MisterDave

So what you're saying here is that the only reason for knowing the rules is if you intend to bend them? That's utterly absurd, ridiculous beyond words! Some of us would like to know the rules just because they are the rules we are expected to abide by, and the only way to be sure of not accidentally breaking a rule is to have a full knowledge of what is and is not permitted. I personally would like to know the detail of every rule despite the fact that I have never been a CC or CM, my boat has lived in a paid private mooring for years, and when I am out on the cut I tend to put in long days covering more distance than the majority of users. Do you really want to be subject to a set of mystery rules where you don't know you're violating them until the punishment arrives? That's what you appear to be advocating for here. You might have convinced yourself it makes sense in this narrow example but think how it would feel applied elsewhere within CRT's rulebook. If we let them get away with this kind of toxic ambiguity one place in the rules it's a certainty they'll do it again elsewhere, especially if they decide ambiguity is beneficial or profitable to them.

PC fans inside mushroom vent intakes. Use good quality fans. Cheap computer fans (especially ones with rifle bearings) have a limited life. When exposed to even a small amount of moisture that life falls by an order of magnitude. I set 2 "Akasa" fans up with a solar panel in an outdoor composting toilet and they were dead in about 4 months, the replacement EBM Papst fans were still running fine after about 5 years. (I assume they're still running now, 9 years later, because I haven't been called back to replace them.) Arnot states above that Papst are difficult to get hold of, but uk.farnell.com carries the vast majority of the Papst range as well as the equally good Sanyo range. NMB can be a good brand too (I've had an NMB running in a piece of equipment pretty much 24/7 since 1998).

Just completed 270 slow noisy revvy miles on a rather underpropped boat (I think half the prop has been eaten by galvanic corrosion). It's downright frustrating the number of people who stuck their heads out of moored craft to shout "slow down" at a boat doing under 2mph just because the engine was revving! I've also observed the slowing down effect in some bridge holes on narrow canals. I thought this was just because the canal was shallower and narrower under the bridge.

Copied BW keys aren't the only issue, a friend recently had problems with a copy handcuff key off ebay. The shaft was a larger diameter than standard and it wouldn't fit into the hole in the jackheads, affected were pretty much all the locks on the Ashton heading into Manchester from about Lock 17 (just below the hollinwood branch) downwards past the Etihad stadium and tennis centre. An hour was spent with a file to remove about 2-3mm diameter of metal.

Amusing. I know the area well. I've lived and worked within a mile or two of there for half my life. Going to go looking for it tomorrow, don't really expect to find it but will take pics!

Just joined your forum to share my experiences of Phosphoric Acid I bought 84% Phosphoric Acid and used it mixed approx 50/50 with distilled water to give 40%. I tried it around 30% and it was slower. I tried it around 60% and it was also slower (too viscous?). Someone I met on another forum claims chemical rust treatment as his area of expertise and suggested to add a small amount of surfactant ( eg <1% household detergent), and also pointed out that many of the commercially available products also blend in citric acid. My technique was to remove the vast majority of rust with a combination of abrasives, scourers, and many many 5" whire wheels on my grinder and then dust down the whole area before applying my acid treatment with a foam 4" paint roller. The treatment leaves a thin dark layer of dried-on acid and rust residue which reacts with water to produce a much thicker layer of a chalky powdery substance. Paint can be applied to the dark residue but does not adhere to the powdery substance at all, so the smallest chip in this paintwork becomes a big lumpy chalky blister in weeks. The solution I found is to give the treated metal a quick tickle with a wire wheel on the grinder, doesn't need much pressure to get through the residue and down to the bottom layer of black. This protective layer is attached to the metal so well that you'll stuggle to move it with a wire wheel on a grinder, but abrasives will go straight through it! In response to bobbybass: They're not allowed to send it through the post above a certain strength, which is why many commercial products are 25% - 30% when 40% works better. My 5l of 84% arrived by courier. You can buy the same chemical by the litre over the counter of your local "growshop" where it's used for adjusting the acidity of the feed in hydroponic systems but for the same reasons it's still only 30% (sold as "ph down for bloom", if anyone's interested)