RLWP

With a bit of prior knowledge you can wind a 70' boat opposite the cafe but you have to get the bow in exactly the right place. Otherwise you need to go down to the pound above the bridge Richard

Looks a bit cramped:

Excellent advice. Likewise go and look at boats on brokerage - you never know what you might find Richard

I fail to see how one persons ideal boat is in any way superior to another persons ideal boat. There's no logic that you can sensibly apply to illogical decisions And owning a canal boat is entirely illogical. So slagging off widebeams or in your words sewer tubes is nothing more than personal opinion Richard

Of course they are weird. As is living in a tin box floating in water Nothing about canal boats makes any sense - what's your point? Richard

I've come across marine JP engines with the inside of the crankcase painted a cream colour which makes working in there easier Richard

Out of interest, is the inside of your crankcase painted? Richard

Kind of, only it isn't at Braunston any more. It has passed Stowe Hill Richard

I could be wrong

I think they are the blocks the handrail will be screwed to to raise it off the roof Richard

Regular blocks along the edge of a roof of a wooden top under restoration On a boat that currently has no handrail... Richard

IIRC, the bearing has a spherical outer race so it can move around in the housing. This allows the axis of the rudder shaft to be off perpendicular to the deck The grease nipple lubricates the outside of the bearing race Richard

That's for the housing, it will take a range of bearings: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NBR-Pillow-Blocks-Bearings-Flange-4-Bolt-Fits-1-1-2-1-9-16-Bearing-F208/323446432307 Armed with that and the shaft diameter, you should be able to buy a bearing Richard

I prefer a cravat, myself

Good plan