mike-h

Thanks. I intend to fix acoustic (fire retardent) foam to some of the curved bulkheads to hopefully absorb some engine noise and the "lead sandwich" to underside of the deckboards. It's the safety aspect of foam that concerns me, but as a later post points any foam which has absorbed fuel/oil will burn!

Is it safe to use fire retardent foam which complies with the furniture regs to line the engine room or should it be Class 0 which I believe is totally non-flammable but 3 times the price? (I know I'm quite rightly about to be lectured on safety but would like advice from those that know!)

Dont havea rev counter although vibration varies with different engine speeds. When moored I can turn the prop shaft by hand fairly easily which is why I thought it was out of balance rather than alignment

After constantly struggling (unsuccessfully) to keep the engine bearing bolts tight I'm wondering if the prop and / or shaft needs balancing. When under way there's some vibration which I assume is shaking the bolts loose. In neutral, at all revs, the vibes go. The engine is a fairly recent (Turkish built!) BMC 1.8 which is not the smoothest. How do you know if it is the prop / shaft and if it is how can it be corrected? Advice would be much appreciated

Thats the date of my silver wedding anniversary so please change date of apocalypse to the 20th.

I got the £7.50 pm deal (for 18 months) direct from 3 when I said i wouldnt renew at the end of a 12 month contract as £15 was too much. By the way how secure is 3 for online banking?

I'm thinking that too. I have the Squirrel but its a real hassle if you use the boat for a few hours only. Also got to put it out when you leave as the pump has to run all the time. Does anyone else have experience of hot air (gas or diesel) heating?

I did once start up the Squirrel and went outside, forgetting to switch on the pump. Within 5 minutes the auto alarm system (the wife) started screaming with steam and boiling water pouring from the header tank. Anti freeze makes a horrid mess! At least with a gas or diesel stove you can switch it off quick. What happens if the pump fails on a solid fuel stove? Anyone had to deal with such a situation?

Cant help with the aerial i'm afraid, but I learnt from my first mooring years ago not to moor under a willow tree especially in spring and summer. When we used the boat, once a week perhaps, wife and kids refused to get on board until I'd spent however long necessary to remove vast numbers of crawlies. Now try to avoid overnights near anything growing!

That sounds good. How do you convert an existing pumped system into a gravity one?

Thanks to all for your advice. Special private note to Sir Nibble. (#15) I was relieved to learn from my son that KISS might not be a term of affection in this instance but merely advice to keep life simple!

Thanks for this info. Seems like the easiest solution i've seen. What engines did you fit this to? If it works on pulses but can be corrupted by other noise I'd be concerned as the BMC 1.8 is not the quietest

Thanks for your replies. Cant see how the Diesel Tiny Tach works. I'll probably go with the hour counter only.

Is there a simple way to fit an hour counter to a BMC 1.8? I'd also like to fit a rev counter, I believe the 2 can be combined. Can anyone provide an easy way to do this. Many thanks.

As a relative newby I thought it looked great as other half didnt do locks at the time! Called LockMate (gizmo, not wife) Try this link- http://www.merlynfarwell.co.uk/inventingto...rsLockmate.html

Is it better to leave some sort of heating in the boat (bathroom perhaps) or in the engine room? I have a cruiser nb and I guess the pipework under the deckboards to be more vulnerable. OK, I could put a small heater in both Isuppose!!

We did this trip a couple of times since the summer and assumed the coconuts must have been discarded after they'd been smoked or something! Anyone know why this stretch is so blessed?

Dont you have to keep the pump going if theres a back burner? What happens if / when it fails!? I had boiling water & steam pouring out of the header tank within a couple of minutes of forgetting to turn on the pump. Hence my worry about when it packs up with the stove blazing away.

Damn. Was out boating and missed it. I really should stay in more!

I, too, am connected to a shoreline which I leave on permanentlly. When I bought the boat last year my surveyor advised adding a GI which I paid the boat yard to do. Theres a neat little box tucked away in a cupboard - no LED's, cant see where the wires go. How can a non-electricky person know if its working (or even connected!)

Thanks Tony. I fixed soundproofing strips to the larger of the 2 deckboards which made a noticable reduction in engine noise. No apparent difference to engine performance. Presumably the engine would start to "hunt" if there's inadequate air supply. If so, I'll try adding a strip at a time to the other board and see how it goes.

I`m about to fix neoprene strips under the deckboards (cruiser stern) to reduce engine noise. As far as I can tell the only air intake for the engine is through the gaps which I`m about to seal. Does this matter or will there still be enough air sucked in? Engine is BMC 1.8 Advice would be appreciated Mike

Alan You're quite right, its the Turkish version. I'll let you know if Calcutt come up with any proper advice.

Funny you should mention that - the boat came from Calcutt. As they've had no solution to any problem to date I didnt bother to ask them! Still, I'll take up your suggestion and see what they say. Thanks for your response