koukouvagia

That's precisely what the engineer had. He still couldn't explain the relief valve failure. Needless to say it worked perfectly when he tested it! The tests showed that after more than twenty years' use, the hydraulic pressure was exactly as it was when new. Some of the test equipment.

Not always the case. I’ve had an ARS variable drive for over 25 years, giving excellent service. In all that time it the relief valve only once failed to operate; the resultant damage cost over £1500 to repair. An ARS trained engineer came to check the system but couldn’t find any reason for the failure.

Mr Coggins, the Birmingham coal factor who was responsible for this invention, is seen leaning over the 4 cylinder 17 hp marine engine after a successful trial run from the Cannock Chase Colliery to Paddington in April 1917. I can't find exactly what engine was used, but a contemporary record states that petrol was used for starting and paraffin when running. It was claimed that the engine and attachments could be swapped from one boat to another in a few minutes.

Try this https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/188966/ Until I looked in detail at the drawings and watched this clip, I found it difficult to envisage the passage of water coming in at the narrow end of the cone and then being accelerated and ejected via the wider end of the cone.

Fascinating. Are any of these amazing inventions still around - in museums, for example? A bit off topic, I admit. I came across this eccentric method of propelling canal boats. Needless to say, it never caught on. The article is from the Edinburgh Evening News, Aughst 1905. GAS-WORKED CANAL BOATS. On the Bridgewater Canal there was a trial yesterday of a new method of propelling barges. It is a very simple system, and if it realised the promoters hope it will work great change the traffic on canals. Colonel R Wilson Thom of Southport, has devised plan by which compressed coal gas may be used as the motive force and the chief recommendation of his invention is a reduction of the cost of propulsion by at least one half. As an example of what he proposes do, he has, with the sanction the Manchester Ship Canal Company, who control the Bridgewater Navigation, fitted up a 60-ton barge with a gas engine. This engine, with fittings, takes up very little space—only 6.5 feet—at the stern of the vessel. Gas is supplied at the high pressure of 200 lb. per square inch, and it may be as high 600lb. The gas is stored in twelve steel tubes, six on each side of the boat. Each tube is 15 feet length, the diameter of the bore being inches. Colonel Thom estimates that only cubic feet of gas will be needed to drive of 60 tons for one hour at a speed of 4 miles hour. The initial cost of the gas will be trifling, Another gain is as regards labour. Fewer will be required board. Then there is the advantage of cleanliness and the absence of unpleasant smells, such as accompany oil engines. A further gain is in the matter of weight, for 14 cwt represents the total weight of engine and machinery. A single charge of gas will suffice to work a loaded boat for twelve hours and to propel it fifty miles, with two other barges in its train. It is, intended form a company to bring the method of propulsion into use on our canals, in connection therewith to set up the necessary gas-producing plant at various centres. The by products of gas are expected to yield a considerable sum. The trial yesterday was quite successful. If the new method succeeds on canals, as it seems likely to do, one may look for its use other directions.

That's exactly what I was looking for. Many thanks. PM sent.

Capella was fitted with the hydraulic drive in the ellum by WFBCo. Hampton was also fitted with the same system a few years later at WFBCo. The replica steel rudder was fabricated by Ken Freeman. I'd be very interested to see what Nebulae looked like below the water line. How much of the stern was cut away to accommodate the propeller? Did it have anti cavitation (ventilation) plates, I wonder?

As I understand it - and I may be wrong - Birdswood used to have a diesel engine driving an hydraulic motor built into the rudder, rather like Hampton. For environmental reasons the diesel engine had to be replaced by an electric motor. So it now has a unique electric/hydraulic sytem? I am hoping for some pictures of these motorised butties showing what they look like below the waterline.

I am putting the finishing touches to a book called Hampton, the story of a butty, which will be a companion to Owl, the story of a Josher. Hampton is motorised and I am looking for pictures of other motorised butties which show the various methods that have been used – e.g .with cut away back ends with swims, anti-cavitation plates, motors in the ellum, bolted on outboards etc. Obviously, I would need permission to use any image, which will be duly acknowledged. Many thanks for any help you can give. This is what we've done to Hampton with a hydraulic motor in the ellum. Has anyone successfully managed to put electric propulsion in a butty?

Yes it was a K4. Picture taken in 2006.

The late Kevin Whittle was a remarkable man. He was always keen to help and guide Kelvin owners like me and could usually find spare parts. He was also a one-man book publisher. He taught himself desk top publishing software and he designed and published his own books to a very high standard. An A to Z of Marine Engines and Vintage Marine Engines for Narrowboats and The Book of the Kelvin Model J are classics. He did this long before it before self-publishing became common. I would be very reluctant to sell my copies. Over many years he also single-handedly published a regular magazine, The Kelvin Register, which is full of articles and illustrations on the restoration and maintenance of Kelvins. This picture shows Kevin with a Kelvin engine which I discovered half buried in the Thames. Kevin had it transported to Shropshire andI believe it was brought back to life. I wonder what became of it?

I must admit that this development is not bad, given that it was highly unlikely that a new use could be found for the former workshop once the wonderful old lock making machinery was taken out. What became of it? The manager's house must have lain derelict for over twenty years. I remember going to a public meeting which BW and the developers arranged. I recall someone saying that the old blacksmith's forge was a listed structure and would have to be incorporated into the new flats. I wonder if this ever happened.

It was a dark and stormy night in Limehouse (aka Bulbourne) . . There was quite a collection of historic boats for the filming which was supposed to be set in Limehouse. Owl, Hampton, Hood, Jaguar, Northolt and Holland were called upon to add background verisimilitude.

We used to take our two boats up from Cowroast to Bulbourne for the Open Weekends. I suggest that the good publicity for the canals from that event achieved far more than the blue signs and wellness campaigns. We would show local school children around our boats and at the weekend they would return with their parents.

Actually, my engine was called Melvin. (After a misprint in a magazine which featured my engine).

or those who used to peer at my Kevin and ask if it was a steam engine. Also I've met lots of people who think that the hydraulic pipes on the ellum of my butty are for power steering. I even had a couple of people who, in all seriousness, thought that they were for brakes!!!

The rebuilt back cabin of our butty is lined with Thinsulate. There is not the slightest hint of condensation. I can thoroughly recommend it. The main cabin is insulated with slab fibre glass insulation - not the floppy Rockwool stuff. Absolutely every nook and cranny has to be filled. On top of this the cabin was completely swathed in a plastic sheeting vapour barrier. Again every square inch has to be covered. Below the gunwales I used tongue and groove timber - not the flimsy matchboard T&G. Then, yes, I used MDF for the lining above the gunwales. Before I get shouted at for using MDF, I can report that after twenty five years it still looks pristine with no condensation whatsoever.

You're quite right, of course. What I meant to say was that the boat paired with Dabchick was Avocet, which had Jack Monk's Seffle engine which later I put in Owl. Old age and decrepitude, I fear.

Dabchick was paired with my old boat Owl. I think you can just see part of Owl in the picture. Jack Monk was the steerer.

We had this cover on Hampton for years. When we had work done in 2018 we had a steel deck and drain holes so we don't need the cover now.

No I don't know. I've just unearthed from my files some information Roger Fuller sent me in 2000. 1948 Hampton sold to Robert Teal Ltd. Newark on Trent. Early 1970? Hampton purchased by Mr Carpenter, Burton on Trent. Re named Daisy May 1975 Hampton now derelict. Purchased by Martin Fuller and towed back to Stone. Rebottomed and stern rebuilt. So, the gap is now shorter just 1948 to early 1970. I have another question. I can explain and decipher most of the articles on board as listed in the BCN Register, but what is the meaning of the one I’ve marked? Also, what’s a Log? I presume Dunnage includes ropes, chains, cloths etc.

This is a bit of a long shot. I’m writing the history of Hampton, our 1911 Braithwaite and Kirk horse boat. There is a gap. After 1948 it was sold to Robert Teal on the Trent and then around 1970 was probably sold again. I’m told it was towed to Trent lock where a swim was fitted. After that it was based around Chester. From the late 70s onward I’ve a pretty good idea of what happened to Hampton. It’s the period 1948 to the late 70s that I’m struggling to fill. There are traces of the swim – now removed – that intrigue me. Why a swim? Was Hampton ever motorised? I suspect that Hampton was a fairly mundane workboat which nobody ever bothered to photograph. We've spruced it up a bit since its working days.

This is how the K2 engine beds were made for the Josher Owl. The engine was very stable. I could balance a threepenny bit on it when it was running.

You'll almost certainly need a box spanner to extract the cartridge, if it's anything like our IKEA one.

I've never had any trouble all the years I've been using Jules Fuels. I pay using online banking. If I'm not on board I get a text telling me how much I owe and I pay straight away. Works perfectly. If I ever needed, I'd be able to prove I'd paid via my bank. (Incidentally, I've literally not spent a penny in hard cash anywhere since before the pandemic).