NB Alnwick

According to BW there are over 29,000 boats on their waterways - not sure if this means all narrowboats but most rivercraft will be on EA waterways etc and there will be a lot of narrowboats not registered with BW so seeing 300 odd advertised for sale (about 1%) is not really that significant. When we were looking for a boat last year we found 'Apollo Duck' and 'Boats & Outboards' extremely useful but even so we only found three or four that we were really interested in - one of them was 'Hector' and we came to see it at Brinklow about 18 months ago. A really nice boat . . .

We've found it easier to use old corduroy rags - usually torn up from old trousers- and ring them out into a bucket which can be emptied in the hedge away from the canal. If you clean up regularly (in a trad engine room you can do it every day) and then wash out the rags in soapy water and dry them in the engine room, they will be ready for re-use next time. It works for us . . .

I agree with everything you say - boaters may not make much impact on the environment but it is common sense and good housekeeping to be sensible about waste and how we dispose of it. We can all benefit from cleaner and tidier canals . . . I for one cannot get excited about a prime minister who wants me to use less fuel and water after he committed us to a disasterous war in Iraq - what effect is that having on the environment?

We use Anthracite large nuts and recently bought ten bags in Aylesbury Basin for £60 - that should last us well past Christmas. We used 'Taybrite' and several other processed fuels in our Squirrel last Winter and were repaid by a blocked flue on Boxing Day that smoked the place out! After unblocking the flu we switched to real Anthracite nuts and have had no trouble since. Anthracite burns slower and is much cleaner so we don't have to keep wiping the door glass and it is as near as you can get to being smokeless so there is no problem with soot either. Also it produces very little ash - so you don't have to keep emptying the ashpan. The only problem with Anthracite is that you have to make sure that it doesn't get too hot and clinker; we used to have that problem in our old 'Rayburn' but so far it hasn't been a problem in the Squirrel. Best Wishes, Graham & Jane

Congratulations - you have made a sound investment! We have completed just under a thousand miles this year with our K3 including the Severn Estuary and Tidal Thames. Fuel consumption has worked out at less than 2 litres an hour on average and is usually half this on canals. There is no visible smoke exhaust (except when revving in reverse for an unplanned stop) and the rythm of the engine is always an absolute delight. Our only major problem was the failure of the CAV diesel injection pump - one of the few components not made by Kelvin! If we may be permitted to offer a few words of advice; our prop is a three bladed 24" X 24" and this works very well for us - giving about 8 Knots at 600 rpm on rivers and a sensible 4 mph at 300 rpm on most canals. It is small enough to slow us down to less than 2 mph at tickover when passing moored boats and large enough to stop the boat in half its own length when necessary. We have adjusted the regulator stops to limit the engine to 600 rpm with a minimum idle speed of 120 rpm - it will go slower but there is a danger that at very slow speeds, insufficient lubrication will reach those 9 inch bores. We did a lot of research into boat builders and from a short list that included Barry Hawkins and Roger Fuller, we settled on R W Davis. In the event we were able to buy our boat secondhand thrpough R W Davis - it was Phil Trotter's prototype - now ten years old and we are totally satisfied with it. The build quality of the 'Northwich Traders' would be difficult to match anywhere and the way the boat handles makes us look like experienced professionals. Phils knows how to build a superb vessel and although not cheap, you would certainly get good value for money - he also has knows how to install a Kelvin engine properly. Good luck with your project!