Bugbugs

Well, it's radiated heat (infra red), which does it, so that's why you use stuff which does not allow this heat transmission, ie you block it with vermiculite, metal & air gap, or any other material which acts as an insulator .... or make sure, depending on the heat you run your stove at - coke, diesel, charcoal or wood are all different outputs, that the distance to stuff which you could ignite through pyrolysis, is fare enough away

It will dry and act as a cement for the mix, even with a little heat or no heat but if you wanted it to be less brittle or actually turn very hard, then make small tiles and bake, grill or fire them in an oven or fire pit. The advantage of tiles, is, that you could make them modular and silicone (high temp gasket stuff would be good in hot spots) but actually most normal stuff will handle what manages to get through.

Thinking about it, you could use the same system, as I did to make the burn chamber of the rocket stove - just get vermiculite granulit (I got a big bag of it for £5 from a garden centre), mix this with firecement (a tub from B&Q) was about £5 and you can build anything (including a burn chamber) .... including, in this case case a board, if that is more of use. I'm a ceramicist in my spare time and built a few kilns, my current one sits in a wooden garden shed ...... which is a bit more susceptible then fiberglass

I would guess, that if you have good airflow at the back of the backerboard, should stop it transmitting any heat to the fiberglass. I've had a rocket stove in action next to a wood wall and found it stayed cool, with a thin metal sheet acting as a deflector and good airflow behind.

If you can access the area through this hatch, then it might be better to just fill the area only with spray foam, as this would reduce the risk of gaps but do it a little at a time, allowing for full expansion of each burst (this would stop a pressure build up).

I bought a whole bunch of mixed sheets from http://www.advancedtechnicalpanels.co.uk/products/buffalo-board-birch-plywood, they did a nice buffalo board that was only a few cm thick. It has the same properties as you'd find in a trailer or lorry bed, has been amazing stuff in my boat for more than a year .I cc the system with winter mud and summer rain, the stuff is still as good as new and easy to mop and still slip proof! Highly recommend!

I did all of this with Tim Carter (boat builder) has all the equipment, moved the boat and did all the jobs the survey showed to need work. Best all in one, so highly recommended. His boat yard is just down by Daventry.

I've had this problem in my job, on average every 3x months and yes, it is easy to remove by taking the pipe off and tapping it ..... smelly and grosss but easy to do or replace the pipe (not as cheap as cleaning the old one.

I just used http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/300-remote-control-led-christmas-lights-warm-white-a06qbwhich eats 32w to light a 72ft narrowboat on both sides £20 - they are 2700 kelvin (which is a very warm candle like light) for kitchen area or reading light found IKEA did a nice usb powered one http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/00321398/

Look at a dog box instead, they are bigger and work better for light, I actually just went for a flat sky light and portholes on the side. Worked well and floods the front with light even on a rainy day.

Hi Z, if you on a budget, then you can mix the ready made fireclay you can buy at B&Q with Perlite (easy to get at a garden supply shop) and make your own high temperature insulation. I use it to make the fire chamber for rocket stoves and it holds well together at upto 1000c.

I have the same issue and have traced it to a corroded side wall (which had just been painted over) with pin sized holes, this looks to have happened from rain erosion near the deck draining point and splashing.

I managed to get a nice bit of info from the BetaMarine web site, which might help people figure recommended engine size - I did a screen shot