Iain_S

We drain Gamebird's tank in winter. On Copperkins, (bow locker tank) we just make sure it's got a bit of space on top. Iain

It's the external diameter that's going to be important. I'd think the critical bit would be the fit on the stove collar, However, a google on Morso squirrel gives internal flue outlet diameter of 134mm (5.27") for both the squirrel 1312 and 1440, and the minimum internal flue diameter as 125mm (4.9") for the 1412 and 150mm (5.9") for the 1440. Even 4.5" seems a bit on the small side! I'd do some measurements of stove collar and the available flue pipes! Iain

I THINK the 40 h.p. has a heat exchanger, although the next size down certainly has the glass fibre blanket round the exhaust manifold. Shocking design : there is a whole system devoted to removing excess heat from an engine, so why wrap the hottest bit in a blanket ? The one I saw was after a big end had whacked a hole in the block, while on a sedate trip from its mooring, past moored boats to the pump out, so it wasn't working hard, and had not a lot of hours on it. I agree; avoid! Iain

There is usually a bit of movement, unless there is a proper thrust bearing (which most canal boats don't have). Also, some gearboxes (mostly old ones) depend on the shaft moving to properly engage gear. The shaft on the one I referred to above was a bit of a disaster area: someone had previously replaced the bearing with a bit of 1 1/4" copper pipe, brazed to a brass washer, which I think was the remains of the original bearing. Result was that the shaft was supported by the rear bearing and the packing. Might be worth reaching through the weedhatch and trying to lift the propeller upwards. It shouldn't move Iain

I agree with the above. If it started suddenly, then something has changed. Do the Alan's drill trick, but I'd suggest doing it top, sides and bottom. Any variation points to an alignment problem. I had very similar symptoms on one boat. The cause was a worn bit on the prop shaft; when forward gear was engaged, the worn bit moved forward into the packing, and it leaked; when in neutral, it didn't leak as much. That one took a new shaft and bearing to fix, but the leak had taken several years to develop. Iain

Going in the wider direction, the Forth & Clyde locks are 66' x 19' 8", about 3.4 to 1 Iain

And were bankers ... (reply to 22) Iain

When we (58') winded at Tarleton a few years ago, we were locked through to wind in the river to save moving boats above the lock. Iain

They are strong. There is a dent in the gate on one of the caissons caused by just that! (Not sure how appropriate that smiley actually is! ) Iain This one?

I use the stuff so seldom, I can't be bothered remembering how to spell it Iain

What exactly is it leaking from? Usually, there is a BSP taper thread into the radiator, a cone connection to the valve, and "normal" compression or solder joints thereafter. PTFE tape is useful on the first one, but won't help the rest, which don't ( or shouldn't!) seal on the thread. A smear of jointing compound or plumber's mate on the cone or olive might help, but shouldn't be necessary, unless it's a compression olive joint that has been over tightened, distorting the pipe too much. Iain

Looks like an Tapmate AC200. As far as I know, the actual unit is discontinued, but filters available here, and other places (which are probably cheaper). Take the old one out first, though, in case it's a different unit Iain e.t.a. I see Speedwheel beat me to the ID edited again to replace link, which first edit seems to have removed

Another common leak source is where the spout joins the body. The two I've had apart have a couple of "O" rings in there. Several ways of dismantling, one had an allen screw at the back of the tap; the other had a blt up from the bottom, which meant the whole tap had to come out. Iain

As per MtB, and, is it leaking or dripping? Iain

I've had a similar situation twice while steering a trip boat in Edinburgh. In both cases, the removal method was to get the tyre bead over one of the prop blades, then force the tyre downwards and off, after putting a rope through it to recover it afterward (Sounds simple, but 45 minutes the first time, and 25 the next) I was lucky in that there is good access to the weedhatch from above, so forcing the tyre down could be done by kicking and hopping on it while wearing a welly boot. If the same thing happened in Copperkins (trad stern, and weedhatch reached by crawling under the back deck), I don't see any alternative to geting wet or using a lock as described above. Most tyres these days seen to have steel reinforcement in the sidewalls as well as the tread, so are a real B to cut Iain

I use this lot for bearings. The postage on single bearings seems pricey, but the total price usually beats our local BSL. (and by a long way for imperial bearings ) Iain

I know one boat which has a macerator connected at the bottom of the tank, pumping to a normal pump out fitting on the roof. A screw in adaptor takes a hose, I'm not sure if it would work with the macerator outside, though, as it might be difficult to prime the pump.. Iain

Is it not your company's safety offcer (or whatever his title is) who banned you, not the HSE? If there is no other way of checking the cowling hatches, I'd suggest his/her Risk Assessment is seriously flawed! Iain

Or, like one water point on the Edinburgh & Glasgow Union Canal., somebody's nicked the 1" female/3/4" male connector Iain

If the sink and shower pump outlets are the same skin fitting, could the water be coming from the sink? When the sink emptied, some water running to pump, where less than perfect valves allow it to emerge in the shower tray, possibly a fair bit of time later. Iain

And, perhaps more important, what's the running cost? Iain

But you can't see those nearside ones Iain

Everyone describes it as a contour canal, a longer lasting inaccuracy than John Gagg's (maybe!) "Heartbreak Hill" Relatively straight, three major aqueducts, and most of the route either in a cutting or on an embankment does not a contour canal make! Iain

If the system is hot when it leaks, a lot of the water will evaporate. In a house setting, I spent weeks finding leaks in the central heating after we changed to a pressurised system. Most of the leaky joints were dry; the only clue was traces of green on the copper pipe. Iain P.S. a gram of water is only a millilitre

I'm a bit confused by "category c". If it's Class C, I didn't know there was a BSS requirement for it. (Also, I don't think any of the common extinguishers have a Class C (inflammable gas) rating. Iain