Bigboat

Hi Try this guy I'm sure he lives your area, He wired our boat and is great. Volt-master, Midlands, Marine electrical, Tel: 01455 250601 email: keith@volt-master.co.uk. Regards Lionel

Hi all Again no connection with the company, but we have had 2 props from them (different boat of course) and found them so helpful and because they where not quite to my liking re-pitched them both free of carge. How many companies will do that these days.

Hi If you have the RAL colour or a sample give HMG paints a ring they are very helpful and when I bought some for our Gardner made up 250ml tins. These make the paint for Craftmaster anyway so should be able to help. There tele No is 0161 205 7631.

Hi Yes you can use any engine oil but not highly synthetic that can mess up the seals, most canal boat engines use either straight monograde or low synthetic multigrade oils which is fine.

If you want a permanent seal for diesel on a threaded joint use loctite 2701 not cheap but does the job. Do not use PTFE tape it will leak in time.

Two things members have not mentioned so far, first invest in a good hydrometer and check battery specific gravity should be approx 1.280 @ 30 deg C but this will change with battery fluid temp, dont just say my batteries are fully charged check them. Secondly the regulators fitted to all alternator apart from very old ones are machine sensed not battery sensed. This means that the alternator is being regulated by both the voltage on its output terminal and the temp within the regulator. this not want you want for an ideal charging system, you need to monitor the charge voltage on the battery teminals and the batt temp all this is what a good battery management system does. Bigboat

Hi nice pictures, is your boat at Stretton wharf just north of Brewood? Just to set a few things right, the engine at Stoke Bruene is not a National its an early RN from John Gould working Boat of the Kennet & Avon. If the original engine be it RN or Nat was for marine use it was a DM or just D for industrial use I am in the process of rebuilding a National D3 1941 vintage and know the guys at RN very well and am member No 18 in the RNR. I hope one day that it will power a Narrowboat. As someone mentioned colours arent that inportant early engine being painted in colours that where cheap and easily available, I shall paint ours in grey with red lettering. Regards