The Rose

I know. The sale completed on the first of July then the new owner put her straight back up for sale. Obviously hoping to make a few quid.

Hi, I've just sent you a private message. James

Hi WychRose, Yes it was me who bought the boat in June 2021. I'm not sure where the reports of her needing overplating originated from. I feel that this may have been exagerated by someone to get the sale price down. She had had a fair amount of spot welding done on the hull in early 2021 and was then surveyed just prior to my purchase. The survey report was really positive (extracts in my post above). She was out of water for blacking and other jobs at Aqueduct over winter (Oct 2022 to Feb 2023) and I can personally vouch for the fact that the hull is very solid. As for the engine, there were some cooling issues but it was caused by the calorifier pipes which were too small (diameter). I isolated these and it solved the issue. The engine now runs as sweet as a nut and never exceeds 80 degrees C (running constantly for 8 hour stints). I've also had it inspected by an engineer and he described it as being "in very fine fettle." A lot of work has been done on the boat in the last couple of years as I felt it was my duty to preserve such an interesting old boat. She has just been sold to a chap from Nantwich (who i havent met) and I'm sure he will have many happy years of boating with The Rose (which turns heads wherever she goes, especially due to the sound of that glorious engine). As for the parts manual, it would be great if you could post it to Aqueduct Marina for the attention of Gareth. I'll ask him to make sure it gets passed onto the new owner. Best regards James

Hi all, Due to health issues (I've had a heart attack), The Rose is sadly now up for sale at www.aqueductmarina.co.uk (Nantwich). I've had 3 potential buyers so far, who were very interested after viewing the boat (one of whom put in a good offer which I accepted), but all of them changed their minds after reading this thread on this website apparently. This has baffled me a bit....yes the boat has had some minor problems in the past....show me a 40 year old boat which hasn't. The good news is though- they have been fully rectified (at significant expense)- as documented in this thread. The boat is ready to set sail and needs nothing else spending on her. Rest assured that everything now works exactly as it should. I have recently significantly reduced the price of this boat and someone is about to pick up an absolute bargain as a result. If any prospective buyers have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. Best regards James

Thanks for all your replies. She did apparently have some hull issues in the past which was rectified with a fair amount of spot welding- the previous owner didn't believe in over plating. The last surveyor (June 2021) commented on the high quality of the welding that had been completed and gave her a clean bill of health: Swim: Originally 10 mm, now (June 2021) 9.5-9.7 mm Side plating: Originally 8 mm, now (June 201) 6.8-7.5 mm As stated in another thread, the 1955 Ruston & Hornsby engine (made under license in India) did have intermittent cooling problems. This turned out to be due to a poorly fitted take-off and return for a calorifier. I have since isolated this and she now runs like a dream- never getting above 80 degree C. If anyone has anymore info, I'd love to hear it. Many thanks!

Hello all, I'm wondering if anyone can help me trace the history of my boat. What I know: She was built in 1985 by Doug Moore (in Barnoldswick?). She's 57 ft long and is now called "The Rose." (but she might have had a previous name? She has a 1955 Ruston Hornsby Engine. On the hull, under Doug Moore's signature (welded to the hull) is a "No 1" (also welded to the hull) and under the other side (also under his signature and welded to the hull) is a "S31." I'm guessing that this means its the first boat he built to the S31 design spec? If anyone knows any history related to this boat or if you've previously owned her, I'd be really happy to hear from you. I'm trying to pull together a history file. Many thanks James

OK: Update on my cooling issues: Since fitting the isolation valves to the calorifier (thus taking it out of circulation), my cooling problems have been 100% resolved. I recently moved the boat 8 hours from one marina to another and she never got above 80 degrees (engine ran constantly for the whole period). And for the first time in my ownership, the header tank did not require a top-up. Many thanks to you all for your advice on this and special thanks to Phil at Longboat Engineering who really knows his stuff when it comes to Ruston Hornsby engines and for the full set of coolant pipes he sent me for just over £90. My boat is now out of water for the next few months to get freshly blacked and tarted up and the good news: the hull is in amazing condition- not bad for a boat pushing 40 years of age- a real credit to the builder: Doug Moore (RIP).

OK: I've fitted an isolation valve on the feed and return to/from the calorifier (probably just needed one on the feed but hey ho!). I did check with the engineer who came out to see it and he said that would sort the problem, but would be grateful if anyone could let me know if this will cause a problem before I fire up the engine. As far as I'm concerned it wont as the calorifier is fed directly from the engine (not via the skin tank)- so all I've done is taken the calorifier out of the equation and forced the coolant to flow through the skin tank only (surely as per the original design). The first pic is the feed pipe, the second is the return.

As promised- an update: The engineer from Barbridge (Joe) came out noted that the starter motor was jammed- he sorted that then the engine started first time and ran sweetly. He said that quite often when these old engines overheat they will seize than run fine again when they have cooled down. I'm planning to take it down to him for a full service/change coolant pipes etc, but before I do I need to address the root cause of the overheating problem- which according to Phil (Longboat Engineering) is down to the fact that its had a calorifier retro fitted. I don't use the calorifier so I'm happy to get it disconnected and I can plumb so no problem with this- but my question is this- the pics show the inlet and outlet to/from the calorifier- should I just disconnect these and blank them off? (The engine is cooled via a skin tank).

Will do.....

Nice one- thanks very much! Got a guy coming to look at it next Tuesday to hopefully diagnose the problem and today I've spoken to Phil at Longboat Engineering- lovely chap who really knows about Ruston Hornsby engines. Fingers crossed its nothing too serious and that I can still get hold of parts! Once the engine is sorted, she will be getting taken out of the water, freshly blacked and surveyed and will going up for sale as I've just bought another boat.

Yes- the hull was sorted (lots of welding) and clean bill of health given afterwards (blacked and surveyed: June 2021). Not sure about the engine service history- but has been running fine for the 12 months I've owned her so can only guess it had all been sorted. I suspect this problem was down to an air lock in the coolant system which caused her to overheat.

Forgot...this plate is displayed outside the engine bay if that helps...

Thanks Tracy- rang them- spoke to Joe- he'll be sorting it out (hopefully). In the meantime if anyone has any further info on this engine and where to get parts- would be gratefully received. Many thanks

Hi all, I'm new to this forum. I own a 57ft Doug Moore narrow boat (The Rose) and she's fitted with a Ruston Hornsby engine (see pics)- Can anyone tell me what model and age this is please and where I can find someone to work on it (near Tattenhall, Cheshire). Also any other information greatly appreciated such as best place to buy parts etc. A the weekend she overheated, blew out some blue smoke, then white smoke, then died. Thanks in advance for any info. James