duztee

Theft is wrong, it is a crime committed in this case against his fellow human beings, stealing their cherished or hard earned personal possessions. I don't care what his personal circumstances are, he is certainly old enough to know right from wrong. He is (allegedly) guilty of not one but multiple offences and as such deserves punishment. As they say, 'If you can't do the time don't do the crime'

I would also check the state of your battery, a starter battery needs to supply a big initial Oomph of power to start a cold engine, if it is not up to par it might be that you have enough power to engage the soloniod but not to crank the engine. especially since you did say that the engine would flatten the battery if it needed a long period of cranking. I agree that you should check heater plugs, because it should fire up quite quickly once it is turning over, especially since you mention you usually have to overfuel it to start it.

Stove Spares (.co.uk) carry a full list of spares for your stove.

Just to add that if you choose Saul, which is on the outskirts of Frampton on Severn, you will find this a very active village with plenty happening on the village green every summer, usually including a fair and circus, gymkana and village fete, and there is a cricket match most weekends, the pitch being right outside the pub. I think this has the distinction of being the biggest village green in England, but i am not swearing to it! I would add that although all the bridges are indeed manned, a narrowboat passes under quite a few without them opening. and Gloucester does have plenty to occupy many hours or week ends of your time without going farther.

I too have to agree with Alan,s view, it is not just about canals, it is about life, there are rules and laws which apply for usually good reason and do need to be followed to ensure we ALL can live in a reasonable harmonious way. If you can't or chose not to obey the rules then be prepared for the consequences, and if you don't agree with the rules then work to get them changed legitimately.

I would agree that as a person with cash things will move very quickly, especially if you buy from a broker where the boat is already sitting cleared out and ready to go. I bought with a bank loan, and had a survey all done in a week, but waited two further weeks for the seller to agree to pay the cost of several small issues the survey found, and to have the work carried out, (most of this time was finding vintage engine fittings, which whilst not affecting the engine performance should have been fitted) Also check if a bottom blacking will be needed soon, it will be easier to wait an extra week and do it before you move aboard than doing it a few months after you get settled. I think the longer period will be spent trying to find the 'right' boat, so start looking well before your house sales. The housing market is not good at this time, so either allow quite some period of time to sell or be prepared to sell at less than market value.

There are plenty of visitor moorings in the first basin as you exit the lock, or go through the first lift bridge and moor at the pontoon on the left, (port side if you insist!)which is much quieter, and also means you do not need to wait for the bridge keeper to start work in the morning before you can set off, there are also a couple of slots on the other side but most are private spaces, the water, refuse point is on the right as soon as you pass under the bridge. There are also short stay mooring at the supermarket. I did the lock single handed without problem, if you do have to wait there are plenty of chains on the left hand wall, go slow, take your time and there is nothing to worry about. Only thing to be aware of is the wind! the dock basin is large and does not offer much protection when the wind is blowing up the Severn estuary which at times can be quite strong, in these conditions trying to moor on one of the finger pontoons can be difficult, particularly single handed and especially if like me you lack a bow thruster. That said I have always found that as long as I make my intention clear someone has usually appeared to assist, if not, the basin is plenty big enough to make a circle and try again.

After a few weeks aboard your 'perfect' boat you will start thinking about all the things you are going to change! Not for nothing are boats always considered as 'work in progress' But this is all part of the enjoyment and why all boats are individual.

I think you are most certainly correct in your conclusion that you suffered an air lock. check for any signs of fuel leakage when running, this may need to be at a high rpm because at low speed the fuel return may coping with the flow easily without building any pressure. If the engine is running fine and there is nnoticeablele leak, i suggest running the engine to full working temp and leaving overnight again to see if there is a repeat If you have the same problem then you need to find where the system is sucking in air, this will be an almost impossible task i fear. If you do not have further problems then it is down to the mysteries of mechanics, although very rare in diesel engines it is possible to get fuel vapourisation if the engine is switched off immediately after a period of hard running, but very unlikely. Final thought, check the vent of your tank, if this is obstructed it is possible that a vacuum has been created by the pump and this has sucked fuel back along the pipe when the engine has stopped. Good luck!

So after reading four pages of replies I conclude that actually no-one really knows! and that the OP could have saved us all from wasting time head scratching over theories If he had ASKED the 3 men instead of just doing a time and motion study on the installation process. (Still it has been an amusing thread, so I forgive him!) That of course assumes THEY knew the reason, and were not just doing as instucted on their daily work sheet. so I will wait with baited breath for the definitive answer to appear here sometime in the future!.... or not as the case may be!

Must be warming up! already had 3 large wasps flying around inside, don't know if they came in from outside or if they have been squatting rent free for the winter and decided it was warm enough to wake up and move on.