tosher

I to am from Yorkshire and say what I mean - my Elecsol's are in their 7th year of service and have performed flawlessly. I've looked after them and they've looked after me.

Hi all. Just wondering if it's a good idea to use "Redex" in a modern diesel engine. I have been told that modern fuels, especially supermarket fuels, have a high Biofuel content and this and can cause engine problems. Using the occasional dose of "Redex" can counteract this. Any of you engine experts know if there is any truth in this???

I once had trouble with my bow thruster motor slowing down after a few seconds, the classic signs of a dying battery. I had it drop tested which showed it was fine but I didn't believe it so I bought a new battery. Guess what happened when I fitted the new battery -- just the same. The lesson that a drop test is a pretty good way of testing batteries cost me £80.

I agree. I had the same symptoms as you describe and that turned out to be the cup bearing on the skeg. I have a "Warstock" type top bearing which is different to yours but had the same clunking sound.

We moored there for two years in the early days and only remember "Liz" in the office. We paid our mooring fees 3 months in advance but that's about all I remember. Don't know if that helps you.

Slightly off topic but----- As a boater and a fisherman I always slow down to tickover when passing fishermen and generally speaking most of them acknowledge me if they are alone. If they are in a match then it is very different. A few weeks ago I passed a match on the Shroppie and conducted a little survey. I slowed to tickover as usual and started counting how many were fishing the match. My wife and I looked and smiled at every single one of them and it was peg 33 before one responded. We counted 77 fishermen in total and only 12 acknowledged us, five with no more than a grunt but only 7 actually smiled and spoke, the rest totally blanked us. Suggestions please for what I should do when next I pass a fishing match.

I recently lifted my boat for blacking and replacing anodes (old ones 75% worn). I also fitted a new Crowther prop, exactly the same size as the old one which is of unknown manufacture. When I returned to my marina berth and plugged into the shore power I noticed that the Aquafax galvanic isolator volt meter was registering a voltage. If I remove the shore lead no voltage is shown. With the lead unplugged I measured the voltage between the shore power socket earth pin and the boat plug earth pin and got 200mv. The GI voltage indicator always showed zero before I lifted out. No work at all was carried out to the boats wiring whilst ashore. What could be causing this and should I be worried?????

Very interested in your problem because my boat does exactly the same but only when cold, rattling in forward gear at low speed but much less in reverse gear. After 30 minutes under load when warmed up it's all smooth. It's an Izusu 42/ PRM 150 and Python drive. All done 2300hrs. It started after about 1000hrs but has got worse since I fitted a new prop,the same size as the old one but more meaty (a Crowther). Similar symptoms similar problem?

It sounds like a bargain to me if he is a good competent welder. I paid about £400 for my complete job. It was welded in ok with the boat still in the water and solved my engine cooling problems. Remember may have to increase the size of your coolant expansion bottle. --- tosher.

When I bought my new Izusu engine some years ago, it included a 1 day engine maintenance course at their assembly factory. On this course they recommended exactly what you suggest, periodically running the engine at full power for 10 to 15 minutes. Canal or river bank permitting of course.

Absolutely brilliant, thanks for sharing it with us.

If adopting this approach bear in mind that replacement slow blow fuses cost about £10 each.

Just done the Severn from Stourport to Gloucester and back. No trouble at all and water levels are at normal summer level. The river is lovely you will enjoy it. Have fun. tosher.

I too would recommend Elecsol batteries. Mine are open lead acid carbon fibre construction type and in their 6th year of service. Can't comment on customer service as never had to contact them.

My feelings as well. A lot easier to check with a transparent bowl than messing about draining fuel off.

Well I finally got round to doing something about my noisy Shureflow water pump, I bought a new Jabsco pump and installed it as suggested above (except for the box) and the difference is remarkable. It is now almost silent, the trick seems to be multi layers of rubber and the flexible hose connections onto the pump. Thanks again for the help.

You have me worried now --- I don't fully understand your post, the wording I used was taken directly from the policy I received three days ago. I do have to satisfy myself they are competent to handle the boat but who would loan there boat to some one without doing this.

Good thinking! "Loaning Craft" does include cover for owners immediate family. For others the owner must supply details of borrowers to the insurance company.

"Newton Crum" - Helmsman's policy states "Dehumidifiers and heaters, unless Certified Rated for Marine use, must not be left on unattended overnight"

Yes indeed, I used my wife's nail polishing card to to dress up the contacts, the smoothest one she had, then just rubbed up with a cloth. Worked fine but will have to see how long they last.

I had some trouble with my Vetus 55kg BT after 5 years use, speed was very erratic in one direction. The problem was a bad contact on the brush leads under the securing screw. These units are quite robust but are likely to misbehave sometimes. It is a DIY job to remove the motor, remove and clean the brushes, clean the comm, strip down the contactor and clean the contacts then replace. A good fettle up like this will usually solve most problems and it really is not difficult.

Just a thought, from the OP's description of what happened it would appear quite possible that only one wire (or maybe two wires) were faulty that caused the engine to start. All other electrical systems seemed to be behaving normally at the time. So is it correct to blame the whole wiring loom for the fire when only a couple a wire were responsible.????