Jen-in-Wellies

Well it is the correct type of glass for a stove door. The kitchen does have a fire extinguisher and blanket. Escape should be easy as a light kick would get you through any cabin side. The gaps in the roof are a charming and novel way to meet the high level ventilation recommendations and acts as a flue for the gas heater. The cooker sloping in to the wall means it can't topple over. The "builder" has definitely read at least some of the BSS requirements. No bids yet, despite the seller having 100% positive feedback. The next and bigger project will be something to see!

Is that the alternator that has been on the engine, or the one you plan to put on it? Just the thing at the top says Ford Sierra 2..0i, which was a petrol car. I used to have one! If so, then it may not have a connection for a tacho. Jen

I got that one wrong. A puddle of dish water collects at the far end of the draining board. Not a big thing, but annoying. ? The floor is used as an assumed flat level datum to work from. Only actually horizontal when the boat is sometimes out the water. Depending on how level the ground is. Jen

You missed out connecting the earth on the "boat" side of the GI to the boat hull. What, if any inverter do you have? Does it do auto switch over between shore power and inverter supplied mains? You may have to connect that to boat earth too to ensure there is a functioning earth under all circumstances that ensures the hull doesn't go live. Depends. Jen

Can you change engine mounts with a jack? Their name doesn't need to be Jack.

IT doesn't have the pyridine and purple dye in it to make it undrinkable that you get in the UK. On trips to France I try and bring back enough to keep my Trangia stove going till the next time. Much cheaper and smells nicer than anything you can easily buy in the UK. Jen

If a stove has survived the best part of a century, then it is likely at lower risk of cracking as all the dodgy ones failed long ago. However, a boat installation might put new stresses on it that it never experienced before. Particularly expansion loads from the flue, if the seal through the roof collar is rigid. Just did an image search on Godin Radiolette's. A very striking and pretty stove. Jen

Is it always the day after curried sprout night? ?

A good guide is here. It condenses several British Standards that can apply to new built boats that are meeting RCD requirements. The actual BS documents are ruinously expensive to buy, though sometimes available from libraries. When you say antique stove, what stove is it you are referring too? An actual hundred year old stove would need to be checked very thoroughly for cracks, thin metal, eroded grate, warping, proper sealing of doors etc. There might even be asbestos in there, so a big elth'n'safety concern when doing work on it. Do you mean just a recent stove to an old design? Jen

Possibly. Water isn't always as immediately deadly to electrics as many folk think. Water plus time however means corrosion, which could knacker the pump later. Worth getting a new pump and replacing it. If it works, then the old one was dead. Get another new pump so you have a spare for next time. If it doesn't work, then the problem is most likely in the wiring to the pump. Fix that and you now have a new spare pump ready for when the old one really gives up the ghost. What MtB said, they are a consumable for live on boats. Jen Nah. That would be the first, second and third most useful. ?

Duh! ?

I've altered my reply after seeing the pics. Beg, borrow, steal a multimeter and find the voltage across the choc block connector with the red and black wires going to the pump.

Come on then MtB. What is the most useful?

According to Whale, that model will run dry without damage. Is there any sound coming from it? Do you have a multimeter? If so, look for 12V between the red and black wire at the chocolate block connector in the first pic. If it is 12V and the pump isn't running. then the pump may be deceased, or a bit poorly. If the voltage is low, then there could be a dodgy connection somewhere between the pump and the battery that is reducing the current flow to such an extent that the pump can't get enough electrons to work. Connections, fuse, isolator switch? Jen

White - Helps the ecofan distribute positive energy as well as heat around the boat. Blue - Transfers more heat to your back boiler. Red - The most heat output for any given amount of fuel. Green - Lets green wood burn as well as seasoned timber. Yellow - Lets the stove stay in overnight longer. Orange - For a medium burn. Brown - Especially selected for Squirrel stoves due to their resemblance to nuts. Pink - Tied to the ecofan blades with unicorn hair. Purple - Stuck to the ecofan blades with unicorn poo. Gray - For very boring clone narrowboats. Black - Keeps the stove black black for longest.

I'm going to start selling quartz crystals to stick on the ends of ecofan blades and dynamically realign the stoves chakras as they spin. Will save you a fortune in fuel, prevent the glass from getting covered in soot, keep the black "lead" shiny and stop the flue pipe getting clagged up. Jen

Almost. I've nearly gone in. Been left holding the handrail with one hand, feet in the water. It is five to six feet deep here, so you really don't want to be doing any sort of complex work stood on a four inch wide ledge!

I'd leave most of this job, other than a quick clean, to the summer. You don't want to dismantle a window, measure a seal, order a seal, wait a couple of days for it to arrive, find it is wrong, send it back, be told that the one you actually need is out of stock and due in six weeks, the old seals now won't go back in the grooves, or they crumbled to dust when you took them out, so now the glass isn't sealed and it is very cold, but that changes tomorrow when heavy rain is forecast etc. in the middle of winter! Go out on the boat and find a bankside mooring for any outside window work, even if the nearest one isn't nearby. Seriously. Standing on the gunnals, holding a roof rail with one hand works fine till you try using both hands for something. Kersplash! Jen

My bookshelves and books are needed to keep the boat level. Readable trimming ballast. Take the books out and it has a pronounced list to port! I do have an e-reader thingy too as the amount of books acquired since fitting out the boat would sink it if they were all in dead tree format. Jen

I've not done this, but it should not need a lift out. The critical bit however is the alignment of the engine/gearbox to the propeller shaft afterwards by adjusting the level of each mount. If this is out it is not good news. If the current mounts need replacing, then it is likely that the alignment is not brilliant anyway. Sure someone will be along shortly to explain how to line everything up. Jen

Put this sign in the window: The next boat along has much more booze and much fancier gadgets inside. The owners are away till next weekend!

Anything is possible with old boat electrics, but the switch is a good one to look at. Especially if it is a mains style AC light switch working 12V DC halogens. Lots of current to burn and pit the contacts through arcing when it is switched from on to off.

Plus the chance to explore the racecourse and cricket ground by boat when it is in flood. And the most heavily locked canal in the UK, which slows people down. 1 lock and 154' long, so 34 locks per mile. The Huddersfield Narrow is easy in comparison at only 3.7 locks per mile. ? My favourite is the Caldon. Jen

If only there was a way of directly generating electricity from drizzle! Ideal for those many winter days where there is no sunshine and little wind, like today, and yesterday and forecast for tomorrow. A dam and a turbine for hydroelectric sufficient to power a boat is going to be a bit too big.

If the PCB was on the International Space Station, part of a dialysis machine, or otherwise super critical, I'd qualify the answer with a few caveats, but generally it is fine.