Mad Harold

Locks 1E,and 9E have rather tight entrances (HNC) when you are in they are a bit wider.I am a bit reluctant to plan longish trips for fear of having to leave my little boat in some godforsaken place because of stoppages. The closed pubs are a bit of a bummer too.It was very pleasant to have a couple of days on the boat to visit nearby pubs. The Red Rooster,the Colliers Arms,the Barge and Barrel on the Calder and Hebble,the Pear Tree at Mirfield,and the Bridge on the HNC. The pity is,pubs will be closed (some perhaps permanently) for some considerable time as social distancing is impossible in a pub. I am like the OP getting a bit jaded with boating,and wonder if it is time to sell up and buy a Harley. I would probably get more use from it!

But surely Alan,the heat generated by the burner sends the CO up the flue,and also when the pilot light is on. I always turned the pilot light off at night anyway because of the gentle roar it made ,it used to keep me awake.

Had a Morco non room sealed water heater in the living/sleeping area of my last boat. As well as a CO alarm,the pilot light was always turned off when not being used. It was quite simple to click the pilot light on when hot water was required. They have a safety cut off in that if the pilot light blows out,the temperature sensor cuts the gas supply off.

My carbon monoxide alarm went off due to the battery "gassing"through overcharging.

When you get old, you will probably (like me) regret some things that you did and be quite pleased with some other things that you did but could have done better. You will though most likely regret much more things you didn't do. So go ahead and splash the cash to do what you want. My father skrimped and saved all his working life and when he retired was too infirm to enjoy the fruits of his savings. I got them!!! Cheers Dad!

Is your boat narrow beam (6-10).If it is a Freeman,they made very few narrow beams.The usual Freemans were 7-6. This may limit you to wider canals. As for spares,tools,spark plug,spare throttle cable,gears are usually a pole sticking up through the floor. The narrow beam Freemans had a weed hatch,if yours hasn't,then I don't know how you would clear the prop. Wet suit and snorkel??

lI think silicone sealer (the domestic type) will hold the feet of the panels securely enough.Removal will need a Stanley knife and rubbing the residue with your fingers.

25K sounds cheap for a 1988 46 footer with a mooring . It could be a "snip" as they say in the motor trade On the other hand; it may be anything but. If you think it is worth the survey fee (a basic hull survey would be cheaper than the full works) and probably more sensible with a cheap boat then go ahead. Best of luck.

I thought fibreglass boats were cheaper to maintain than steel! It would appear from your bill that having a steel boat overplated is not too dear.

Had a look at the pictures of Normans on their forum,and it does look like your boat is a Norman 23 MK 1.

Looks like a Norman 22 to me. Agree that 5hp is a bit small for these boats. Suggest that you google Norman Owner's Forum,and you will find lots of info and specialised knowledge of Norman boats. As well as staying on CWF of course!

That sounds interesting. Could you post some pictures please?

Who can blame her??

Mine didn't.I have heard of core plugs rusting through,but didn't experience it. This method of cooling (in my case) was extremely simple,but needed more attention than skin tanks. Checking the inlet strainer and water filter I made a daily task as well as keeping an eye on the water outlet.The cleaning of the filters was not always necessary in that I could cruise on some canals for several days and the filters would be clear.But I remember the upper Peak Forest one Autumn was a carpet of leaves,and I was clearing the inlet strainer almost every hour. A thoughtful previous owner of my boat had fitted a hose connection to one of the cylinder head blanking plugs,and every time I filled up with water I would put the hose on it and flush the water jacket.Usually got a few seconds of brownish water from the outlet (rust or sediment?) and then it would run clear. I only owned the boat for just over two years,so am not in a position to say what this system is like longer term,except that the boat was built in 1978 and I have no reason to believe that it was not the cooling system from build.

Or perhaps thought "stuff this for a game of soldiers" and gone off to buy a Harley Davidson.

Yes.My last boat had a BMC 1500 and had that system. Sucked canal water from under the counter,through a strainer and Vetus water filter with a Jabscoe pump,around the water jacket and spat it out at the side. This system will usually be on older boats.Mine was built in 1978.

The Huddersfield Narrow and the Rochdale would be used a lot more if there was some water in them!!! Especially the HNC. It's raining in Huddersfield at the moment,so fingers crossed.

Huddersfield Narrow and Broad are well down.River Calder also very low. Probably navigable by paddleboard!

Is it an e clip,or a circlip.A circlip seems more likely.Even if you know the exact size that you need,you will not be popular at a motor shop asking for one clip. You will probably need to buy a pack of assorted clips.

I think thats the lock that floods the towpath if left full. Lock 1E has to be left empty because it floods the basement of a nearby building. If you find the culprit,take it easy,because it may be some senile old gimmer. Rumour has it that one or two on this forum are "getting on a bit"?

It obviously won't maintain when I am not aboard.But I am thinking more of safety as originally I said that my CO detector was going off when I visited my boat yesterday due to the battery gassing through overcharging. I did check the battery voltage with the solar panel connected and got a reading of 12.8 volts and the 19.4 volt reading was obtained by putting the multimeter on the solar panel connections. Thanks for your input.

Checked the battery today,and the voltmeter read 12.8V after reading 13.4V about twenty hours ago. Putting the meter onto the solar panel conections it read 19.4 volts with the full sun on it dropping to 13 volts when a bit of cloud obscured the sun. Rather than fitting a charge controller I have fitted crocodile clips to the solar panel wires,and will only clip them onto the battery when I am aboard. Not being tight fisted about buying a charge controller,but I would worry when I wasn't aboard about the thing working as advertised.As I have learned (thanks to CWF) an overcharged battery as well as giving off gas,is also a fire risk. If anyone thinks 19.4 volts is too much to put into a 12V battery,I will simply remove the solar panel and charge the battery with the engine or take the battery home to charge it.