Fozzi in Lancashire

Thanks for that Dave, reckon a trip to Homebase may be on the cards for brushes & rollers then. Good about dunking them in water at the end of each day. I'll try and keep most of the body parts covered!! Cheers.

Hi Everyone, thanks for all the helpful comments, Dave M that Ballistic Black sounds good from SML. Did you use brush or roller? A lot in the Marina here seem to use a 7" microfibre roller, not sure how tough they are? Thanks again, Fozzi.

Hi Everyone, hope all is well and everyone has survived the strong winds & rain! Hopefully Spring is not to far off and we can start thinking of maintenance again! Just trying to get some info about hull blacking on my 23' Springer. Had GRP boats previously so this will be the first blacking I've done for a while. She was over-plated with 5mm steel back in 2012 and at Jul 17 when purchasing, the hull survey reading there was hardly any change - 4.5mm in a few places but mostly 5mm. The boat when out will be jet washed and a few people have said use two coats of black bitumen paint? This was used back in July 17 but I was just wondering which is the best one, quality & value for money etc? Any ideas/info would be a great help. Thanks. Fozzi

Thanks everyone for replies. Ian F B, will have a look at the unit on next visit & see if there's any names or model numbers. Should be in next couple of weeks or so. Thanks for that. Cheers. Fozzi.

Hi Everyone, Hope you've all had a good Xmas. Been trying for a while to find a cabin light switch. The Springer I have, has four small rectangular light units with a push on/off switch to operate the light. One of the push switches, the plastic piece inside has broken, hence the switch no longer works. Does anyone know where I can get a replacement switch please? It's only a small piece wired in, next to the strip light and should be easy to fit another one. Better still, if there is a full light unit out there, that would be great. On a different note I've also been trying to find a white plastic light cover for the stern light which is fixed to the stern rail. No joy on ebay for either of the above. Just wondered if there's any Springer spares about somewhere or a spares website? Thanks everyone, look forward to hearing from you. Cheers. Fozzi

Batteries are 100ah lead acid batteries x 3

Hi Everyone, done well over the Winter months with our ongoing Springer renovations. Batteries & hot water unit fitted - all good! Just finished the 100w solar panel which is now charging the starter & 2 domestic batteries, the CMTD Charge Controller Manual shows the Parameters Display for the Stop Charge Voltage at 14.7 This is a default setting from the manufacturers and I just wondered if this was slightly high? Should it be 14 to 14.2? All batteries seem to be ok so far but just want to check please! Lets hope for some warmer weather soon - still need to finish the painting!! Thanks everyone, Fozzi

Thanks everyone, really helpful. Carried on with brushes and yes, the Wilkos "best brush" are great and don't fall apart!! Thanks Meanderingviking, another problem solved on this excellent forum. Cheers everyone. Fozzi

Hi Guys, thanks for the quick response. Jonathan, apart from Smith & Allan, any ideas who else may have these short nap rollers? Maybe a B&Q or Homebase job? Meanderingviking - thanks for the Wilkos tip, some good reviews on their website, although may take a lot longer with a brush! Thanks again guys.

Hi everyone, started painting our Springer Waterbug using Tekaloid Paint from Smith & Allan. Only done the roof with undercoat and whilst it looks reasonable, not sure about the paint? After about four or five strokes the foam roller just collapses, the foam falls to bits and comes away from the roller itself! The rollers are from b&q, should I use high density foam rollers? If this is just the start, what's the gloss going to be like?? Should I be using a high quality brush instead? Any comments greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone, Fozzi.

Thanks everyone, very helpful comments as usual!! Big help, thanks again. Fozzi.

Hi All, hope everyone is enjoying the Summer. We are about to start painting our newly aquired Springer and just wondered what you thought of Tekaloid Paint. It's from Smith & Allan, Darlington, Co Durham and seems to be a really good price for undercoat & single pack coach enamel (Tekaloid 318). Has anyone heard of this please? Seems a lot less than International Toplac & other top names, just wondered if there was a catch? On a different note, just prior to buying our Springer, the previous lady owner had the tiller arm stolen! With the Waterbug at the stern there is only room for a short tiller arm and ones for sale all seem to be huge. Any ideas on where we might find a shorter arm please? Thanks everyone, look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Fozzi.

Hi everyone! Thanks ever so much for all your comments! Managed to pick up a great little Springer, overplated with 5mm & very tidy inside & outside. Job done! If anyone's on the Lancaster, look out for "My Newt". Thanks again.

Hi All, Been looking at a few of these Hampton Safaris online, couple on Apollo Duck ("Zesty") & one on BoatShed @ £14995. Just wondered what people thought of them. Majority seem to be the ex-holiday boats mostly on the Norfolk Broads, built around mid 70's early 80's, standard front sliding roof & rear entrance with a fixed double bed at the stern. A lot have the BMC 1.5 diesel engine although the one at £14995 has a Nanni 3.30 diesel. I'm on the Lancaster Canal and the beam worries me a little, some are 9' or 9'-6", although they are meant to be easy to handle with the front steering. Any thoughts / info would be greatly appreciated or any for sale in Lancashire? The above are Suffolk & Surrey!! Thanks everyone.

Hi Everyone, still searching for the right narrowboat. Looked at a few Springers, (thanks for all your replies from my last post) but poor hulls and not in good condition. Looking at a few more now,(not Springers) one Eastern Caravans 30' & the other Mick Sievewright builders 27'. Both have 15 hp Honda engines, just thinking whether these will have enough power to push these along and more important, stop them! I had an Atlanta 24 a few years ago with a Yamaha 9.9hp which pushed it along quite nicely. Obviously with a steel hull there's quite a bit more weight. Another thing with the Yamaha I was using approx 1 litre per hour steady cruising, what can I expect from these Honda engines on a narrowboat? Are they just as economical or am I best looking at an inboard engine? Look forward to your comments. Thanks everyone. Fozzi.

Hi Everyone, Been looking at a Springer 23, 1992 here on the Lancaster Canal. Lots of different reports on these boats re the hull thickness. Seems as though they were built with a thin steel 3.5mm to 4mm thickness hull, so may need over-plating. It's for sale at 9K & has a 90's Honda 9.9 o/b, last serviced in '09!! Inside average, needs quite a bit of tidying but has potential. Presume best way forward is a survey first? Does anyone have any ideas of costs to overplate please? Just wondering if 9K is a bit top heavy if you're then going to spend a fortune later on! Any help most appreciaited. Thanks. Cheers. Fozzi.

Hi Guys, thanks for that! Outboards Direct came up with some good info. Within all the info on the plate - "model 01" is the year, 2001. Good job I got a bargain with the boat! Couldn't see the plate when I was buying, but anyway seems to run ok. Cheers all.

Hi Everyone, Progressing slowly with my Viking 23 restoration. 1980 model & was advised 2009 outboard. Trying to find out how accurate this is? Its a Yamaha 8hp, Hi Thrust electric start with power tilt. The plate adjacent to the power tilt unit gives the following:- FT8DEP, underneath is L500457 with letter S slightly lower. CE2000 (is this cert of conformity?) Other numbers lower show 5.9, 37-52, model 01, 68T-88. Any help greatly appreciated. Cheers. Fozzi.

Thanks for your help on this guys! Fozzi

Hi Everyone, First time on here & first time I have gone down the restoration route. Just purchased an older Viking 23 for a reasonable figure, outboard 5 years old & canopy 2 years old. That's the good bit, the rest needs quite a lot of TLC! The first thing I need to look at is re-sealing the windows (may get a professional for this). After that I was thinking about lining the cabin roof, any ideas on this please? I read on another forum, someone has used cork tiles and then painted them! Another idea is carpet or carpet tiles, not easy to work with? A previous owner has put up a plastic strip ceiling but not insulated the cabin roof...imagine that on a frosty morning!! The other major thing is re-lining the cabin walls. The old carpet there is quite damp and needs taking off and starting afresh. I guess this would be best replaced with carpet again? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, plus any websites you think are useful etc etc. As I do each job, I'll probably be back on here again with more questions!! Thanks Everyone, Fozzi.