turnbuttonboy

I have no idea where this price is on our website - I just checked it and can confirm the published price for a narrowboat stern pramhood is between £850 and £1200 with prices rising to £1400 for a widebeam. I have no desire or need to promote my business on here but could do without people thinking that we are charging such extortionate sums. Just for the record etc. Giles I have just checked the prices that canvasman of Otley is charging - that is where the figure of £2400 came from.

Andy, I make no bones about the fact that I am white with anger at the quality of engineering and level of care we experienced with Pickwell and Arnold (it took 47 months and many thousands of pounds to make Hawthorn safe). I am also in regular correspondence with two other owners of their boats - one of whom is at least as angry as I am, while the other is far from happy but having to watch his blood pressure for health reasons. I have also spoken to other P and A owners who, while not as angry as the above, are not as happy as they expected to be. It is a real shame because there is no denying that they build a good looking and strong shell but, as far as I am concerned, the good news stops there. Given that you have one of their boats and appear to be happy with it this might not be what you want to hear and you may not wish to continue this thread ( it seems likely that what I have been through will be in the public sphere in the near future anyway) - I am more than happy to discuss this with you through private emails if you prefer. Regard Giles.

Hopefully the lack of web site is just a cost saving measure to aid their way through the current times. Given the number of seriously unhappy customers who are pursuing them at present (I should know as I am one of them), the website is the least of their worries. Given that I have emailed them and even sent post recorded delivery without reply I had rather assumed that Gary's earlier post suggesting that they had gone to ground was the case. Now that I know differently it seems that a trip out in the car is imminent. Giles.

Gibbo, There is a lot of variation in depth on the Bridgewater: south of the Ship Canal there is plenty (where we are at Thelwall we have about 8' mid channel!) once north of Barnton Tank the going gets slower and there are sections - Worsley through to Leigh and the last three miles into Wigan - that are hard work. We draw 3' across an 8' base plate and make about 2.5mph on the shallow stuff, although that is still deeper than some sections of the Leeds and Liverpool where we once dragged along for 10 hours just to do 16 lock free miles! Having said that we only make 3.5 mph on the 'deep' water south of the Ship Canal. Heavy, deep drafted barges are no fun at all on our silted canals but draft and hull shape can make a huge difference, if you're giving serious thought to doing a lot of canal work then I would suggest that you stay as shallow as possible and V or round bilged - a mates Tjalk fair flew through the Bridgewater when compared to our replica DB. Good luck. Giles.

To go a little further with Alan's theory: it would seem that only a skirt has been fitted to the rear deck as I cannot see any fixings for a separate tonneau cover - and that is very unusual. The three bungee fixings in the the side of the skirt is not very common either as most have two (if any at all as many cover fitters prefer other fixings) In addition, the drain cut outs in the handrail at the stern of the roof look more generous than normal - they appear to be at least four inches wide (although that might just be a consequence of camera angle). Clutching at straws a bit but we all notice different things. Good luck with your search. Giles.

I may be misunderstanding completely, but...... Would a temperature sender normally be fitted to the block ? Our BMC 1800 has it's sernsor on the head, just below the thermostat housing. Not a brilliant picture, but you can see it here, with a blue wire attached just below the upper fan belt. Presumably most BMCs have an easily accessed tapping there, so can you not just leave the existing arrangements for one fitting, but introduce the new one at the point shown ? Apologies though if I've misunderstood the problem! Thanks Alan, The problem is not helped by my not being familiar with the engine and its being in the smallest of very dark spaces! I will have a look at my it to see if there is a tapping in the same place as yours (and Peter's by the sound of it) - I was surprised to find the sender for the temp gauge installed where it is but, given the history of this engine, anything is possible. I am hoping to go again on Friday and will update accordingly. Cheers Giles.

Thanks for the advice guys, I have been to the boat armed with a T piece which I hoped would allow me to put both the existing temp sender and the new alarm sender into the existing tapping. Of course that would be far too easy - the temp sender is between cylinders 3 and 4 and adjacent to the fuel pump and its plumbing so no chance there. The existing fitting appears to be in a core plug and there is one free between cylinders 1 and 2 but I also suspect that this will be a 'knock in' rather than a threaded hole. More research required! Cheers Giles.

I have bought an overheating alarm to fit to a friends 1.5 BMC. It has arrived with a 3/8th-18 NPTF thread and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what thread the water jacket plugs should be on a BMC - he is moored in the middle of nowhere and it would be a lot easier to arrive with the right adaptor! Many thanks Giles.

Hello Smelly, It is literally called seam sealant: the stuff you have for your tent is probably what I have in mind - If you take the top off you should see a dispensing pad. It does leave a bit of a 'snali trail' but this can be reduced if you mask the stitches first. As I said earlier it is well worthwhile doing to a hooding cloth fabric (it stops the water penetrating to the cotton lining and rotting from the inside out), but I wouldn't rush to do it otherwise- unless of course the seams are leaking; it's dead handy at stopping that to. I don't want to take any joy from sunny days but it is more than probable that your cloth will eventually fail because of sunlight. Cheers Giles. Giles.

Johnjo, You do have a point of course but should you ever be stood next to a cover made by AJ of Braunston , and a cloth of the same age and fabric made by another well known midland company, (they need to be a certain age - say five years plus) you will note that AJ's cloth is holding up rather better. In part this is because it is better made in the first place (have a look at the work in the zips) but, as they state on their website "All seams on appropriate hooding materials are stitch sealed with sealant." The difference it makes, particularly on hooding cloth, is considerable. And no, I don't work for them. Giles.

Interesting reading this thread - if you are concerned about the stitching failing then buy a small bottle of seam sealant (available at any outdoors store) and run this over the threads. It is less of a problem if the thread used is acrylic but as this costs three times as much as cotton (actual cost per cratch mere pence) few cover makers seem to favour it. Also windows will last a lot longer if they are stitched in rather than welded - have a look, welded windows usually fail where the window material meets the cloth. If you want to extend the life of the window material, have covers made for the outside that you can leave down when not on the boat - with this they will last as long as any cover. Giles.

Thanks for the advice - I should be having a look at it next week and it's good to have some ideas before getting too involved. Cheers Giles.

Apologies for barging in on this topic but I have offered to put a temp alarm on a friends 1.5 BMC. He wants to keep the temp gauge as it is and the new alarm comes with a 3/8" NPT thread. Could anyone suggest where best to install it please. Many thanks Giles.

Liam. We have made the run down the Ship Canal and back for each of the last two summers - the hardest work is organising the paperwork and communicating with Port Control - it is unlikely that you will need to use VHF as they are very happy to speak to you on the telephone and you will have plenty of notice about what is going on (there are cameras set up under the bridges that give Eastham live pictures of the whole canal). You will need to be very careful getting in and out of Marsh Lock as the channel is easily lost and what appears to be deep water is actually very shallow and the cost of getting a snatch off from one of the Ship Canal tugs will make your eyes water! If you are leaving Marsh lock it is much easier and Mo from BW will make it obvious where not to go, if you are coming down the Ship Canal from Manchester then it is very easy to get it horribly wrong. I am currently in Worsley dry dock and will be passing you on Sunday ( I truly hope). If you are going to be about and would like a chat, let me know and we will have a brew and share our experiences. I can also point you at a surveyor who will come down to Sale and do your certificates for a very sensible sum. Let me know if I can help. Giles 'Hawthorn'

The current stoppage is to allow the installation of gates in case of a breach due to mining subsidence as concerns about land movements between Worsley and Leigh are such that the canal is walked every day by a Peel employee to ensure that any potential breach is caught as early as possible. As for BW taking control? I think that seems very unlikely given the noises that I have been hearing as a Bridgewater moorer. Cheers Giles.