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Mike Jordan

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Everything posted by Mike Jordan

  1. I forgot that the Pullman dinette is not included in the book, They are very straight forward to make and easy for any experienced woodworker to make. Extending L shaped or straight double with storage behind and drawers below are more complex and are included. After owning five boats I am of the opinion that an extending double berth with folding table and a couple of folding chairs is the best system in terms of economy of space and ease of use. The table and chairs can also be used on deck or off the boat.
  2. Known to me as a Pullman dinette. i suggest you have a look on the waterways world site where the articles were originally published. a search should reveal which issue it was in and enable you to purchase a back issue. Best of luck with the project. Mike.
  3. I’ve just seen a Google story indicating that the Mirror also has a similar story running.
  4. Yet another load of journalist fantasy about living for nothing on the canals! Quoted costs include £4 per month for gas and £20 per month for heating. Keep an eye open for Sun readers arriving in force.
  5. Some nice looking steelwork there, and some nice paint jobs. The curse of the steel boxes is the condensation problem as mentioned. Hardwood boxes reduce the condensation problem and, to my eye, look great with a gloss finish and brass ports. The one shown is one of a pair in iroko, rebated over a steel upstanding and awaits the brass ports and final finish. All fixings are out of sight inside. I enjoyed dovetailing these but have no need to advertise since I am retired and sitting on the bank.
  6. If you now spend a cold winter on board, you may feel differently after the condensation nightmare.
  7. The ply from the DIY shops will, as already stated, turn into puff pastry in record time. I suggest that you consider covering decent quality ply with Flotex carpet glued in place and turned down the edges. Follow that up with alloy angle edges sealed and fixed in place with stainless screws. This on top of drainage channels not flat steel supports will last very well.. if you can obtain a copy of Waterways World of July 2014 it has an article titled “Keeping The Noise Down” which shows how to fit the deck boards with very effective sound proofing complete with hinges, gas struts, and locks. As you indicated earlier you can do a temporary repair or a proper job that lasts and enhances the appearance and value of the boat.
  8. Just t one of the problems is that anyone can appoint themselves a “surveyor “ letting the seller advise is also a great idea.?? In an effort to help let me tell you of some other classic mistakes - refitting to your needs - using a surveyor suggested by a broker- selling a bricks and mortar and becoming a cc. - buying a replated boat of any age. Only my opinions of course!
  9. I see this bunch of clowns is still at it! Todays seems to be telling young women of the cheap living on a narrow boat. Never mind news let’s give them free bull——! Or even recycled bull ——! Cut in squares and hang it up to make it useful I say.
  10. I was thinking along the lines of turning off the engine fuel pipe tap and pushing a little air down the vent pipe, that would test the filler cap as well. Sight unseen it’s difficult to suggest methods.
  11. With care, a Schrader valve and foot pump might enable a low pressure test?
  12. Far more worrying to my mind is a PRV that sticks shut. May suggestion would be that you alter the pipe work to take any waste overboard and fit accessible twin PRVs
  13. If you don’t want to drill a hole why not mount the lamp inside and shine it through the glass?
  14. I’ve wasted lots of my time down the years trying to persuade new boaters not to have Houdini type roof lights fitted to a new build so that they can “lie in bed and look at the stars” One acquaintance resorted to a 200 mm thick slab of polystyrene on top of the hatch fitted with a purpose made cover, it still dripped!! It’s a good idea to think long and hard before having a hole in the roof.
  15. Showing stainless steel hinges and plated budget locks Foam rubber strip 6mm X 25mm
  16. As already suggested it’s far more effective and cheaper to effectively seal the engine space to contain the noise. The deck boards are ideally hinged and fitted with “budget” locks which operate with a square shaped key together with gas struts to hold them open when needed. The adhesive foam strip must be compressed when the boards are locked down to make the deck airtight. Obviously air must be admitted through a sound trapped vent to keep the engine running. It’s not a five minute job but works much better than trying to absorb the noise. My last two boats were treated in this way together with absorbent materials on the underside of the boards. On several occasions I was asked what engine I had, only to surprise the person asking by saying it was a 1.8 Leyland rattling like all the others but sealed in. Photo to follow with luck!
  17. I think that the videos are harmless up to the point where it’s suggested that living on a boat is cheap! We seem to have an unending supply of articles in magazines and newspapers written by idiots who are suggesting that you can buy a boat and live on the canals free of charge. Some time ago I was visiting an acquaintance who is a broker, he told me of a former professional colleague of mine who had called in and asked about buying a boat he could site at a nice spot on the Trent and Mersey he had just spotted! A quick run down on the facts of life had sent him away at speed. Journalists and other presenters don’t seem to be shy about climbing onto a popular bandwagon if they can sell a story.
  18. Far Eastern plywood varies greatly in quality and is the cheapest available. It’s reaction to water varies from a little temporary swelling through to turning it into something that resembles puff pastry! As for surveyors, their opinions and level of honesty vary depending on who is paying them and whether they are qualified in any way. For instance if you are buying a boat from a broker, only a fool would use the surveyor they recommend to examine the boat. NB there are good honest surveyors out there but you need to be cautious.
  19. I think that I’d be looking for “user friendly”in a boat priced at .2 of a million pounds. On the plus side Colecraft do make very nice shells.
  20. You can find out how to use Oxalic acid solutions by looking at. -constructionchemicals.co.uk You can normally buy a small quantity from the local chemists shop. It’s sensible to try a small area first. best of luck Mike.
  21. Yes it was the current Jan22 magazine, and the point (literally) about the handles is well made. I think it might be time stop calling this type of article a “ test” unless it’s more objective and points out any glaring faults. I will confess that the magazine was passed to me by a friend, so I didn’t part with the £4.99. Purchase price. I am aware that magazines generally are having a struggle to hang on to circulation and don’t like paying much for quality articles.
  22. Just had a glance at a boat test in canalboat mag and found an attempt at building in the maximum number of nasty sharp corners in a very expensive boat. Just a look at the pics on pages 30/31 would make me run away. What is wrong with rounded corners and kind edges in the confined space of a narrow boat? It takes very little extra time and skill to get a professional result and guide even an inexperienced boater towards a much better result. I would also expect any experienced reviewer to be pointing out the shortfall.
  23. Some years back a crime story appeared in a local paper in the Bristol area, it was a very unpleasant story which had the effect of informing everyone of a new idea for assault. A few days later the same story (word for word ) appeared in a news paper belonging to the same group and circulating in the Newcastle area. At the time it raised the question of how much truth existed in the original story! By taking an interest in the boating story we may be encouraging the clowns to write ( or repeat )more rubbish.
  24. Not journalists are they? The only good news is that the circulation of magazines and rags like this seems to be shrinking fast. I have no problem with boaters, but the ones featured are sawing off the branch they are sitting on every time they brag about saving money.
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