Albion

Yep, spread the load with plenty of reinforcing. You don't want the uxter plate to go up and leave the skeg where it was. Roger

Steady on Mike, there's no harm in Phylis asking. If anything I would think that there are more practical engineers owning narrow/wide beam canal craft than there are in the shiny white plastic brigade. As she said she has already exhausted that source of info (or at least she said it for those of us that could be bothered to read the whole thread ) Aren't we all on here to discuss and help out where possible for a fellow boater in trouble? Only the mods can decide if this is off topic surely! Roger

Hhhmmmm, several thoughts from your latest update: If the boat is heeling (at very low speeds) then it suggests that the two tabs are not at the same angle and yet they should be. Now IIRC you think that the left tab is fully down and yet the right shows fully down. If that were true, why is it heeling at low speed? Could the right fully down not actually be fully down but just showing it? Do they automatically set to the horizontal when you achieve (approaching 20 mph) or do you have to remember to reset the position (surely not)? If they are auto reset then my theory might be correct. It could be going to the default position due to lack of feedback on the LH side but OK feedback on the RH side. It may not be moving from default due to lack of feedback about the boat speed. Lack of feedback about the boat speed is less likely though, because this is the sort of signal that would only go in to the controller once for use for both tabs I would have thought. How you prove/disprove a feedback problem (unless its got self-diagnosis).......I haven't a clue, sorry. Roger

Definitely do it now while it's out of the water. If I might suggest a hydraulic ram and some heat might be the best start followed by the application of an adjuster (large hammer) for tweaking Did they know it was a boat when you ordered the crane? If so, they should have brought the right kit with them. If they used wide canvas strops that was quite unusual because the strops can get cut by the protruding raw edge of the baseplate. They should have used chains (which tend to slip) but then, if they don't have a spreader cradle above, used ropes (taken to suitable points on the boat) to prevent the chains from slipping together. Roger

Did the smoke disappear after you had the faulty fuel pump fixed? If it didn't I can think of a scenario where some oil that had seeped from the turbo seals was being burnt off first thing. Just a thought. Roger

Looking at the thread and knowing nothing whatsoever about these type of trim tabs. I took mine off my narrow boat because they actually hindered me getting on to the plane A thought occurs to me that if the faulty ram position sensor is feeding back duff position information, or the feedback wiring is broken, then it is possible that the tab is being driven to full down position because it thinks it is up (when it isn't) or, not knowing where it is in real time it defaults to a full down position. I must admit that, if there is an emergency default position, then I would have expected it to be horizontal but, as I said, I know nothing. Roger

Yes Tony, IIRC BW commisioned some consultants to do the testing and come up with designs. Somehow Alvechurch seemed to be in on it or involved in some way. They enthusiastically pushed the idea for a while but then it all died a death. I suspect that it didn't turn out to be as good as they were saying..............now, where have I heard that recently..............hhmm, propellors anyone? Roger

Personally I would straighten the skeg while you have it out of the water (it's cheaper than you having to crane it out again because it doesn't seem right) and I would investigate the situation of having the craning company's insurance paying for it for you. They have a liability not to damage your boat and if an accident happens they must carry insurance to cover it. The stern swim is very well done for an unknown builder. Someone has taken some care over that, It will deliver the water to the prop well but with the slight downside of reduced interior space but it's so much better than some of the cheapo builders' swims. I don't think the bow will make much noticeable difference but it won't hurt either. Roger

If it is diesel or oil you will get similar observations if droplets hit the water. You should see a rainbow effect with either. One may seem to have a slightly thinner film when it first hits the water and hti smight indicate diesel. Best indication is smell though. The 1800 pump is easy to see whether it has slipped because there is a line marked on one of the three lugs that secure it to the front plate studs. There should be a corresponding mark alongside it on the plate IIRC. This might not be a precise science though, as the engine has been rebuilt and someone may have just set it by feel. You need a specialist tool to re-mark the timing mark to align the pump. I made my own marks from first principles on the timing chain cover using a dial test indicator on the top of No 1 piston when I was completely rebuilding and marinising my 1800 for my first boat. Then I was able to set the pump timing from observing the fuel injection cut off point in some tube. The pump retaining nut behind the pump is a pig to get at and I had to make a special conversion of a spanner, bending it and grinding it to get behind the pump and, even then, the range of spanner movement was very restricted. There is also a small torsion bar springy thing that has to be fitted into the end of the pump drive shaft to also engage with the centre of the drive sprocket splines. It's a bit awkward to get this to engage but it is there for a purpose (to take out any backlash in the splined connection, I think). Roger

So far the odds are 4 to 1 against your view so it is up to CJR to make his mind up as you say Roger

In my experience, don't bother. It long ago lost its emphasis on stuff for the boater to buy. Now, it's great if you want to buy toffee, craft bits and bobs, nick nacks and second-hand stuff from IWA branch and charity stalls. As Tony has said there is usually a rope stall, maybe a stall selling cheapish generators but very little chandlery. Crick would have been better. Roger There will be some boats on display from builders but, even that, has fallen off over the years. Check the list of trade attendees to see who will be displaying new boats. Generally you might get to see inside private boats that attend only if you can strike up a conversation with the owners (that's if they're at their boat and not visiting the event which will be quite some distance away from the majority of the visiting boats). Roger

What bmc is it? How long since the rebuild? Can you confirm that it is rawish diesel in the exhaust by teh smell of it> Roger

Err, no, not quite: Blue smoke; normally oil but can sometimes be confused by an untrained eye with mixtures of other smokes. White smoke is most usually incomplete combustion (incorrect valve clearances, low compression, poor injector spray pattern, incorrect injection pump timing etc) and can occasionally be slight coolant ingestion into the combustion chamber but this will generally only be on start up. If you imagine the compression/combustion pressures that exist in a combustion chamber there is little chance of coolant forcing its way in against those sorts of pressures while running. You are much more likely to see gas in the coolant system. Black smoke is excess fuel to air ratio. This can be down to blocked air filter, overfuelling (pump probs), overloaded engine causing very high fuelling. Roger

Ray, my point was that of the many people who espouse the pump out cause saying that they couldn't possibly handle a smelly disgusting cassette tank and have to pour the contents down an elsan point, then go ahead and use a self pump out in exactly the same facilities. Surely that's just as disgusting and there is much more of it being shifted in one event? Often, because they are pumping from the boat end of the pipe they can't see where the outlet end of the pipe is, and whether it is still in place. This is what decorates the sani station and causes other users, emptying cassettes for which the facilities were designed, to have to put up with the mess (which then tends to put even more people off using a sani station). It is the irresposible minority that cause the problem, not the responsible majority. Roger

I've owned a wide beam boat (14.5m x 4.2m) with shallow angled chine and central flat baseplate with shallow draft (about 0.7m) and it was very poor to handle. It skidded around just like trying to steer a saucer floating on water really. Also the chine was so shallow and the swim so blunt that there was a very poor flow of water to the prop and forward progress was inefficient. It was only when I made loads of mods to it, bow and stern keel fins, cutting out part of the stern swim, moving the prop further aft that it started to behave more like a boat and less like a hovercraft. The 'water to the prop' mods alone gave me 10% more speed for the same revs over a timed section of canal. Yes, IMO, you do need chines but you need good ones or, better still, a properly designed hull shape which will cleave through the water cleanly, give good prop water flow and have good straight line stability. If you are just going to pootle up the canal occasionally then, maybe, the poor handling of a flattish baseplate won't worry you but if you are going to do some real boating then get as good a hull shape as you can. Roger

Sue could have a valid point for another reason because although the trip up from Limehouse is do-able, bearing in mind the tides, Limehouse opening hours and the many trip boats/water buses etc that cause large wash with little regard for any narrow boats, there is a requirement for VHF radio and, of course, the appropriate qualification to operate one if going out on your own. If you go out from Brentford then, I believe, there is an exemption from the VHF requirement. Roger

Exactly, you've illustrated the point that the pump out people should go and get a (ta ra) pump out and not decorate a sani station with their poo. If the facility had not been abused by an inconsiderate user there would have been no problem........but that's inconsiderate humans for you. Roger

It's easy, cheap and not as unpleasant as many people crack it up to be. The only time I found it slightly unpleasant was if the elsan facility had not been cleaned, was run down or had been abused by previous pourers. If you are physically weak or disabled then I admit that 14 litres of fluid weighs a fair bit if you have to lug it far but, in the main, you can get close to an elsan point due to dedicated moorings. Roger

Look by all means but don't just look at one in a shop, all fresh and clean and full of salesman's hype. Go and see/smell one in use and then decide between the only two sensible options pump out and cassette. Of those there is only one really sensible option and that is a cassette toilet with two spare tanks Roger

You will need to remove the grinding disc and fit one of these type of things: http://tinyurl.com/mu84mf Then you will need to fit an abrasive disc to the backing pad. There are different ways of attaching the abrasive disc to the pad. One type is attached to the pad using velcro and another just attaches using a central flat nut type thing that can be unscrewed with a key spanner (usually with two pins to undo the nut) and others are self-adhesive. Be aware that there are several different diameters of backing pad and abrasive disc so ensure you get the right one for your machine and that they match each other. Also make sure you have the right type of disc for the pad, velcro to velcro or loose disc to central nut pad or flat pad to self adhesive. Then you only have to choose the grade of abrasive for your disc's intended use. Oh, and then there are different materials from which the abrasive is made, some are a better quality than others. Following me so far? From memory, most angle grinders will have an M14 metric threaded nose stub but, just in case, check your machine's instructions to make sure that yours is that size. Be careful when sanding, it is possible to dig the edge of the disc in a bit, so a light touch is recommended until you start to get used to sanding this way. Edited to add that if you want to be a bit more aggressive then Richard's clean and strip disc looks good. Note though how they talk about the disc being slightly flexible to avoid gouging........that was exactly what I was talking about in the sentence above. Roger

One quick bit of advice about angle grinders is that if you have never used one before you should be very careful and practice on some steel that doesn't matter. Even in experienced hands they can dig in and cause a gouge that is worse than what you were trying to fix. They are a brilliant tool but require care and experience if you are to avoid creating more problems than you are curing. You can get sanding backing pads and sanding discs to fit them though which are less risky in amateur hands but, even with these, err on the cautious side and use finer rather than coarse abrasive discs until you get the hang of it. Roger

I think that their advert saying that Mick Sivewright was one of the finest builders in the business stretches my credulity a bit. Mick's products were OK, better than a Springer IMO, but a long way from the best in the business. They were always on the smaller side as I don't think he had the size of premises to build big boats. He also built a range called the Owl class of boats. Owners often call them 'XXXXX Owl' (insert any name you like where the Xs are). IIRC they had a Volvo sail boat motorised leg bolted through the uxter plate as their means of propulsion. Roger

Oh, I never realised that they had a dual purpose Roger

Yep, and from memory didn't they always have a chequer plate front deck? Some people have removed the bridge bars over the years, usually when they got so bent that they looked horrible, but you can always tell, even if the bars have been removed, because of the elongated and unique bow shape and the cabin style. Roger

Thanks Richard, that Bug picture certainly confirms my memory of the postion of the side porthole between the two windows but, I suppose it is always possible that other variants were built but I don't remember any others. Roger