Mad Harold

Cruising is dead easy,you can steer the boat untill a week before you shake off your mortal coil. Locks however,are a different matter. With age usually comes stiffness of back,hips and knees.I know about this as I am old enough to remember the Romans leaving Britain in 440ad. At the weekend had a trip from Huddersfield to 'Slawit'and back the next day.40 odd locks in two days on my own. Some of the paddles needed superhuman strength to operate,and I was quite knackered when I returned.I did sleep well that night.

Do any of these 12v sanders connect directly to the boat's battery? It would be a practical solution to their capacity,keeping the engine running while using them. Does anyone know?

Just do it,and if challenged,plead ignorance. If just transiting,don't stop. From Castlefield to Preston Brook it's 20 miles lock free.

It is not possible to properly isolate in a pub .A shop,yes as you are in and out fairly quickly,but in a pub you may be breathing the same air as everyone else for a couple of hours or more. It is nonsense to suggest that it is safe to go to a pub.

The Vetus filters and I think some others too,have a translucent top,so you can see the water splashing through. Had a plastic see through hose on mine,but couldn't see the water flow through it because the water was the same colour as the hose and as the flow was continuous,it wasn't possible to discern any movement.

That looks fine.You could do with a pan type Vetus type water filter inboard as well, plumbed into the water inlet.Installed just above water level,I think this has been mentioned before. A tap (shutoff valve) would be a good idea too to prevent water syphoning in if a internal hose comes off or leaks,when the boat is left unattended,although as your water inlet slopes down I don't think there's much danger of that. Every thing you have been through with your cooling system,I experienced with my last boat,so I understand why you feel pleased with yourself for fixing it. Just a final thought,the inlet hose outside on the transom needs securing in some way so that you can pull it up to clear the strainer easily.Otherwise it will flop about with the propwash. )

Thanks Alan. I think the Dutch oven will fit the bill if I insert a suitable sized wire cake rack inside to keep food from burning on the bottom of it. I need to heat ready meals,lasagne,ribs in sauce etc.to make a change from my usual boat diet of bacon sandwiches and corned beef and beans.

Would a mudweight fore and aft on the offside of the boat be effective?

Are Ultraflex control cables (throttle and gear) meant to be lubricated,or are they non lubricated,ie.the outer cable either nylon or teflon lined? If they are meant to be lubricated,how does one do it? I have a couple of motorcycle cable oilers but the cable ends are too thick for them to fit.

Thanks Jon,had a look but that is not what I had in mind. I imagine a square box with a door and a shelf inside that can be heated on the hob.

When cruising I do miss enjoying certain meals.I should say I only have a single burner spirit stove.Toast,I can make with a perforated steel plate with wire across the top,but I do miss Sainsburys Sticky Ribs which need to be cooked in an oven.There is no room for fitting a full size cooker,so I was wondering if there was such a thing as a hob oven. I can envisage something like a steel box perhaps the size of a biscuit tin that sits on the hob. Does anyone know if such a thing exists?

I too have a daft question. looking through my Nicholsons Guide at the Chesterfield canal (not that I am planning on going there) I notice that from the Norwood Tunnel, the canal is marked out in dashed blue lines. Have looked for a legend in vain. Do these dashed lines mean that the canal is un navigable?

When you retire to your grp cruiser Arthur,you may modify your view.

To be sure you need two adjustable spanners. One imperial,and one metric.?

Had my last boat blacked at Furness Vale.It is a covered dry dock and they steam cleaned my hull for £45 (2018) I think that doing your own blacking is allowed,but check.

The boat moored next to me with a new owner had the same problem.I also had it on my old boat. It may not be the cause here,but simply revving the engine after start up energised the alternator and the red light went out.

From your picture your boat looks to be a Norman 22 mk3.Quite old,but nothing wrong with that as the older boats were usually made with thicker fibreglass than more modern computer designed hulls. I had pretty much the same problems with engine cooling as you,on my last boat,and advice from Tony and others helped solve them. You will like me learn how to solve boaty problems quickly,with the help of this forum. I do think that buying a boat is rather like taking up with a new woman,in that you don't really know her untill you have lived with her for a year. Please keep us informed how you are getting on. Best of luck.

I used brass wire mesh rolled into a tube shape,and inserted into the seacock. The mesh is available on e bay and is used mainly in model making.It comes in various densities,and if I remember correctly,I used the type with 2mm spacing gaps. On some days it did block frequently,depending on how "weedy"the canal was. I made the strainer inspection part of my pre-cruising checks,and had no trouble with blockages. It was simply a matter of unscrewing the cap on the seacock,pulling the strainer out and swishing it in the canal.

I too noticed this,but assumed the OP had removed them to check water circulation,(I hope he has) otherwise as you understate the engine will of course overheat almost at once.

When water stops ciculating,the first check with raw water cooling is the water inlet.There will probably be a mesh strainer in the seacock inlet,leading to a Vetus type water filter.There may or may not be a mudbox.Filters of course must be clear of weed and debris. Another rare blockage can occur if the feed pipe to the water pump has a 90 degree junction on it,a build up of sludge here will block the water flow. This happened on my last boat.Took me ages to diagnose the blockage.+

You may have something wrapped around the prop,or it may be loose on it's shaft.

It will look HORRIBLE Anyway,I thought boats in your area were painted "London White"

You are insulting one of the most experienced and helpful members of this forum. I suggest that YOU go away.

I have used Steradent tablets to remove tea stains in a teapot. Found them very effective.