Blueboat

Do you know why it seized, what makes them seize? First time mine wouldn’t , a reputable mechanic , looked at, diagnosed worn brushes. But it was early in the year and couldn’t be done quick and obviously couldn’t follow me up the cut to return it to me when it was fixed, no charge just a nice man, gave me it back. So I waited till winter as I was going into a marina, and travelling, not with the boat, gave it to them to fix. after about four months they told me it was scrap and would source me another, which I agreed to. But then they rang me to pick it up as it had been fixed. I asked was it just the brushes, they told me they didn’t know, it had just been reconditioned. anyway after a few weeks away, we had cause to try it again, it failed, too far away to take it back to marina, so waited to next winter, different mechanic, sent it off, and on return, told me the brushes were fine but a wire had burnt out causing failure. After trying it again, a couple of weeks later, it failed again, just on one side this time, so he came and took it away again, as of yet don’t know current reason. I looked on pamphlet on board and it is for a Vetus bow thruster, do they just fail after time? I hardly ever use mine, just for reversing around bends if needed. It’s a luxury, not a necessity, but if you have one, I want to use it, if I want to. Thanks for replies from the helpful posters, I will update when it’s sorted.

Ok, thanks for the views, I will just ask at a boat yard when I’m next getting it blacked in a couple of months. Sorry I’m not experienced in such things, which appears to have annoyed some posters. I just wanted to know if it could be sourced from the pic, and the answer is no, ha, thanks for looking anyway.

Hi, I have been trying to get my bow thruster motor serviced for the last couple of years, got it “fixed’ last year after the marina mechanics had it for five months, as soon as I used it twice it stopped working, then this winter gave it to someone else , a local mechanic, which after three months waiting it was returned and stopped working on second use, he has taken it away to get fixed again, but that was two months ago and now is ghosting me, won’t reply by phone e mails or texts. So now I am left with no motor, and four screw holes where motor should be, so my question is can a reputable boat mechanic , be able to source a new bow thruster motor just by looking at dimensions of the holes left by the last motor. I suppose I have to report the last motor as stolen, get a crime number, and sue through civil court.

Thanks from those reccomendations I have bought some stuff to try..

I’m looking at a good way, and advice on making my weathered stern doors on a semi trad look better. There looking rain damaged, I’m not looking to get them looking perfect, just take that staining away without using a dark varnish, what would people advise.

Hi, have recently had a lithium set up installed professionally, and was thinking of having a solar dump added for the summer, but as my calorifier is not plumbed into the mains, he could not fit one at the time. Also when he saw the state of the element he said it would need renewing. When I first bought the boat, I could hear what appeared to be the prv intermittently releasing water, which was cured by turning down the pressure switch on the pump after it failed and I fitted a new one. Anyway that was a few years ago, and I have had no trouble with it since, but I’m quite clueless about such things, and have taken no notice of it since until now , as I was thinking of getting the dump installed, anyway a local mechanic , looking at the picture, has advised that because of the state of the rust etc, if the element is replaced it may not fit back in, but wouldn’t know obviously till tried. So my question is, if the element comes out and can’t be threaded back in, does that mean, a new calorifier. How long would that take to source and fit, and would that leave me without water for however long that takes, if the element won’t screw back in. So as a live aboard it would mean moving out till sorted. Next is it worth taking the time doing that, or just buy a new calorifier. Also as that is gonna cost circa a grand, I have to weigh up if that is worth paying for with a solar dump on top of that for another few hundred,is it worth it.? Lastly, the calorifier does look terrible, but working fine, so should it be replaced anyway, ie does it look like it will give me problems soon anyway and best replaced ? How long do they last in this state. Any advice welcomed.

I would agree not to limit yourself to a geographical location, look at all boat sellers, including Apollo duck, the more home work you do , the better chance you have of getting the right boat for you. This will also give you an idea of prices for particular boats. Get to know why some boats are more expensive than others, learn about what boat builders cost more than others, and why. You also have to decide what front and back you want, I definitely wanted , for example,a semi trad, and wanted a nice well deck bow, with wooden cratch. what toilet you want, what windows you want, what engine you want, how old the boat should be. So much to think about, and that’s the easy bit, you will probably have to compromise eventually. Once you have made your list, then start looking, I took two years trolling through all advertisers until I decided want I wanted, I then bought the second boat I looked at, as first boat wouldn’t agree on my price, second one did, and I bought it in a week with no survey. i bought off Apollo duck , after a lot of due diligences as to who the seller was and there attachment to boat, receipts etc, and there I’d etc, as that was where my boat was, lots to think about, geography of search would be my last concern, but everyone is different..thankfully. Good luckynesss.

Thanks for answers, the gas locker was just an addendum for later possible trim, I would struggle to get an AGM in and out of that space, my main question is answered ,that it is safe to leave my used AGMs in situ as ballast.

Just a last question on this, is it safe to keep old AGMs as ballast once there disconnected, and for how long? And would putting say ten stone of steel or lead in the gas locker at the bow be allowed under boat safety cert as it says nothing else to go in there, would ballast be a fail? and should this be done professionally, or can it be done safely by an amateur[trim, I mean after removing ballast[batteries from the stern]

By far the best bit of a boat in my opinion is the bow, to sit out in . The rest of the boat is for getting the bow somewhere nice,even in bad weather with a cratch cover on, you can enjoy terrible weather, storms rain , thunder storms lightening, all look and feel great from the bow. It’s the best pub in the whole of the canal system. I would not consider a boat without a cratch area to sit and enjoy.

Yes,as have steered a few in past, not exceptionallybad but is more difficult than other boats I have steered. An example is turning onto the middle levels after Denver sluice, never had a problem, but with this boat, it took me three turns to get in, I know that’s flow and not wind, but same effect. [lockie said I can’t believe you never grounded on the sand bank, but I knew I wouldn’t as I knew where it was, and knew my draught was enough to miss it. Doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer from replies, so I think I will get rid of two batteries[ 20 stone] and keep one as ballast. Could do with sticking one in bow locker, but that’s a fail on bsc.

There is nowhere to put them at the bow unfortunately. they are 3x220ah , lasted me ten years cc’ing. I thought there might be a modern way of using ballast that is easy to handle, looks like I will be keeping at least one as ballast and see how it handles. thanks for replies. with the stern lifting, has that helped or hindered navigation? Presume it is worse on a windy day ?

Hi, I’m thinking about replacing my AGM’s for lithium. Had a quote etc, but as I have three batteries at 10 stone each, two to one side of the engine bay, and one in middle back of engine bay, what do people do to correct balance. my boat does sit high in the water at bow, and does struggle in manoeuvres in the wind, would reducing the weight at back help, or make it worse. I’m thinking worse. pro tem I could keep old batteries as stern ballast till I find better alternative. but what are the options, it would have to be done professionally as I can’t bend over for more than a couple minutes. its an Aqualine semi trad, but what do people normally do when changing to lithium, and is it an issue ?

What locks can they shut next, the T and Mersey feeds that pound, would they shut the fradley locks, or higher up I wonder, difficult to know where to go to escape.