hawkesmith

Continuing with that theme. You would be able to check for a cracked block etc. by opening the oil filler then cranking the engine. If you get loads of pressure coming at you through the filler hole then you are probably on the right track. P. S. Hope I'm wrong!

If I may offer my tuppence worth: A cracked block or failed core plug would fit the above description. We did have that cold snap a couple of weeks ago: did you have coolant or water in the system? Sorry to be alarmist but as everyone else has said...it has to run....unless there is no compression. If the core plug lets into the cooling jacket then under these circumstances there would be very little of a tell tail. Has the oil level risen noticeably? Sorry other way round. Does the core plug let into the crank case? Same result a significant raise in the oil level

Rivetnuts will do the job but coat the threads with copperslip so they don't seize. If they do seize you are in a fix.

Jeez guys (and gals) 14 pages! It only takes 15 people to convict a murderer! The only opinion I am going to offer is that this thread is reminding me of scenes from 2 movies. "Airplane" where they are lining up to slap the panicking passenger and "Life of Brian" with the brilliant "stone him" scene.

The real Boaty Mcboat face is being officially named this week. She's looking good...I don't often feel proud of Birkenhead (in fact I never have!) But having watched the ship develop over the months I have felt a bit of smugness that a world famous ship is being built again at Lairds.

You will need a battery at the bow to power the pump or whopping big cables running the length of your boat. Flowfit in Ludlow are really helpful 01584876033.

"I think that you will find those boxes of snakes are tuned exhausts where at certain speeds the pulse of exhaust gasses from a previous exhaust stroke is used to help draw the gasses out of the cylinder on the next power stroke. Whilst for inland marine use elbows might be OK it is still poor practice to use them on exhaust systems, use bends instead". Just to be a bit more accurate... the back pressure is designed to keep the fresh charge of fuel in, then purge itself. If an exhaust breaths too easily it will purge the cylinder of fresh charge before the valve closes and so detune the engine. The next time you hear a car or a bike with those 'orrible noisy exhausts you can be smug in the knowledge that they are probably going slower than the standard set up. I know Aprilias; if you listen to the official Akropovic race pipe it is substantially quieter than the Austin racing end can. The Austin system wrecks the bikes performance.

Another vote for TW. Very helpful. I haven't finished the engine bay yet but my target is around 70 Db as measured on my super accurate phone ap! Whether I get there or not is a different matter.

I didn't know you could do that with a computer! Oh oh you mean stickers not girlfreinds

As above but I would 'belt and braces' and weld a bridging piece over the fracture. Whilst your at it you need to do the other side because that material is now necked (stretched) and will fail in the not too distant future. If you are truly concerned about heating the tank, pour water over the surface before you weld; it will act as a heat sink. When you have finished welding continue to pour water over the tank (not the welds). There is no way that sufficient heat would pass through to ignite the diesel. As one of the others said " give it to an expert". I am sure they will knock that job off in less than half an hour!

But how do you compensate for the convex side of the ladle. That has to trigger earlier that the concave side so you end up with disparate responses......... just saying

@ Colmac I think a quick mention that I think there was a 15 yr old who dived repeatedly back into the boat. I seem to remember that he got two out alive: that's a hero if ever I saw one.

The Caldon is lovely and I don't have many miss givings about Stoke (but am happier when we have left it behind.) If you hired from Ellesmere then the Montgomery canal is only a couple of hours away and is even more peaceful than the Caldon. My vote would be the Llangollen and Shropshire union canals as I mentioned in the previous post. There is a steady stream of nice pubs and locks without ever getting strained. Chester is a lovely city and a safe one to overnight in. You can jump the train from Chester straight to Liverpool if that takes your fancy.

Here's a another slight left field route: Wrenbury (or Ellesmere if your feeling more adventurous) to Ellesmere Port and back. It has some very beautiful, but not the drama of the Pennines, scenery, a steady flow of pubs, a steady flow of locks, narrow, broad and staircase, the boat museum, Chester city, a short train journey to Liverpool. Be sceptical at first, but this route has a bit of everything, and is not at all challenging for first timers. It was only yesterday, having wondered at the steady flow (5) of hire boats going past, that I thought about the route and how pleasant it actually is. Or you could go the other way to Llangollen with the pontcysyllte aqueduct, steam trains, etc but that is the touristy route which you wanted to avoid. What ever you choose, I hope you have a great time.

Congratulations on the build. I am so envious!