Mad Harold

That's ok.Are you single? if so, could you post details of your boat?

If you are reasonably intelligent (and I think you are) cos you use punctuation and get your message across clearly,then get a workshop manual,read up,and trawl through old posts on CWF on whatever you are working on,and use the expertise of members here. That's what I have done,and nobody touches my engine now except me!

Your crank pulley doesn't look like mine. So,either your's is wrong or mine is! And, mine doesn't have any extra bolt holes in it.Just the centre bolt.

It's obviously an old boat and may well have been through a dozen owners who may well have messed with it,in various ways. It was probably originally direct or indirect raw water cooled and had a Jabsco type water pump fitted,and to line everything up may have involved putting spacers in the pulleys. It is possible to only have one crank pulley operating both the alternator and the external water pump,but the engine pump would need removing and a blanking plate over the orifice for direct raw water cooling.Indirect raw water cooling would need a double crank pulley,one for the external water pump,and the other for the alternator and engine water pump. Never had my crankshaft pulley off,and looking at the online manual,there doesn't appear to be a spacer,so I would assume that if the correct pulley is fitted then everything should line up. Don't understand why there are two skin tanks,unless one was too small or has no baffles and the engine was overheating. (supposed to have one square foot of cooling area,per four HP) for the BMC 1500 this should be about 8 square feet. Boater Sam has covered the sluggish starting. I have owned my boat for two years now,and have just about fixed all the previous owners' bodges! If I did need to remove the crankshaft pulley,I would have to ask this excellent forum; 1,How do I lock the engine up in order to remove the nut,and 2,Is the nut RH or LH thread?

That looks exactly like the inside of my shower door when I bought my boat.The inside of the shower was tiled but the door was bare ply. Sanded and sanded till I got fed up,and still the water staining refused to go. Finally painted it dove grey with Dulux Weathershield. I thought about woodstain but reasoned that the whole door would have to be as dark (or darker) than the water staining. Hope someone has a better solution for you than painting.

I will try. Narrowboat hulls don't corrode evenly all over,they start with pitting of the surface.If there are only a few pits,they can be spot welded,but if deep pits have spread over a large area then overplating or cutting out the corroded area and welding in new steel will be required. Now,why do these pits start in the first place? why doesn't the steel corrode evenly? My theory. When steel is made iron ore,limestone and other ingredients that I don't know about are all melted together,and air is blasted through to get rid of the unwanted stuff (slag) and if this process is not done properly and slag is left in the steel to save a few quid,then that I think is where the rust pits will start. It is just a theory,and am quite prepared for incoming because I don't have any qualifications in metallurgy,but I have seen steel being cut up with a torch for scrap.(my first wife's father had an industrial scrap business) and some steel cut like butter,and other stuff,there was sparks flying all over the place and was difficult to cut.

Have found Plus Gas the best of all penetrating fluids. However it does stink. Smells a bit like diesel.

My boat is a 30 footer built 1978,and still going strong. Original steel thickness,6,5,3mm. The last survey recorded less than 1mm steel loss all round,but with some pitting noted. I think more modern larger boats are built with thicker steel because a longer boat will need more torsional stiffness,and also I think (but have no evidence of this) that modern steel is of poorer quality and rusts quicker than the old stuff. It's just my theory,and have mentioned this before on this forum,but people more knowledgeable than me,have said this is not true,and it's environmental factors that cause more rapid corrosion. I am simply basing my theory on my own observations. (Great is the mystery of faith)

As Mr Smelly says try a broad screwdriver to gently prise the brass surround down a bit. It also could be that the bulb itself screws in with a half turn. If this is the case,dampen your fingers to get a bit of friction,and push and try to twist the bulb anticlockwise. Just looked at the picture again,and it looks as though there is a screw on the brass surround.

I think I have heard them called Yarwood rails. But could be wrong. (I usually am)

Fingers crossed. Make them a nice cup of coffee,show them around,and leave them to have a leisurely look around while you disappear to water your garden,chat with a neighbour,or some other reason to leave them alone for a short time. I have found this quite effective when I have sold a house or boat. Best of luck!

Lots of modern boats seem to have a continuous ledge on the cabin top as a handhold. Water does seem to gather where there isn't a drain place. Older boats (like mine) have circular (or tubular) rails with welded supports every couple of feet. Much better in my opinion,as water runs straight off. It's probably less labour intensive to make a boat with a continuous ledge and therefore cheaper. I have seen an owner drill drain holes in the ledge,and then use a round file to make the holes flush with the roof.

My cat goes "a bit off colour" when he has caught and partially eaten a bird. He can't seem to resist Bluetits. Possibly the feathers upset his stomach.

Good idea,but, I find it easier on the HNC to walk up to the next pound and send a couple of lockfuls down. Some days you will do more walking than boating.

But I protest,you've never met me!