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Mike Jordan

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Everything posted by Mike Jordan

  1. You can’t expect quality in a free sheet.
  2. Metro - Think compulsory newspaper .and internet front pages. yet another rerun of duff information. mike.
  3. Yet another half baked story featuring living on a canal boat for little or no cost. Journalists must be the cause of most of this countries problems, they are paid to make it up!
  4. Ash will rot very early on if its in cointact with damp. American ash is much worse than european.ak Sapelle is much better but is favoured and talked up by cover makers since its one of the cheaper hardwoods. European Oak is several times better than both of the former timbers but again American red and white is available on the market and is poor. The ultimate timber for the job is Iroko, it costs about the same as European Oak. its oily nature means that exoxy glues are needed and a competent craftman to handle its slightly difficult working properties. It will easily last thirty years in outdoor use. Softwood will not last very well at all and is normally a false economy. Mike.
  5. That add is one of the later ones after the firm had changed hands I think. The price I remember was for a 38 foot not 36 as I previously mentioned. I think it was £3800 plus VAT fully fitted in pine and with a 2 cylinder Ducati air cooled engine, supplied in primer. VAT on luxury goods was 25% in those times. Go on, try ringing 1974 -we definitly had a crap government.
  6. I apologise, I failed to qualify the claim by adding "in my experience" The 36 foot standard boat advertised in WW at the time was described as being made from 3/16" plate (4.5mm) but I think much of the steel used was from left over steel from large fabricators and various other places. When I met Sam he told me that he had set out making petrol tanks for the 1960s filling station construction boom, and that he had built a boat for his own use which had bought a lot of requests for more of the same. I saw a lorry load of slightly rusted plate dropped in the factory gate and a man with a "gas axe" and a set of templates was busy cutting it up. There was also a machine rotating a large disc of plate in the yard to dish and turn the ends of what he told me was the only petrol tank he had made in years. The shells under construction were being laid on their sides by the overhead crane to make all the welds easy to do in the downhand position, none of the welds were cleaned of weld slag but simply spray painted over. The shells have lasted a remarkable length of time and enabled many boaters to get on the water at modest cost. I wish the prospective owner all the luck in the world with his project and complement his wisdom in having a surveyor look the boat over rather than trusting a brokers survey from years ago. Above all its a good idea to bear in mind that "much loved" it may be, but this has no effect on quality. I have met a few owners who seem to be convinced that their shell was made from thick gas holder plate and will last forever, I have seen two boat shells made from plate of this sort ( not by springer) and they were incredibly ugly and easily spotted. They made Springers look pretty.
  7. If the boat is one of the ones with an escape window at the front rather than a door, it was originaly built of 3mm plate. After 40 years it isnt worth a light! My best advice is to get your deposit back and run away, you cant "remodel" rubbish into anything usefull. I visited the yard in 1974 and looked at the products, met Sam, (who was entertaining but foul mouthed to say the least) and wrote them off as rubbish but very cheap. This must be the worst possible time to buy a boat, the local brokers are all sold out and the prices have gone up to srupid levels. when normal times return I think values will plunge when some of the current batch of new owners find that boating is not for everyone.
  8. you have provided a cross section but how many lengths and what length are you seeking? Mike.
  9. The book hasnt been available on Amazon for about 10 months, and is only available from the outlets mentioned. Stupid prices seems to be amazons way of stifling demand for books they are unable to supply. The book was intended to help boaters but was initialy very popular with other menbers of the trade, with some of the designs being made at many yards. Regards Mike.
  10. As you are now aware, it's vital to give full details of the boat, it's age and original builder, add to that details of what you want done. Its unlikely that anyone with the ability to do the job could be expected to be available for many months. Catch 22 is that the only offers you get promising an early start will be from the incapable optimists. Material prices are currently about three times the correct level so no one can give realistic estimates
  11. I think you've got it wrong, shoddy refers to anything imported from China, and Mungo ? Well when you mun go you mun go they tell me.
  12. I used Flowtex carpet inside a boat about thirty years back, it's single disadvantage I found was that moisture from the bilges tended to condense beneath the carpet and made the floor boarding wet. This only happened at the back few feet of the cabin where the ballast tended to get wet occasionally. It is absolutely superb for covering the deck boards and staircase of a cruiser stern boat, it can be hosed off easily and seemed to be indestructible and totally waterproof and non slip.( I glued it down and edged round with alloy angle screwed in place with stainless screws.)
  13. All portable fire extinguishers are intended to allow you to stop the fire in its initial stages, not to fight a developed fire. If the fire is not out in a few seconds then turn your back on it and use the means of escape. In short - spot the fire - alert everybody- use the extinguisher- run away. The idea that you can fight your way through a fire with a 2kg dry powder is ludicrous . Don't even think about it.
  14. Thanks for that, it was a reply to a query from him to me. Stangely I have found it impossible to log in from an email message but no problem through Google.
  15. I have been trying to reply to a message from Mssbecons but my messages don't seem to getting through. I don't normally have any problems? Mike.
  16. Yes. I always use 4mm toughened on the top face and 6.4mm laminated on the bottom with a 6mm air gap between. Where fitted, the bar sets are fitted with stainless steel hinges at the top to allow them to be lifted while cleaning the glass
  17. A cover (preferably transparent) will protect the varnish but flush glazing drains very effectively and the ridge will be waterproof if the method shown is used. The best material for the box is Iroko. Expected life is thirty years in outside use
  18. Speaking of noise,I have been told that the device can be installed without an exhaust silencer. That may be the reason that some make an unacceptable row.
  19. Ive seen one set light to a timber jetty so the exhaust needs to be carefully sited.
  20. As Ray T has mentioned the term is used by stockmen in north Derbyshire to discribe those cross shaped wooden feeding devices you see filled with hay.
  21. I met a nice chap who was taking his brand new boat home having had the builder construct a cratch board exactly the same size and shape as the front bulkhead. He had managed to miss the normal bridges from Yorkshire down to blissworth tunnel where he hit the tunnel roof while passing another boat. The cover survived but the board was written off. They are narrow at the top for a good reason!
  22. There is a problem with side doors that have the bottom folded up beyond 90 degrees. Condensation is trapped in the resulting groove and soaks into the bottom of the timber liners, drilling a couple of holes through the bottom corners seems to work well to drain them.
  23. As Wotever has said if the inserts are glued in place it can take a couple of hours of knuckle bashing work to remove them. Most experienced boat fitters will be very wary of giving a price up front.
  24. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
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