simonk

I have definitely been down bath lock single-handed, but can't remember whether I climbed down the ladder to get back on or hauled the boat out. Importantly, I remembered to close the back doors and put the tonneau cover on before descending!

Thank you for all your kind offers of magnets, etc. I have a Sea Searcher and have tried it already and it didn't seem to help much, plus there is lots of other metal crap down there and I have tried poking around with a pole too. I took the other door off (in a controlled manner) and lowered it into a shallow bit on a rope to test its buoyancy - even in water it was really very heavy; I can't imagine anything other than a really powerful electromagnet would be any use, even if it landed metal side up. Re. Diving, I forgot to mention that my brother, with wetsuit and mask (though without air or lighting...), went in to have a feel around without success. Maybe its my turn to try.

The problem is I don't have one of them anymore! A few weeks ago I pushed it open a bit too hard, both the seized hinges sheared off and thing went tumbling into the drink... Buggerations. Sadly the river where it fell in is fairly deep (at least 2 metres), it's very heavy and there's nothing on it to hook on to anyway so I don't see how I'm going to get it back. Does anyone know someone around Bristol who can make me a new one, mainly cutting some steel to the desired shape and welding on some hinges? I'll also need to stick some woodwork on it to make it match the remaining one a bit. Alternatively, anyone who would like to try diving the murky depths of the Avon to try and get it back will be rewarded greatly! Simon.

Forget the silly slime tubes. In my opinion, the best tyres for general/commuting/touring/towpath use are SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS. About 25 quid each, but worth it and available in any size you'll need.

With such a captive market (I'm near Bath) all the facilities round here seem to be able to charge what they like. They're always busy, so they don't even need to compete with each other, and it's a long long cruise to anywhere else. Suppose I'll just have to pay up, grin and bear it, do the job fast and hope it doesn't rain.

Bloody hell, the cheapest (and available) dock round here in Bradford on Avon is going to cost me 515 pounds (inc VAT) for three days diy 2 weeks from now! And it's not even covered... I am probably going to use Rytex. I reckon 20 litres will be enough for 2 coats plus waterline coat on a 62ft boat. Is that about right? Only got three days so hpoing to do pressure wash (maybe some rust treatment too) and first coat Friday morning/afternoon, second coat Saturday morning and waterline coat Saturday evening, then leave to dry until monday morning. Is this viable? What if it rains? Is the temperature OK? Why didn't I do this months ago? Arghhh. It really does need doing though. Anything else I should check while it's out?

Good stuff. I want to do this trip too (just not in my own boat!) We had high tides around then - did this make for a quick trip down from Sharpness? By the way, it looks like you've got your Severns and Avons confusled.

Hello there. I'm waiting for a response from them about going in soon with another boat (is it you??). They quoted me 350 in and out plus 35/day alone or 500 plus 50/day for two narrowboats together, all plus VAT so it is significantly cheaper (e.g. for 3 days 534.63 alone or 381.88 each) if you have two boats. But still expensive compared to the midlands I suppose. Oh, and add the bloody harbour licences too - this is going to cost me a fortune... I'll do my own blacking, but will get someone there to sort out some new anodes I think. They seem to be a bit lax in getting back to me, so let me know if you have any plans and need another boat to share with. Simon.

I need to do mine soon. Having done a bit of research Rylards stuff sounds like a safe bet. Don't really want to buy two different products though, so which is more suitable for 2-3 coats. Both seem similar in cost but it looks like the 'Premium' (is that a misnomer?) has twice the coverage for the same volume. Is Rytex really that difficult to apply as a first layer?

There is also a drydock in a tunnel at the end of the Somerset Coal Canal. Worth calling - their blacking was expensive but they may be OK for a survey docking - narrowboat access only though. For a 62ft boat, yesterday I was quoted 288 pounds PER LIFT (one way) by Bristol Marina, not including the harbour fees, storage on land or any work! It badly needs blacking done though so I will probably have to book now and head to BoA, at least they have a covered dock there.

Terrestrial signal here is useless, so we use satellite. You don't need to pay any subscription or even any one-off card fee to receive the free channels (the only difference from terrestrial Freeview is that you can't get "Dave" and if for some reason you want to watch channel 5, you have to tune it in manually). Any old Sky box with or without a card will work.

And make sure you're wearing brown trousers... Sounds like good fun. I'll wave if I see you heading up the Avon.

When I serviced the pump assembly a couple of months ago, I had to chip off a huge amount of limescale, which was largely the cause of recurring blockages. But how do you de-scale the pipes? Would a few jugfuls of hot vinegar be any use? Incidentally, I managed to clear the pipe blockage (which was particularly stubborn) by mechanical means in the end. I had bought some stuff called "Knock Out" which is concentrated sulphuric acid in case I was forced to consider using it. In the end I poured a very small amount down, after clearing the blockage, thinking it might gently remove a bit of the limescale. Having seen the reaction and heat produced as well as the possibility of spillage or splashing and serious burns, I really would NOT recommend fiddling around with this stuff. In fact, it is such a dangerous substance, I'm very surprised it's sold to the general public. I'm taking the rest to be disposed of - it's not something I really want hanging around at home. Simon.

OK, great, will do next week. Sorry for hijacking this thread but I thought it was kind of a relevant problem.

About 7500 I believe. I will get back to my moorings today where I'll safely be able to take the thing apart and stare at it again. The nuts attaching the pump to the crankcase had loosened slightly but rectifying that and new filters didn't solve the problem. But there have been no problems at all since I topped up with diesel.

Aha, I was about to ask a similar question, which it looks like you might have answered. There's only a problem cutting out when the tank is about a quarter full, over that gravity seems adequate. I have taken the lift pump apart (LPWS4, funny star-shaped one) and the diphragm and valves look fine, but as you say, the lever surface may be a little worn, but how can I tell if it's too much and there's not really some other problem? If it is, is it good practice to replace the push rod and gasket at the same time? Don't really want to fit an electric pump so if a new one can solve my problems, I'll be happy. Good tip about removing the gasket though, wish I'd thought of that last week instead of limping through Bath.

Having just spent many many hours over four days trying everything to unblock the 40mm waste pipe from our bog to the tank, I can say I almost agree with you!

May I recommend the Somerset Arms at Semington? Went there last week - decent range of ale and cider and the food was very good if a little pricey.

In case it affects anyone's plans, the lock has now re-opened (Friday 12:30). Moored below there at the moment.

Are the skin cooling tanks still getting hot (or hotter than normal)? Perhaps there is a blockage/constriction in the pipework to the calorifier so most of the flow is going through the skin tanks.

I realise BW aren't getting the money. But do Aquaterra Leisure or whoever actually own the short-term mooring rights (there are signs there), collecting fees on behalf of someone else (the rugby club?) or are they just, as you say, renting out their facilities (which I don't want to use). Either way, I will probably tell them I don't want a shower and try not paying next time...

Hmm, perhaps he wasn't really staff. Maybe BW will know if payment is actually required at that spot. I'll be very upset if it's a con, last time I didn't even use the leisure centre facilities at all.

You have to pay about 7 quid a night for the pulteney weir moorings (I think you get to use the showers in the leisure centre for that though), or you could go round the corner where there are loads of railings to moor against by the car park (not as picturesque). There are some tramps and winos hanging about along the river but they're more of a sad annoyance than meaning any harm. When we moored there last year and tried to eat our dinner outside, we made the mistake of taking a bottle of wine out with us which attracted some drunk who just wouldn't go away, but the next day when he was more sober, he was helping some boats through the locks.

Ah yes, reminds me of this classic story. That should definitely work! The motor spindle seal was leaking too, but I've managed to take everything apart and order some spares now. Pump-out is still better that cassette though . (Curiously, our boat has a second dump-through toilet which must then be hand pumped into the main tank. I would have thought a cassette bog would have been a better choice here.)

Now then, I have managed to break the scale and clean it all off without dismantling the impeller. Unfortunately, when I put everything back together, the effect of cleaning all the crap off it means that now the motor spindle seal no longer seals adequately and is slowly dripping water. So I probably will need to try and completely take it apart after all in order to do something about that.