Albion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, correct, I moved two of their boats for them to their new hire company owners just before they ceased operations. One boat went to Nantwich and the other has been repainted and renamed and is based here at Skipton with Pennine Cruisers. Roger

My MX60 on my barge was always a bit smokey and I never got it as clean running as the smaller MX40 that I had on a previous narrowboat so I can't suggest a guaranteed cure. However some experience of working on my MX60 is as follows (bear with me because it is a few years ago since I last worked on one):- 1. IIRC the heater plug holder is a very tight fit into the body of the heater and, IIRC, uses a heat resistant sealant when reassembling. Have a look at an MX60 manual for guidance. The heater plug was so tight on mine that I had to make a special puller to extract it cleanly which I left on the barge for the new owner when I sold it in 2017. Trying to lever it out just bends the retaining flanges, unlike the MX40 which is so much easier. 2. The wicks are a very tight fit into the body of the heater. You have to carefully align the hole in Wick A with the heater plug holder hole while pressing the wicks into place. You should also get the heater plug holder gasket (Part 21) if you do this job Overall I found the MX40 easier to work on than the MX60. There is an adjustment on the MX60 IIRC that allows you to alter the air/fuel mixture ratio but I never had the required gas test equipment to be able to investigate that. That's what Shims 27, 28 and 29 are for IIRC. You might be able to get a gasket set for it to do the job but ask Mikuni about that. If you find all this a bit daunting there used to be a contributor to the forum IIRC who was an accredited service agent for Mikuni but I don't think I've seen him post for ages to the best of my knowledge. The Mikuni Heating UK technical guy that I always found very, very helpful was Steve Elliott on 023 8052 8777 (Again, it is some years ago, maybe 2015 - 16, since I spoke to him so can't be sure if he is still there) Hope this helps. Roger

I had Albion built originally (hence my name on here) by Graham Edgson with fit out by Milburn Boats, but we sold it in late 2008 and bought a Sagar to cruise in France which was completed in mid 2010. The guy who bought Albion from me didn't look after it very well (to put it mildly) and managed to ruin the Danny Williamson Gardner 4LK, hence the comments about the replacement engine from Tangent Engineering in https://youtu.be/2hj_OAV9xxs. Luckily it was sold to some enthusiastic and caring owners who I have been helping with info/advice and it is they (John and Sandra) that are featured in the linked vlogger's film but I don't know if they have ever posted here. Roger