Mad Harold

Unless you are the sort of person who enjoys sleeping on a bed of nails and walking around with stones in your shoes,forget it.Walk away and don't look back. You'll spend most of your time "spannerin"and generally "prattin" about with a manky old tub,which in my experience,will cost you more than if you had bought a good boat in the first place. Save up your pennies,or see your bank manager about a loan,and buy something decent.

I used expanding foam trying to save the bother of removing trim panels.[cos you can never get the buggers back exactly as they came off.] But I have had to remove the panels that the foam pushed out to cut away excess foam.This was harder than removing panels that didn't have spray foam,also the shower feed pipes run quite high up behind the trim,so I have had to clean these up as well. So in trying to save myself work,I have actually made more ! If you are going to use spray foam around your water tank,remember it is difficult to remove once set,because it really does stick,and also if you get it around any plumbing,it will make tracing leaks difficult. We live and learn !

Just used the calculator suggested by Colin Wilks,and overplating my hull sides and bottom the increase in weight [30ft boat] is about 1.3 tons.[Proper tons not metric ones] I have also read the article suggested by Balder and was quite horrified! Does anyone know roughly how much extra cost is involved in cutting away the old steel before welding new steel to the frames? I have a horrible feeling that it would make my boat beyond economic repair.

Log on to the CRT website,click on licensing,and then click on "Guidance for boaters without a home mooring" The CRT's explanation is slightly clearer than some of these posts,but does seem to leave room for some interpretation.

Tracing a leak can be a long process.Other people here have covered most sources,water pipe junctions,waste outlets where they exit the hull,windows and air vents.After drawing a blank on these sources trying to find my leak,I discovered it by accident. While scraping bubbling paint off the cabin sides I found that corrosion had penetrated the metal in several places.A good sanding,Kurust and filler fixed this.The original metal spec was 3mm,on the top.My boat is a 1978 Hesford. If you can't find the source of your water ingress doing the detective work suggested on these posts,then it is possible that a corrosion pit or pits have penetrated the hull. This may not be a tragedy,because a fellow boater had just this happen.The average metal thickness on his hull was within satisfactory limits,but had some deep pitting.This was repaired by spot welding.A suitably skilled welder will be able to spot weld corrosion pitting without damaging the interior trim or insulation.

A very good observation. Pity I didn't take much notice. Filling with foam was ok in the shorter sections of trim that were well secured,but in longer sections with wider spaced screws the panels did indeed push out. Trim is 3mm veneered ply.

I assume your engine, like mine,is cooled by canal water circulating around the engine. Mine has a seperate water pump foot mounted at the front of the engine with three pipes.Inlet,bypass,and engine feed.I have fitted a "tee" into the engine feed and a tap [a standard plumbing type isolating valve found on toilets and sinks] opened and closed with a screwdriver.It is quick and simple to drain the water out of the engine.Its at the lowest point in the coolimg system,and drains out about two litres.

The starting instructions on a sticker on my boat [ BMC 1500 ] read ; quarter throttle in neutral and heater plugs for 30 seconds. It always bursts into life immediately with a cloud of smoke and sounds like two skeletons having sex on a tin roof for a few seconds. I know its not a Vetus,but if everything is in good order the starting procedure for most diesels is the same.

I have a couple of questions about overplating.My boat is ok for the moment,but a survey for insurance did suggest that some corrosion pitting would need spot welding or even overplating in the next couple of years. I have heard that overplating costs about £100 per foot does anyone know if this is about right? Is the old metal cut off and new metal welded to the frames,or is new metal simply welded to the old rusty stuff? If new metal is welded to the old,is there a problem with the weight of the boat? It appears to me that if a boat is re-bottomed and re-sided over the old metal then the overall weight of the boat may exceed it's design parameters. If some knowledgeable could answer these questions,I would be grateful. Happy Christmas to all.

A silver band usually means that the band at some time in the past has won a silver trophy. There are several brass bands around with the title "Silver Prize Band" but normally just so and so silver band.

My first boat was a Norman 20. The problems I had were,windy weather [it was all over the cut,] and locks. Although the beam was 6ft 10" the locks on my local ditch have a 7ft entrance.To get in it was neccesary to pull the fenders up so gaining quite a few "battle scars".Most outboard powered boats need about 3ft of water [not guaranteed on canals] so an engine that is able to pivot up when it hits the bottom or submerged object is desirable.[Some engine makers call this shallow water drive]

Mike the Boilerman advises tightening the stern gland every day when the boat is in use.I thought this only had to be done when dribbles of water appear under the propshaft. Did you mean tighten the grease tap daily when the boat is in use ?

I have used expanding foam before when installing new windows at home.Can't remember the make but I do remember it was a pale yellow colour and after filling the gap it kept expanding and expanding all over the place.I had to cut loads of it away once it had set. I suppose that different makes of foam have different characteristics. I was given this tube of foam by a builder who was working nearby. Wish I could remember the make.

My boat was re-fitted out some two years ago by a previous owner [I was told] but,in below zero temperatures there are some cold areas inside even with the stove going full blast.I suspect that the insulation was a bit skimped on the re-fit. Rather than removing trim panels and cupboards I am thinking of simply drilling a few holes at various points in the trim and squirting spray foam in plugging the holes later. I realise this could be quite expensive and the foam will stick like the proverbial to the inside of the trim panels,but it strikes me as an easier option. Am I being too simplistic ? or does it sound practical ? I would welcome any comments.

Hi everyone, new to this forum and new to narrow boating,although I had a 20ft fibreglass cruiser before buying "Popsie" a 30ft steel narrowboat.The cruiser was a pig to steer,and in windy conditions was like a headless chicken. "Popsie"on the other hand,handles superbly even on windy days. She is presently moored on the Peak Forest canal, [where I bought her] although I have a permanent mooring in Huddersfield I can't take her home yet due to scheduled canal and lock maintainance. "Popsie"is quite an old lady,[1978] but the hull survey I had done,was ok for metal thickness,but did point out some hull pitting which recommended monitoring every other season. Her mooring on the Peak Forest canal is only about an hour and a half away by car,so for the present I spend most weekends aboard and quite happily chug up and down the canal. The more time I spend on her,the longer the jobs list becomes,but will be seen to when I get her home. She was built by Hesford Marine of Lymm,Cheshire [anyone know anything about them ?] They are still in business,but don't build boats anymore.I contacted them to see if they could tell me anything about my boat,but was told that the business has changed hands twice since "Popsie was built and they had no records of previous activity. I look forward to reading through this forum,it looks like a mine of useful information.