Neil2

Outboard powered grp cruisers (and those with outdrives) are notoriously "bow happy", a symptom often aggravated by the lack of a decent sized keel. The pivot point on these boats often feels much further back making handling in a high wind tricky. I have heard from owners of similar boats, especially the narrow beam types, that the tendency for the bow to get blown off line can be tamed to a large extent by sticking plenty of ballast up front. I remember the owner of a Nauticus 27 (with outdrive) claiming the handling of his boat had been transformed by this approach, I think he had used getting on for 100kg - equivalent to having a hefty adult or two children sat on the bow deck.

I think we need Harry Hill to sort this one out. Earlier in the year we came through Stoke with a couple who had an elderly dog on board. Because he couldn't manage the drop down to the well deck they had sort of converted it to tug style, and it became the dog's kennel as they had a sort of cratch cover as well. It looked ok to me and I seem to remembere they appreciated the extra storage underneath the "new" deck. I've thought of doing something similar ever since but now I'm worried that people will point and laugh. But on a cruiser the well deck in the bow is hardly used so why not enclose it. Another advantage is it's a lot easier when you have to throw bow ropes up from the bottom of a lock (eg on the Thames), when you have a couple of feet extra height. Tugs do look "right" I agree.

Little Kathy if I'm not mistaken! Didn't think there would be anyone ancient enough to remember it...

It's funny I've just had a relevant conversation with a customer along these lines. I'm a sole trader and many times been so busy that I would love to turn work away but there's two considerations. One is that I like to be regarded as a polite, considerate human being. The other thing is you never know where a job will take you. Turning away work because the job is too small is total stupidity for anyone with any business acumen. But I agree the marine industry seems to be overpopulated with businesses that seemingly don't care about their customers or their own future. No-one has ever been rude to me, but many times I've thought if I ran my business like that I would be bankrupt in weeks. As for the recession, people will always find money for certain things, not always necessities. The leisure industry has not been hit as hard as some were forecasting, & I see evidence all around that people are making economies in order to maintain the little luxuries. Hairdressers, for example, seem to be doing pretty well at the moment. So do painters and decorators and gardeners.

Hillman Hunter estate in front if I'm not mistaken. Not stylish..

She's currently moored very close to us on the Leeds Liverpool at West Marton. I'm told she is so named because the owner (as a child actor) appeared in the film of the same name.

Thanks for the info Richard, though that sounds like a very small firebox it's bigger than what I had in mind which is a sort of gypsy caravan type thing, The rest of it is a bit of a fudge though, it sounds as though they were trying to be sympathetic to the traditional boatmans cabin but in doing so have created the potential for an argument with the BSC examiner.

I remember reading an article about a yacht owner who had replaced his engine/shaft drive with a "saildrive" unit, so the propellor ended up well forward of the rudder. Though it was done for reasons of space/economy/maintenence I seem to recall he found the boat handled much better under power after the conversion. There's a popular yacht, I can't remember the name, that has the propeller astern of the rudder. No it's not made in Ireland and no, it doesn't go any better in reverse. I tend to agree the rudder should be further back than they normally are, but then again most NB rudders (being constrained by draught) are undersized anyway.

Listen, we used to live in a cardboard box in't middle o't road...

:lol:

David - I apologise for undestimating the demography of the forum, if that's the case, but I am one of those folk who, having gone grey prematurely am constantly accused of looking older than I really am (mostly by my wife, mind). So I may be forgiven for occasionally believing I am the only one who can remember trolleybuses, valve radios, double diamond, tripe, cross ply tyres, brylcreem, Freddie Trueman (as opposed to Freddie Flintoff), and the days when bounty bars had a bit of cardboard in the wrapper which, in my view is when civilisation really started to break down... Sorry about that. Austin Seven eh? There's a guy near us has one and drives around daily with a huge German Shepherd dog sat in the passenger seat. Great anti theft device.

"Son, there's something you need to know, you're adopted."

Am I right in thinking there is an exemption to the new regulations for "small" solid fuel heaters? I was thinking of installing a small one in addition to our Kuranda & i'm sure I read somewhere that there was an allowance made so that small "boatmans cabin" type stoves didn't have to comply fully.

This was one of the first routes we did years ago when we started hiring and it's an excellent choice, a bit of everything. We also did it earlier this year and we struggled a bit to find convenient shops. It's good advice to stock up with as much as you can to begin with. Whalley Bridge we find extremely noisy, from the traffic on the road nearby. Agree with Steelaway - if I was hiring from Stoke I would be tempted to do the Caldon, it's now one of my favourite canals but maybe not for a first timer. Your first lock is a staircase, for a start, and the canal is very narrow in places, but if you feel adventurous there are some unique attractions, such as the pub with no road access, which also happens to be adjacent the steam railway (yes Alex we know you've driven it...), and froghall tunnel (lowest on the system) which you won't go through but it's worth a visit. If you like it quiet you won't do better than the Caldon in April. Except maybe the Leeds Liverpool in July... On a practical level, there's been a debate on this forum recently about the merits/safety of drinking water straight from the boat's tank. For all I know modern hire boats may have filters now, but one essential item for us used to be a big container for filling up with drinking water only. When you do the tunnel, if you're not confident ask the tunnel keeper if you can go through last, that way you won't be concerned about holding boats up behind.

SC - As someone else has mentioned, having a v shaped hull Springers roll more than the more common box section narrowboats. There's not a lot you can do about it. I liked the rolling gait of our springer, you might say it feels more like a "boat" but those who are only familiar with the heavy flat bottom of a conventional nb might find it a bit disconcerting at first. Lowering the centre of gravity would help a bit if you think it rolls too much, and if you look under the cabin sole (floor) I bet you will find quite a lot of space there for extra ballast. If you can't access the cabin bilge I'd suggest you think about cutting one or two access hatches. Springers are notorious for not having bilge access and it can lead to poor ventilation which leads to damp which leads to rust...

Are we talking about the same thing? As I said before, I'm talking about chlorine bleach ie the stuff you buy from the supermarket. Chlorine bleach is a weak solution of sodium hypochlorite and shouldn't react with household plastic, rubber etc. Maybe if it came into contact with another chemical such as an acidic cleaner then the reaction could creat a destructive effect, I don't know I've never tried it, but I've used household bleach for 1001 things and never known it to destroy anything such as you experienced. And yes, I have used it in one of our (older) p/p's.

Congratulations, you have a cracking boat there. French and Peel no longer exist as such, but Bob French is still known (by those who know) as one of the best welders in the business and keeps his hand in at Stanilands in Thorne. As you might expect, a very unassuming bloke who rides to work on an old push bike. Bob knows enough about boats to realise only a fool would have one... "Wouldn't have one given" He told me a few years ago. They built a lot of boats for the MoD I believe so a narrowboat would be a p of p. If I had the money for a bespoke shell he'd be the guy I would go to.

We had our boat there for a few days when we had a problem with a leaking water pump. The guy who runs the place (I've forgotten his name) was extremely helpful and got us into a slot close to the bank. We talked about possibly leaving the boat there long term & he seemed to think there would be no problem as the turnover is quite high. It isn't the most popular marina as they don't have a lot of hook ups, if any, most of the money is spent on security. The office opening hours are quite short, I seem to remember. We liked the atmosphere, everyone seemed very friendly. Paul at the Boat & Butty boatyard is a nice guy as well but it is a bit noisy down there, more so when it's Karaoke night at the nearby pub. BTW did you know Karaoke is japanese for "tone deaf". The boat club moorings in Runcorn itself are probably best avoided. Break ins/vandalism are/is not unknown.

Sorry, but again there's nothing in aquachem or elsan blue that can damage plastic, rubber etc. Same with bleach. Bleach doesn't like metals but can't affect synthetic materials or rubber. Might change the colour perhaps. I assume we are talking about chlorine bleach. If you've had problems with seals on a pp it must be something else destroying them, and I'm not for a minute going to suggest what... BTW It's not widely known but there are dangers in mixing bleach with other toilet cleaners and disinfectants. Being genrally acidic they react with bleach to form chlorine gas. As for the pink stuff (aquaclean??) don't waste your money. It's basically just a mild detergent. A few drops of washing up liquid in water is the same thing. For what it's worth elsan blue is a more powerful product (though more dangerous) than aquakem, and it's cheaper.

A few more thoughts. My first car was an Austin A40 farina (a car that many of you will never even have seen) and I almost always used the starting handle to fire it up as it was more effective than the starter motor. Being my first car I didn't have the nous to work out why. But then again why is it the motor is often the most difficult ancillary to replace? I had a Porsche 924 and eventually did replace the starter on that but what a job. When the Haynes manual refers to access being "a little awkward" you know what you're in for. But boy did it make a difference. All the time I wasted mucking about with the fuel injection just because replacing the starter was a swine of a job.

The worst that can happen is it will stain the plastic. There's certainly no reason to think it will interfere with seals etc. This stuff is basically formaldehide & doesn't react with anything synthetic. Just don't get it on your hands.

I guess some folk in eastern europe have got the impression that the trabby is a very sought after vehicle in uk, owing to the connection with certain celebs - doesn't bono have one?

I think Evo has made a very valid point re starting systems on diesels. I too have a lot of smoke on starting, and though the engine (1.8) always fires first time, it does take a good 5 seconds or more, during which time a lot of white smoke is already coming out the exhaust. I've renewed the glow plugs and i think a new starter motor is next. You get used to poor starting and forget what should happen. My transit was displaying similar symptoms until I replaced the starter motor - now it seems to fire before I've turned the key.

Once, as you do, I was waiting for our un-helmed (?) boat to chug out of a narrow lock to avoid having to walk back to the tiller. A passer by saw us and pointing at the vacant cockpit shouts "where's the captain then". "Oh he's there," I replied, "He's just very small."

I'm fairly sure it is an offence to allow your dog to foul a public right of way, or the immediate environs - grass verges etc where it might reasonably be expected that people might walk. This is the principle we stick to so if we are out "in the country" and one of our dogs perfoms in the long grass where it's unlikely anyone will set foot, we leave it. Theoretically it is harmful, and especially if you don;t regularly worm your dog, but if you look into the subject all animal faeces is potentially harmfull in some way. Cat poo is possibly worse than dog poo and I've never seen a cat owner bagging their pet's droppings, but then cats are a little more discreet and tend not to do their business where someone is going to walk. The health considerations are mainly to do with the possibility of someone ingesting material, not the effect on soil, water courses etc. For this reason guide dogs for the blind are taught to perform in the gutter - so it gets washed into the drainage system. Not entirely satisfactory but better than it being left unattended. I don't see it much up north, but when we were in the south this year I noticed a lot of dog owners on the cut carry a small spade/shovel which is used to hoick the offensive matter to a less intrusive location - over a field wall eg. But some I saw flicking the stuff into the canal... Not sure about that but again possibly better than leaving it on the path.