Binkie's Grandson

My Perkins 3.152 was previously used as a standby generator and the guy who fitted out the boat in the early '90s told me the Borg Warner Velvet Drive came from a forklift truck

I shared the exact same idea with CRT myself

I have messaged you

https://www.facebook.com/KnotforProfitFenders

Your boat setup has four fixing points for a tipcat and button, which I can make for you (Knot for Profit Fenders). The advantage of this arrangement is that it breaks in half if you ever get stuck in a tight lock or winding hole, by simply lifting up the button. It also means the button takes the majority of the daily wear and can be replaced without changing the tipcat. And it looks so much better than a droopy long fender. I can also make this for you if you want; I use old car tyres as the core to avoid the droop, it should be 3-4" longer than your rudder.

The IWA seem to be going through CEOs like the Tories through Prime Ministers. What's going on?

Is there a traditional method, rope material and/or knot for securing fenders to the boat? I am thinking particularly how the fender chains are extended to the fixing points in the photo.

I just saw a terrapin above bridge No55 above Hatton flight. It was clinging to a branch in the water as I went past, but had swim off before I could get a photo. Can anyone corroborate my sighting as my family don't believe me (Not after the 4ft swimming grass snake I saw on the K&A).

40+ when it is cold. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get up to normal temperature, and pressures are still good at cruising and idle; the drop off seems to happen after an hour or so of cruising, although no perceptible change on the temperature gauge.

I may be clutching at straws, but could the fact that it is a newly rebuilt engine (~100 hours), running tight, be generating more friction and heat in the oil, so it loses its viscosity after a run. There is some improvement after a period at idle, presumably because the oil has a chance to cool, although the temp gauge doesn't show any increase on the normal 75C operating temperature. When it was rebuilt the oil pump was replaced (at least according to the invoice!).

Yes, I bought them as a package together

We ran the boat through Chester yesterday. The new gauge and sender definitely give a damped fluctuation of the needle, however the same drop (and more) in pressure is still concerning me. At cold start it indicates 50 psi, falling to 40 psi when warmed up and running at normal cruise. After an hour of running at this speed it has dropped slightly, but when in idle/tickover the pressure fluctuates between 0-5 psi. It suggests there may be some heat build-up in the oil, so it losses its viscosity, whilst the coolant is staying constant at 75C.

I replaced the sender and gauge this weekend and, although the engine has not had a full run up to temperature, the needle doesn't seem to be bouncing around like it was before.

Memories from Richardf59 (From TractorByNet): Hi I remember the issue we had with the Perkins - it was a really stressful time as we had initially had the engine replaced with a like for like Kelvin P4 which proved to be worse than the old one (bought å–ªefurbished from Marine Power Services? and then having made the big decision to get rid of it - the Perkins was a nightmare to get right. We never did get to the bottom of it, but they took it away and rebuilt it again - I always reckoned that they put the wrong size bearings in it initially. I always found Canalworld a good place to ask questions like this. Wildly varying oil pressure sounds like a blockage somewhere or a pick up issue in the sump, maybe an oil pump issue. Once fixed, mine never ran less than 45psi The boat is sold now (nb Marcellus), but the Perkins was a great engine - although I never really got the exhaust running clean! All the best with it. Cheers Richardf59 I have the same experience with our engine not running clean; before and after the rebuild it tends to smoke more than most.

I'm not so concerned about the drop in pressure over a long day, although I wonder whether changing to a different oil might help (currently 15W40), but the wild variation of the gauge, particularly after an engine rebuild when the oil pump and PRV were supposedly replaced, does seem strange. The bouncing needle of the gauge was common before the rebuild at idle, but usually stabilised at mid-revs and rock solid at faster speeds. Now the situation is constant 20psi pressures at idle (although I have my doubts this is a true reading), fluctuations at mid-revs, with some improvement at higher revs; the same pressure sender and gauge were installed before and after the rebuild (soon to be changed).