booke23

I did see a very nice one last year I think, with a front mounted cocooned engine and hydraulic drive so they do appear occasionally. However the whine from hydraulic drive is not insignificant, so I think hybrid electric would be the holy grail, but that'll cost ££££.

I've been up and back a few times in August in the last few years and it was fine. Who knows this year though.

That’s what he’s already got……he wants quieter than that!

Not by modern standards, but I was thinking in relative terms. But you raise another good point....ie the same vintage engine could sound quite different from one boat to another depending on installation.

I was also thinking Lister JP2, but I don't know how much fettling @Tigerr wants to be doing......they do like greese on their nipples every morning.

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Thanks, damn autocorrect! I've fixed that now.

On reading the title of your post, I immediately thought of Gardner which you've already seen. I'd say anything slow revving that has a silencer should fit the bill....some vintage engines have straight through exhausts and have quite a bark from the exhaust so you'd want to avoid that. I always think the Russel Newberry DM2 sounds refined and quiet.

Here's a diagram showing the methods Alan has already described. However sometimes you do see throttles where the top of the lever is pulled upwards for neutral as illustrated by the arrows on the lever below.

Yes I know.....it seems their customer service is very good.

Well, why bother if Thetford are willing to keep sending parts for free!

That's a shame. The flow chart now suggests you replace the flush button control panel, but I'd test the wiring between the panel and reed switch before you do that.....unplug the wiring harness from the reed switch circuit board and unplug the other end from the control panel. Use a multimeter in continuity mode to test each plug terminal.......it's not beyond the realms of possibility that a wire was nicked or crushed during installation.

Before owning a boat, I hired quite a few boats with Barrus shire engines with galactic hours and they all ran well. I also like the checker plate step they put on the top of the engine, very handy when clambering around in the engine bay. The only downside is they are a bit smoky at idle...a normal characteristic, something to do with swirl chambers. Of course any of the marinised industrial engines should be good for many many hours.

This is a very good point. So if you were building a boat and couldn't get a Beta engine, what would you choose? My alternates in order of preference: 1. Barrus Shire (Yanmar) 2. Nanni (Kubota) 3. Vetus (Mitsubishi)....with great reluctance as their spares are a complete rip off.

I've looked closely at recon PRM 90s and PRM 150s for myself, and I agree....there's not enough difference in cost to be worth it. No. The main thing is that the gearbox be functioning, whether it's a PRM 120 or a PRM 150.

Yes the PRM 150 is a much better gearbox. I’ve looked into this particular issue myself as my PRM 90 is slipping. The problem is you could probably spend £900ish on a new PRM125 and replace it yourself. Or you could spend £1350ish on a PRM150 plus £100 for the oil cooler (required on the PRM150) and then probably have to pay someone to fit it all as the engine will require realignment…..annoyingly the PRM150 isn’t an exact drop in replacement due to it’s differing dimensions. Not sure what an engineer would charge for this work…..say £300? So the total bill is circa £1750 for the PRM150. Only you can decide if the extra £800 is worth it……if you intend to keep the boat for a long time or do lots of hours per year it probably is.

Kubota (Beta base engine) have been making engines since 1922. They certainly used to, but I think nearly all their engines these days are Kioti.

I like that stern. I’d just describe it as a cruiser stern with extra seating!

As someone who finds the mere concept of a music festival deeply unattractive I wouldn’t really know! Maybe it is an odd concept in that context, although if it allows the yoof to continue to dance til dawn while everybody else sleeps then maybe there’s logic in it.

Indeed, and freesat is the same price as freeview…..ie free. You do get quite a few more channels on freesat, and a lot more High Definition channels. However the extra channels are mostly rubbish and the extra HD channels are nice but not necessary on my boat as we have a 24 inch tv, so you don’t really see much difference. Also it is a bit of a faff setting up the dish on the boat, so we don’t bother with it anymore.

As @MtB says they are both good options. The Canaline is actually a South Korean built Kioti engine and the Beta is a Japanese built Kubota engine. Both are well regarded industrial diesel engines and a lot of hire fleets use Canaline. They both come with the PRM 150 gearbox as standard which is excellent. If I had to choose I’d pick the Beta as the parts are very easy to come by in chandlers, but there’s not a lot in it.

Yes I've seen them....brilliant idea, especially for a house party.

I do think handovers could be a lot better, having said that there is a lot to be said for hirers spending perhaps half an hour reading the boaters handbook and watching a few videos of how to use a lock before they show up to pick up their boat. That way they won't be completely clueless.

Thank you! This is the thing that really annoys me about late night loud music......there is absolutely no need for it in this day and age as inexpensive technology exists (bluetooth headphones) that would allow anybody to listen and dance to music until dawn should they wish, without disturbing a soul.

On the contrary, a pair of bluetooth earbuds for the perpetrator seems like a much better idea.