Onewheeler

You may have an automotive Webasto which needs more volts to start than the marine version. Ours is reluctant to start after a couple of days moored off shore power (but plenty of charge left), and needs a bit of a boost from the engine to get it going. (And before anyone chirps up, the connections are fine!)

Nope, that's very different to mine. Must have been an odd one.

It's the part that makes contact for the high current to the starter motor. Very crude when it was dismantled. Yes, a relay.

I can't remember the ins and outs, but undoing the two or three screws on the end cap enabled access to the big bit of springy copper or brass which could have the contact points filed clean. I think the big bit of springy metal came out with the end cap, but it was twenty years ago...

That looks like the old Duckhams Oil depot. I had a holiday job there in the seventies. The first few weeks I went round the plant collecting empty drums for loading onto a truck, then spent most of the day looking at boats. The management then noticed that I was underemployed and found a warehouse full of out of spec one pint tins of oil that had to be emptied into 200 L drums.

It depends on the model. On my long dead BMC the contacts could be removed with the end of the casing with a couple of screws once the big cables have been disconnected. Can't remember the details but no soldering needed.

Could be the contacts in the starter solenoid, with a fully charged battery just giving enough kick to overcome the corrosion. Take the solenoid off if possible (more than one model of starter used I think) and give the contacts a clean with a small file (a nail file is good enough).

I was dragged up within 100 m of Fulham FC. In those days the site of the luxury flats immediately upstream was used by lighters which tied up on a well-dredged wharf. (The warehouses burned down in around 1972, always wondered what started the fire). Indeed, the whole stretch upstream almost to Hammersmith Bridge was used as wharves.

Yes, I used to have a couple of tons of it in my lab that had been recovered from Scapa Flow. Underneath we found a very well pressed copy of "Top Busters", which may not be relevant here. 😮

Thanks Tracy D! I could doubtless find it easily enough, but possibly not quickly if panicking!

Where is the stop level (or is the answer "it depends")?

Zinnser paints are generally very good. I've used them in the house on a wall prone to damp and on the gunwhales (the latter water based black paint but dead easy to touch up if damaged, and it seems to last).

Dry dock, welding and patching at both ends (a few m^2), blacking.

We've just spent €8,500 on docking our shared boat which is a fair bit more than last time (six years ago, but delayed due to plague problems). I guess we budget at £ 1- 2,000 a year for docking.

Chances are high that she'll need some overplating and welding, but that's normal for a boat of that age and needs to be factored in to your budget. Our barge is a similar age and there's always some hull work needed at docking. The engine at 44 kW might be a bit low powered but unless you're planning on taking it up the Rhine it should cope with the Thames (looks like the Thames from the pictures, but can't place where near Oxford unless it's an assortment of places - some of the pictures look like Oxford Cruisers at Eynsham).

Just found this resurrected thread. Firefly was converted to run on an air-cooled Lister about twenty-five years ago. We viewed her when she was up for sale in around 1997 (Wilton marina?), a clean but very basic fit-out at what seemed a reasonable price (around £25k if I recall right).

Are the radiators and calorifier warming?

Our domestic washer was jammed with a piece of curved steel about the size of one of the wife's undertits. Buggered the pump completely.

Have you got any time-expired fire extinguishers?

Well, the fuel spurted out 15 - 20 cm or so - less than the 30 cm suggested by Webasto but certainly more than a dribble. Thinking it was the pump, I fitted a replacement from Ebay but no difference. Evesham Marine tested both and said the original was still good, and the replacement out of spec. I think the latter includes a bit of sales pitch as the spec says 20 ml / minute and the replacement was giving 19 ml. The original was 20 and a bit ml / min. If you want to give my replacement a go you're welcome to try it - I'm only 10 km from Saul (we used to moor there and I know the original owner of your boat unless it's the same name on a different boat!). PM me if interested. The replacement pump has rather short stubs of pipe (a long story but it's feasible to get a hose and clamp on). You won't get a compression fitting on. Martin/

I looked at my pump recently. It's been tested as good since. I reckon it spurts out nearer half that distance, and I'd guess about a ml each pulse. It's supposed to deliver 20 ml / minute, but not sure at what click rate - probably normal running speed, so maybe 20 to 30 pulses a minute? (Mine was giving out white smoke and failing to run after the start-up sequence hence my following the fault tree and getting to possible pump issues and checking it; I decoked the burner and it was good for a while, then failed again. The repairers said the burner was knackered, replaced it and it was fine after that. I took the boiler and pump out and took them up to Evesham Marine who did a good job. Might be worth a chat with Paul Hands there 01386 768500, he'll tell you if there's anyone more local but it's not a long drive from Saul).

I used NoMoreNails or similar to stick down a piece of wood in the engine bay about 18 years ago. It's still stuck there. Clean the surface very, very well first!

True! I had one on one boat and removed it as it made winterising harder.

Next time, think about taking the hot outlet off and stick a hose on a pump down into the bottom of the tank. Or, connect an air pump (big bicycle pump) to a hot tap and drive the water out of a cold tap (that won't get it all out but should empty most of it).

Leave the plinth panels off. I've never bothered putting them in, and it makes access to the wine cellar much easier. No condensation at all.