Mike Adams

Ah I regret selling the Silverlit! I did think of buying back when I passed it ther a few years ago. Now that did have a Ford 6 cylinder that I dragged out of the Gannex Mac Factory in the East End of London. The engines in the White Heather I believe were as follows. Originally fitted with a Robey 2 cylinder semidesel, changed by waterways to Lister FR3 both in the original location. Jason fitted the Ford under the rear deck and when I bought it was shot. Then fitted nice dorman LD3 crane engine (too heavy) and then the toyota which it still has.

I suppose I shouldn't comment on this post but as the seller I have no idea what it is worth as it is a unique craft so I am starting with the insurance valuation. I am more concerned that it goes to a good home rather than ending up as a liveaboard in London so price is not critical. As far as the hull goes there is always the possibility of find a thin bit or bad rivet on a 90 year old boat but on the last survey all readings were 5-6mm bar one which was 4.4. As the hull and superstructure is all steel no water gets into the boat and any that would drains to a single point so internal corrosion is not a problem. After the last survey the boat was blasted, molten zinc sprayed and two packed by debdale; an expensive process but it really lasts. I know the engine is strange but to turn the original propeller it would have needed a heavy engine to give the right torque characteristics but as the engine had already been located under the stern deck this would have led to too much rear draft. The 4litre 6 cylinder engine is indirect combustion, high torque and with a heavy flywheel ticks over slowly and has proved totally reliable over twenty years. If anyone wanted to sacrifice some of the accommodation I am sure it would be great with something like a K2 in it.

Looks like I might just get through backwards in the right place. Thanks for the help.

Just reading up on a possible trip to the middle level and it quotes 2'3" maximum draught at Standground for boats over 36'. That rules it out for me but as the lock is 80' long how does this work? Another source says you need to be careful with positioning the boat in the lock. Middle level quotes 3' generally. Anyone point me to some more detailed information?

Now turned up as a 'cafe' on the Basingstoke Canal in Woking.

Good point. I've taken the sealed unit apart and the contacts are not burned out and the led lights up when the switching voltage is reached but neither of two parallel relays operate. Without a circuit diagram and with surface mount components it's about as far as I can go with it. Just want to avoid it happening again. One of the reasons for connecting it the way I did was to avoid excess current in the relay.

I seem to have blown up my 140A VSR. I started to the engine with the leisure battery isolator off by mistake. I have two alternators with their outputs connected together and connected to the leisure battery bank. The VSR supplies the starter battery. I assumed the VSR would cut in as soon as the alternator voltage rose above the cut in value of 13.3v. Could it be that the alternator voltage went too high and damaged the electronics in the relay control circuit before the relay closed. I don't know what the peak voltage is likely to be or whether the two alternators combined produce some high peaks. It's been Ok for a long time. I know you should connect the VSR supplying the leisure batteries but the leisure batteries were not getting charged at low revs which is most of the time. I suppose I could take a feed from the leisure battery to a relay to prevent the engine being started with the cut off switch open circuit.

Did you have a hull thickness survey? If so how did the surveyor measure the hull thickness with the concrete? Some surveyors are not experienced with iron hulls. You really need to see both sides of the plating if possible. It looks as if the footings have been replaced in steel to me as the frames seem to be cut off. I think you may need to take the boat out of the water, remove the concrete and go around it with a heavy hammer. If you are lucky it might be just a local problem where water accumulates. How much of the hull has concrete in it?

It looks like you have poured concrete in the bottom of the hull. Often used as a last resort. What does your survey say about the hull? I would not try to remove the concrete whilst in the water. There are plenty of yards that can deal with riveted hulls. Don't panic old boats do leak sometimes, it could just be a rivet that needs welding. I am surprised the surveyor didn't notice the concrete in the hull. I am assuming it has a steel bottom and not a wooden one. Other repairs would normally be overplating the damaged section or better still cutting out and rewelding in a new section.

I can only speak as I find. Mine has proved very accurate. With a surveyor you are only buying some kind of insurance. They never do a very thorough job and often don't inspect internally and come with so many disclaimers anyway. Better off doing yourself and if in doubt get a very large hammer.

I've had one for a few years now and it is very good and even works when the boat is in the water. Use plenty of coupling gel. One of the best value gadgets in my opinion.

Most diesel engines when working in their optimum rpm range burn a similar amount of fuel for the hp produced. I find my Isuzu 55 reasonably economical. If you have a slug of wide boat in a shallow canal or small river then anything over about 2mph is going to use a lot of fuel. Remember they are not designed to move except a short distance every 14 days!

I noted a similar article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday although it said 33,000 boats on CaRT waterways of which 24% are permanent homes. The most depressing point however was that boat builders were booming so expect many more of these hideous wide beam caravans in the future blotting the canal landscape and hindering those of us that actually want to go boating. All of the articles I have read never mention the need for an expensive and mostly unobtainable residential mooring.

Identify the position of the failure and eliminate any cracks in head or block. Buy a genuine Isuzu gasket. Check the flatness of the cylinder head and block with a straight edge. Make sure the head and block are perfectly clean(use a plastic scraper) and the bolt holes are clean. Do not use any form of sealant. Check for any stretch in the head bolts. Use an angle gauge to set the stretch on the head bolts when re assembling. Ensure correct orientation of gasket. Determine the cause of the gasket failure(overheating?) to avoid a recurrence. Hope this helps

If the engine runs without the solenoid connected then the solenoid either stops the flow of fuel or pushes the pump control to the off position. If the engine doesn't run without the solenoid activated then the solenoid needs to be energised all the time. There are only two or three components in the circuit. The stop button (either normally open or normally closed), a relay and the solenoid. To test the solenoid disconnect the two black wires from the solenoid on the fuel pump fuel pump. Connect them to a 12v supply, You should be able to hear the solenoid click when power is applied and if the engine is running it should stop. Check for open and short circuit between the wires to the solenoid with a multi meter - you should have a few ohms resistance between the two and high resistance to the casing. Check the voltage across the two wires going to the solenoid both without the solenoid connected and then with it connected. You should have full battery voltage in the first case and a couple of volts less when connected. If this is all fine go back to the two switch connections, with the ignition on you would expect 12v with the switch open and 0v when closed. After that you are looking for a relay(possibly) or a fuse blown or a break in the wiring. Hope this helps

I'm no expert on these things but I've been running one I purchased on ebay for about £50. The change in motor note could be due to fluctuation in supply voltage (when the ceramic heater goes on you could get a voltage drop), or it could be a bad connection or the motor going out but is could also be due to water entering the combustion chamber, turning to steam,increasing the pressure in the combustion chamber and making the fan work harder. If you disconnect the fuel supply from the burner and try listening to the fan running that may give you an indication as to the source of the problem. There are numerous versions of these heaters but most of the mechanical/electrical parts are similar the main variations seem to be with the control circuit board. I had a feeling you could get just an exchange unit from Webasto.

I wonder if they pressure tested the heat exchanger? They can work fine on the bench but if you have an internal leak that may cause all the problems you describe. Have you had to top up the header tank? What sort of corrosion inhibitor is in the system?

I would say it is fine. My Isuzu does that as well as I suspect most engines do. If is smokes on a steady high load, such as on a river, then something is worn or needs adjustment. Remember when you wack the throttle open quickly it overfuels in order to accelerate hence the smoke. 1500hours for an Isuzu is nothing.

Maybe you can 'breast up' with someone, isn't wide down there? Then you would not be breaking the rules on towing. I once picked up a cruiser on the Rhine and the authorities were happy with it being tied alongside but towing another boat was strictly forbidden.

I would walk away from it. With a budget of £50k I would be looking for a fairly new boat in good condition. As has been said earlier unless it is a 'historic narrow boat' or the hull/steelwork is in very good condition it is never worth it. Many inexperienced people don't understand what really constitutes value in a boat. I think these days it is false economy to buy an old boat unless you have lots of free time, experience and skills in the various disciplines relating to boat building. Costs can escalate and poor workmanship will cause you endless grief. You can't really add any value to an old boat especially once you have reached the overplating stage so you really are tearing up money. If I wanted to live on a boat I would go for a new or fairly new one even if it meant borrowing some money. These sort of boats are 'MOT' failures and treated accordingly.

Thanks for the information. I didn't make it clear that I was going to Hudds via the Huddersfield narrow and go back via the Rochdale if I can otherwise back via the narrow or down and around the L and L. Looks like the cill is well above water level but doesn't stick out much anyway. Suppose I can always give it a try.