UseleSS Enterprise

You could always PM the lady whose name is on the advert - Jo Ewers. Is she no longer a member of this forum?

What - no lifeboats?

£24 pm 32 whatever they are

I just want you all to know that Mike the Boilerman said I'm right. I won't sleep tonight til I come down from that high.

I understand very little of this but after giving up on getting a constant TV signal, on advice from a passing Open Reach chap, I took my iPad into the EE shop and asked if I can put a sim card in it because I had found success in the house by plugging it into the TV and using the various Apps to watch whatever programme I fancied. I explained that I lived mostly on a canal boat and the two young staff members were very enthusiastic. The contract they offered included a "dongle" into which they put the sim card which meant I could have effective WiFi in the boat almost anywhere on the system and so not only connect my iPad, but all other Wifi type devices. As soon as I got it back to the boat, I plugged it in and watched TV all evening without a single breakup of picture. So I can not only watch TV but also use my telephone, use my laptop, search the internet etc etc. I have thrown the TV areal in the skip and the dongle is quite happy sitting on a low shelf beside the TV and does not need to be outside or in a window. B..... Luxury. The EE staff were great apart from then trying to sell me BT Broadband for the house - I let them off though because it was the first day they were allowed to sell BT to prospective customers. Edited just to add that it is 4G - which apparently is important!

I thought the ellum was the bit you stuck into the rudder to turn it.

Very good article and some recognisable descriptions of what we found. Main advice I have from others who have seen the problem is that on such a large hull, welding on a few anodes would have less effect than a good steam clean of all corroded areas and into any pitting and then, paint with a good quality paint and paint again. As I understand it, the corrosive action can not take place if the surface of the steel is not exposed to the water.

Thanks for your thoughts (having huge trouble with talktalk email so sorry did not respond). There was no slime. Moored against rubber tyres. Hull does not touch concrete or metal. Ordinary canal water - don't know if its brackish? Grebe may have something though - corrosion apparent along weld line of replacement footing most noticeable next to water outfall although there are other small areas seemingly unrelated to anything. Any theories will be welcome.

I have read a lot about this and searched this forum for information but none seems to answer a specific problem. Old riveted steel butty, so no engine, propshaft or prop. There is no shoreline other than the occasional extension lead for 240v power tools or lights when working on the boat. No 12v battery on board. Not moored in a marina. No wiring, live or otherwise is earthed to the boat anywhere. Steel of the footings below the waterline are generally good but in certain parts, mostly toward the bows, after pressure washing off small mounds or rust and the jet black scab found underneath, there is bright silvery pitting. I understand this indicates strong galvanic and stray electrical current resulting in rapid erosion of the metal, usually to the point where there are no oxides present. But what on earth is the cause?. The only other clue is that where there is most pitting, is where it is moored up against a land surface water outfall which splashed down between the boat and the concrete wharf, when it rains.

Why? I can understand it if you expect freezing conditions, but to drain it every day anyway seems a very odd thing to do!

We'll be going to Coventry Basin next week or two, mainly because people keep telling us NOT to go down there, so we thought we'd find out for ourselves.

Hold on - are you saying River and Canal Rescue came out, had a look, and then just left you there? Perhaps they should change their name!

Absolutely agree with what Matty said

I had been enquiring with Basic Boat Company about a butty insurance and found it had been discussed before on here. Search this Forum for "Basic Boat Insurance" and scroll down to find the relevant heading in 2014. (Sorry I don't know how to make a link)

Or the Volunteer's actions might have made the boater move directly in the path of a falling meteorite. But hey - its always satisfying to have someone else to blame for all the bad stuff that life throws at you to deal with.