Mike55

We've had the boat about 2 1/2 years, and the current batteries were on it when we bought it. I don't know how old they were then. As far as I can tell the charging regime for the batteries I'm proposing to buy is the same as the existing.

My current domestic batteries (4 x nominal 115Ah Trojan 27TMH) are life expired. I'm considering replacing them with 4 x nominal 130Ah Trojan 30XHS batteries. There is physically enough space to take them in my battery box (they're a bit bigger in all directions) and enough clearance to get them in. The existing battery connection cables should reach the new battery's terminals OK. The terminals are the same type. According to the manufacturer's data sheets the charging characteristics (voltages) of both battery types are the same. My alternator is a 110 Amp unit and the battery charger is a Mastervolt Mass Combi 12/2500-100. As this is going to be a fairly expensive outlay, is there anything I've overlooked that is going to come along and bite me on the backside? I'm intending to buy them from Tayna batteries as they appear to be the cheapest. Any advice gratefully received.

Presumably out on the tideway you're running at higher revs than on a canal, so using more fuel so the limitations on fuel flow rate due to relying on a gravity feed will be more likely to restrict engine performance/running.

That's an understatement. Easy start is terrible stuff and damages engines and makes them harder to start in the future, requiring more easy start, causing more damage, requiring more easy start etc. etc. Easy start is highly volatile which starts the engine, but it also washes the lubricating oil off the cylinder walls thereby increasing wear of the piston rings & cylinders. This reduces the compression ratio of the engine due to leakage past the wear and makes the engine harder to start next time. Easy start is the mark of a cowboy.

Quite correct. The problem with side ponds from a water conservation point of view is that if they are used correctly they save water, but if used incorrectly they increase water usage. My understanding is that this was BW's justification for taking them out of use.

The Rideau Canal can be cruised, so could be on your other list. I drove most of its length a couple of years ago, stopping at various canal focal points, next time I want to cruise it. Tim & Pru did it, so it can't be that difficult!

One of the problems with aluminium is that as it isn't as strong as steel, unless it's stiffened (compared to a steel one) it'll likely distort & leak, particularly when you tighten up the weed hatch clamp. Making a aluminium copy of your existing one (to the same dimensions etc.) would probably not work. It'll probably need a thicker top plate/lid plus more cross bracing on the underside of it.

Is this on a boat? Looking at the photo in your OP, those look like bricks in the bottom left corner. Assuming that it is a boat, what voltage are the batteries? And if you take that light fitting apart, what voltage is the bulb inside, and does it glow brightly or dimly?

We bought our boat from Market Bosworth Marina, and kept it there for a few months before moving. The marina is very exposed and it can get very windy. Our gangplank with various other bits attached to it blew off the rack on the roof. Fortunately there were no boats downwind of us, so no damage but we just had the problem of recovering it all. We secure all that with straps now, although as we now moor somewhere much less windy (Fazeley Mill Marina) we possibly don't need to, but better safe than sorry.

That's because it is.

I'm also at FMM, although not a live aboard. ABC have a mooring 'year' that runs from October to September, rather than the anniversary of your arrival. The new mooring agreement requires us to give 16 weeks notice rather than the current 1 month. I too quite like the relaxed atmosphere there, although there are clearly going to be more changes to come.

We once had a goldfish that we called Marillion, which my sister thought was hilarious (she's easily pleased). Our parents didn't get it at all.

Something you see in the U.S., but not here is fifth wheels mounted in the back of pickups. I'm fairly sure that they're usually removable. For heavy trailers it's a much safer arrangement as the point where the load is transferred to the towing vehicle is in front of the rear axle.

There used to be a TV programme called 'Salvage Squad' that did up various vehicles. They did an Amphicar once, and had to get a BSC for it too. It failed its first one due to an incorrect fuel hose. Although I think that may have been a set up. Good programmes though!

I learnt to drive on a 'Little Grey Fergie' many moons ago and it had a hydraulic 'automatic' hitch fitted which was virtually under the diff. More modern tractors which are also much heavier do tend to have the hook further back.

The Burslem Port Trust website has more: https://www.burslemport.org.uk/giant-footsteps-at-burslem-port Although the only planned physical work is a footpath, all the rest is part of their strategic plan to link the restoration to new housing etc., if I've understood it correctly.

I have a Mastervolt unit. A few months ago the shore supply tripped (due to water in the 16A trailing socket) when it was in charger only mode. On re-establishing the supply the charger wouldn't work. Turned out all it needed was a reset, which involves switching to inverter mode and then returning to charger position. It's been fine since.

This video of one being restored may be of interest:

There was a piece on BBC Midlands Today yesterday about this plus this in their breaking news feed, not that it's breaking news really: Canal restoration work set to start There are plans to restore a canal in Stoke-on-Trent that dates back more than 200 years. The Burslem Branch Canal opened in 1805 and was closed in 1961. Volunteers have been working on trying to restore it since 2014. Plans include the construction of a lit footpath, which would provide an off-road route from Middleport into the heart of Burslem Town Centre, with work expected to start in the new year.

There is an opposing view that other than the few who actually moor there, there is a dis-benefit to everyone else in that it's more boats that we have to slow down for when we pass. And whilst there is an argument that it's only a small number of boats, these small number of boats at regular intervals add up and hinder navigation. CRT's (and before them BW's) policy of not allowing new linear moorings was probably too little too late, and based on posts above not rigorously enforced. Managing to force CRT to give way may be seen as a victory for the little man against a national monolith, but in reality we're all the poorer as a result.

Surely, for a stability test any tanks would have to be in their least stable state, i.e. empty, so only the mass of the tanks themselves (plus pipework) would assist stability.

The factory you're probably thinking of in Atherstone is the Britannia Works of Wilson & Stafford who were the last remaining felt hat makers in the UK until they went into liquidation in 1999.

HST Power Cars have virtually all been re-engined with MAN diesels. GM/GE diesels are used in all modern diesel locos, and some re-engined locos (class 57s if you're interested). Whilst Deltics were adored by rail enthusiasts (& still are) they were not much loved by those who had to maintain them. The fitters at Doncaster Loco Works (aka The Plant) gave a little cheer when they were scrapped. You never passed through the engine room when they were under power as (besides deafening you) they had the endearing tendency of putting a piston out the side of the engine, and sometimes even through the bodyside. This was referred to as "putting a leg out of bed".

Once it's been through the pump, it'll be fish paste.

I was led to believe that they were installed during the second world war, & have been maintained ever since (mostly).