Canal Cuttings

The Paloma was drained during the winter; the drain plug was completely removed. Don't ask me how I can be so sure....

We do have a Paloma water heater as well. I'm pretty sure we have searched most places above the floor to find the leak. Following up your tip-offs, we may now have someone to professionally fix it, who already knows our boat from the past!

Suggested this to my wife, but we could not agree on the colour! 🙄 Glad to hear it is a sensible suggestion. I would need to co-ordinate the search though - I'm pretty sure it starts in the water tank and ends up in the back of the cabin bilge, but harder to spot why.

The under-bunk area at the back had obviously been damp for a long time. It was mouldy and about 2cm deep in water. As there were numerous plastic joints in several pipes running under the bunk, above floor level, it suggested that they had been leaking. Now the area is dry (drier...) we can see that the leak does not come from there. I started to work on the plumbing, but the following day found I had seriously damaged my back, and am now reliant on hired hands! I now need a pro to help!

The water pump is in a plastic tray and is definitely not leaking. Not sure of the location of our calorifier - in the engine bilge or cabin? Thanks for the advice.

Hi, After several years successfully operating our 1990s ex-Hire Boat in a consortium, we recently bought it outright. Our first visit of the season to fill the water tank resulted in the whole tank, overnight, emptying into the rear cabin. Having dried out the area and replaced some of the plumbing joints, it appears the water is coming UP from the cabin bilge, from source unknown. We ripped out the sodden carpets and found an access trapdoor that had probably not been opened for decades. The shallow cabin bilge had filled to the top, touched the floor panels and soaked through them. The water is clean. The bilge does not fill with an empty water tank. When the tank is filled, the water pump runs constantly, suggesting water is exiting even though every tap and outlet has been checked. The bilge noticeably fills over a period of 10-20 minutes. With the pump off, we still think the bilge is filling slowly, but cannot be sure. We were under the impression that all our pipes ran above floor level, and the limited central heating consists of pipes running around the skirting, covered by kick panels. We need someone in the area to diagnose and fix the problem. Calcutt Marina themselves are overworked/understaffed at present. The boat is at the junction of the Grand Union and Oxford canals. (Daventry/Rugby/Leamington Spa area). Any advice? (We will later need someone to replace our rear fibreboard floor panels and lay flooring!) Stephen and Alice

I think that t-shirt should read "Dad's don't do things... by halves"? Although my wife just agrees with the shortened version...

DILLIGAF is obviously beyond the pale. Fancy setting off with your side fenders still trailing in the water!

I wonder if they have been selling two differently sourced models under the same name? Another review said " ... and Screwfix themselves answered peoples' questions by saying that it both WOULD and WOULD NOT work with insulated terminals, before concluding: "

From a review of the first crimpers above: From a review of the second pair:

That link is to the mobile site. Try this one for bigger pictures: https://apolloduck.com/boat.phtml?id=519651

This is where we spent part of our honeymoon in Loughlin, Nevada. Never any danger of this one sinking as it was actually a bricks & concrete hotel on the land! We hadn't believed it when we were told to drive for 6 hours across the desert and then look for a hotel that seemed to be a paddle steamer.

The cafe was very good for a cheap meal. The other businesses seem to be hanging on by their fingernails - as the day wore on, more and more doors were opened, but that is hardly a vibrant business model! Last Summer, it all seemed very clean and pleasant but a bit lifeless. We had no problems with rubbish in the cut at all.

MartynG wrote: "It would be so easy to check whether removing the fuel filler cap cures the fault when it develops."

Video here of the magnet fishing. Skip to 4.30 for the relevant part. https://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/news/hertfordshire-news/kings-langley-magnet-fisher-reveals-1526675 I can see why C&RT does not allow magnet fishing. The guy's reaction on finding it was to pull it around, move it about, film and measure it and only then report it. The policeman was trying to make him move away and he is saying that he thinks it is live because of "this bit" - pokes at the base of the shell! I know it has not gone off in 70 years but it is now drying out for the first time...