LEO

Interesting - the info blurb which comes with Morris's 20W-50 Multi- grade states 'it is a low dispersant oil and allows any solid contaminants to drop harmlessly into the sump. This is an important feature where early methods of of oil filtration such as mesh gauzes or strainers are fitted.'

This is very interesting - I have a 2LW and the recommended grade of oil is SAe 30 (API SD/CC) for use throughout the year, however Morris's also produce a Multi-grade SAe 20W-50 (API CC/SF), both seem to produce suitable results for engines with no filters, ie. allowing solid contaminants to drop into the sump. The SAe 30 reduces the risk of bore glazing, but the multi grade improves cold start circulation. It's the cold start up protection which interests me........ This subject has been aired before and I wonder if manufacturers would have used the multi-grade years ago?. L

Hi, I wanted to find out the condition of the hull on my 17 year old, 48ft boat and Tony Tucker did a HULL survey for me - cost - £400. I coupled it with having the boat blacked and this made good any scraping/hammering of the blacking and hull a Surveyor has to do in conjunction with ultrasonic testing/steel condition inspection. He produced a helpful report which focused on the boat having too many anodes fitted. Find out exactly what sort of inspection/survey the insurers want and instruct the Surveyor accordingly. Hope this helps. L.

Interesting, I got 36000 miles from a set on Hankooks fitted to a Hyundai 1X35, a set of Continentals fitted to a Tuscon managed 14000 miles..............

Sorry I did not make it very clear, the drive plate was stripped by an input shaft (not shown), the shaft pictured is from a Hurth gearbox which replaced the original engineering mess, which had led to a breakdown at Days lock on the Thames in 1989. A lady gave us a tow up to Oxford, She had a cottage and mooring just above Hambleden lock and lets us use it for a month a year (FOC) until her death in 1996...every cloud has a silver lining.

HI, I had problems with the drive plate on our first boat, It coupled a BMC 1.5 to a large Thamesway Gearbox. This had an input shaft with very small splines (more akin to a car shaft), if tickover was not fast enough it used to wear away the splines on the drive plate and shaft very rapidly, result - no drive. I changed the gear box to a Hurth 150 and the problem was solved. Have attached a few pictures, a Hurth shaft (which is in good condition) is available to anyone who wants to pay postage.

They are, but catching them and killing them humanely is the problem......

We have a family of 5 on the mooring at Cowroast, the rabbits disappeared quickly, they are absolutely fearless, last week, one hid in a rainwater drain in one of the cottages when the lid was lifted it reared up, teeth bared ready to take on anybody, anything, anytime.

Hi, I have a Kabola drip feed heater (it's a smaller unit than the Reflecks) with a similar shut off arrangement it seems to shut the fuel supply off at just under 100C, it fits into a special housing which forms part of the outgoing hot pipe,I will look out some pics when I have time. it works satisfactorily and I can use the heater without the pump switched on, provided the heater is set to a very low setting. Hope that helps. I think KK (the Master of all things Reflecks) might have one of these fittings on his stove. L. I have attached a picture , special housing top left (just off pic), wire down to shut off valve.

Hi, Tony Tucker did a hull survey on my boat at Cowroast, - very thorough. L

KK, Interesting article, explains the situation well. The BMC engine you now have, could be considered a vintage unit as they were built to an old design. What's the compression ratio as a matter of interest?. Athough wih 'wet' exhaust you may not notice the problem.... L

I use a hosepipe to wet the paint and to rinse it off............. It's tricky with boat paint, I have had problems with compounds dripping off trees where I moor - A large hazel tree attracts aphids which causes the problem and Lime trees also drip a sticky substance......Bird droppings are another nuisance, if sun dried they are very difficult to remove - hot water and soaking seems to be one way but it takes a while to be effective. L

Hi, Fairey Liquid ruins the paint surface and removes the shine, car shampoo is designed for the job and some contain wax and is you have any trace of micro-blistering a pressure washer will 'blow off' the top of the blisters and leave the undercoat exposed. The best way is a large sponge and a bucket of warm water with a suitable car shampoo.... And take care using a pressure washer near the rear view camera on a car....................... Hope that helps. L

Hi, Oxon Boat painters did a good job on my boat, but bear in mind most boat painters are probably very booked up. The winter months are not a good time to paint boats, check conditions in the covered dock and is it heated. I would research 'micro blistering', horizontal surfaces do seem prone to the problem, take care with the choice of paint, avoid red - it fades badly. Craftmaster paint is excellent. When re-painted, take care of it, don't use Fairy liquid to wash it, use a good quality car shampoo, and don't use a pressure washer to clean the surfaces. Good luck. L

There were line drawings of H&L Norsemen boats on the H&L adverts in Waterways World in the 80's. . L.

Hi, Looks as though it could be a H&L Norseman, I think they produced some pre cut steel "kit" boats for home assembly. L.

Hi, It seems you can't win with anodes - I have had front, side and rear anodes fitted to my boat for the last 14 years of ownership (it's a 48ft boat, 20 years old, Tony Francis steelwork) and as a matter of pure interest I had a hull survey carried out 2 years ago. The steelwork was in excellent condition but the Surveyor (Tony Tucker) said there were too many anodes fitted and this can cause problems.......... this line of thinking was confirmed by the Engineer who runs the slipway....... It may be a new idea as in the past people have indicated the more anodes the better. L.

Hi, Interesting pictures, looks as though you have a lot of connections to the terminals, I would clean them up (posts and internal face of the connectors) and check these first of all and see if that helps, at least it might get you underway. Not sure where you are in London, but I suspect trades bump the price up hoping they don't get the job. (sorry crossed with post by MtB).

If it's for sale in Berko that explains it, prospective purchasers pay huge sums for houses there - boats as well, they normally buy two, his and hers!!

I tend to agree Alan, but if an ex LA house in Luton came up at £1million , I would still like to look at it, it may be next to a development site................really, I can see where you chaps are coming from but be careful with armchair opinions, they can bounce back, I used to qualify advice like this as saying this is an informal personal opinion with having seen the subject (eyz) either internally or externally.

Yes and no, unless it's say grade one listed and you have to build and exact replica or it's in a terrace and the same applies. But is it a rusty old crate? . lets check the overplating details - are we going to reach the stage where many of the 40 year old boats on the canal have to be scrapped due to age?. I once went on a boat buying spree with an American he wanted a boat just to use for a few weeks a year in the summer over here, he ended up with a 70ft H&L 30 years old with a huge air cooled Lister, He bought it for cash- no survey and I asked what happened if it developed a hole? - I just fish it out and weld a patch on it! - he had it for about 7 years. No survey (arm chair or other wise for him).

Has the engine been re-built? Comparable evidence - yes, but I mentioned developing market - it's got to start somewhere.......£60k may be a high figure, but let's have a look before passing judgement, I spent years looking at seemingly overpriced houses and there's always a thing called negotiation, but I have always tried to adopt the approach - if you ain't seen it don't comment. You are entering the area of 'drive by' (or float by) valuations, which were / are pretty useless.