Mike Jordan

I am not familiar with the make of fridge you own but I have had a similar problem with an electrolux one. They used to be fitted in most boats in years gone by. I consulted a friend who was a "proper" fridge engineer. He told me to sweep its chimney to get rid of any rust and soot and then turn it over, give it a good shake, and then leave it for 24 hours before refitting it. It worked like a dream but when I called in to treat him to a pint or two, I asked what the turning over bit did to it, he hadn't got a clear answer! On another occasion with a different fridge of the same make the failure occured on the first day of a cruise when the fridge was lit for the first time that season. Lacking the tools to remove the fridge I resorted to running it on gas while also turning on the 12 volt supply. This kicked it into life in about 30 minutes and it then worked happily all season on gas. I'm not sure about the safety of this method so I suggest the sweep, turn, and shake method is best. I don't have a gas fridge any longer but I would love to know with certainty what this ritual actually does! Best of luck with it Mike

I would add my vote for colecraft as a sound base. I don't think a lined sailaway is ever a good idea,the linings (even those that are competently done)just get in the way and slow down the real work of fitting out.

I know its been done because I've seen one in a shell during building, it was at a yard at Norton Canes several decades ago. I don't know how well it worked, I wasn't very keen on the idea at the time but having a full width tank must have some advantages. Perhaps someone will see this and post some useful info.

Hi Neil2 No I didn't see any difference in engine temperature with the heater running. As I see it, if the thermostat is doing its job you should get much the same temperature at the sensing point whether you are drawing heat from the heater tapping or not. I understand your concern and had the same thoughts at earlier times.I did have a problem of overheating on a boat many years back. It wasn't until I had made several trips and fretted a bit about what was wrong, that I spotted that I had accidentally piped the hot output from the engine to the bottom connection on the skin tank. This meant that the hot water leapt to the top of the tank and was drawn back into the engine through the cold inlet. Once the pipes were connected correctly everything was fine. Probably as a result of this I fitted all my later boats with a temperature sensor half way down the skin tank to monitor it. With this system I had two temp gauges one for the engine and one for the skin tank. Only when working hard towing or running hard on the river did the centre of the skin tank read 80C and the engine about 85C.(46 foot boat 1.8 Leyland with hurth 125 box) It wouldn't cost much to fit a similar system using an electric gauge off the shelf from the motor factors. I don't think the read outs are spot on but you can see at a glance what the situation is.

OK Ill slip off the mask and come clean! I hope its been of interest and that a few boaters have a go at it and enjoy a small saving. It worked brilliantly for me. Mike.

I had an identical problem some time back, it was cured by a very small advance in the injection timing. I also had a serious smoke problem with a different 1.8 when I replaced the knackered injectors, this again was cured by a little advance. The timing had probably been retarded to reduce the clatter caused by the old injectors. Hope this helps. Mike

Hi Pete By happy coincidence the December edition of Waterways World will have an article in Boat Projects, showing a simple method of keeping warm using waste engine heat. The heater shown is cheap and easy to construct and takes up very little space. It's ideal for retro-fitting in a completed boat. Mike. Sorry Jerry I missed your entry, must be early onset something or other.

I think some of the more expensive suppliers are feeling the pinch. A customer recently rang two of the big names to enquire about an approximate price for a new cratch cover. Both firms happened to have "someone in the area now" and had to be disuaded from sending them round immediately!

I agree with blackrose but I am assuming that the overall plate width is less than 6 - 10" I always aimed for 20 to 25mm overhang but the side plates of the design I was using had an inward slope of about 60mm at each side. ( the bottom of the boat was 120mm smaller than the top plank width) Mike

The flat hose is my favourite, Ive had a number of both types of hose and found the flat to be neater and easier to use. My first lay flat hose was an expensive one that lasted one season, but the cheap and nasty one with a woven finish I bought to replace it lasted for years. it makes life easier if you can leave the end connected to the fill point all the time (depends on siting of the fill point) this stops contamination and speeds the set up time. Best of luck Mike

Two more suggested checks - If the boat has a separate water tank rather than a built in one it may not be exactly on the centre line of the boat. The ballast or the tank may not be packed tight enough to prevent movement if you bump the side or rattle the boat in a lock. Just a couple of inches will do it!

Two methods may solve your problem - Hardwood doors with glazing (about 300 pounds plus the cost of fitting) - Cut a window hole through the existing steel doors and add a timber lining door 22mm thick to the inner face. (About 200 pounds plus steel cutting & fitting charges) In both instances laminated glass is required.Hardwood doors would look great but make a maintenance job each year if you don't have a front cover or cratch. Mike. WW had a piece on door making in March & April issues (downloadable from the website if you are into DIY)

The price of purchase and re-plating must go a long way towards a new shell! Extensive refitting is just as expensive and more time consuming than fitting out from scratch. The resale value of the finished job won't cover the cost of your materials! If you have the skills to re-plate it yourself its still easier to build a new shell, and you would have standing headroom and a new boat, not an old nail!!

I have used a material which I understood was called Hexideck, it fitted the description above in that it was 18mm thick, totally waterproof without edging and faced with a dark brown hexagon pattern on one side. The big downside was the cost at 80 pounds per 8 x 4 sheet. Mike.

I've used the blue ethlene glycol type on the advice of a propane boiler manufacturer when filling several systems. it seems to last indefinitely and gives total protection against corrosion. It was sold under the name bluecol and cost more than the stuff sold at the motor accessory shops. It needs to be mixed with water before being poured in, a 50% mix was advised. My last batch came from the local CAV/Lucas agency. Mike

If the engine has a wet exhaust or or water flows from an outlet when the engine is running, this is normally an indirect raw water cooled installation.These have in inlet filter of some kind, if its blocked the engine will overheat rapidly. If no water escapes when running, there must be a cooling system involving a tank or external pipe/pipes. A photo would help someone to easily identify the cooling method.If you have a failed head gasket you would normally expect to find oil in the cooling water or more frequently water in the sump oil, after running the engine have a look at the dip stick. Mike.

Calcutt Boats may be the information site you mention, they have a number of downloads available. http://www.calcuttboats.com/engines.html Mike

As the other reply's say its normal to have a space at the top of the tank for expansion. You are right about the little pipe below the cap being an overflow, in some installations this is fitted with a rubber tube which connects to a (normally plastic) header tank which catches the spillage. When the engine cools down, the resulting vacuum will drawn back the spillage into the engine through a little one way valve that you should be able to spot at the bottom of the cap. The advantage of this system is that you won't be constantly needing to add antifreeze and water in the winter. An experienced scrap yard raider should be able to find a suitable header tank for very little cost. Best of luck Mike

Ive had a similar problem in the past when a very expensive PRV failed to open. The valves are now cheap and easily available, if fitting a calorifier now, I think I would fit two valves to reduce the risk, they are cheaper than the tank! Mike

There is a section of the boatbuilding industry that delivers a crap job as standard, as already pointed out the sterngear should last for many thousands of hours if correctly installed. I dont think you have a realistic chance of winning in court since the conditions of use are not provable. The only person who will be sure of profiting will be the legal adviser! If the engine is sitting on flexible mounts of any kind there must be at least one flexible element and preferably two in the drive shaft. The best system in my opinion is to have a thrust bearing inboard of the stern tube, and drive through two universal joints and a spline on the prop shaft (just like an aquadrive or python drive) This system takes up more room but gets rid of all the allignment problems. If you are forced to use a rigidly mounted engine and prop shaft again, I suggest that you check the allignment yourself when the boat is refloated. (some boats are a slighly different shape when floating rather than in the dock) You only need to slack off the bolts holding the grearbox/ drive half coupling and check the gap with feeler gauges, if its not within 1.5 thou it aint right! Best of luck. Mike

If its any help, there are 6.25 gallons (28Litres) in a cubic foot.

Even if you are experienced in assessing boats and engines, its a good idea to get someone who is not suffering from the "rose tinted glasses" effect to look over your proposed purchase. Your chosen surveyor should come with a recommend from someone you trust, certainly not the one attached to, or prefered by the brokerage! Your boating can be ruined by something as simple as a lack of insulation or a badly installed engine. Either would cost a mint to correct but may not affect your safety. When you buy your third or fourth boat you may be justified in relying on your own judgment. You will have heard most of the horror stories by then! Best of luck Mike

The correct purpose made material needs to be used to absorb some of the noise and stop it bouncing round all that steel, there isnt a cheap and cheerful method that realy works in my experience. But before spending on the triple layer material, you will get a huge reducion in noise levels if you seal the deck boards properly. This means hinging the boards and fitting budget locks to pull the boards down onto a strip of closed cell foam stuck to the underside of the boards and trapped between the steel drainage channels and the boards. To work effectively the steel needs to bite into the foam all round and make the joint air tight! The first time I did this was after spending a mint on sound reduction without real reward. The foam seal cost a fiver and did a great job. Mike

Ive always allowed a tip clearance of 2" on the understanding that this will ensure that noise is not generated. Lopping 2" off the diameter and adding it to the pitch is normally considered a rule of thumb way of getting the same result in terms of power absorbed/delivered. When the weed hatch is installed, can you do a prop change while afloat? if so, the 16 X 12 might be worth a try, it improves the tip clearance a little. But may not solve all your problems. The weed hatch size is similar to most in narrow boats and its got to beat getting in!! Mike.

I won't dispute that a larger than required tank will give a safety margin which may well be useful when the engine becomes worn. But I stand by the statement that even during hard use on river work I have experienced no problems with overheating with the same size (approximately)of skin tank as the one mentioned. This takes in torksey to keadby runs on the trent at the highest legal speed. The tank in question was built into the side of the engine bay and connected by 35mm hoses. I know that tanks are sometimes built into the bottom of the engine bay and use the keel plate as the outer surface, I don't see this as being anything like as efficient and this has been confirmed by the ones Ive seen which have been very large.