The Boat Studio

Hello, We have broken down in Hungerford and need to be towed to Aldermaston for repairs. Anyone happen to be passing by that way soon and would kindly be able to help? We would do all the locks and contribute money towards diesal?! Many thanks in advance from some desperate boaters! Amber x

Thanks for your replies, We've had a new head gasket put on and going to see whether this helps things (not feeling hopeful) Looks like we might have to re build engine over winter.

Oh dear! This is what we are fearing!

We have a BMC 1800 engine. Engine oil is leaking into the exhaust pipe. The engine cooling water is not contaminated with oil and there is no water getting into engine oil. The engine has been running smoothly with clean exhaust no smoke. Any suggestions as to where we should start looking for the fault?

Hello. I have not drifted away. Just caught up with more holidays and generally a busy August. I have been following the conversation with interest. It is hard sometimes to reply to all questions asked in detail. I was not expecting such a large response. We are having a meeting with those involved to discuss our plan of action with the boat. We think that some further investigations are needed before the drastic move of selling and buying a new boat. If it is something as simple as an anode in the way then we need to find this out. I had a reply from CRT I will paste it below for everyone's reference. I wish now I paid more attention to exactly where the boat was sticking. It seemed to be roughly 10ft in from the bow and there are some scrapes to show where it jammed but to me it felt like it was catching below the gunwale but in the highly stressful heat of the moment I cannot be sure. ( I was also on the tiller so couldn't see) The lock keeper did say at the time that maybe 5 more inches of water on the Shropshire Union would've helped it in but we do really need smooth access in and out of that lock for our project so cannot rely on water levels being right. Very interesting to hear others being wider and getting through though.. Here is CRT response: Hello Amber Thank you for contacting the Canal & River Trust, I am very sorry to hear about the problems you have experienced at Hurlstone Lock 1 and the impact this has had on your holiday plans. We have been monitoring the lock over two/three years to ascertain whether there is any movement, although the last survey data did not highlight any significant movement, due to the number of boats becoming stuck and feedback from regular users of the lock, we did undertake some remedial work some time ago to try and improve the access through the lock. However the remedial work has not rectified the problem, so I am arranging a meeting with my engineering colleagues to review the most recent monitoring survey data, and liaising with boating organisations who are raising their concerns about the width of the lock, in addition to reviewing data that we retain on boats getting stuck, to look at the possible engineering options for widening the lock. Based on the outcome of the investigation and discussion we will then have a clearer idea of whether work can be undertaken and the estimated timescale I can, confirm, however, that at the moment, there are no plans to undertake any work to the lock to improve the width, Once again I am very sorry that your boat got stuck in the lock and the impact on your holiday plans, but thank you for taking the time to write in, I will ensure your comments are included in the instigation. Regards Wendy

Ha yes! A little niche market

I guess even if we found out whether or not the boat is straight or bulging and where it seems too big a job and without any guarantee to alter/ modify this boat to fit in that lock. I think we will be selling and buying a new boat with a thorough survey and yes getting the surveyor to put his name to the 6ft 10 measurement. We did not when buying the initial boat give much thought to the 6ft 10 measurement that the survey came back with as I wasn't at that time aware that Hurlston had this problem. I did check the max bean of the Llangollen canal and when I found it to be 6ft 10 I thought we'd be okay. Maybe we had a lazy orginal surveyor but I am not thinking to make a claim against him as we did not make a big deal about the exact beam width at the time. Thanks for all your responses.

Yes we could see it jam. Well as I was driving i couldn't clearly see but CRT Lock keeper and helper could. It seemed the sticking point was below water line. Def not fender. Possibly a rubbing strake. The welsh element is important yes. I know buying a new one seems drastic but it is important we can move from Llangollen on to Shropshire Union easily. I do wish they would do some work on this lock. The more I search the more I see others that have had this problem. A couple I spoke to the eve after it happened said their boat used to fit but now doesn't. I also heard stories of boats being sold in Ellesmere to peopleand then they not being able to leave the Llangollen arm due to bottom lock.

Yes tried forwards and backwards. It did seem to be pinching at about 12ft if from the bow. We got most of the way in backwards but only a third in forwards. It corresponded to where the lock is at its narrowest. Lock keeper said the water levels being higher could of helped matters. But cant rely on high water levels all the time! Yes I have written to them to report it - no response so far

I have a 55ft boat with a 6ft 10inch beam. Recently I tried to go through Hurlston bottom lock on the Llangollen Arm and got stuck. We tried for about an hour with CRT Lock keeper and co to no avail. This was really devastating to us as for many reasons. We have wanted/needed to be able to access the Welsh part of the canal specifically. We bought this boat pretty much specifically for that journey. The sign at Hurlston says 6ft 10 is the max beam that can go through and many indeed do with no problem. It seems are boat might have part that are slightly over 6ft 10 and they correspond exactly where the lock it at its tightest. The seemed to be one point specifically where the boat pinched (we tried to go in forwards and backwards!) My question is can anything be done do our boat to reduce its beam by a couple of inches? Be that shaving or squeezing? We have talked about welding metal plates on the inside and winching the sides inwards? I realise this is probably very unlikely and we will have to instead go down the route of selling our current boat and buying a new one. (after a careful survey on the exact beam length along the entire boat!) But any thoughts suggestions on boat squeezing would be greatly appreciated. Even to just rule out the possibility! Amber

Hello! We had a Durite Voltage Sensitive Relay put in last September. It seems to no longer be charging our leisure battery. It is a cutin 13.3 volt cut out 12.8 volt style. So it chargers starter before switching to leisures.. I would expect it to have lasted longer than 6 months. Spoke to a chap who works on boats who recommended the same brand but a different model a Durite 200amp relay which charges both batteries simultaneously but isolates the starter battery when discharging. Just after some advice opinions on battery relays? any reccomendations? troubleshooting? reason why they can fail after only 6 months? Thanks in advance below is the pic of our failed one..

What anchor and rope or chain would the forum recommend for a 54ft, 16tonne narrowboat for use on the severn or the thames? And where do you recommend it is attached? Thanks in advance!!

They look fab! Yes just the thing! I think we are going for 24ml. The sodden decking that is currently there is 35ml and we manage to lift that no problem. Thanks for all your input!

Okay I have a follow up question with this one..what thickness would you recommend? 18ml feels like it could be too light weight. 24ml and I'd be worried abt the pieces being too heavy to lift. Any thoughts/ recommendations?

Hi we have winter moorings at sellars bridge so not far from Saul. Heading to the boat tomorrow with testers. Thanks for all the advice. I might well chase you up on the recommended engineer. And yes, following where to dispose of old anti freeze solution, just incase we need to drain a bit to add more anti freeze.

Woah! So thank you very much for all your replies guys..I still feel slightly unsure about what is best to do. Ideally flushing the system would be great but not very realistic for us right now. Will need to wait until we can get her to a boat yard. For now I think we will test the water, add more in if needed, test again. If we need to add a fair bit then we will have new anti - corrosive stuff right?.. meanwhile try to hunt down the BMC 1800 manual online..

Yeah that makes sense - thanks all. Will go to Halfords tomorrow!

Thanks for this. Do you think that flushing the system is the best thing to do when unsure of coolant capacity? Or is it okay to just add a bit of anti freeze in and hope for the best!? We have no cabin radiators so don't have to worry about that..

Thanks everyone. Yes the boat is new to us. We took a sample of water and there was a very very slight blue tinge, hardly there at all really. Will get the checker from halfords and see what it says. Pretty sure we will need to add more. I have no idea of the coolant capacity - this seems to our the main problem, as don't know how much 45% or 50% would be?! We could flush it all out and start again, but I'm afraid I wouldn't have a clue how to do that either! Sorry - complete learner here!

New to boating. Wondering how much anti freeze I should put into my 1800 BMC diesal engine over winter. We have the type of cooling system whereby the hot engine water is cooked by a tank in contact with the hull and the canal water (not sure the name for this sorry) we have no clue about quantities to use or even which product to use! Any help greatly appreciated! X *cooled not cooked obviously! *cooled not cooked obviously!

Thanks all! Good tips on the RCR site! I think I'm prepared now!

We desperately need to replace the floor of our stern. Currently it is wooden decking that is rotting away and falling apart. I have been told rhino board/ hexa grip is the best stuff. But does anyone know of any good suppliers? We live in Wales but our boat is in Gloucester at the moment. Also does everyone agree that this is the best stuff for the job? Has anyone bought handle pulls as opposed to ring pulls to set into the board and if so where from? Ta in advance Amber

Thanks matty40s. No hook up. Cool will get a tester. Yes we are very much looking forward to going for some winter weekend jaunts!

Hi! We are relatively new to boating. Have a 55ft cruiser stern narrowboat and this winter will be our first as boat owners. We don't live aboard but are able to get to the boat weekly to tick over the engine etc. I just want some good tips for protecting the boat over winter. Do you anti freeze the water? If so what product? Where can you get it? Is it advisory to empty water tanks? Take leisure batteries away? How often should we take it for a run? Is this necessary? Any other tips greatly appreciated! Thanks a lot! Amber God sorry just found a post on another chat asking exactly the same! Sorry!