Steve Priest

Difficult to start by hand now how? 1) It's just too bloody tight 2) I have a worn exhaust valve rocker, so the decompressor doesn't work that well ( I'll do something about it sometime) 3) Good compression

Whenever we rebush a sterntube and replace the tailshaft we come up against this problem. When we come to re-instal the shafting we often find the engine is well out of alignment. I don't think that they were too fussy when the boats were built, let alone after several engine replacements. My reccommendation is that we fit a cardan shaft as part of the job. At least then the costs can be assessed properly, rather than spending an inordinate amout of time re-aligning the whole set up. I don't think that metalastic couplings can accommodate anything but a slight misalignment, nothing like the amount that we often encounter. I would normally use a 3.5'' diameter tube with fixed 15/10 series ends (6'' flange diameter), and instal a carrier bearing on the tailshaft, just behind the coupling, mounted on an angle welded to the swim. Thrust is still transmitted to the gearbox. As has been said, if you relieve the gearbox of thrust you may need to replace the gearbox output thrust bearing, as they will fail, depending on the box. As Tim Leech says, thoeretically the uj's are not designed to take thrust, and cardan shafts work best at a degree of deflection that is hard to achieve went installed in a boat where the shafting is close to being straight anyway, but having worked for years with camping boats with propshafts salvaged from scrapyards, doing 20 - 30 weeks work per season, with no problem, it does work in practice. There have been problems with cardan shafts drumming and transmitting noise from the tube/prop, and gearbox, but recent Volvo research have dealt with this by lining the tube with - cardboard tubing! Hence in a roundabout way I do have some used metalastic couplings spare

I think it would be worth talking to Alistair Denyer at RN, he probably has ring gears in stock. I think the DM flywheel is 22'' diameter, you should have no problem getting it off, as it is mounted on a flange rather than a taper. The starter motor could be mounted, as RN starters are, on the left hand crankcase cover plate. Replace the cast iron plate with a 10 - 12mm steel plate, using the cast plate as a drilling template, and use an angle bracket fixed to this to mount the starter on (the angle would need to be 4'' x 4'' or 5'' x 5'') .This is pretty much how new RN starters are mounted, Alistair may be able to supply the whole kit if you wanted. I don't want to suggest this as a better alternative to Tim's suggestion, I ' take my hat off' to him The second National I bought already had an electric start fitted, and whilst I had originally intended to take it off, I'm not getting any younger ( back hurts, shoulders hurt et al ) so it's still on and is installed in Aquila. It's a good job it is the because after the 'rebuild' I doubt I could ever start it by hand. If you want to have a look at it then your welcome. If you have any difficulty in sorting the cylinder head problem I may be able to help. Cheers, Steve

I think that I've got a couple of spare ones as I have recently put a cardan shaft in Aquila. I just need some time to sort them out

Have a look at West systems epoxies, you'll probably find them on the internet

Don't want to sound funny but are you sure it's got a 3:1 reduction ?

I just read your post, the cabin fit out on Tycho was done by Roger, as well as the painting. He did the work for Paul Painter who had the boat from Mattys, Simon Wain got it from Paul. When I was considering planking for my own back deck I dismissed ash as not being durable enough. I ended up with teak. It weathers to a silver grey, similar to ash, but is completely bomb proof and hasn't moved a jot. Expensive to do, but if you only do it once its worth it

With the 2:1 Brunton gearbox there is no division between the engine and gearbox and they run on common oil. The reduction box is separate, but due to a mod fairly early on this was linked back to the engine sump as well so the whole thing used common oil. I know you have no reduction box but is your gearbox any different to this?

On both Northwich and Woolwich boats the gunwhale angle continues along the engine room and back cabin, in the case of Northwich boats the engine room/ cabin side plate is flanged down to and rivetted through the angle, and the wooden gunwhale fitted over the top. Because the hull is both rising and pulling in along the back cabin this flange was hand formed rather than pressed, and tends to have a fairly large radius on it, which is why original northwich gunwhales were quite a steep angle to them. On Woolwich boats the engine room is fitted inthe same manner, but the gunwhale gets wider again after the engine room so that the wooden cabin can be built off it.

I thought it was me who suggested wooden gunwhales and cabin to you in the first place, come and see my own boat, Aquila, if you want to see what wooden decks, cants, gunwhales and cabin are like

This happened at the beginning of March. I had a phone call from Anthony of Rose NB at about 10.30 at night to say that a car had come through the fence at the yard and had landed on top of a boat. He understood that the driver had legged it. Rex and I went over immediately, worrying about what we would find, injury, damage, insurance claims, etc., and were amazed at what we saw. The car had cleared the towpath and both boats, but had hit the wall behind the second boat and had come to rest on the roof. The driver and passengers were shaken but ok, and had stepped out of the car onto the roof of the boat. If the boats had not been there the car would have ended up in the canal under the bridge. Both boats were new, being fitted out and were nearly finished. The only damage was a scuff on the handrail and a dented mushroom vent ( directly beneath the car) on the second boat. There was no damage at all to the first boat, but it did have some interesting tyre marks up the cabin side. And of course we lost the fence and style completely. I did hear the driver telling a Policewoman that he didn't know what had happened, he wasn't speeding, he was only doing 30 mph ! The car was recovered the same night by a recovery truck with a hiab.

I agree with Dhutch on this. I feel that any type of guard that is big enough or fine enough to be of use would cause a lot of problems with rubbish etc. Most of the accidents that have envolved people being sucked into the propellor when the boat is in astern have not been due to falling off the counter, but being knocked off by the tiller. When the boat is in reverse the rudder is often sucked to one side or the other with considerable force, and anyone in the way can easily get knocked into the canal. It doesn't often happen when the engine is in ahead, but it can do, when hitting something in the water or when something substantial gets caught by the prop. The only safe place to stand whlst steering is in front of the tiller, wether the boat is in ahead or astern, all that will happen then is that the tiller is snatched from your hand. I think that the most significant thing is that people understand the danger envolved, and use common sense Although to some degree this is somewhat of a digression, the vertical post that has been referred to is a skeg bar, and is to some degree a throwback to wooden motor boats. It is used to stiffen a flat plate skeg and also to give a mounting for the bottom rudder cup. It was used almost universally until the steel and iron sided Grand Union boats were designed and built with a cast sternpost and skeg, allowing for a balanced self centring rudder. Some builders, Roger Fuller and Allens amongst them, still fit skeg bars

I'll own up to it, the Theophilus on the Trent and Mersey is one of mine. Alan Fincher is right that the original Theophilus is at Little Venice, is one of the four middle Northwich motors that were converted to icebreaker/tugs in the forties, and became a Wyvern Shipping hire boat, along with Sextans. The new Theophilus is actually a copy of a little Northwich rather than a middle one, and whilst the rivets on the hull are false, the back cabin and engine room ones are real. We built the boat for Gary Shepherd, a boat fitter from the North West, and he fitted it out himself last year. He was keen to call the boat Theophilus as the name had a family significance for him. Incidentally, Sextans was still in its Wyvern guise when it came to me 12 or so years ago. I lengthened it by 10' using side plates left over from the conversion of the Thea, put a new back cabin, engine room, and conversion on and replaced the Wyvern lister SR2 with a HR2. While Rex Wain fitted out the back cabin, the more recent fit out in the coversion was done by Gary Shepherd. Graham, I haven't got a clue how much an 'exact' replica would cost, but the lotto win would need to be a good one

I would agree entirely with Dave Moore as to the best solution, but we have also had good results with Blakes epu (epoxy primer/undercoat)

Battens are generally tanalized softwood, but as for size, etc, it depends on what you are doing and what you are fastening it to Steve priest

Paul H has it right. It is certainly a lot easier and safer to use the gunwhales on an old boat, or one built with a similar tumblehome. There is the point that increasing the roof width obviously gives more internal space, but another reason is that steel is supplied as standard in both 1 metre and 1.5 metre widths, and a lot of boatbuilders use these standard widths for cabin side and roof sheets, so saving time by not cutting them down. Quite often the roof camber is also significantly greater on new boats than it used to be, partly to stiffen the roof and partly to make it easier to control distortion when welding roof seams.

It's burr elm for my money.

Firstly, you only NEED a new survey if your insurers require one. Talking to your insurance company and providing them with proof that the work that was flagged up three years ago has been done should satisfy them. If you want reassurance for your own peace of mind then that's a slightly different matter. If your boat was built in the late 1970's then it is likely that it does need some replating, but that does not seem to be in doubt, the question is how much? This depends on the original plate spec, where it's been kept, how often it's been blacked, is it wet bilge or dry ( does the front well deck drain water over the side or into the bilge, the latter was quite common at that time), anodes, electric earthing through the hull, etc. Asking your boatbuilders opinion is o.k. in the short term, but next time you need a survey ( presumably in three years time) the surveyor might find that additional work is required, and you may have to add additional plate to the work already done. Peoples oinions differ, and your boatbuilders opion won't satisfy your insurance company when they ask for a survey. It would probably pay in the longer term to find a good surveyor whose opion you trust ( there are good ones and bad ones, as in all things) and stick with him, for continuity.

Gunwhales used to bedded down onto boilermakers felt and plenty of tar or bitumen. If you are going to use roofing felt use a bitumimous mastic (non hardening, such as aquaseal) liberally on both sides of it. Also use bolts of the same diameter as the holes in the steel (1/2'' probably) and put one in every hole, not alternate ones as some do. Well fitted gunwhales add a lot of rigidity to the boat, they are not merely a piece of wood bolted to the top

I agree with Tim as regards keruing, I have used kapur (I think that's how it's spelt) in the past, it is available in long lengths and is durable, you won't beat iroko for durability, but none of these timbers are ecologically sustainable. If you want an ecologically sustainable timber then oak is the one to go for, but it isn't as durable as iroko

I've just had a look at some governors that I have got in my spares and I think that they would be hard to photograph or draw for you to be able to make any sense of it, and whilst I think that I would be reluctant to part with them, you would be most welcome to have a look or borrow them whilst you sort it out. I also have some governor weights that are bigger and more curved than marine ones, they are certainly from horizontal governors, from stationary engines I think. I'lldig out what I have got when I get the time and we can sort something out. Alternatively, perhaps Ian Compton could help . Steve

Tim, I don't have any photos of governors to hand but I do have some dismantled governors in reasonable condition and could either take photos or draw round them if that would be better. There were steel inserts, ball bearings I think, at the pressure points. Steve