Albion
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Posts posted by Albion
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As a Skipton resident and Beer Engine regular I also agree either the Beer Engine recommendations above.
Roger -
23 hours ago, chevron said:
Thanks to everyone’s replies and especially Albion have fitted an accumulator soft shift had a short drive and it has transformed the gear change completely, I got advise before fitting that the original controller is a soft shift one. Unfortunately as the box used to have a trolling valve i have had to put a straight pipe instead of an 90 degree angle pipe which now hits the accumulators between the two points the trolling valve used on the controller I need to change this pipe as it gets in the way of the sound proofing suit case over the engine trip to have one made to fit or a none trolling valve controller which does not need the pipe?
Excellent news and I’m glad you’re pleased with the conversion.
Roger -
18 hours ago, IanD said:
Skipton is lovely, suggest you spend at least a day there, preferably on one of the market days. Stanforth's butchers has (probably) the best pies in the world, warm pork pie highly recommended, wear an old shirt. The Beer Engine is a great little pub if you value good beer and company, see attached photo.
Stanforth's is the tourist attraction pork pie shop but, in reality, the locals recommend Farmhouse Fare (roughly opposite the Church and The Castle Pub at the top of the High Street).
The Beer Engine micropub is indeed excellent and the new owners (Steve and Adam) have made it even better than it was before (and that was a difficult ask because it was always excellent under its previous owners). The tape on the floor around each table to enforce social distancing (in your picture) has now gone, but it is still table service only......no standing at the bar.
Roger (local Beer Engine regular)
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3 hours ago, Tracy D'arth said:
With that engine and box attached to a 22" prop you have a lot of rotating mass and inertia to transfer to the propshaft, what kind of flex coupling do you have presumably on a double universal jointed intermediate prop tube?
I have seen long shafts with UJs that jump as the gear clutch bites, that's why lorries and large cars have center cushioned bearings on the shaft.
My narrow boat was a Norton Canes, relatively deep drafted. It swung a large prop (may even have been 22 in but I can’t remember for sure). It had two universal joints on its fairly long prop shaft but I had it built with a large Ford Granada Guibo joint (flexible ring shaped joint in the drive shaft of the car, because I was familiar with them as I was running my own garage business) because I wanted to accommodate any drive shaft shock and the gear teeth still made a shocking noise before the soft shift was added. I also specified the highest ratio box of the two choices and therefore minimised the prop pitch so that prop walk, in reverse, was minimised (spinning faster but with a minimised pitch). Therefore the start up load with that pitch was also minimised.
Roger -
26 minutes ago, chevron said:
I have a PRM 500 gearbox which clunks into gear unless you are very gentle selecting gear. The fault is well documented online and there is a soft shift controller replacement or an accumulator set up from the likes of beta. Has anyone on here carried out replacement of the controller or fitted an accumulator and this has cured the noise. Someone has said you can modify your original controller but not provided the information to do so? all threads of different forums never seem to have a positive fix.
As ditchcrawler has said I had this problem on my nb with a Gardner 4LK engine and the 500 gearbox. It nearly took my teeth out when I changed gear, never mind the teeth on the gears. It was very audible to passers by on the towpath and was embarrassing. This was way back nearly 20 years ago. As an engineer I tried various home built solutions to try and soften the rate of oil pressure rise in the box including experimenting with a length of pressure hose to allow the enclosed air to be compressed as the oil pressure rose, then adding a pressure accumulator and pressure gauge (just to monitor pressures) but nothing really worked well. Then, having read about the control system that existed for soft slip purposes I thought that a similar system to ease the very sharp oil pressure increase could work and wrote to PRM about it suggesting my idea. I got a very helpful reply from the Technical Director who agreed that my idea was a good one but saying that a Dutch dealer had just developed just such a system with a twin accumulator and modified valve block to fix the problem and offering me that conversion kit to fit myself FOC. I fitted it and it completely solved the problem. It is a known problem but fitting the modified valve block with its two accumulators will fix it. In fact, at one time, I thought that I had heard that the boxes were only supplied with that mod already fitted but I may be wrong in that thought.
Roger
PS. I still have my unsuccessful accumulator/pressure gauge modded pipe in my garage now.
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6 hours ago, Ange said:
Unless there were two Skipton meetings I was there too, we brought the lovely Dean S with us.
It was Sally Ash representing CRT.
I remember beers before but no frivolities after, presumably we had to get back otherwise I'm always up for beer and food ☺️
Dean S was a nice guy, anyone know what happened to him after he left the forum quite a while ago?
Roger
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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:
Hi roger
I do indeed old bean
though I must confess the name of the pub had long since disappeared into the ether. I fink we also had a bite to eat? 
That was The Aagrah Indian restaurant IIRC, right on the L&L and about 100 yds from The Narrow Boat.
Roger-
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9 hours ago, mrsmelly said:
Ahhhhh yes Skipton I spose its not far from Ripon
Iirc your new fangled smart fone found me a hole in the wall so I could get some real money out fort pub 
It's terrible how your memory has faded in old age, old chap. Must be very worrying for you. 🤣
Remember the pints afterwards in The Narrow Boat pub?
Roger
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1 hour ago, springy said:
I also have a set, Mitutoyo (IIRC), and the manual insists that it should use SR44, not LR44 batteries. With an SR mine lasts well with occasional use and not removing the battery (2 - 3 years).
I tried an LR44 once - it worked ok when I fitted it but showed low battery next time I came to use it.
http://www.truetex.com/buttons.htm
springy
That link is interesting because it seems to confirm my suspicion that switching a calliper off only blanks the display and that the device is still live and still using the battery to a lesser extent.
Edited to add: Just checked my callipers and the better quality one does say use an SR44 but the cheaper one says LR44 so your info is spot on by the look of it.
Roger
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On 22/07/2021 at 10:09, David Schweizer said:
I have two digital Verniers, one is a cheap Aldi/Lidl purchase, the other is a really good (expensive) Moore and Wright one. I always leave the battery in, and it usually lasts several years. I would suggest that either the vernier is faulty, or you are using poor quality batteries.
Generally the batteries do last a long time in both my vernier callipers BUT the latest one is a type that switches itself on when the vernier is opened by only a fraction of a mm. I have also just experimented with it, to compare with the much older version which dos not switch itself on when the vernier is opened, and I found that the slightest vibration that might occur putting the calliper back in the box or even a slight shake as you put the box away switched it back on. Perhaps that is the cause which can be eliminated by tightening the calliper locking screw before putting it away.
One other thought, but I have no knowledge of this, but with the type that switches itself on by opening the calliper could the system be slightly live at all times to detect calliper movement in order to switch the display on, hence the shorter battery life (bit like keyless car fob system)?
Roger
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4 hours ago, Loddon said:
Yes, that was the time that the club booked some of the very first moorings available at the rally only to find that we were moored as far from the show as possible whereas others who had only booked a few weeks before were centrally moored.............hhmmmm. Yep, Albion moored bank-side and all the other riff-raff breasted up. ?
Roger
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22 minutes ago, SaraCanal said:
Yeah but i think theres a small market for it; owing to the need to be carbon negitive by 2035 or earlier; a narrow boat can carry 55 tons (roughly) ad a widebean can carry twice that whereas a HGV can only carry 44. Theres growing calls for restrictions on HGV's in towns due in part to the appauling air quality, and risk to vulerable road users (bikes and kids). i know the last mile could be an issue though.
I belive it is possible for a non express bulky freight market market to grow. Theres a company that sails, coffee coccoa, and rum etc from south america/carbean to europe using traditional boats no engine; its the best of the best. I think a product with a story would sell. the coffee culture is really strong in the uk.
I agree the market is limited at present and will never fully return to the past though which is good for me. I havent done the maths and so on but i figure a run from bristol to london on a broadbeam boat could work. for a number of reasons as mentioned above among others.Just one practical thought that might influence your direction on this issue. You have to remember that the canals are not in such a good state as they were in the real carrying days so the thoughts of a 55 ton laden narrow boat making it round a lot of the system is possibly a bit optimistic. I haven't boated on the UK canals for many years now but, from what I read on here, the system is slowly deteriorating on the dredging front and not getting better.
Roger
Edited to add: Tony beat me to it ?
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While I have no direct experience of Belgian waters, from my experience of French canals it is much easier to have a boat where you can wander up and down the side decks to be able to get ropes onto lock-side bollards that can be spaced inconveniently above you. Yes, it can be done by narrowboat but it is easier if you have walkable side decks rather than the gunnels of a nb.
Roger
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10 minutes ago, Dav and Pen said:
Personally I wouldn’t want a narrowboat on the big commercial waterways in Belgium as they are extremely busy and the wash from the big barges is very rough. I brought our 22m barge in Belgium and believe me the Albert canal can seem like being on the ocean. The lesser used smaller waterways would be fine but you have to get to them and as for the Schelde this is a major shipping route and tidal. I know of one narrow boat that is or at least was kept in Belgium and we meet it on the 2012 rally highlighting the closure of the Sambre Oise canal.
Yes, that is Mike Clarke's nb and it is still there. He lives near Brussels and generally boats on group outings with his boat club. A friend and Facebook contact of mine. The boat attracts a lot of attention on the Belgian waterways because it is so unusual for those waters.
Roger
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Interesting program with some very well know names and characters interviewed.
Roger
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1 hour ago, Dav and Pen said:
We had a 22m for 18 years in France and Belgium. There are some ports with small pontoons only but there are lots of halte nautiques that are linear moorings. We never had a problem mooring!
Exactly, I'm not saying that you can't manage but it is a fact that some, even with longer moorings, don't encourage 15 m plus boats. Can't remember the names of some of them now as we gave up boating in France in 2017. We heard about them measuring the boat as you arrived before deciding to allow a mooring or not. Never personally went to any of those but had it on good authority.
Roger
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If you are intending to take it into inland France then be aware that some of the French canal ports are not welcoming to boats over 15 metres. That's not to say that you can't manage by avoiding those ports but boats of your proposed length aren't welcome in every port.
Roger
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10 hours ago, pomkitanner said:
Yes its Grace. i would seriously consider hiring again , especially if its now based on the T & M .
So as promised I went for a walk round Pennine Cruisers' L&L Springs Branch moorings today and I can't see any signs of an ex-Black Prince boat that Grace was. However, that isn't definitive because I only saw 4 of their weekly hire boats, their 6 day boats and their 2 trip boats. Looking at Pennines site they have 6 weekly hire boats so the other two might be down at their dry dock area. However, only one of those 6 boats advertised doesn't have the bow showing in their pictures (Cray 47ft cruiser style) which is a shame because the bow nose rubber fendering is a dead give away for an ex Black Prince. The place was completely closed due to Covid restrictions so there was no-one that I could ask. So, there are only two possibilities, Grace is now Cray (and yet the pictures shown above in this thread make it look longer than 47 ft) or that they have sold it at some time. Can't help any more than that at the moment. If I every get a chance to chat to Ian of Pennine I'll ask him but that's about the best that I can do I'm afraid.
Roger
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1 minute ago, The Happy Nomad said:
ISTR the guy that ran the company was called Richard and also hired out a very nice short Doug Moore boat too.
They sold that first and then the remaining boats.
We took the tug style down to Nantwich but it was not in a good mechanical condition. We picked up the boat from a nearby boatyard where we had been told that it had been repainted and fettled mechanically IIRC. We had a major issue with a shot prop shaft bearing and seal and had to constantly limp along all the way because of the fettling that had not been done by the yard.
Roger
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13 minutes ago, pomkitanner said:
Yes its Grace. i would seriously consider hiring again , especially if its now based on the T & M .
Ah, then if it is Grace (which now is correctly identified as the ex Black Prince cruiser style) then that went to Pennine. Whether it is still in the fleet I have no idea but I will go for a wander tomorrow and see if I can see it moored close by up the Springs Branch as the boats are all in now to the best of my knowledge. If I can't find it then maybe it has moved on or maybe it is down at their dry dock more towards the outskirts of Skipton. Leave it with me and I'll wander around tomorrow.
Roger
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1 minute ago, TheBiscuits said:
Ah, well done, that's the two boats so my memory is definitely playing up. My excuse is that it was years and years ago. ?
Roger
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6 minutes ago, pomkitanner said:
Yes its Grace. i would seriously consider hiring again , especially if its now based on the T & M .
See my further thoughts just below your reply. But, I cannot remember who the boat was delivered to as we delivered it and were collected by the couple in their car IIRC. It was all done in a bit of a hurry.
Roger
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2 hours ago, Albion said:
Grace (the tug IIRC) went to Nantwich. Can’t remember off the top of my head what the cruiser style boat that we brought to Skipton was now. I only live across the canal from Pennine and know Ian Clarke (and Zoe to a lesser extent) but it’s a difficult time with Covid to go over asking questions with the current lockdown. If I get a chance I will certainly try for you but I suspect it is Grace that you are really interested in, would that be the case?
Roger
Actually the more I think about it I am not at all sure that it is Canal Boat Escapes or could it be? It is years ago now and it was a husband and wife team running it although he had some employment elsewhere IIRC. I have looked at Canal Boat Escapes though on the web and the house that is shown associated with the site looks very familiar, close to the canal, and yet the various sites seem to show that the business is still running BUT with 7 boats. When we were involved with it (whatever it might have been now back in our memory banks) they only had two boats IIRC (a tug style Grace and a cruiser style, possibly an ex Black Prince boat). However one of the sites that I can find mentions 7 boats. So, unless the name is wrong is it possible that they have started up again, or has someone taken over the name? They were certainly packing up when we took the boats away to their new owners. Hmmm, intriguing.
Roger
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1 hour ago, pomkitanner said:
I checked out Pennine cruisers website , but dont recognise Grace in the layout . Do you know the new name ? Or if it was the Nantwich boat ?
Grace (the tug IIRC) went to Nantwich. Can’t remember off the top of my head what the cruiser style boat that we brought to Skipton was now. I only live across the canal from Pennine and know Ian Clarke (and Zoe to a lesser extent) but it’s a difficult time with Covid to go over asking questions with the current lockdown. If I get a chance I will certainly try for you but I suspect it is Grace that you are really interested in, would that be the case?
Roger
Local Knowledge of Leeds Please
in General Boating
Posted · Edited by Albion
That’s Steve behind the bar. Unfortunately he’s badly affected at the moment with Covid despite being double jabbed.
Roger