Mike Adams

You will be fine. I went around the Paddington Arm with 8'6" air draught and drawing 4'6".

I installed my system using Speedfit some months ago, using a central backbone under the floor with tees up to the radiators in copper because of tight bends and tidyness when pipes are in view. Speedfit is much quicker but I did have to allow for expansion of the pipes and used expansion sleeves which I think made it more time consuming. I have easy access to all the joints so I am hoping it will work out over time. In retropect I wished I had used copper throughout as when it gets up to full temperature the plastic becomes quite soft and if you had an overheat I am not sure what would happen. I used 22mm rubber hose from the engine room webasto to the underfloor pipes. I didn't consider just using automotive water hose for the main system but in hindsight that could be a good option if you hava an awkward route. Not exposed to sunlight it would last a good many years.

If they are the very heavy ones like they use on pavements I would break them into two or three pieces first by hitting with a large hammer, mark them so they can fit back together - stops you getting an injury trying to lift them.

I've got some glulam beams in my house but they are just softwood. I dont think they would last more than a few weeks under water. If you don't want a steel bottom why not laminate say a 40mm thick GRP plate and bolt it on to the bottom -you could do it in sections and laminate them together.

I had some experience of a composite boat in the 1990's. My understanding was that during the working life of these boats the bottoms would wear out and need to be replaced depending on the usage and it was easier for a canal boatyard to do this where no shipyard facilities were available. I guess when they were working nobody cared much about a bit of a leak as you would always have some rainwater in the bottom. Much the same for all of us that had wooden cruising boats - some water was inevitable in the bilge. In my case the boat had been re-bottomed with poor quality elm and in places it always leaked a bit and with a replaced softwood keelson it had a very limited life. the boat was fully converted with inaccessible floors so it was very difficult to see what was going on below the floor. Also and inexperienced helm misjudging a lock could easily cause a leak. The bottom was eventually replaced by steel. The lifetime of the bottom in this case was about 15 years. I am sure that using tropical hardwoods results in a much better performance and a longer life and I might be tempted to buy a unconverted boat with that construction and keep its historic status. I can't see that it would be a good investment for anyone wanting a converted boat.

Thanks Dreamer. I thought I had a complete manual but I didn't have that page for some reason that gives the base engine types. I've bought the engine now and it looks as new with 110 hours on it. Always nice to have a spare lump then you are bound not to need it! Going on along cruise this year so it maybe gives a bit of piece of mind as all I need it a bit of solid bank to swap over an engine.

Great! I have found a 4LE1 on ebay which I will try to get. Thanks again.

I have an Isuzu 55Hp engine marinised by HMI. The only indication of its type is on the engine label which indicates type 4L. There are two Isuzu engines the 4LE1 and the 4LE2 which share the same bore and stroke but one is much lighter and smaller than the other(4LE2 is smaller). I can't find any indication of the type on the actual engine. I am looking to pick up an industrial engine complete to keep as an exchange unit should mine fail so I need to know which one is the base engine. Thanks

I think that this could make a very good project for someone. At least you know it is never going to rot away. If most of the top is GRP then it could be quite an easy job and not too expensive. A much better prospect than an old steel boat if it is as thick as stated in the survey.

I suggest they start in London. How many boats are moored on the outside of a bend? I guess at least a couple of hundred all the time and often double banked.

That's how mine is wired and it works!

With a conventional drive when the prop is overloaded or fouled, provided the gearbox is not slipping, the engine will not speed up and you will get black smoke but in a hydraulic drive excess loading on the pump could open the relief valve allowing the engine to rev and cutting power to the prop , as you slow down the relief vave will close again and you will get back some drive. I am not sure why this would cause the filter to blow abut it depends on the set up and how the filter is positioned in the hydraulic circuit. If the PRV is set too low this would happen but if set too high and the propeller hits something you may cause damage to the system or burst a pipe.

I have an Isuzu 55 and so far it has been without problems. My understanding that it is based on either the isuzu 4LE1 or 4LE2 engine, the 4LE2 being slightly smaller. There also seems to be some confusion as to direct or indirect injection. I was thinking of picking up an industrial engine, that are available at a reasonable price, as a spare just in case. Does anyone know if all the marinisations were of one type and what to look for?

Have you looked at 'The other sixty miles' by Richard Chester Brown, published in 1981 by the BCNS. It has a lot of sketch maps with intechange basins shown?

I would like to see this film as my tug 'White Heather'' was owned by BTW/BW during that period and worked on that stretch.

I'm not sure what the underwater profile of this boat is but with my tug with a round bilge, centre wheelhouse, and deep draft a completely different strategy is required to that with a narrowboat. Unless the water is very deep I always come to a slow stop well away from the bank, turn in at 45 degrees and bring the bow into the bank and just as you are about to hit the bank give the stern a nudge with the engine just to bring the stern in a bit If you are going too fast and try to stop the boat by going astern near the bank with such a powerful engine it will just push it away again before you have got out of the wheelhouse grabbed a line etc. If you have a crew let them jump off at the bow with a line but not hold the bow and get them to come to the centre/stern for a line. They can pick up the bow line later after you have got ashore. On canals I never expect to get right into the bank so it is a bonus when you do. Nice boat but like mine there is a lot of clambering in and out of the wheelhouse if you are short-handed.

The temperature sensor is on the ECU circuit board and is held against the burner housing by a spring clip and screw. There seems to be two devices used, one having two pins and another 3. Can't see any numbers on them. One could be the sensor and the other a cut out

I suppose if you know how much fuel you are using and its calorific value you can work it out from that. I think 5Hp would be the minumum because you have friction losses, alternator, water pump etc and the engine is not running at its most efficient.

I assume diesels are about 50% efficient so an engine producing 10Hp will also give out 10Hp or about 7Kw of heat energy. The thermostat will keep a modern engine at the correct temperature unless the flow though the calorifier coil is excessive and that can be controlled by an orrifice/valve. But as been said above it is the temperature difference that is important and I don't think having a two stage process ie into the calorifier and back out through the 2nd coil would give enough temperature difference to get the rads hot.

I shall be fitting some radiators (6 small ones) in the boat and thinking of changing to a dual heating coil calorifier to get hot water from the webasto. One heating from the engine, one from the webasto. Standard stuff using a webasto diesel heater with its own self contained circuit. It would be nice to get some free heat from the engine while moving. Has anyone extracted heat from the calorifer via the calorifer coil to feed the rads while the engine is heating it via the other coil? Otherwise I am thinking of puting another heat exchanger in the water outlet from the engine before it goes to the skin tank. Also what size header tank would be needed for the webasto? Thanks

I would suggest that before you do anything I would buy a cheap £50 chinese ultrasonic thickness tester from ebay. I have found they work well enough when the boat is in the water so clean up some small patches first and check the thickess is good enough say 4mm+. In the past I have brushed off the loose rust, soaked in fertan,washed off and dried followed by a couple of coats of red oxide and then covered with a thick coat of "barge grease". If it is pitted you will never get all the rust off without blasting but the grease keeps the oxygen away so prevents further corrosion.

I can confirm John was around last summer when I met him to discuss 'Frodsham' a replica tug he built in 1987 am I am currently renovating.

If they can find out the previous insurers of the boat sometimes they will take it on provided the last survey was not too long ago. Get at least 3rd party for the time being. It seems that most insurance companies are reluctant to take on old boats now. I know mine will not take on new clients but are happy to continue to insure me for the moment. It is becoming a big problem for some historic boat owners and many surveyors won't touch them. The costs of slipping a barge and a survey in the UK every few years probably doubles the cost of the insurance.

I think this but others will know more 1. Yes - only the one in the circuit 2. Not if they are properly fixed 3.If one fails does not effect the others and different pressure/temp requirements - engine is pressurised, back boiler vented to air? 4.Not a good Idea 5. Better to have back boiler vented to outside air pressure maybe a failsafe PRV in my opinion with a high header tank. 6. You don't seem to have any way of controlling the pump and it will act as its own one way valve. Depending on the pump. I don't think thermo -syphon will work on its own unless you are very lucky and if you use a small circulating pump you can use smaller bore pipe. you might well need a circulation pump on the boiler primary as well. All depends on the physical layout.