rustynewbery

Well spotted?

Good point and thanks!

This is more pertinent:

I would concur with Dr. Bob. My junction box is very much the same and you don't need the half of what is in there. Do you have a wiring diagram? I can let you have a copy if you want to PM me. The circuitry includes for other external equipment found in trucks/buses/trains etc. You can even bin the relay as it doesn't do anything! Wiggle the fuses around in the holder and check the red one [main] for continuity. One other thing I see from the picture of the unit, you should have a flexi hose connected to the air inlet to draw cooler air away from the exhaust which reaches >200 deg C. I didn't and it cooked the ECU[Brain] at a cost of £300!

Statistics, Lies and damn lies I tell you!! Let's look at the Stratford: Discounting River lock 56 as it has a raft of trip boat movements from Bancroft Basin, 2241 at Wilmcote top then 2015 at Maidenhead Road - oops we've lost 226! OK so there was a hire base between the two but that was closed in early June. Onward to the Oxford: 3467 at Roundham then 3340 at Dukes - another lost 127? Onward to Isis 3649? Pull the other leg, that's 309 missing movements. The figures don't stack up. Especially at Hillmorton where it was claimed 9,000 movements this year before being trimmed back to 8362. You couldn't make it up - correction - CRT have

Can't vouch for facilities but when the river is in flood, the pontoons are under water and you need wellies to get to your boat

Is there a bleed screw on the unit- like an Eberspacher - though as MrS says not long enough. Also try bleeding all rads

I brought this subject up at a number of CRT meetings and in emails. The whole problem goes back to BW days and the number of non-cc boats have reached the point where CRT cannot realistically do anything. My suggestion was to at least charge these people a mooring fee so at least there is some sort of level playing field. Where there is genuine hardship, there are ways of getting financial assistance through universal credit and other allowances. But to just let these people get away with paying diddly squat is what I'm sure gets up the rest of us who do pay handsomely for the privilege of boating past these boats. The bylaws are being totally ignored by CRT and that is why we have the travesty of wide beam boats travelling between Braunston and Hillmorton - but that's another story. I wonder how supportive of these unlawfully moored boaters Ms Donelan would be if they were all moored at the bottom of her garden with frame gennies running all hours, nefarious stuff being burnt in solid fuel stoves and detritus all over the towpath?

Wait and see the number of applications from those who "have to stay here so my children can go to school" or "my job is nearby". It's not the thin end of a wedge, more like CRT shoving a Grand Union balance bean through the cruising rules. Another scenario to watch as the year unfolds

And I do hope that the boat wasting a bollard is a less abled sort. It looks very much like a shiny boat owner who won't share a wide lock with anyone but I can't see the index number or name. Perhaps Ray T can supply? And I wonder how long it has/will be there. Send me a msg if you can I've experience all the malfunctions from boaters mentioned back in the thread and have been "at it" since 1976. Back in the day when hiring/shared owning, planning was a must because lugging large quantities of provisions from towns is a drag. And when you hope to tie up somewhere like Rugby for Tesco, there's no mooring spaces except the 15-25ft gaps between vessels. Best one was in Cropredy when a boat was sitting in the lock waiting for the Tesco van to deliver, damn anyone else. He warn't there for long after words were exchanged [unprintable but you get the picture! Like others, I am only too willing to help newbies learn and there's always an abundance of willing crew, unlike the norm these days when people just wait with their boat and not offer to help or my favourite, bob in the middle of the cut just outside the lock - in my way. Doh

For small area heavy ballast try some railway rail cut off's got 3 bits in my fold up bed locker, did the trick! But don't use southern's '3rd' rail it bites DC?

That is electrical activity caused by galvanic action between the steel hull and anything else in proximity having a different voltage which causes current to flow between them. And not having had any protection in the form of blacking has made the matter worse. The boat probably has no protection in the form of an isolation transformer or galvanic isolator and it is pure neglect. Blacking every 2 years at around £800 a time [more varied prices are available!] would have saved £000's in over plating. Its not confined to marinas, but anywhere there are steel pilings or other boats. I measured the voltage between my boat and piling years ago and used an earth bonding strap to ensure no current flow. [a battery charging cable is a good source]. There was a potential difference between boat and piling which in turn allowed a current to flow. Another issue with the above boat is the lack of sacrificial anodes. Typically builders will put 2 each side, on the bow flares and swim but I was told that anodes must "see" each other to be effective and therefore additional ones are needed amidships. This becomes a problem too as they can be knocked off in bridge 'oles and lock sides. Finally, if the steel was not shot blasted to remove the mill scale ever present on steel, most blacking stands little chance of adhesion and it falls off - it happened to my boat after only 18 months and I had it done & coated with Zinga and 2 layers of 2-pack. Now I use a marina for winters, I fitted a "Safeshore" galvanic isolator. https://shop.pkys.com/What-is-a-galvanic-isolator-and-why-should-my-shore-power-system-have-one_b_112.html

Take a look at http://www.keelblack.co.uk/ There have been mixed reactions about it's efficacy but I have used it over 2-pack/Zinga coating and found it OK. It is very easy to apply and a 5L can will cover a 70ft narrowboat. It does have a shelf life of 6months but is is great for re-blacking above the water line. Fertan is an excellent rust killer and I know of one guy that regularly just uses the stuff to black his boat entirely [at Hatton dry dock - but no cover!] But you'd need more for multiple coats!

Considering that Lower Heyford still has no decent signal coverage on EE/BT and SFA Vodafone unless you do a dance on the railway bridge, I wouldn't hold out on 5g being readily available on the inland waterways except cities

Another option would be to set up a shared ownership scheme? That way the boat would get good use and an income for you to afford to put it somewhere safe when not in use.

Option 1. It will have lost value for sure but depends on who was the builder and who did the fit out. As Alan says, your best bet is to sell and invest the proceeds for when you are able to or wish to go boating. I presume you've been out on your late father's boat?

It's a long stretch between those 2 bridges and 77A is the M45

Maybe one of those wide beams that aren't supposed to be on the north Oxford is out and about. Please note I don't have an issue with wide beams per se but on this part of the network??

I've heard of Ashley Banjo, any help?

AB Tuckey has a good reputation but is midlands based thus may cost more than d'arn south. You need the crane of course so it won't be cheap. Info in Towpath Talk [you can get online]

Came back tut boat a few days ago and the Eber was t*ts up again. Quickly traced to a corroded fuse in the control box. Jiggled it and up she sparked. Then finally did what I should have done 16 years ago and replaced it with a modern car type spade fitting fuse with nice holder. In the process, removed about 70% redundant wiring in said box as it was to power remote fans and other stuff usually fitted to trucks & trains. So far...………. 1968-9 and 70-71. Rank of AC plonk and SAC respectively [Just a bit off topic, sorry Mods]