Guy Campbell

You are right! I'm probably overthinking it.... Thanks Nick

Thanks Nick. Do you flush through before refilling with fresh mixture and does your calorifier drain during this process too?

Hi, Has anyone any guidance, tips, advice etc on what’s involved in the process of changing the coolant in a Beta 43 engine please? The manual says to drain and replace at 750 hours. The engine has done 762 hours from new. The gravity of the coolant measured with my cheap Halfords device says the freeze protection has degraded to -15 degC (I regularly measure the gravity). Although this is probably good enough for UK weather, I imagine the corrosion protection has degraded too. The installation is straightforward with skin cooling tank and calorifier connections all as per the Beta diagrams and installation manual. Certain questions are: Are there potential issues in draining the engine block through the small drain cock – e.g. sludge blocking the flow? Once the block is drained is a flush through of the block recommended and with what e.g. fresh water? Is it recommended to flush the engine block, skin tank and calorifier as separate items? Is it recommended to refill these individually with the fresh coolant separately (if possible)? Plus anything else???? Thanks, Guy

Has anyone got underfloor storage similar to the photo? Is it worth it given the limited space between the underside of the floor and the baseplate?

Thanks for your replies. Is your diesel gravity fed to the stove from a local fuel tank, or is it pumped some distance e.g. main diesel tank at the stern to a stove located in the front of the saloon?

Does anyone have this Bubble diesel stove installed: http://www.bubbleproducts.co.uk/info--(b1-half-pod-oil).html If so how do you get on with it?

Thanks for your replies. We had already ruled out the step in the gunwale for all the appearance reasons people have mentioned. It seems like raising the seating may be our best option.

On most boats we have been on, the position and size of the saloon windows has meant that you can't see out horizontally when sitting down. We are about to have a shell built and are thinking of ways to improve the horizontal visibility from the saloon. We are considering fitting saloon windows that are deeper than a "standard" 21 inch window. The window frame's lower edge will be closer to the gunwale and should give some improvement in the visibility. We may have to combine this with raising the seating too. Apart from the increased risk of kicking the windows when standing on the gunwale, can anyone see a problem with reducing the gap between the lower window frame edge and the gunwale? Also, apart from forming a step in the gunwale, has anyone any suggestions for getting a better horizontal view?