Durhamdales

It's not a sealed system with a cap on it, water head is simply from an open header tank, high up in the engine room. Water is circulated by a Jabsco pump, around the engine and skin tanks.

I have had a few problems with my engine replacement this week, as some water leakage from the heads was discovered. The heads are about to be refitted and the system tested. What pressure should it be tested to? The yard have mentioned 5 bar ( about mains water temp) but this ssounds very high to me, I don"t want to overdo it

I have finally decided to bite the bullet and to have the Kelvin P4 that I bought about three years ago installed in my boat - the existing engine was just not reliable and therefore I thought I would cash in my insurance policy and stop worrying about it! It looks like this might not be the case. The engine was restored by a well known and reputable restorer, has been filled with a water and anti freeze mix in my garage - until this week it has not been run. So the old engine is removed and the replacement is running well in the yard. The engine oil is changed just before it goes in the boat and the old oil is emulsified,so must be in contact with water somewhere. There are new pistons and liners fitted and new CH gaskets. They have refilled it with oil and water overnight and will check it again in the morning, but I can only assume that it will happen again and none of us want to go ahead if there is any chance of a problem. I assume (although it's a guess) that either a gasket or cylinder liner is leaking. The gasket is not a big issue, but the liner seals sounds like a biggie to me and is well outside my field of experience. I clearly have some decisions to make and would welcome views of the engine experts here as to how they would proceed - also an approximation of the scale of the job in changing liner seals (if I can get them). What would you do in my position (apart from cry!) Thanks in anticipation Richard

Normally Rayburns are 900mm and Agas 1000mm or thereabouts

Why would you need a mooring if you were a continuous cruiser?

Might be a bit far away, but we are just vacating our mooring at Stourport - it's in the top basin, on the pontoons opposite the sani station. Top mooring with power, water etc. Would probably be OK up to 50 feet. Will be on a BW auction very shortly

I used to have an old David Piper that had poured concrete, but it had been poured on polystyrene (a terrible idea as it has got damp). It was easy enough to break out with a cold chisel though. To make any discernible difference, you are going to have to take out a hell of a lot though.

Mark, please contact me at richardfrost59ATbtinternetDOTcom Cheers PS - I think you might have owned the other half!

I was at Droitwich Spa marina at the weekend - they do have a system where you pay £1 per day more for your mooring if you are on board for more than 4 days a week on average. Might not be strictly residential but............. The other place is the yard on the Severn, just below Stourport locks - there are all sorts of boats moored there with people in residence. Sirius Yachts

Sounds great, I will give them a ring Thanks for your advice Richard

I remember Hatherton - is it a nice place to moor - safe/friendly/reasonably priced? Wolverhampton just sounds a tad like bandit country to me! What's a good weekend cruise from there for instance? We did moor opposite about 3 years ago and had a fairly chaotic meal in the club on the other side of the bridge!

Always known as 'Coal Boat Martin' I saw him a couple of years ago being interviewed on TV. He was the spokesman for a group of barge dwellers on The Thames in London. Think they were facing eviction at the time.

I can't visualise it, it's a couple of years since we went that way - and there is very little online that I can find. It's spot on location wise though

We would like to move Marcellus onto a mooring on the Shroppie - somewhere south of Audlem (at the very farthest North). Our ideal location would be a small marina, with power and a nice social bunch of moorers - but definitely not a huge impersonal 'boat park' Has anybody got any suggestions please Thanks

Brilliant - have a greenie

Where does his guide dog sleep?

I think Norbury Junction on the Shroppie will hire you a boat and rent you a cottage

When I was young and thought I knew everything, I bought an ex hire boat from a seller in Kidsgrove, it was a David Piper hull (considered a good name in those days - maybe still are!)and the seller assured me that it was fine. On his word I bought it without a survey; subsequently I was in the chandlery at Red Bull and got talking to David Piper himself - he hinted that the boat had flogged up and down the shallow Llangollen for many years and that hire boats that had been on this route often had a problem 'in each corner' due to hirers running the bow and stern into the bank when mooring and setting off. Sure enough, at the first blacking I had it surveyed - the sacrificial edges were like razor blades and it ended up costing me a new bottom (60ft)- at the time, it was money I didn't have. It looked great above the water - but was a horror show below it - I would never buy another boat without a survey

The red boards were out at Stourport yesterday - pretty low down the red zone, but the flow looked pretty scary nonetheless!

I think it needs a bit more support in the middle of the boat than it currently has - just an observation!

I think this is a very subtle attempt at flushing Gibbo out again!

Beware of Osney Bridge - it can be a chimney knocker!