mayalld

Well, it never rains but it pours, Hot on the heels of the batteries being knackered, and the stern gland leak, the alternator has suddenly packed in, going through Harecastle. I am NOT a fan of red lights and buzzers in a tunnel! So, RCR despatched an engineer. Very nice young chap who applied his meter all over the shop, and confirmed that the alternator is kaput. They don't carry 100A alternators on the van, so it will be a few days. That isn't going to fit in with a need to be back at work, so we formulated a plan. I would shut down to bare minimum on board power (food into the fridge on the families boat, no use of lights, just pumps and tunnel light to get back through Harecastle, and that we would spend 2 hours each day with my charger plugged into their inverter to top up the batteries. (that bit of the plan worked like a dream). So, the next morning, engine started, and wandered over to next door, when Andy says "your engine is smoking a bit" I turn round, and clouds of white smoke, as the engine sounds like its is shaking every nut off before stalling. It does not wish to restart, and there is lots of white smoke. Now, this is a curious occurrence. Alternator issues do not tend to result in this kind of thing. Is this just sheer bad luck that another fault has arrived within moments of the previous one, because I would struggle to see a link. Anyway, Here is the engine (yes I know it is dirty, and I should take more pride in it, but it is awaiting circular tuits). Anybody like to hazard a guess what the problem is?

Odd isn't it. After owning a boat for 15 years, you kind of imagine that you know it well. You don't expect to discover a new design flaw after all this time. Well, with a newly leaking stern gland, it was good to see that the ceremonial bilge pump actually runs. The design flaw is in the rear stank plate for the oily bilge. Because of the height of the shaft, the stank plate cannot run at engine bed height. So, the design starts the plate at engine bed, and follows a deep curve to miss the shaft by a very long way. Trouble is the lowest point on the stank plate is actually about 2mm below the point at which the bilge pump kicks in! Yes, before the bilge pump starts, it floods the oily bilge and carries sodding oil into the non-oily bilge. That was a fun job to clean out....

Well, let us pick that apart. Firstly, I reject the premise that all volunteers are "trying to help". It is very clear that some are seeking a position of power over others, and some just want to play with the locks. Some, I accept are motivated by a belief that what they do helps boaters. Whether they have ever considered whether the said boater desires help is neither here nor there. But, if we have somebody who desires to help, but who lacks the ability to actually do so, must we accept this sub-standard help with gratitude, because it is from a volunteer? I say that we have no such obligation. If we want to work locks ourselves then so be it. What will be next? will WH Smith bring in volunteers to do the Times Crossword to save the readers the trouble? I had thought that I might be relating a tale of a good volunteer, because whilst out this week we did encounter one. We were going down Bosley, and two volunteers were assisting a boat up the full flight. The lockie I spoke to was chatty and pleasant, and explained that the boaters were in their 70s and had called to office to ask if there would be volunteers, so they were there specifically for that boat. The lockie assisted with gates, and left our paddles alone. He was exactly what should happen. Coming up Bosley was a different story! My 12 year-old grandson was my lock crew for the day, when we encountered the volunteers. At the first manned lock the volunteer spoke to neither of us, didn't even look at me, and wound a paddle up. I grimaced and said nothing. At the second manned lock the volunteer spoke to Nick, and instructed him not to pause when raising the paddle, but to whip it straight up. Nick politely said that I had asked him to do it that way, and he would wait for my signal to raise the paddle fully. The volunteer didn't look at me. I grimaced and said nothing. At the third manned lock, the volunteer told Nick that he was doing this lock, and sent Nick on to the next lock. I called Nick back to work the lock. The volunteer didn't look at me before winding a paddle. As the boat got to the top I stepped off to speak to the lockie, and was treated to "stay on your boat". I went over to him and told him that it was not appropriate for him to be issuing instructions to a 12 year old to go and work a lock away from my supervision. His response; "he'll be fine". Yes I know he will be fine. I know his capabilities. You have no idea, and shouldn't be interfering. At the fourth manned lock, the volunteer didn't look at me (bit of a theme here), wound the paddle up and stepped away leaving the windlass in place. I called to him to remove it. He shouted back that it was fine, the catch was on. Now, I will put up with some bits and pieces of not doing it exactly as I want, but I will not tolerate unsafe working when we are in the lock, so leant on the horn and shouted (very loudly, I have a big gob) "DROP THE PADDLES NOW!". For the first time all day a volunteer followed his training and put the paddles down. I then told him to step away from the lock and take no further part in the operation. He protested that he was assigned to work this lock, and I reminded him that he was assigned to offer assistance to those that want it. I neither wanted nor needed his assistance, and as he had shown himself incapable of working a lock safely, he would have to stand aside. Then on to the final lock (the top lock). The volunteer didn't look at me, and would a paddle, but other than that I came up without incident. As no boats were approaching downhill, my stepdaughter was ascending the lock next and the lock/water mooring was occupied, I waited back in the upper jaws for her to ascend. She came into the lock, came to a halt, and turned round to check that the bottom paddles were down. Whilst she was still facing backwards, he started to wind a paddle... "STOP!" Who on earth thinks it is OK to start winding a paddle when the steerer is looking the other way? I'm afraid that either they are not being trained properly, or they are not being supervised properly.

I am in shock simply imagining the prospect of having the stuff in my presence. Wrong, I tell you, WRONG!

KETCHUP?? Heathen! Bacon Butties come with brown sauce. Anything else is an aberration against nature,

I have always regarded batteries as a disposable commodity. They last as long as they last then they get replaced. As I have other things to do than attending upon the altar of the great god of batteries to preserve them forever, I tend to do neglectful things, and solve them with a credit card! It isn't even the money that hurts. It's the thought of lugging two batteries out from where they sit on the swim, onto the top of the engine, then noticing that having lugged a battery on top of the engine, I'm trapped at the side of the thing. They are heavy buggers 629s!

Oddly enough, there was a boat there today, running his engine and ignoring the (official) sign. Now, I am all for ignoring unofficial signs (and have form on dealing with householders who have "contacted the water board about you lot"), and I thing CRT made an error in agreeing to the official signs, but official signs should be respected. The same boat passed us whist we were moored for lunch in Bollington, and then we passed them near our mooring, moored up and running in gear. I won't name and shame, but in accordance with standard practice, the boat has been noted in the log, and its name struck through in a firm manner.

I have, and the levels are fine. Assuming the theory is correct, I am looking at; https://advancedbatterysupplies.co.uk/product/pair-of-abs-629-xd-commercial-batteries/ as the new ones. They are far and away the lowest price for two 629s that ABS do, come with a 3 year warranty, and are rated at 185Ah rather than the 170-180Ah that one typically sees in this case size. I am resigned to the fact that mistreatment by yours truly has played a part in the demise (although an erratic marina power supply does mean that they do get a bit of drain and refill) However, the boating fallow period is coming to an end, so the prolonged layups will not feature in the future regime!!

Bit of history here; Due to a series of unfortunate occurrences, use of the boat over the past couple of years has been less than previously (this is not going to be an ongoing situation). Two new batteries (type 629) fitted Easter 2017, with a 2 year warranty. In December 2017, the existing trickle charger was replaced by a multi-stage charger. Summer last year, noted that the volt meter never rose above 13.6 volts, even with a Stirling Battery boiler. Diagnosed as a blown fuse in the Stirling unit, replaced, and volts looked better. This week, noted that even after having been left on shoreline charge, and 5 hours run from the marina, the inverter died at 3am. Watched the Volt meter this morning. The usual pattern is first half hour just over 12 volts, climbing to 15 volts for an hour, then dropping back to 14.5, and eventually settling back to 13.5 I've always seen this as the first bit being the alternator putting out full current to discharged batteries, then the Stirling unit pushing to maximum volts on the timer, and then settling back. Today, climbed almost immediately to 15 volts, then died back to 14.5 within minutes, then within an hour at 13.5. There were occasional surges to 15, which probably coincided with the fridge kicking in. I'm seeing this as sulphated batteries, with almost no remaining capacity, allowing the alternator to charge to "full" very quickly, but very little actual charge. Anybody want to suggest another explanation, before I visit my friends in Stockport for replacements.

He's right you know. Watch for changes in trim. If the bow dips, we are soon going to be pulled forward, and it is time to engage reverse before it becomes impossible to control. If, despite engaging reverse the bow doesn't start to come back up, then as soon as the boat starts to move forward, you want the paddles down, because you know that the engine isn't going to fight this one.

Alignment check is definitely on the cards, although likely cause of failure is 15 years use, and not actually remembering to perform the annual silicone grease top-up more than half the time.

OK, after 15 years in the water, the dripless Vetus sten gland has moved on from the occasional drip to a fairly regular drip, and my dry engine bilge is no longer dry. This is the beast; So, just want to check that I'm not going off half-cocked here.... My understanding is that the only bit that plays a part in keeping water out is the twin lipseals in the brass bit at bottom left. There is an outer bearing at the rear of the stern tube, which will tend to limit ingress, but it isn't part of its purpose. The process for dealing with the issue is; Unclamp the prop shaft, and slide the propshaft backwards as far as it will go until it hits the rudder. Hope that this gives a gap between the propshaft and the clamp. If not, disassemble the R&D coupling to get clearance Undo the 3 small bolts using a hex key Slide off the brass bit at the front and slide the new one (pre-greased with silicone grease) on Fasten up the 3 small bolts bring the propshaft forward, check alignment, and reclamp Bob is your mothers brother. Now, I have two options here. I can do this one weekend in the water, or I can wait until we dock her in the Autumn for blacking. There are pros and cons of each way. If I do it in water, then there is likely to be a water ingress that may seem alarming.I can mitigate this by putting putty, plastic bags, tape around the outer bearing, which will reduce it to a trickle, and I have a good bilge pump, so it isn't particularly high risk, but should I as a rank amateur be doing this in water, or is it going to be stressful? If I leave it until the Autumn, I either have to take a day off work to do the job, or pay somebody to do it for me. Thoughts and comments?

The main inflow is not, and has never at any time been, diverted by sluice gates.

Bosley Locks, between 12 and 11. I agree, you had your passage, and now you are back in the queue.

Now that is odd. As far as I can see, it is the Auxiliary slipway that has failed. The Primary spillway runs from the side of the dam and across the bottom. How much faith do we have in somebody who doesn't know which spillway is which

Well, the expert who saw no problem is a reservoir panel engineer, and therefor qualified to inspect a reservoir in the UK. Various other experts trotted out by the media are NOT qualified to inspect reservoirs in the UK. Until we know the failure mode, it is difficult to say whether the vegetation is an issue. One theory is that the concrete spillway had made it impossible to tell what the condition of the earth bank below was, and that it is entirely possible that the earth beneath the spillway had been undermined for some considerable time, and that the hydraulic forces acting on unsupported panels caused deformation and allowed water ingress.

Sutton was low last summer, when we took a look, and the locks were closed, but that doesn't indicate exclusive causation. Bosley was shut because all the reservoirs were low, and yes my comment was a reference to the utter failure to maintain the canal at Bollington. Does Toddbrook need to be so big? Well, there are many things they could do that would reduce the demand; Fix the leaks at bollington Fix the leaks through Bosley Dredge all the reservoirs Restore the side ponds at bosley

Whilst one hesitates to quote from the press, because we all know how accurate they often are, could I suggest https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-49220650 as being worth a read. the fact that reservoirs are inspected by a panel engineer has been mentioned several times, and there really aren't many of them. You can download the full list of qualified people, which amounts to 30. In amongst the quotes from various Dam experts, we have a quote from a panel engineer (one assumes NOT the one who did the inspection), who says of the pictures; "As an All Reservoirs Panel Engineer I would say that there is nothing in the photos that would cause me concern, and nothing that would indicate that the dam is not being maintained properly in general" Make of that what you will....

That is what I said! Doing it well would have involved major engineering to expand the existing side spillway, which would have cost megabucks

It is always POSSIBLE to provide additional spillway capacity other that over the weir crest, but probably considered prohibitively expensive in the 1970s. Protecting the dam against overtopping by allowing it to overtop with a protective surface is playing with fire. It will be interesting to see what they do to repair.

I suspect that the question of the appropriateness of the design might well be in question. The emergency spillway was added in the 1970s I believe, and meets the requirement that even in an extreme storm it should not be possible for an earth dam to be overtopped. Its design will have taken account of the maximum possible flow, so to that extent it was well designed. Of course, in the years before there was an emergency spillway, there was never a problem, because an employee was responsible for ensuring that it never overtopped. Emergency spillways reduced the reliance on the employee. Where it IS flawed though is that the emergency spillway introduces a new potential point of failure. The original spillway comes out of the side, not through the dam, because they knew that running water over an earth dam was a bad idea. The emergency spillway is a poor design, because it inevitably means that a crack in the concrete can do this.