RobinJ

I think its because an older battery with reduced capacity causes more cycling of the newer ones and in theory reduces their life, not because they don't get to 100%? Plus, as the batteries will take different times to reach full charge you could have differential water loss!

I think most of it is due to the toxicity involved in cutting and trimming, once fitted and sealed it should no longer be a problem!

There are arguments for sealing/not sealing! I would on priciple avoid MDF and prefer solid wood, allowing it to breath. Depending on whether you are using rockwool, sprayed foam or kingspan type insulation, will depend on how much water gets trapped between ceiling and top, but this will soon dry out. This and leaks can lead to stains appearing, but I think it is easier to remove them from solid wood than MDF or veneered surfaces! One suggestion is to install and then allow a few weeks for drying out, sand down and varnish or paint. This may stop cracks showing, but if the wood is properly seasoned and allowed to stand on the boat before fitting, it should be minimal anyway.

These are quite common on a lot of toilets, the curvy bit has a tee on it which normal attaches to a valve. In my case this is an 'energise to seal' type so that the water can be pumped in, but does not empty the tank when it stops. With a vacuum system I assume the same principle applies 'shut it to suck'?

Many of the 'No Nails' type adhesives are sensitive to water and temperature! If you use them at this time of year they need supporting for a lot longer and will take ages to dry off! However once 'cured' they should 'stick like $%£*'

Marine 16 is a manufacturers badge and it seems a number of different products bear the same name. It is my understanding that the basic bug treatment contains alcohol which would bind water, but they do say that their 'complete' treatment precipitates the water?

The good news , as the water tank bit has water on both sides, the rest of the hull should last twice as long!

Marine 16 treats the diesel bug, but also affects the water! The red colour is a good sign, the cloudy indicates there is quite a large amount of emulsified water in the fuel. This will burn with a lot of whitish smoke and will probably produce sluggish performance and slightly lower power. Also leaving it in the engine for a long time could damage the fuel pump! You could do to find a way of flushing your fuel system out (how much is in there?). A small amount you may be able to mix with some good clean fuel, a large amount you may have to remove or treat further?

When batteries (lead acid) are manufactured, they are empty! Once filled they have to be kept charged! So from when they get filled up? Who knows when that was, most only have a charge week on them!

2 1/2" doesn't sound much, is that above the take off?

Why not ask Archimedes? Say its in the water by 2', then 23 x 10 x 2 = 450 cubic feet or around 13 tonnes. Of course you need to measure the bow and possibly stern separately and divide by approximately 4 to allow for the chine and swin etc.

Need plenty of power in the battery! Check the heaters, you only find a problem in cold weather! Whats your diesel like, old/new? How old is the boat? Is the tank full, any chance of condensation?

I am assuming (incorrectly of course) that the weight of the boat is hanging off the rope! Clearly what is needed is some idea of the force exerted by a particular current on a boat (I assume braodside would be the highest figure). Then I always did start from worst principles and worked downwards!

I edited the wrong one. I meant 8000Kg, i.e. 2 x the SLW!

Many systems just use a timer, so after 'n' seconds, arelay is released. It is possible that some systems use temperature control feedback, but not seen one? I would check to see if all the heaters are working (simplest way is to energise them and put your finger on each one to see if they get hot) (or you can test them electrically)? Satisfied that they are ok, I would look at the wiring diagram for the engine and see how the heaters operate the starter interlock mechanism! It is possible that a simple RC circuit is used to control the relay and one of the components has gone wherever!

Although in theory, 30hp is 30hp, there are other things to consider? Tiller usually swings through 120 degrees, may not achieve that with outboard (~60). Propellor will be smaller (~9") and not as deep in water, so may not get the same thrust? Advantage is that propellor rotates with engine, directional steerage! Seem them used to great effect on small boats like Springers.

Surely a narrowboat has a SLW of at least 4tonnes? So at 4000Kg, a good breaking strain has to be at least 40000Kg!

£5K for an engine doesn't sound cheap, but thats exactly the point! You need:- Engine Gearbox Coupling Propellor etc. etc. it all adds up. £5K for it all fitted, aligned and tested starts to sound very good!

Its a bit like buying an SUV and driving round with a full load off road all the time. The engine will wear quicker than if you just take the kids to school! The overproping puts more load on, making the engine work harder, is likely to wear one side of the cylinders quicker and put more strain on the conrods and crankshaft bearings? No black smoke, its not under that much load. The answer is probably yes, but is a few grand worth the satisfaction of knowing its working nicely and getting you out of trouble if you need to?

With a nice new shiny boat, sprayfoam is probably the answer. Here you have an old rusty structure, clean it up and treat with whatever you prefer to prevent the rust getting worse or inhibit it further if necessary. There are likely to be some sort of ribs, but probably very basic, so the sections may not be well defined? Vapour barriers are well and good, but here vapour is likely to sneak past anyway. However the key is to prevent condensation on the metal, so ideally you need to ensure the material firmly adheres to it, this can be awkward with both Kingspan and rockwool. Once the boat is fully insulated, covered and dried out, most water will condense on the windows, but it needs dry heat to do the job properly. Finally don't forget the bit under the gunnels!

I have never used Redex, some others though, without problem, not sure what the difference is between the petrol and diesel versions? Diesel is not the same as it was, the biofuel additives may only be a few %, but they cause plenty of problems! Any extra water, parrafin or other contaminants will clog up filters very quickly, even possibly if its getting through the filter, pumps and injectors too! What you need is a good old fashioned solvent!

Just experience of these relatively old engines and their cold starting history! (They vary between 1.1 and 1.8 and are fitted with a variety of carburetors, many had cold start 6V looms fitted, tend to eat coils, plugs and often have air bleed problems in cold weather due to shrinkage on manifold or carburetor - differential metals)

Ideally, you shouldbe looking at cold cranking power rather than Ah. 90Ah is a good place to start, but see what variation on starting power they have! Buy a good one now, look after it and it will save you a lot of head scratching next winter!

Before you try playing with it, after checking how long the pump runs before it cuts back in, turn it off and drain the water out so there is no pressure. Now when you connect the foot pump (with pressure gauge) it will tell you the pressure it is primed to. Should read between 10 and 30 psi, if 0 then its lost the pressure and you can try pumping it up (to about 15 psi max) and see if it holds.

(Slightly off topic) I have always preferred to slacken off the spill rail bolt on the farthest injector, rather than the banjo on the filter, for two reasons:- 1) Quite often loosening the banjo ends up with a spill rail repair as it turns while undoing! 2) You can alwasy check whetheh it has resealed, since the lift pump causes it to leak!