dmr

Ive just drilled and tapped some 20mm thick stainless, yes, its hard stuff. and I reckon it could be approaching £500 for 5mm copper, so thin copper on top of thicker steel is the way to go.

Can't remember, could find out if you really want to know, but would likely have been 1 or 1.2mm. The copper is mostly only decorative with the steel below it providing the protection. A 4mm sheet of copper would not be cheap.

Ours was just a sheet of copper laid over the sub floor (water proof chipboard 😀). It looked quite good but I was not 100% happy about the safety. It was captive under the floorboards so I could get it out. When we replaced the stove I laid a sheet of steel (4 or 5mm) over the copper, then put a new sheet of copper on top of that. I hope that this would distribute the heat from any hot spots due to dropping a lump of burning coal, or hot ash etc.. Its overdue a polish to make it look good.

I think myself and Goliath (who now has a number rather than a name😀) had a visit there the year before last. A pretty desperate place but quite fun. It was a sort of downmarket family dining room selling some not too brilliant beer. We didn't go in, we had the dog with us and dogs not allowed in, so sat outside in the rain. Not my sort of pub but its still good to try a variety of places. Friendly locals. I won't miss it but a lot of people will so I hope it recovers.

This was Cape of Good hope Lock, so wide and deep. We had just started to go up, dog was crossing lower lock gate when it fell in. You have to make quick decisions in these situations. A slow fill of lock was a good option but dog swam up side of boat, in small gap between boat and lock with danger of getting squashed. I dropped paddle and whent down ladder, encouraged dog to front of boat but could not lift out, wet and slippery. Big audience by this time. You have to decide if they are the sort of people who can be trusted to come down a lock ladder. Two came down, one was possibly the owner. I thought they could hold dog while I went back up to slowly fill lock, but instead together we pulled dog onto front deck. Filled lock, dog shook itself off and walked away as if nothing had happened. Biggest danger was that dog only just missed Gillie (steering) when it fell in. Nasty lock that one, it is in effect a public footpath and many users have had a few beers, it needs a bridge.

Blitz is good stuff, it stays together and does not go soggy or shed fibres, so is also fine for cleaning up inside fuel filters. Some of the "engineers blue paper" is now really low quality so Blitz is a safer option. Sometimes on special offer in the supermarkets but some rolls are fatter than others so check that the bargains really are bargains. Good for cleaning paint brushes too. Every boat should have several rolls.

The drain pump should connect to the sump plug so will be just as good (almost) as a conventional sump plug manual drain. Modern oils contain additives to try to keep contamination in suspension so they it gets extracted by the oil filter, but even so some gunge and larger particles will eventually collect in the sump. Many years ago my mini used so much oil that I never changed it, just kept pouring in a couple of pints every week or two. Minis had the gearbox in the sump and eventually gear selection got very difficult due to the build up of sludge.

I though Vetus like to be seen as top notch (and expensive) suppliers of engines and equipment. Not fitting a proper sump pump is a bit odd. Build debris in the tank, or even hoses, could be the reason, so change the filter.

We had a German Shepherd fall into a lock behind us. It slipped its harness and had no collar, I could not lift it out. We had to get a couple of bystanders to come down the lock ladder onto our boat to help with the rescue. Unexpected stuff happens.

Is this a brand new boat or an engine replacement?. I don't understand why the fuel filter needs replacing? Any ideas anybody? A decent marine installation should have a (manual) oil drain pump connected to the sump plug with a suitable length of hose.

Looking at the video, and looking at my PRM260 right now, the lever does look to be moving plenty far enough to engage drive.

It will be interesting to see what the OP discovers. The input (and intermediate?) shafts, and oil pump, in the gearbox must be rotating, its probably drag in a clutch which turns the output shaft. So there is still enough drive through the failed driveplate to turn the gearbox and overcome a bit of friction, gear mesh etc.

But why does the output shaft turn in the same direction with the box in fwd and reverse?

Do both parts of the shaft, either side of that coupling, rotate at the same speed. Have you had a look at the prop down the weedhatch? (don't rev the engine with the weedhatch open). If you can see the prop not turning then engine off and grab the prop, check for looseness.

My PRM260 will often slowly rotate the shaft in neutral. Mayby the OP means the shaft turns but the boat doesn't move, but yes, we need clarification on movement.. And can the OP check that the control lever is moving a suitable distance? It could be a failed cable.

It looks like a PRM260 to me. A good box still in production (though now rebranded as a 280?) The air vent looks to be missing/replaced with a bolt but I doubt if thats the source of the problem.

That might work out in the sticks but I can see problems in the middle of Birmingham. 😀 Yes, most of the ready made bogs are a bit small, with compost loos I reckon bigger is better.

It won't meet the exhaust emissions requirement.

But you could just swap the engine and not worry about the paperwork, the chances of going to prison are very low. Im not an expert on all this RCD stuff 😀, but suspect the boat does not have one as from what I have read it would be almost impossible to get a proper RCD with a vintage engine, in fact I suspect it would be difficult to get an RCD on any traddy style boat.

Haven't tried brush hairs, I find midges and little flies are very easy to get but they are too soft to give much grip.

Ideally you will still need a matt finish just in case you need to stand on the roof, gloss is too slippy. Matt paint is not as strong as gloss and the roof has a hard life, full exposure to the sun plus standing water under whatever you have stored there. Even a coil of rope can be enough to bubble the paint, so frequent repairs are required. Get a good paint.

Whatever its history 😀Raddle is now just the boaty name for a standard alkyd type paint with a matt/silk finish, I think this is all down to Phil Speight, but several other paint companies have copied. So its really just a top coat and hence needs the usual prep and primers under it. As a matt paint its not the strongest of finishes so will need to be redone every few years, but a recoat goes on nice and easily with minimal prep. Its really aimed at the more traddy boat market as they like their roof done in a funny shade of pink 😀

For a while there was Andy Russell gunwhale paint, just made for the job😀, but its gone now, that might be what you have on now. A matt or silk finnish is good, and fast drying is usefull, plus something that is not too fussy about preparation. We are now done in epoxy but previously I have used Craftmaster black raddle, its a little bit expensive but I got some on special offer. I have also used Jotun Conseal on other projects and think that would be ideal but it only comes in big pots. I expect your local paint shop would have stuff at a lower price but I have no experience of their paints.