[BMC 1.5 - Which Oil]

3 hours ago, davehindle said:

Hi David

I see this conversation is rather old now but I'd be very interested to know if you resolved your 'smoky off load' problem as I have the same thing with the same make and model. Our BMC 1500 is pretty well behaved cruising but smokes badly in neutral on tick-over. I've adjusted valve clearances, replaced the missing thermostat, put in a new head gasket and new injector nozzles and not made much progress. It wasn't well-looked after when we got it and its running better now its had some TLC, but still smokes. I believe I'm looking at unburnt diesel rather than oil but am willing to accept that I'm no expert and could be wrong about that. My next step is a head skim.

Did you resolve it? What was the problem?

Thanks
Dave

I don't think David S is over bothered now as he sold his boat a while ago.

[Name The Header Tank]

Froggy, glad to see it in use.

13 minutes ago, gbclive said:

You’re right - probably the largest of the threats, so the hunt is now on for a suitably sized, high visibility floating sphere that’s resistant to dilute ethylene glycol and propylene glycol  

I’ll check the internal diameter of the sight tube later this week.

What about using the top of a cut down fishing float?

[Dunchurch versus Barby]

32 minutes ago, Detling said:

Ventnor Farm is opposite calcutt and may be cheaper.

Depends which basin in Calcutt. The older basin is cheaper than Ventnor but the newer one is more expensive than Ventnor. Not a lot in it though.

 

[C&RT Seize Pensioners Boat 27th March]

From my experiences "Care in the community = do it yourself mate."

[Historic Boats for sale online]

2 minutes ago, RLWP said:

It certainly isn't incurable

Sort of on topic, watched Car SOS the other night where a cracked MGTF block was being "stiched", fascinating.

[Don't tell 'im]

What roars along the river bed at 90mph?

 

 

A motor pike and side carp.

[Don't tell 'im]

Found this on Facebook.

[Towpaths in the horse-boat era.]

Just now, Nightwatch said:

Can't remember names,but my brother knows quite well the lady who operates the Horseboat on the Wey, or is it the Basingstoke.

Sue Day? 

http://www.horseboating.org.uk/

[Towpaths in the horse-boat era.]

8 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Wouldn't the horse manure help bind the mud?

Well it was used with tar to make HOSMUCANTA, apparently very effective at plugging leaks in wooden boats.

[Towpaths in the horse-boat era.]

Closest I can find to historical muddy towpaths.

To quote Mike H who's dad William preferred 'orse boating to a motor "We just got on we it." After all time was money to working boaters.

[Purton]

"Better - you're not you when you're hungry, have a Snickers." 

[Purton]

@Alan Rose

There is a picture of Purton in BW colours on pages 22-23 of NarrowBoat Spring 2018.

Of interest?

[Langley Mill Boatyard]

5 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

The boy stood on the burning deck

His leg was all aquiver,

He coughed, his leg fell off

and floated down the river.

A variation:

The boy stood on the burning deck

The flames he couldn't stop 'em

They blew right up his trouser leg 

And burnt his little bottom.

[Chimney up or down on south Oxford?]

11 minutes ago, Tanglewood said:

Always use a dry cloth to grasp hot metal - an oven glove or cloth is good. A damp cloth  transmits the heat quickly and it scalds.  

This is why some working narrow boats, by no means all, had the "lambs tails" on the chimney. It could be lifted off the collar by using the handle near the base and the tails near the top.

[Chimney up or down on south Oxford?]

Get a folding chimney like Steam Boat Adamant, problem solved. 

[Alexander boat builders?]

Didn't Alexander build most if not all of the now ex Challenger fleet?

[Engine removal.]

In my fireball career I had 4 boats:

K 3528 a wooden Chippendale; K 9400 again wooden built by Plycraft and K 11464 and K 12854 both GRP, Rondar.

I then met "a woman" and somehow my life went in a different direction! The guy crewing was my now late brother in law. I think he had something to do with it.

[Engine removal.]

Completely "off topic." In my younger days.

Bizzard used to race them too.

[Engine removal.]

9 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

I always carry an old valve spring and a small nut, both with a little patina about them, for just such an occasion.  Slyly drop them on the tarpaulin with the other bits as you distract the owner with a cheery "good morning", and enjoy an intermittent evil chuckle for quite a few days to come. 

One of the "gamesmanship" ideas when I used to race Fireball sailing dinghy's was to casually drop a used self tapping screw into the bottom of an opponents boat. The theory being he would be distracted and not concentrate on the race. 

[GUCCC big boats]

Footsteps on boats from "down up north." Including a slightly different photo to the one Archie 57 posted.

Fulbourne has more modern folding steps.

[Dog Harness]

Got one of these for our mutt: http://www.ruffwear.co.uk/best-sellers/web-master-harness-ss17

Got a grab handle built in which has been used once, when said mutt miss judged the distance to the bank and fell in.

Not cheap, but as the perfume ad says " 'Cos she's worth it."

[Langley Mill Boatyard]

2 Y's U R

2 Y's U B

I C U R 2 Y's for me.

[Barge blocks canal in Wigan]

8 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

Well I've certainly seen deer in the canal, but if a barge blocked that road, it would really be news, and not just in the West Highland Free Press.

Not the Highlands, but.....

[Maximum feasible water storage? Advice pls. - widebeam/liveaboard]

Not putting a "downer" on proceedings but practicalities of life.

Applicable to wide and narrow boats, have you thought how you will manage if one or other of you gets a bad dose of the flu and is "hors de combat", for say a couple of weeks. Can the other move the boat single handed? Or, and it can happen, one of you slips and breaks a leg?

[Minworth embankment repair]

7 hours ago, carlt said:

It is extremely frustrating when you design and schedule a highway improvement project and inform all the utilities that they may do any necessary works alongside the council's workforce during the road closure and are told that no works are necessary only to have, soon after  the job is complete, a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order request drop on your desk which you have little power to overrule.

The utilities do not care about coordinating road works with other interested parties or what a mess that lack of coordination creates.

Post privatisation their only interest is the bottom line.

HAUC was supposed to reduce the issues above but it didn't.

When I worked for BT I often attended HAUC meetings, all good in theory, but practice........................

http://www.hauc-uk.org.uk/