BilgePump
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Posts posted by BilgePump
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I've been burning the Aldi smokeless in the open fire at home. Seems to be okay, bit of heat and stays in overnight. One gripe is that it was a fiver per bag last year, now £6.50, a 30% increase (although that's not as bad as a first class stamp which has gone up by 50% in just over a year £1.10 to £1.65)
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23 hours ago, cuthound said:
Emerald Fox IIRC.
Yes, same as I remember. Boat was moored at Furness and he drank in the Crossings and Soldier near a decade ago. Friendly chap.
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32 minutes ago, magnetman said:
Yes I remember the fuel protests. The farmer geyser sitting in front of his aga in a kitchen most people only dream about. Poor blighter!
He probably had a 50 grand Purdey in the locker.
Its probably more to do with things like the countryside () alliance and a Labour government.
They don't like that !
Not coming from farming/landed stock, I had no idea what a Purdey is so had to turn to Google for enlightenment.
They look to be beautifully crafted shotguns if that's your thing, but with that kind of cash I'd much rather have a better boat!
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It's now over five years since the reservoir was drained to avert potential total failure. Sorting it was never going to be a small undertaking. Makes lock repairs look quick, tame and cheap by comparison.
Still have my 'Keep your Chinook up!' T shirt somewhere (they sold them for local causes in the months after)
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19 hours ago, dmr said:
That's a very good guess, but then there was a bloke that looks just like you sat in there last night 😀
So, we did a little Whaley Bridge pub crawl yesterday evening with very mixed results.
The micropub is shut on Mondays and the Railway was so bad we didn't even go in. Shepherds was ok with an original interior.
The White Hart was not good and the beer almost undrinkable, though the pub is up for sale.
The Goyt Inn is a very good pub indeed with a strong canal theme. I think it had just changed hands but everything appeared to be to the satisfaction of the locals, and quite busy for a Monday. Its not quite canalside but its so close it almost is.
Good to hear that The Goyt is still the same cracking pub, haven't been in for over a year. Sad to hear that The White Hart isn't; I used to like it in there too.
@beerbeerbeerbeerbeer 's comments about the locals is spot on. Always found them friendly in Whaley, Buxworth, Furness, New Mills etc.
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2 hours ago, robtheplod said:
if anyone is thinking about this i've just been emailed this, which is a good solution and they work well....... good price currently... offer ends tonight
At first I thought that looked pricey for a singe camera but then realised it's three cameras plus a sync module for local storage so no ongoing costs. Doesn't seem at all bad. Modern camera quality is pretty stunning compared to even ten years ago for the same price points.
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54 minutes ago, magnetman said:
Bill the tug's Boat. Interesting indeed. He died a while back. Its a commercial tug hull and he built the topsides. I went in it in the mid 90s. its very deep and the Gleniffer is air start so may present some issues.
It is a cool Boat but it is rather deep. I believe it is 5ft or possibly a bit more.
Not sure I'd get my head around it but air-start means that you get a twin pot Lister thrown in as a bonus extra
Can imagine it being very deep. Has a low profile, obvious in the unconverted photos but still has generous headroom down below.
Looks to have been a boater's boat. Pillar drill, engineer's vice but no fancy non-boaty gadgetry to be seen.
Hope someone with the enthusiasm and skills of the previous owner can take it on.
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6 minutes ago, SUIGENERIS said:
1948 Historic Tug on the Thames, Glennifer Diesel still in place. Ebay item number 286094033674. maybe someone more savvy than me can put a link up on here.
Wish I were a bit younger and could take it on.
Here you go https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286094033674
Interesting boat and a lot of it for the money
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1 hour ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:
Good to hear (read) 👍
mind, anything I post is definitely a short walk from the canal
I know someone who takes photos of trains 🤷♀️Looking at my phone, I think about three quarters of the photos are of vintage/steam/agricultural fairs, so traction engines, tractors and old boats feature heavily. Last ones were a week ago at Buxworth steam party. Sadly, only a day by car out so couldn't have a pint in the Navigation.
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On 04/10/2024 at 10:58, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:
Was my first visit, it’s now on my list of must visit pubs when in area,
I should have took photo of the impressive range of bottled beers too.
if you want to drink good beer for £3 a pint go the Vale in Bollington 👍
Never been out for a pint in Bollington, despite having been moored on the Macc or Upper Peak stretch for decades. Cheers for the recommendation.
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26 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:
It’s been popular for awhile now to sell 3 x 1/3 as tasters,
I first came across it in woodenspoons maybe 20yr ago,
The chalk board I posted is in a good little pub called the Samuel Oldknow, Marple,
a short walk from Macclesfield canal
And I should have said Greater Manchester (and not Cheshire).
I see you got the Red Willow beer brewed in Macclesfield,I was on that yesterday,
recommended by a friend first time I’d tried it, good stuff
Not been in the Samuel Oldknow since before Covid but that chalkboard's making me think I should have a night in Marple next time I stay on the boat and have a little cruise. Really nice pub.
Looking at the choices, I'd choose the Red Willow west coast pale too but not going to find out where BLUN has been drinking just to save 10p a pint!
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Was talking to my dad about the Brompton today. On the mark 1, why the hell did owners have to bungee cord and rope it up to carry up any steps?
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50 minutes ago, blackrose said:
Anyone spending £2.5K on a bicycle for a boat has more money than sense in my opinion. But hey, it's your money, spend it on what you want.
Having just been idly looking at vintage tractors online, you can get a runner for that kind of money. Regular Bromptons are great engineering but the price tag is high even for the latest models, but this one and the electric are more than I've paid for any of my cars in the last twenty years!
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12 hours ago, Ewan Kennedy said:
Hi there. Im a young adult with a new passion for boats. I have always been into kayaking and so kayaking canals is now my favourite thing to do. But I feel I want to take boating to a whole new level. I have sailed in a few of my friends boats before and absolutely love them. My mind has always been into engineering and I really want the challenge of building my own boat. I have been watching a series on netflix and they own a lumber yard but turn there attention to fishing for wood. Sounds wacky but stay with me. They fix up a old landing craft boat and from that day forward all I could think about is I want to build one. So I decided to do some research and I have some questions..
My first piece of research is that anyone can sail/ drive a boat as long as it's under 10m. Is this true?
Second of all would I even better allowed to sail a boat like that on the canal. It will have marine paint on the hill to stop the base from corroding as I want to build it out of aluminium. I don't know as to what sort of engine to put in. A very low powered outboard is preferable and I can upgrade that for large body's of water. The one I seen was quite quiet so that's my plan.
And lastly is there a width restriction to a home built boat?
The canal has felt like a second home to me and I don't know if this chat is UK only or all over the world but I'm from scotland so was driving myself with questions. I don't plan on going fast as I know there's a speed limit and the only thing I would have on my boat is either some bikes and my mates or kayaks and mates.
Thanks for reading everybody and I look forward to your responses.
One key thing to think about before any of the design or RCD details is where would you actually build it and how would it be transported to the desired waterway once built? For example, it would be possible to build a 30' boat in my garden but nigh on impossible to get it out. If the hull is to be built upside down on frames then turning it right way up to fit out is a big task. Renting yard space doesn't come cheap and there's all the hassle of going to and from there with tools and materials.
I'm not dismissing the idea outright but building something small to start with would get you on the water for a lot less money, time and headache. How about a small shanty boat kind of thing? I've seen real tiny ones online at 8' long (under 2.5m) and they can be relatively simple to build. Have a look at some of the PDRacer variants with a tiny cuddy or check out Roy Schreyer's small boat builds on YouTube. They're plywood builds but give an idea of the variety of little boats that can be home constructed.
Do not expect any boat, built out of any material to be a quick job. A simple plywood rowing dinghy can easily take a week full time to make, and then the painting on top.
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1 minute ago, zapgaz said:
The max for my van is 1300kg. I did see that info on Norman site, and did a rough calculation of me stripping outboard, and anything loose inside the boat and putting in my van to reduce trailer weight, and came to conclusion that it would be too close to call, especially given that I'll almost certainly get pulled over towing a huge boat with a diddy van, it's 165 miles from boat to nearest usable canal.
There's a dozen ways to skin a cat, as my neighbour used to say (he was an animal lover btw). If you see something in the 23' range that fits the bill on a trailer that you can't tow but you know that the trailer has good value and you can sell it (always in demand), then it's worth paying to have something piggy back on a big recovery truck for delivery and then flog the trailer once launched to go towards the transport.
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18 minutes ago, zapgaz said:
Thanks, it was a Viking I was considering, but I've remembered a convo with my friend about 1970s and older boats being much more heavily built, and now focusing my search on older boats, specifically Norman 22/23 or my number 1 choice is a Callum Craft 22, I've seen one in Glasgow in my price range, on a trailer, but i suspect the total weight is slightly more than my van can tow, and paying someone isnt an option, although i know that trailer is worth a few quid to recoup.
The Nauticus was already insulated, had a calorifier, diesel inboard, shower, wood burner, but, the windscreen has been torn off, all 4 of the rubbing strakes were hanging off, plenty of damage above the water line, water in rear bilge, fuel leak, you couldn't look at the outside without seeing more work.
However, it was only the rubbing strakes that concerned me, I'm fairly certain I could replace them while the boat was on the water, but would be quite a task.
They were asking 3.5k for it, and I made a very generous offer of up to 2k, which hasn't as yet been completely declined.
CallumCraft 22 dry weight apparently 1066kg according to https://normanboats.net/range/norman_range.htm .
Add on trailer weight and bits and you'll be getting on for 1.5 tons.
That's the max for my car but wouldn't want to tow it long distances.
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8 hours ago, zapgaz said:
I was looking at a Shetland on another site
Don't know if I read too much into it, but, apparently when the hull is constructed they are pumped full of foam (for buoyancy?) from the OUTSIDE and the hole plugged with sealer.
I've read a story about the seal giving way, silently saturating the foam, and causing problems which would be way out of my depth.
I may be reading to much Into stuff
That Shetland is a nice boat but certainly wouldn't recommend it for a liveaboard. They are just too small, the same problems that Harold mentions with the Norman 20. As for the foam sandwich construction, yes there can be issues but in general it won't sink the boat. The hull has an inner moulding and the gap is then filled. It gets waterlogged through water ingress from the top (leaking windows, vents, canopy etc) getting between the two mouldings. Have experience of a Shetland 536 and 570 with exactly that issue. One solution is to cut out the floor, dig out the sodden foam, then fill the space with those little swimming pool balls and reinstate the floor. Look out for a Norman 22/3/4 or a Viking 23 and it will seem enormous compared to a smaller Norman or Shetland.
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14 minutes ago, zapgaz said:
Yeah, my little Trangia is making me coffee now on Meths.
I have a Coleman petrol stove too, massive no-no!
Had propane freeze on several occasions, in Cornwall too, but admittedly, they were 47kg cylinders stored outside, could have been the external pipework, I can't remember how it was solved as it was a while ago.
That's good to know. I'm new to meths, and I'm using to try and lower my use of fossil fuels.
Nothing to do with the discount I had at work buying meths mind!......
Should point out to readers in the future that meths/alcohol can be bleddy dangerous!
Invisible flames and carbon monoxide can be a real hazard.
And they can flare up alarmingly in draughty conditions!
Absolutely. I mentioned a paraffin lamp in small boat earlier - ventilation and CO detectors are absolutely essential.
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17 minutes ago, zapgaz said:
Past experience tells me that there will be no breakfast or morning cuppa in winter when the propane inevitably freezes!
Would an Origo stove be a BSS fail?My Trangia is one of the pocket bushcraft stoves, an Origo would be nice, expensive, but nice
Origo, like a meths trangia isn't covered by the BSS as far as I understand. A twin burner Origo is cool but I tend to waste meths in it by putting too much into the doughnuts. Only got one a few years ago and had managed with a trangia on boats for a few decades beforehand. All this is leisure boating though, but still works fine in the depths of winter.
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Welcome to the forum zapgaz. Nick has answered your actual question but I'll throw in a couple of thoughts that I'm sure as a van-dweller you're already familiar with.
One big problem is that a lot of 20' cruisers like the Norman won't have standing headroom or WC in own closet. Some may. I could stand up through the cabin in a Buckingham 20', just, but am only 5'6". Anyone taller would have to stoop. The Norman 22/24/24 or Viking 23 would give far more chance of being able to stand up in them and a bit of privacy for the loo but narrow enough to access the full canal network. If budget allows for an even bigger boat in still reasonable condition and set-up then I would go for that. Licence cost will not be a big difference.
Winter nights on a GRP boat can be, errr, challenging, but can be done. Spent a week on a lake once with it well subzero. Totally frozen in for three days in the middle. Uninsulated 20' boat, no heating other than paraffin lamp, no electric. Ended up looking like the Michelin man with loads of ski and hiking clothing layers, then slept in all that plus a heavy sleeping bag with a duvet. Two pairs of gloves and two hats. Was a kind of adventure but after a week, it was about enough. However, with proper insulation, heating, home comforts etc, a GRP can be a cramped but cosy round year boat as some people on here could attest.
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4 minutes ago, Kane Brennan said:
Honestly starting to get a vibe that people are making assumptions.
We plan to have a different postal address.
The marina we are in is residential doesn’t like anything on the jetty’s, no washing out and people arent allowed to hang out around their boats, no parties, no bbq or anything. I thought this was normal for a residential.
We spend upto 3 months at a time on the cut and will often come in just for a month for a few repairs, redecorating and a break from the boat. Such as a holiday to wales or the lakes for example. We have just come into the marina now from doing the Leicester ring and it’s because we want to decorate our bathroom. Once that’s done in a week or two, we will be back out again.
I have a long list of bridges with lay-bys and car parks saved in my phone, I flaunt them if anything.The more that you've explained, the more that it's clear that you should have no problems doing as you propose. Don't take the abruptness of the forum for insults. Have a land postal address, take a CaRT leisure mooring, go cruising, put it back, stay on it for a few weeks, go out again. Nobody on here is going to give you grief for that.
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4 hours ago, Kane Brennan said:
We have full residential at an Aquavista which is £5k a year. We are looking at canal side leisure moorings which we keep getting invited to bid for. Which would be £3k cheaper per year.
Full residential marinas still dont let you hang your washing out lolLots of people use basic CaRT leisure moorings as residential 'under the radar'. I think the access to a land address makes life easier.
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3 minutes ago, haggis said:
Reading all the hoops people have gone through has made me realise how lucky we were when we bought KELPIE! We/I had been sort of on the look out for a boat of our own - we had shared for over 20 year, when one Sunday I saw an advert and realised that it was a Canadian friends boat which we had seen once. Emails flew back and forward across the pond and he arranged for us to see over the boat the following Saturday. We walked through the boat,I phoned Canada, made an offer which was accepted and we were told the boat was ours and we could set off anytime, which we did.. We paid for the boat over the next couple of weeks by transferring as big chunks of money as the bank allowed in one go when we could get internet access in pubs.
That sounds to be an easy and serendipitous result for both parties 🙂
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3 hours ago, David Mack said:
Surely the modern day equivalent is an online bank transfer done while both parties are present and online so that each can see thar the money has been transferred from/to their bank account. But for a large sum you may need to arrange the transfer previously with your bank so it all goes through smoothly.
Sold a little boat like that. £100 deposit in cash with rest to be transferred upon delivery to local slipway. Got there, lad transferred the money, phoned home to get a check on my account to confirm, dropped boat in water and everyone happy. When family sold the NB pre Covid, both deposit (unseen) and balance on collection, all done via online transfer. Not a single Queen's head note involved at all.
Gardner 4LW with 27" blade
in Vintage Engine Forum
Posted
I know that boat. Recognised it from the words Gardner and the rudder arrangement before even checking the advert. We moved it in the yard to a more accessible position six weeks ago. It's a weighty rascal so needs a crane to lift. Pictures in advert appear to predate us moving it in the yard. My mate was the last one to move it on the river some years ago (not his boat) and says the engine is in good condition. Boat itself is, as advert says, in poor shape.
When you say a while ago, roughly how long ago?