Boisdevie

Starts up fine but then after a mile or so gradually seems to lose power and the air from the hot air vent blowing through the hull seems very oily. On taking up the deck board there was oil on the underside above the rocker cover. Does this sounds like a blown gasket and would this account for the loss of engine power?

Yes, of course I can cruise in the opposite direction back the way I came. But that's not the direction I want to go and every mile the wrong way in effect takes me two miles the wrong way. This costs me my time and fuel. Now yes, my ignorance is no excluse and I've learned a lesson. But frankly some of the comments to my genuine question I found quite insulting in their insinuations.

And this is relevant to my post in what way exactly? Are you suggesting that I am doing this deliberately? FYI I have only been a NB owner since June this year and simply didn't realise that they shut locks for weeks at a time.

I stupidly assumed the canal would be open. I had no idea the lock was shut and actually motored there only to have to turn around and come back to Appleby Bridge.

Set off from Appleby Bridge this morning towards the Rufford branch of the Leeds Liverpool only to find the lock is closed for 5 weeks for repair. So I can't continuously cruise in the direction I wanted and going the other way is the wrong way and will cost me time and money. I'm hoping to stay put until the lock reopens. I've emailed the C&RT for advice. Wonder if they'll hassle me to continue moving?

They could pull out the pins but that's quite an effort and I'm just hoping that if I make it a bit harder or more time consuming then they'll not bother. Untying ropes is quite easy.

To clarify. On a canal. No nearby boats. No armco or rings.

Moored up in the countryside. As I was in the shower somebody untied my lines from the mooring pins. Fortunately I thought the boat had moved a bit and went to check. I'm thinking of locking a chain from the middle of the boat to the central pin. Is this a good idea or are there any other better ways? I have to leave the boat for a few days on a regular basis and get quite stressed about coming back to find that the boat has floated off thanks to some yob.

I'm very familiar with the Lancaster canal. The section from Galgate to Lancaster can be hard doing when it's been wet. From Lancaster to Carnforth it's easy peasy. Don't know about the other sections. On a mountain bike or hybrid it's easy peasy but clearly it depends on your fitness.

I may be trying to go up the Wigan locks tomorrow. Is there anywhere I can get a key or it is just worth hanging around and going up with another boat - assuming they have a key?

thanks for the replies. In this case the ribs are definitely separate from the GRP top. Wonder if I can glue some support struts alongside with sikaflex and then screw into them to support the originals?

I'm renovating a 1976 Harborough Marine narrowboat. The top and sides are GRP. The ceiling has a series of curved ribs that support it. The ribs are made up from pieces of ply cut in a curve and glued together to make a double or in some places a quadruple thick piece. One of these has suffered from rain damage at the end and needs replacing - that's easy enough - but I can 't see how they are fastened into the roof - any ideas?

My GRP roofed narrowboat has long rails along the roof on both sides . They're of wood and in a poor state. I want to replace them. Anyone know what they're actually called so I can track down a supplier. Thanks all.

I've ordered a 200w panel and I'm going to fit it flat - 60odd quid for brackets is way too expensive for me.

Thank you kind person.

I'm about to fit solar onto my boat but can't find a supplier for those A shaped mounts that hold the panel centrally and allow it to be tilted either way. Can anyone give me any links? Thanks in advance.

But would an ecofan push air to the end of a 56 foot boat? I've no experience of them.

With a woodburner you get lots of hot air above it. I was wondering if it would be possible to use ducting and 12v computer fans to take some of this warm air and move it to other bits of the boat? So rather than having a hot end and a cold end you could have a more uniform temperature. Daft idea or doable?

Trip is Sandbach to either Lancaster OR Chorley.

So am I OK to just knock mooring pegs into the ground?

Shortly I'll have to make a 5 day trip. I've never done it before. Can you simply tie up for the night by the towpath or do you have to stop at 'official' mooorings? If it's the latter, is there any way of knowing how long you can stay at such moorings. If this question has been asked a million times then my apologies. In the days/weeks to come I'm sure to ask lots of other stupid questions.