Jeffyjeff

Hi all, I've removed the top plate, underneath was a gasket covering the whole of this opening. You mentioned there might be a fuel filter in here, but it's just full of coolant. Any ideas if this is normal? Any suggestions on where to buy a gasket? Cheers, Bex

Adam, Bex's boyfriend here. Thanks for the link - the engine uses an external electric fuel pump and filter, would this indicate that the internal filter would have been removed as it says in the link, or would you expect there to be an additional filter in the engine also? The leak is definitely not fuel though. Our plan from here is to carefully remove the plate and try address the sheared bolt issue. From what I can tell, the plate was only ever held down by 4 bolts in a zig zag pattern, but we'll update once we've had a look. Cheers

Thank you!! That's a great help

Yep, a bit nervous of the drilling but looks like the best option. Cheers

It's a closed loop system yep, probably drained a pint in 10 minutes. Looks like I'll have to bite the bullet and take the plate off, thanks

Hi all, I've got an old Lister FR3M - I was recently replacing the impeller and brilliantly dropped my spanner on the engine. In the picture attached the blue arrow shows where I dropped the spanner, and this has caused a rupture in the sealant, meaning when the engine is running it's now pissing water/coolant out of this small hole. The yellow arrow shows a sheared bolt, which has made me very nervous about trying to lift this whole plate off as I don't want to shear all the other bolts off too and cause more problems. Equally I don't want to just seal it up as it is, as I think it'll be a matter of weeks before the water finds its way out again. Has anyone got any ideas or experience in this area? Cheers, Bex

Great idea thank you! Good point, I can leave it alone for up to weeks so wouldn't want to run the risk

I'll look into it, thank you! Great stuff thanks, yep, it's steel so it's sounding like it should be alright!

OK great thanks for the advice! Haha nice, thanks, puts my mind at ease

Hello, I'm current moored up in a marina and the boat will be kept here for the rest of the winter. It's fairly windy and I've just noticed my rope fenders are rubbing against the side of my boat and causing paint damage, so I'm hoping for advice please! - any pro tips from you experienced boaters on tying onto a pontoon to avoid damage? Keep the ropes a bit lose or tighten them? - I use rope fenders, should I get some little rubber ones? - how should I best care for the exposed metal where the paint damage has occurred? It's a good few inches above the waterline so maybe I can just move the fenders and repaint? If anyone knows any existing forums on this topic I'd appreciate a link to that too! Many thanks, Bex

Thank you! Really helpful, thanks a lot, I'll check with the boat yard and see which ones have been ordered in Thank you, the only one I haven't researched is BSC because it just recently passed - I'll look into it more

Good shout on the surveyor, I didn't think of that. Thanks It's in Liverpool Marina yeah - he id say he fitted the wrong kind and the new ones ordered in are the correct kind - do you know what I should be looking for?

Thank you, good advice - it's not crt managed in this case - I'm considering proceeding with the survery but won't be rushing into it I spoke to the original surveyor who may be conducting the new survey - thanks for the advice!

Hey, Thanks for the advice! The marina I'm looking at is not managed by the crt - apparently it isn't actually allowed to live on the boats but the marina turn a blind eye to it - this is from a number of sources not just the seller. It's also not particularly busy in this marina so I can't see any trouble, but it's worth a conversation with those in charge in any case, thanks for the idea. So apparently the last time the anodes were fitted they fitted the wrong size - too small - so there's meant to be 6 of the correct size. Hence the fast corrosion, although scouring the forums I can't see any resource on this - have you come across this before? Cheers Apparently the anodes were too small hence the corrosion - does this sound feasible? It has a galvanic isolator - although the marina it's been in for 2 years is famous for stray current corrosion. I think I'm definitely taking the survey option - thanks for the advice! Thank you! Haha Good advice, thank you, survey it is

Hello, So I'm thinking of buying my first canal boat, and I'm a self confessed newbie and would really appreciate any advice. My reason for buying is I grew up on sailing boats and I love being on and around the water - this boat is currently docked in a marina in the city centre and why spend hundreds on a water front studio when I can stay on a lovely boat. I'd also love to meet the community and generally enjoy the lifestyle. The boat I'm looking at is valued last year at 35k for insurance purposes. It's 60ft from 1996. She was also shot blasted, 2-pack epoxy coated including base plate and had 12 new anodes fitted in 2018. So the boat was lifted out last year and they didn't get any work/plating done - the seller assures me that he wasn't told of any work that needed doing. We agreed on a price (aprrox 30k), with the agreement that I get a survey, and if there's any work that needs doing after the survey up to £2k, I'll split the cost here. If it's north of 2k, I'll get my 10% deposit back (which I haven't paid yet) and pull out of the sale because I would struggle to pay much more. The seller seems like a good character, and in the interest of a quick sale (he almost sold it in July and the buyer backed out last minute), he's knocked a further 2k off the price agreed if I do not get a survey and move in this month. Me, being in my 20s, I can't afford to buy this outright so I'll be getting a loan, so this is quite attractive. The present anodes will need to be replaced within 6-12 months, which will cost about 500 quid and need a lift out, so from that perspective it makes sense to get it lifted out for a survey now. On the other hand it would save me money on rent moving in quick, and over the summer I might put it on airbnb over the weekends whilst I'm off in my van rock climbing, which could allow me to live rent free for some of the year. Do you have any advice? Do you think the discount is a good one? Or do you think this is a massive alarm bell for issues underneath? Do you have any advice for ensuring I get my deposit back in the event of a no sale for the given terms? We've drafted a contract, but not through any official board so I don't know how to guarantee it's enforcement. From where I'm sat both ways have their own risks, so I'd be very grateful for any experienced folk to let me know what they'd do.