Onewheeler

Missed it, but I was at next week's.

Thanks Tony. That makes sense. I'll have to drain it if I decide to fit an external immersion which is tempting me, the internal arrangements will become apparent then. Funny how oddities like that only become apparent when thinking about changing things. Martin/

Yes, I fitted the salamander about fifteen years ago for the Webasto. I've only just realised though that the secondary side penetrations for cw feed and drain are unexpectedly high.

Ooh, you are high maintenance! There's a faint line on the insulation about 18 cm up which is where the connections are. You can see the coil connections to rhs of second photo and the cw inlet is just visible at bottom of first.

Maybe it was intended for direct heat. It's from the past. I've only seen inside once, many years ago when I took the immersion flange off to fit a salamander coil. Didn't notice what the internals were like.

Pure guess, but looking at pictures of dipsticks and tubes (not a euphemism but private browsing might be advised) it looks as if in some models the stick doesn't emerge from the bottom of the tube. So, in a hot engine if there is a good seal at the top where the dipstick goes in (that's a big if) air in the tube expands and the level at the bottom of the tube drops. Pull it out and oil settles to its proper level. Or something completely different.

Nope, hot comes out of the top where it's supposed to. Heating coil also about the same height as the cold feed. Seems odd to have a dip tube (if there is one). It would make it harder to drain (although I haven't done that in 22 years) and seems generally pointless.

Just looking at our calorifier with a view to adjusting the pipework. Vertical cylinder type, about 45 cm high. Realised that the cold feed and drain points are both about 18 cm up. Are they likely to be connected to dip tubes going to the bottom of the tank? Why do it that way? Martin/

I can just imagine the bloke in a cap's shirt snagging on one of the shaft bolts a few inches in front of him, and his guts being splattered everywhere.

Failed thermostat? No electricity reaching it?

If the gbox needs to come out it doesn't need a boatyard. It was a long time ago but I took a similar setup (BMC 1.8 + PRM) apart on our mooring fairly quickly (an hour or two). (Had the box refurbed and attached to a new Beta engine).

If replacing the prv it's worth getting one with a pressure gauge to help with diagnostics in the future.

Simple answer is yes, LNBs come in different diameters and only (easily) fit the bracket for which they are designed. Furthermore, the brackets only fit certain types of dish arm. Find out what the diameter of the current LNB is and buy one the same. You probably won't need the bracket for mounting it on the feed arm. Nothing that can't be sorted with some bodgery, but not really worth it for something of such low value. Easiest solution might be to buy the dish with the LNB!

She was an ugly boat from the outside, looked like a block of flats passing. The paddle at the back was decorative, I think there were twin screws underneath. She was however very nicely fitted inside, and her cruises on the Severn / G&S had many good reviews. She set fear into many a hire boat meeting her on a bend ? I had heard (but it was at least secondhand) that when she stopped cruising and became a static hotel boat, the main reason was that an insurance inspection of the bilges would have been too difficult / expensive. That might tie up with the comment above about concrete on the baseplate. I wonder if she'll be raised for scrap.

BBC news from Irish Sea. (Not really a paddle steamer, there were twins screws behind the mock-paddle).

Our laminate floor (B&Q cheapest) went in ten years ago and is still immaculate, even next to the shower and the kitchen sink, despite having wet feet, mops and so on thrown at it. How much water do you get inside your boat?

No, it's an easy job if the bolts are accessible: the gearbox and housing are luggable. I'd be tempted, if you think it is the front seal, to slacken the bolts holding the housing to the engine enough to confirm that there is oil in the housing (unless your investigations show that it is obviously coming from there). Then get the mechanic back (I assume from Calcutt?) to stick his finger in and confirm it.

It took me about a day to lay a new floor on top of the existing ply in our 15 m boat. Then had to take out some ballast as it adds significantly to the weight! Still waiting to finish fitting the trim around the edge.

Are you sure it's not coming from the oil cooler or the hoses / hose connections on it (more likely)? It will be on the port side of the engine, follow the hoses back from the gearbox. There's not a lot of difference between max and min in the PRM boxes, although ours seemed to run OK with a very low level when we had a leak from the selector shaft.

Might be a slow backleak from the accumulator through the valves in the pump to the water tank. Try isolating the tank and see if the pump is still cycling. Probably not a big deal unless it gets worse.

TBH it doesn't sound that hard to tow you on a line, if there is someone on the far end of your boat with a pole, or several of different lengths, to fend off boats and the bank. There aren't a lot of Tupperware boats along there that would be upset by a glancing meeting.

Once you're through the little lock at the bottom of the canal and at Thames level there's plenty of room to turn. Also room at the end of the Sheepwash channel but beware shallow water by the allotments. Martin/

It has been said in the past that (so long as the compressor is working) turning the fridge off, leaving it upside-down for a day, then turning it right way up can effect a cure. Never tried it, I read it on t'interwibbly so it must be true.

Blocked vent causing partial vacuum in the fuel system maybe? Doesn't sound like an electrical problem.

Unless something dramatic has changed in the last few weeks, that dock closed years ago.