LEO

Hi, Fit a 'Whale gulper' pump. No more problems. Albi

Bramley, Sadly the situation you describe is all to typical of Bristish canals and society in gereral, but it's basically caused by too many people who are living on a small island, dependant on a woefully inadequate infrastructure. I hope you complain to Black Prince, naming and shaming, after all you have suffered damage and inconvenience, where do you draw the line - if you read 'Sanity's blog, it details how a boat went by a such a speed it broke the bolts securing his fairlead cleat - the boat did not stop. No doubt repairs will be costly. The owners, like you have been inconvenienced - if others think this situation is satisfactory, we might just as well all stop paying our dues and become anarchists. Regretfully, the actions of a few drive up the costs for us all, well not all - only those who pay already. I agree on your comments about the Forum, again indicative of the times we live in and a problem with open forums. Albi

Hi 84ppl. Albi

HI, It's been a long day, with an eeeeeeeeeeeeeexcellent lunch, I shall watch the replies of others with interest. ALBI.

Hi, Actually, I think it's the first stages of 'planing'. My 30 footer (with a BMC 1.5) used to do this in the winter when the front water tank was empty, try throttling back. More economy, goes just as fast, but you lose the front end lifting effect. With a full 80 gallon tank mine stopped this. I suspect it's the reason they changed the desing of the bows of modern cargo ships. ALBI.

Sorry, Phone them first as it was a few years ago that it bought it. ALBI

Hi, Not sure where you are on the system, i got some from Uxbridge BC - it's not cheap. Albi

Hi, The cam lock principle is the best. I was concerned about 'enlarging the hole a bit' and now the chrome appearance, any new lock had to match in with the original, Thus one had to incorprate a 'cam' lock type within the fitting. Not too worried about swarf - it sinks the bottom, well below the bottom level of 'usable' diesel in the tank and the contents are filtered well before use. Any swarf will be removed with the annual bottom of the tank 'crud' removal, either by draining (one tank) or suction the other tank. It's also worth considering a locking device for the water tank as it's only a matter of time before some 'happy hero' introduces something into this tank as a prank or some other reason. Albi

Hi, Have been thinking and playing around with the prototype and it is possible at virtually no extra cost to add another security feature. I am fortunate in having dedicated tanks for heating and engine fuel. I agree if people want to hammer their way into tanks it will be difficult to stop them. But a 5 stage locking device using 3 different tools and 'Yale' key would deter opportunists. Albi

Hi, Have been looking at this one with interest, and I have a flush deck fitting. After some thought and checking the fittings, I made a 3 stage security fitting for £15 + labour. It could easly be upgraded to a 4 stage unit. One of the stages incorporates a Yale lock, which is weather protected. It's probably better than the expensive one listed and involves no alterations to the original fitting. Time will tell how secure it is!!. ALBI

Hi, Am I right in thinking Fulbourne is at Aylesbury, in the basin?, if so, there is an excellent Engineering firm near you in the High Street. Roblins is an old established firm, which has re-opened using all the old belt driven machines (H&S would have a fit!). Nice old bloke in charge, walking distance of the basin, between the canal and Exchange street. Even to visit is a pleasure. Albi

Hi, THe only way for a 1.5 to leak is via a defective rear crankshaft seal, which will result in oil dripping out the connecting plate between the gearbox and engine. I am not familiar with your type of gearbox. When I encountered a problem of going slower with more revs on my 1.5 was when I had a dreadful TMP gearbox. It was obvious that slipping clutch plates was the problem. Infact it reached the stage where I could go faster with low revs (taking ages between Weedon and Gayton in 1989 and praying that the headwind did not get worse sticks in my mind) I bit the bullet and installed a 'Hurth 150 box'. There will be others more suitably qualified, who may feel differently, in these times of oil shortages I shall be interested to here where the excess oil is coming from!!. (meant in jest) ATB ALBI

Hi, Intersting - what engine, what gearbox, oil cooler or not?. Albi.

Hi, A survey is personal to the person who commissioned it, there is no protection for a 3rd party who uses it without reference to the surveyor, who may consider updating his report for a fee. There are normally (or should be) time constraints with a survey and I (if I were acting as a marine surveyor) would not accept liability without another 'out of water' inspection, who's to say what has happened to the prop' and rudder during the interval?. Who's to say the report has not been tampered with. The person who uses a survey under these circumstances has no protection, (according to posts last week they have limited protection under most instances with a survey!!). ALBI

Hi, Sounds like lack of maintenance to me, I re-black every 2 years or 3 at the most. Check anodes and add to or re-new as necessary. Galvanised steel cold water tanks used to rust just the same (on boats or in houses) unles they were painted. ALBI

Hi, How long is the boat, did it have anodes fitted, and any boats around it fitted with mains electric?. Albi

Hi, This a very sad tale. This crane seems to be 'jinxed' as it was involved in a bad accident with a couple of boats a few years ago. I suspect another craning in /out facility will be lost on the Southern GU. I used this facility a few years ago after bringing my boat down from Lincoln and they were keen to stress craning was done on the understanding that the boat owner was covered by their insurance for all risks. Albi

Hi Cattleya Sounds to me as though you need some new washers to seal the system, which should cure the problem. The engine wants to start but has trouble starting on all 4 cylinders. No matter how tight you get the bolts, they still leak, next stop if you keep on is 'stripped threads'. Sounds as though you have a fairly early 1.5. The gearbox is a very sorry tale and you got some unfortunate engineering advice. We could all learn from this, to issue written instructions and get a written estimate before work commences, then any variations should be covered by additional paperwork. A call to PRM may have helped initially and reference to all those handouts we get at shows may also have been of assistance. I found with old or worn gear boxes it's cheaper to replace them with new ones rather than try to repair them, as they get so much wear and tear they are beyond economical repair. The soot on the water is probably unburnt fuel from all the attempts to start the engine, assuming you have a 'wet' exhaust. Hope this helps, best of luck with the engine. Albi.

Hi Bones - Typical woman - 'Anything you can do, I can etc, etc!'........ Albi.

Hi, I had this problem on my 1.5 on a couple of occassions, if the system has been bled satisfactorily (can take a while to get a good spurt through), a well charged battery, full throttle, 60+ seconds on the heater plugs and perhaps a quick spurt of 'easy start' got it going. Easy start was only used sparingly. Shall be interested to here of the outcome. But your battery does need to be in good condition to get the engine turning over quickly. The gearbox renewal seems a full price, was it a straight swop?, because I have changed a Hurth box over on the canal side in 3 hours. Albi.

Hi, That looks the right one, check it's not a cylinder head nut before removing, engine looks just the same my 1.5, bought back a few memories. ATB Albi

Hi, A wise move, with my 1.5, the feed came from a tapped outlet at the back end of the cylider head, onto which a hose fitted to take water to the hot tank, Another hose then went to the heat exhanger. This is the best way of getting the best hot water temperature. I got the necessary tapped outlet from AMC. it may be blocked off on the head by a nut. I could show you if you want. (PM me shall be around Tues Am) Albi.

Alan, I was interested in your picture of Olive - must be quite an old one as Phipps Brewers have not been around for years - any idea of the date. Albi.

Geoff, No problem, just give the canal if you want - for example I'm GU south. - that covers a large area!, but on the other hand some Surveyors seem to travel long distances for a marine survey... or you could pm me. Albi.

Chris One hopes so, but it depends on how the surveyors body 'polices' the requirement for CPD or indeed whether there is commitment to attend courses. With regard to the body of which I am a member one's attendance at courses is carefully checked and learning has to be on a structured basis. Failure to keep up to date and keep records has serious implications (no excuses no exclusions). I would hope that other professions are the same. As Geoff suggests it would be helpful if details of this unfortunate incident is readily available to others. Where abouts on the system are you Geoff?. Albi