Derek R.

Impressive. I watched a video on 'SPARKY', a similar tug in use in NZ. Two and a half hours running time between charges which could be twice a day. Equal in power to a diesel tug of a similar size. 1400kW charge rate in just over one hour through glycol cooled cables. That's a lot of power from . . . ? Grids that are under strain from the current demand. All hail the electic tug. Fine if there's a close by hydro-electric power source. What is not mentioned, or even hinted at, are two important factors; fire risk from battery packs (witness the disastrous fires of electric powered vehicles from scooters to buses), and the issue of humanitarian disaster in the processes of mining the raw materials for battery manufacture. EV car sales have plummeted in recent months. Their resale value is rock bottom. The claims of cutting CO2 by xxk tonnes emitted suggests a pandering to the CO2 global warming concept. That is a scam. Silently (actually, it's not so quiet) through the Dudley tunnel in clean air is fine. But as in so many things - 'There's no free lunch'. Interesting that the Chinese tug was built prior to : - "The technical specifications and regulatory requirements for all-electric ships in China have not yet been clarified. The Ministry of Transport in China has set up a research group for the development and supervision of fully-electric ships. " Regulations? This is China . . .

Try running one of these on batteries : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENHGo9vV6gg

A very different animal! The variable pitch propeller system might not be well suited to canals with the degree of crud in the waters. Here are two videos of a Norwegian fishing boat/small cargo (ex- I suspect) having its 40hp Wichman (RUBB) semi diesel hot bulb started. The second shows the same boat being manoeuvred in the dock. The steerer barely touches the wheel, but uses the throttle and pitch control to move back and forth. You can tell the pitch control lever easily.

The fuel tank on the wall at the back is for the Chinese diesel heater. The thin copper pipe feeds by gravity the red & black object which is the heater itself. Many may know, but these heaters are powered by 12V, draw air acoss a finned heated combustion chamber (fan driven) and the warmed air is exuded from the opposite end to intake. There are no exhaust fumes in the heated air. BUT, the air going into the combustion chamber within the finned casing (and which is primarily ignited by a glow plug) exhausts beneath the heater and MUST be fed to the outside of the boat shed/whatever. I don't see any exhaust outlet, though there may be something there, it's unclear. The black trunking could be exhaust lagging. They are good little heaters, and in a small space work well, noisy though.

Fire suction hoses?

As regards to width, I cannot imagine an FMC motor in original condition being 6' 10" overall. The place to check would be the forward engine room bulkhead and the external overall dimension at that point.

With Gilbeys' warehouse in the background - Hampstead Rd. locks. Port Isaac is a possibility. I've seen that image somewhere before, maybe in a visit to a Cornish Harbour. Port Isaac has narrow streets; Fore St and Middle Street. But Lynmouth is also a possibility: https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-10-15/impossible-lynmouth-lifeboat-rescue-brought-to-life-on-stage https://alchetron.com/Lynmouth-Lifeboat-Station

Diamond plate.

Both the GEORGE and the MARY were built by the Steel Barrel Co. of Uxbridge as prototypes of the Royalty Class in 1929. The remaining Royalty motors were built by Yarwoods and James Pollock and Sons of Faversham. I suspect barrels would not have been used for fuel tanks, as they would take up too much space. More likely (a look in GEORGE's engin'ole would confirm) they would have optimised the available space, and therefore resembled that which subsequent boats from Woolwich, Northwich and probably Rickmansworth etc. would have followed. Just a calculated guess though.

Which number Meccano set are we up to now?

We had a PAZ1 on the foredeck of the Dutchman driving a 24V alternator. It was a swine to start (hand crank) and with its pepper pot 'silencer' kicked up one hell of a racket, until I fitted a straight through absorption silencer salvaged from a Mini and lined the metal casing with carpet underlay. After that treatment, it purred like a kitten. Was still a swine to start though.

Nice swim work on HYDRUS, but that awful ersatz 'dog kennel' as a cabin extension defies belief. The whole boat look almost artificial. Might as well be a 'new build'.

Length improves directional stability. Shortened boat are 'lively'.

Looks more like an early Blackstone from images on't web.

A warm welcome to Caroline Coles, and I hope Caroline is not disuaded from a certain 'inacccurate' comment as above. Thanks to Ray T for the above posts and images.

That's what I would have thought. The inspector disagreed. Don't recall who it was, over 30yrs have passed since then.

Ooh Steve, that corkscrewing drone shot had me wanting to heave! Couldn't watch much of that!!

YARMOUTH had extensive new steel in 1986, including an 18' swim, all new footings, steel bulkheads to keep the side straight, a 10mm steel bottom replacing the previous worn Elm, and a fully fitted back cabin by the Late Chris Lloyd. The internal bottoms and 3" angle iron bottom frames were treated with waxoyl, laid upon which was roofing felt, onto which was placed heaven knows how many paving slabs for ballast. The entire sides and roof were spray foamed. The new (back then) Classic stove was treated to having its oven door chromium plated, suggested by Chris, as a bit of 'boatman's bling'. She was our cosy home for ten years. Seeing her again I am tempted, but we are too well established on the land with 'animals', to restart another period of boating. And things are never the same when you go back to something you once knew so well. 1984: With plywood sides on inch square tubular framing, a steel 'coach' like top with rooftop water tank, and two inch wide gunnels. Powered by a BMC 2.2 diesel. In that trim, we took on the Thames, Wey, right up and across the Pennines, up the Trent from Keadby. Got well stuck in one of the bottom locks going down Napton due to spread, got helped out by Esme, the lengthsman, who flushed us out big time. Braunston '86. Hammering it, on the Stainforth & Keadby '88 - Petter Power. 1991

Distance, Dispute, or Disinformation. Take your pick. Could - and has been all three.

I've watched the first five episodes, and found it painful. Yes, It's a drama not a documentary, and yes it was fun in a child-like way. So I skipped to episode 13, the last. Still painful. Nice to see some real life characters interspersed into the series, so some upticks there. And I'm probably missing the fact that it was a series for younger people. And who was that character in Betton Woods claiming to watch Badgers? The boat? VULTURE, built 1904? I guess the real attraction is seeing England (and London) as it was in my teenage to early twenties. And as Dick the steerer said to Ann: "That's the thing about the canals really: you're not in England, not the England of today... this is the England of the past." That rings so true. I miss it.

We looked at ALCOR with a view to purchase back in 1979. At £11,000 was over our budget. Loved the bus windows.

That is interesting, in that one top arm is longer than the other. This would indicate that that particular ladder would be for the starboard side hatch. Why so? Because when fitted to that side, the ladder would be offset an at angle so as clear the triangular tower of the fuel tank on that side. Likewise any ladder for the port side would need to be its direct opposite in terms of the top arm length to clear the tank on the port side. Either way, I suspect they got cast aside in preference to the step hung on the horizontal tank strap which took up far less space.

Lump of angle iron with ply step. Slide one way or the other, or lift it out. Makes entering and exiting easy. There were a pair of holes in the bottom edge of the side doors to hook a steel runged ladder on, one of which can be seen top left.

And another one . . . It would have failed the conformity thing with 'FUEL OIL'. Had to be 'DIESEL', which is what the silly sticker says in the middle, though quite unreadable. Unlike FUEL OIL. I chisel'd it in.

It looks like I linked to the wrong post. Should have been Plutos' with EPTs' Land Rover.