TVs we have nowadays use local oscillators. I suspect they do not, and the only source of similar interference might be the computer "clock" or the inverter if the back lighting is flourecent.

Another comment about the connection to the copper pipe. There is no visible sign of anything being provided to stop the hose pulling off the pipe, such as an olive on the pipe or, better still, a proper hose tail. It also looks as if the hose clip may be too large, so a potential gas leak point. FWIW I think the brass fitting on the stove is half the bayonet fitting that allows the PROPER gas hose to be disconnected. Makes me wonder what the OP's electrical work is like.