monkeyhanger

I've just phoned them to make sure that they are still there, and they are.They are just round the corner from Hackney Wick overground station, if you can't get your boat to them. If I remember correctly , I paid £20 each for my pipes. The guy who made them is Steve Hansen. He did a brilliant job of rebuilding and setting up my injector pump, too. Not too many places still have the equipment (nor, from bitter experience, the appropriate skills it seems) to do it these days. Jack

If you can make it to the river Lea, then I'd recommend MV Motors. They're (almost) canalside, 100yards north of the junction with Duckett's Cut. Phone them on 020 8985 6077. They made some for me a year or two ago. Jack

I've left my boat on the visitor moorings at Cosgrove and Fenny Stratford before. And I'm sure most people know about them already.

Speak to Rich on Autonomy for welding

I've got one on my boat. It's lasted me 20 years. Of course I don't live on board, and only cruise in the summer, so it hasn't had as much use as it might. I was told that it would only last a couple of years, so I have a brand new Bolin pump thats been sitting in the cupboard ready as a replacement for about 18 years! Bolins used to be recognised as the quietest pump you could get, but that was some years ago. Modern technology may have changed things. Mine's not noisy by any means, but if I'm sitting reading and all is quiet, I can hear it but only if I listen for it. Any other noises, such as wind rustling the towpath grass will drown it out. Mounting the pump is, I would advise, very important. Anything it rests on will carry vibrations through the boat. To prevent this, I have connected my pump to the rigid central heating pipework by 2 x 3 inch pieces of car radiator hose of approx 1 inch dia. The pump is suspended on these and just hangs there in mid air with no direct contact with anything solid, hence no vibration through the boat. This works well for me. Just remembered-- I've seen some VERY cheap chinese pumps on ebay. Sort of beige-y colour and basically the same shape as the Johnson, so may be a straight swap. There's a nearly new Johnson one on ebay at the moment, which is cheap-again, at the moment.

When I had my boat built at Allen's yard, just along the canal, in the early 1990s, Bob Allen told me a tale that when they dredged the "chemical arm" as he called it, that they had to have a team of fire engines present as the water kept catching fire!

That's exactly what I heard. There had been a number of muggings on the towpath, so BW had them installed. They've been there for quite a number of years now.

Frost cracked ones can sometimes be repaired. I bought my JP2 as a pile of bits, only to find the block was cracked. I repaired it, and it's still going after 20 odd years

You could try "Flikr"

That list is excellent-maybe a little out of date, but it gives me a list of places and some price comparison, so I can plan ahead. Thanks very much to everyone who contributed with information.I should have enough to get me sorted now. Jack

My son will be moving my boat from Thrupp on the Oxford Canal down the Thames and in at Limehouse. The diesel tank is getting a little low- it SHOULD have enough in it, but I'd rather not take any chances. Where are the best (i.e. cheapest) places for diesel on the Thames, please? I can only think of Shepperton Marina that I've used before. Does anyone know of any fuel boats out and about in August? I suspect that as no-one will need coal at the moment that the fuel boats may be "on holiday" so to speak. Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks for that. I wouldn't mind this guys phone number just in case. Jack

How exactly did you manage to remove the old tank? I suspect that mine will have to come out soon, and it has a lot built around it, as I never thought I'd get to this situation.

I spoke to a CART worker in Berko last Thursday, and he said that mooring in the Grove area at the moment is prohibited. Boats which had already been moored there had been moved on. Apparently it's OK to pass through though the area.

I'm sure that some of the experts on this forum will be able to help me on this one. The oils seals on the ends of my BPE pump are leaking slightly and I'd like to replace them. However, the pump is on the boat and I'm at home.Can someone remind me of the oil seal size, please? Jack

I passed through this lock yesterday afternoon. Just in case you're not familiar with it, this is the one on the southern GU with the one foot water level difference and the swingbridge across the middle of the lock. I'd opened the top gate and swung the bridge out of the way, and was manoeuvering my boat towards the open gate when a man and two young children appeared (out of the pub by the lockside, I think), and proceeded to swing the footbridge back across the lock. I had to do a bit of sharp reversing, and gave a toot on my horn to alert my wife who was waiting by the top gates watching me enter and ready to close up after I'd gone in. As he was crossing the footbridge, the guy then rounded on my wife saying" you lot think the world revolves around your boats" My wife replied that she hadn't actually said anything to him, and that he was the one being aggressive to her. After letting fly with another mouthful, he and his kids walked into, what I assume is his home, the Lock Cottage! I find it staggering that someone with such an apparent dislike of canal boats and boaters should choose to live with his front door three steps from the canal edge. Has anyone else encountered this individual, or was this just my lucky day?

Many years ago, in a previous existence, I was involved in motor sport as a drag racer. A tip which I got from the States was to give a head gasket a couple of coats of aluminium paint before using it. In the time I raced a high compression V8 I never had head gasket problems. Having said that, I've not tried it on my JP yet, even though I recently replaced a cracked head. All the advice I was given said there was no need to do it. But it's a possibility.....

I use Morris's water resistant grease. I also use it in the prop shaft greaser. It seems very good

Just got back home and would like to say what a BRILLIANT weekend it was. The sun shone, the beer flowed, old friends met, new friends made. I'd like to thank the organising committee for once again putting on a great show- and of course all the boaters for doing what boaters do best- having a great time! I'd especially like to say thanks to the tug of war commentators Chris and Adrian and to John Brice for managing to keep everything (especially those two) under a semblance of control. Well done everybody, roll on 2014!!! Jack

I seem to remember recommending some time ago on this forum that you change the leather washers on the reciprocating piston. Did you do that? If not, it's very easy. You need to drain the system and disconnect the water pipes from the pump first. Then you take the cover of the front of the con rod-3 small bolts. Inside you will find a lot of grease and buried in there is a circlip which retains the bearing on the central shaft. After removing it you should find that the bearing will slide forward towards you. It may need a bit of help with a screwdriver behind the housing, but proper engineers may use a small puller. It won't be tight, well, mine wasn't. Once that's loose, you can remove the four half inch mounting nuts (on studs) and withdraw the whole pump, including the piston and conrod towards you. You can now slide the piston out of the bore and you have easy access to the washers. They're dead easy to change and refitting the pump is the opposite of removal. I would recommend that you check the piston bore for wear-I used a small steel rule inside the bore to check if the walls were straight. You could use an internal micrometer to check the internal diameter, but, as it's unlikely to be worn right at the top or right at the bottom, as (hopefully) nothing should make contact, the straight edge may probably do the trick.. While the pump body is off the engine, it's worthwhile taking time to clean up the main casting. It's phosphor bronze and it responds well to a rotary wire brush in an an electric drill. If you're going this far you may as well consider replacing the bearing while you're at it. Well worth it for a few quid. I bought my leather washers from Tony Redshaw. If you're going to see him, I'd suggest taking the pump to get him to check for wear. If it is badly worn it can be rebored and sleeved. Before putting in the washers, I'd suggest you soak them. I did mine in water but I've heard some people recommend oil. If it's a straight "change the washers" job it shouldn't take more than one and a half hours. It's not difficult at all. My water pump is now totally watertight ( he says smugly) Good Luck! Jack

I pumped about 10 gallons from the bottom of the tank last winter and put it in clear containers. After leaving it to settle for a few days, most of the diesel looked OK. Only the first gallon pumped out looked a bit murky, more so at the bottom of the container after it had settled.I discarded that but the rest of it went back in the tank.

Any idea how much? Have you any experience of their work?

Last summer I had problems with blocked fuel filters which I'm pretty certain was diesel bug. I sorted it by changing filters and giving the tank a hefty dose of Marine 16. I'm about to set off on a 3 month summer cruise, part of which will be on rivers and , obviously, I don't want to encounter similar problems to those I had last year. I am considering having the diesel in my tank"polished", i.e. filtered and returned to the tank, somewhere along the route of my journey. I intend to go London-GU-Braunston-Warwick-Stratford-Avon Ring-Birmingham-Coventry Canal- Braunston-London. Can anyone recommend any Fuel polishers on that route, or should I just dose again with Marine 16? I have at the moment 100 gallons of diesel in my tank. Any thoughts/suggestions much appreciated.

Well done to both of you. I was going to phone tomorrow to see if you needed a tow to Ricky. See you at the weekend. Jack

Wasn't there a proposition MANY years ago for something like this. The name "Grand Contour Canal" comes to mind.I seem to recall it was to be a ship canal linking Newcastle, Midlands and the South East. I believe it was proposed in the 1930s.