Albion

I'm not entirely convinced that this is a Water Bug. As far as I can remember the Bug always had a porthole set in-between the side windows and this one doesn't. I'm not sure about what looks like a wooden tongue-and-groovecladding rear cabin bulkhead either. I don't remember any modern (in the loosest sense of that word now) Springer having a composite construction of steel and wood. So what happened to the original steel bulkhead? If I had to guess, looking at the photos, I'd say that it has had an amateurish stretch at some time. Roger

Exactly, you've hit the nail on the head with the boat in question That's why I added the rider about the better power to shape profile. Roger

You may be right. We have a booklet, prepared by our home port in France, which suggests that you can approach a barge Captain and, for a cash consideration , they are often willing to tie you alongside and take you up aginst the flow. Roger

A mate of mine has one in a 62ft Hudson and it is fine, plenty of grunt (couldn't keep up with my Gardner 4LK on the tidal Thames from Limehouse to Teddington though ). The only slight criticism I have of the engine is that it is a little bit clattery, not harsh but a little bit clattery, tickety, clattery while it's running. It's fairly compact so the engine room shouldn't need to be too huge Roger

I have some friends who have just done the return journey, literally in the last few weeks, on their 15m x 4.1 m wide beam with a 75hp engine and they said it was unremitting hard slog and not an experience that they enjoyed. You may be better with a narrow boat due to its shape and the power to profile considerations but the time of year is important and be prepared for some long days. The journey down is OK I believe. Roger

Bill Davies, Fanny the Woof and the boat called Rosy. http://www.billybubbles.demon.co.uk/ Bill didn't do the return journey up the Rhone though, as he had Rosy trucked back to the UK straight from Agde. He did the trip down in 2007 so his site might be of some use for the journey south. Roger

I agree with Dave, it's where the paint has sweated underneath an impermeable surface. The only place I used to get it on Albion was underneath where the cratch cover was fitted of the front of the cabin. You've just got to let the paint breathe as much as possible by not storing stuff on top or, as Dave does, regularly moving stuff around. Roger

Ok, it looks as though this is a bit of a hybrid system to put it mildly. To recap, if I have this correctly:- 1. Your main circulation using the engine's own water pump goes to the calorifier and a radiator 2. There are two large connections to the supposed heat exchanger rubber end caps that then run to top and bottom of the skin tank. 3. There is a pressure cap on the top of the heat exchanger and this used to have its over-flow connected to the orange juice bottle. 4. There is a remote header tank plumbed into the system elsewhere that also has a pressure cap on it. 5. You have now re-routed the heat exchanger pressure cap overflow to the bottom of the remote header tank and done away with the orange juice bottle. Firstly let me say that I am not an expert on this engine but, an engine is an engine, and they all work the same way generally. You seem to have an attempt at a skin tank cooled system but I don't understand how there is any pressure differential across the skin tank connections to cause circulation, when the skin tank is connected to either end of the heat exchanger header tank, unless there is some internal division and an in and out connection somehow to the rest of the engine coolant system. The pressure cap on the HE is designed, as Iain S has described, to lift under excess pressure (the large outer rubber sealing ring against spring pressure) and, when the whole coolant system cools down the contraction cause negative pressure and sucks any excess back through the small central disc (which is very lightly spring loaded to allow this. You should be able to hook a finger nail under the disc and lift it easily. The remote header tank is also pressurised due to the fact that it is also has a pressure cap (of a different design, sometimes these are screw caps and the pressure relief is in the middle of that cap where you cannot easily see it). There are two correct ways that this system should have been plumbed in:- 1. The remote header tank isn't connected to the main system directly, has no pressure cap, is mounted higher than the HE cap and is connected to the HE pressure cap small stub pipe (as you appear from your description to have modified the routing). This then works by the HE cap releasing excess pressure and coolant up into the remote header where it is stored until the system cools down and then it is drawn back via the small suction return disc in the centre of the HE pressure cap. 2. The HE doesn't have a pressure cap, only a flat cap that seals on the top surface, above the small stub pipe. The small stub pipe then runs away to the remote header tank which HAS a pressure cap of the correct pressure setting. This system is really just a larger main engine coolant system where the excess is stored in the remote header until the sytem cools and then it runs back into the main system. Your system is a hybrid of both and can't really work successfully as either IMO. You should not have two pressure caps in the system as this means that (unless they are perfectly matched) one will release before the other and, depending which one does you will end up with the excess coolant being pushed in different places. It is very difficult to imagine quite how this system works without seeing it (if it works successfully at all) but there are some definite strange aspects to it if your description is correct. My thoughts would be to separate the remote header tank from its original connection to the main system (sealing both ends to the pipework of course), leave your connection from the HE pressure cap stub to the bottom of the remote tank and then loosen the cap on the remote tank. Set the level of coolant just visible in the remote tank (when cold), having already topped up the HE when cold and monitor what happens. You should see the level rise in the remote tank when the engine is hot and fall again as the sytem cools. The downside of this set up is that you have to remember to tighten the remote tank cap if you want to check the HE level by removing its pressure cap because otherwise the fluid higher up in the remote tank and pipework will flow back under gravity as soon as you remove the HE cap. I'm still puzzled by the apparent routing of the engine pumped cooling. Normally one would expect the engine out coolant to be routed through the calorifier, on to the skin tank and back to the engine water pump inlet. You can have other radiators connected in as required but the main system should be as described. Phew, sorry about the long post but this seems to be a most odd set up from your description. Roger

It's difficult to understand your system exactly from your description but:- 1. Are you sure the 'heat exchanger' has a core within it or is it just the exhaust manifold header tank? It sounds, from your description that your skin tank and coolant system are so large that the expansion of the coolant is overflowing the 'orange juice bottle' overflow container. When you removed the heat exchanger rad cap and then the header tank cap it is not surprising that the 'heat exchanger' overflowed because you are opening a cap at a higher level than the cap that is open below. If your system expansion is greater than the capacity of the header tank and orange juice bottle then any excess will find its way into the bilge. Have you tried topping up the 'heat exchanger' when the engine is cold (cap on the header tank) and then just topping up the header tank so that some coolant can barely be seen in it (but not too much) and then emptying the orange juice bottle. Run the engine and you may see more coolant in the header tank that might overflow into the orange juice bottle but, hopefully , not into the bilge. Roger

If you have a washer with a pretty good spin speed (1400 rpm from memory) most of the heavy damp is removed. We had a brass rail specially made to hang from the ceiling around the Squirrel flue pipe. We used to hang our damp clothes on that to dry when the fire was on. We also used to use this for drying sopping wet waterproofs after the usual rainy boating days. We let the worst of the wet drip off on the rails in the next sentence where the excess water could drain out of the front deck drains. When the fire wasn't on we also had some rails on the underside of the cratch top plank. No, as Innisfree has said, condensation isn't a problem as you should always ensure adequate ventilation on a boat anyway. It's not as if you're washing every day is it? Well, not knowing your personal habits, I suppose I can't really state that can I? Don't forget that just your breathing (and that of your four footed friend ) and cooking creates moisture in the air which you need to ventilate anyway. Roger

We wouldn't have been without our washing machine on our boat. A drier is a waste of space (you can dry by hanging clothes around the fire in winter or under the cratch cover in summer) and combo washer/driers have limitations generally because they tend to only dry half the load that they can wash and most, as has been said before, use water to condense the humid air. However, I do know that SueB will be along in a minute to say that she has never needed or wanted a washing machine and always uses laundrettes. So, I guess it's your call Roger

I've never had a dog on board from a puppy but I can confirm one earlier point about slippy surfaces. We have two dogs, one is a big greyhound lurcher. We always used to wonder why he was a real pain about getting back on board the boat from the towpath, annoyingly usually when we were in a hurry. He was always reluctant to jump over the gunnel and onto the side locker lids on our front deck under the cratch cover. Eventually we twigged that he was jumping onto a Hexagrip (or whatever they call it) phenolic coated ply board and he couldn't get enough grip to confidently steady himself with his front paws without crashing straight on over the top and landing in a heap on the front deck surface. I glued Treadmaster (rubbery, diamond grip stuff) to the locker lids and he was transformed, confidently jumping on and off no problem at all. The Hexagrip is a perfectly grippy surface for humans but not for dogs with paws and claws. Roger

We had some Wilson ones from brand new and our only criticism of them was that the seat back tilt locking handwheel under the seat cushion wouldn't lock the tilt properly. No matter how hard you tightened the handwheel as soon as you sat in the chair the seat back slid back to the upright position. Roger

Yeah, but the problem with that is that you are just slipping the clutches all the time, that can't be good for the long term life of the box. Roger

Yes, true, but you can be limited by the available gearbox ratios as to how far you can gear down to swing a large prop. Roger

Horse Power = Torque x rpm ft lbs/sec = ft lbs x 1/sec 1 HP is 550 ft lbs/sec (or 746 Watts in metric) So you can see that you can have a small engine with low torque, but revving highly, that develops the same power as a large engine that has high torque but only low revs. The power is the same but the torque is massively different. On the canals it is better to have a large torque value engine swinging a large prop than a small engine revving like fury to turn an egg whisk prop. Not mentioning anyone's boat by name! It is the same principle on the road. Diesel cars are often lower power than petrol cars (in terms of out and out horsepower) and yet they drive as well, if not better, in practical real use on the road. This is because the useful bit is the torque, which a diesel engine has more of than a petrol engine. Roger

As it is drawn the fridge battery will only supply the fridge until the fridge battery is exhausted. There doesn't seem to be any way it can be recharged, as the circuit is drawn, because the fridge battery has no earth bond. Also, what charges the leisure batteries? There doesn't appear to be any link between the only alternator that I can see and the domestic battery system. (There are bits of the diagram not wholly visible on the posted circuit though) Roger

I'm no expert but, if your system is wired exactly as you have drawn it, shouldn't the negative link/rail that you show going to the 12V fusebox be on the engine side of the shunt (where you show the earth link to the engine)? Otherwise you can't be measuring the drawn current correctly, can you? Roger

A lot of garages these days won't have the kit (silver solder and flux; silver solder rod is horrendously expensive to keep for once in a lifetime use) and expertise to be able to do a repair like that as the call for that sort of workmanship and skill has reduced as garages tend to be more diagnostic and replacement parts these days. You'd have to find an old-fashioned motor engineer rather than any modern service garage IMO. However, what about trying Calcutt Boats in your chosen search area? As they recondition their own engines etc I would have thought that they'd have the need to do some occasional silver soldering. Roger ex garage owner and silver solderer

Yes, that's it, the gas locker door on the outside. It's all coming back to me now. I was actively considering a trad one for our first boat but decided that a Pat Buckle trad was better quality for the same sort of money. IIRC it was between £19K and £20K for a 47 ft brand new trad (I reconditioned and marinised the engine for it though). Those were the days. Roger

Towards the end of production they started doing a trad style boat (in addition to the familiar cruiser style) which, if I remember correctly, didn't have a moustache. Can't say whether it was flat bottomed though. Is the boat that you mention, David, a trad style by any chance? Roger

They were built down to a price but got plenty of people on the waterways in earlier times. They were built with thinner steel, hence the vee bottom for strength of the base plate. The quality of the welding, while strong enough, wasn't the smoothest. Sometimes there were finishing quality issues; for example, the mushroom vent on the outside of the boat didn't align with the opening on the inside of the ceiling of the boat. Plenty of people got lots of fun with them though. Roger

To paraphrase Mandy Rice-Davies, "You would say that wouldn't you!".............seeing as you sell them. Please read again my postings and you will see that, although I haven't owned one, I have direct experience of one on a friend's boat and, well, well, it had precisely the same problem as Strads has posted. The balance of fluids to solids was difficult to control and, even with just one user on board (because he solo boats), the fluid overcame the solids and it wouldn't compost properly and, hence, the stench became more than just noticeable, it was stomach turning. I repeat, I was moored only two boats away at the 2006 National Rally. I have direct experience of the down-wind side of owning one. So, if you would like to retract your accusation that 'Interesting how you 'suspect' something when you have no reason for that suspicion apart from your prejudice against these toilets . . .' I would consider that only fair. I stress that I have nothing against them in principle but as yet I haven't seen hire fleets so fitted and yet, in theory, they should be perfect for that type of use.......reduced pump-outs, long lasting between clear-outs etc. I look forward to seeing them take over the waterways because they are so good......but I won't hold my breath (well, I may have to actually ) Roger

There could be several reasons:- 1. It's trendy and apparently eco to have one and you demonstrate your eco-ness by showing it to your friends. 2. They have no experience of what it is like to have one but are anxious to be part of the crowd in point 1. 3. Having made the choice, bought it and installed it they are unlikely to admit that it wasn't one of their better ideas. 4. If point 3 applies they would like to, but can't afford or can't be asked to replace it. 5. They genuinely like it. So, on balance you have a 20% chance of falling into any one of the above categories. Do you hear of many people removing conventional toilets (pump out or cassette) to replace them with a composting toilet? That is surely a valid question also if they are so desirable and good? I suspect the numbers will be few/almost non-existent and yet you have admitted that there are some (of a very small market sample) that have bought and got so fed up with a composting loo that they have gone to all the trouble and expense of replacing it. You have to be pretty hacked off with a product of that sort of expense, and the down-side of disrupting the fit-out, to rip it out and start again. Roger

In any language you like except Spanish!!! Roger