antarmike

That is part of my reason for asking the question here!

And presumably finding moorings for a pair would be an even greater problem. Do waterways still insist that a butty moored alongside a motor has to be paid for also, even though no greater frontage is taken up?

It has been over 30 years since I owned a Working Narrowboat, and obviously the Canals have changed a lot in character since then. If I were to buy an Unconverted Motorboat, where would I start to find a mooring. Has anyone got any recommendations of working boat friendly locations where such craft are actually welcomed or encouraged. When I was last on the canal there were pockets of working boats centred here and there. I would welcome peoples views on where to start a search for a good mooring. Thanks Mike

Having worked horses on the Lower Grand Union, I have to say that a swinger would not have lasted long. We were often catching the top of the hames on the bridge arches, I had a swinger on one of our horses for a bit, but it was obvious it would only be time until it got caught on a low bridge, so I stopped using it and Later fitted it to Bilster's pigeon box. Maybe our horses were taller than average,or maybe there weren't as many Gunnite sprayed bridges in the days of horses..... but I can't see the use would have been widespread.

Yes that's Jenny (the original?? Splitpin) in the video....

Ian did have some Alf Best Cans, I remember that much, but if this is one of them, that I can't say.

There has been some talk on here (maybe a diffewrent thread??) about thge work of Joe Harrison. The above is definitely (100% sure) Joe Harrison's work, if you wanmt a compoarison.

Lokks very similar to the Elsan fitted to a Lancaster Bomber!

And the average DIYer has a steam chest and a boiler to feed it, to soften the planks?? The Rivers and the admirals (and some severners??) were all welded, how come they haven't all fallen apart?

Having rivetting experience, (altough steam engine boilers, not Narrowbaots) I disagree. A rivetted repair is just as strong as the original. Welding itself is equaly as strong as a rivetted steel boat. (and welded repairs were being done shortly after GU boats came into service, and welding was used on working boats during their working life, so I can't see a problem. As for equipment, a decent Air compressor, an Air hammer, and a jack...and or someone to hold a heavy dolly on the reverse side. Oxy Propane, Oxy Acetelyne quite adequate for haeting rivets, (or Blacksmiths coke forge, and a blower.) I have done it with very little equipment, and my work was inspected by a boiler inspector and passed for 150PSI operation.

Joe Harrison did painting, I had a little teapot he painted, but I don't know where it is now.

The Patent Dispute between Herbert Akroyd Stuart and Rudolph Diesel. Quote Wiki""The modern Diesel engine is a hybrid incorporating the features of direct (airless) injection and compression-ignition, both patented (No. 7146) as Improvements in Engines Operated by the Explosion of Mixtures of Combustible Vapour or Gas and Air by Akroyd-Stuart and Charles Richard Binney in May 1890. Another patent (No. 15,994) was taken out on October 8 1890, which details the working of a complete engine, essentially that of a diesel engine where air and fuel are introduced separately. Rudolf Diesel patented compression-ignition in 1892; his injection system, where combustion was produced isobarically (the technique having been patented by George Brayton in 1874 for his carburettor), was not subsumed into later engines, Akroyd-Stuart's injection system with isochoric combustion developed at Hornsbys being preferred. Akroyd-Stuart's compression ignition engine (as opposed to spark-ignition) was patented two years earlier than Diesel's similar engine; Diesel's only patentable idea was to increase the pressure. The hot bulb engine, due to the lower pressures used (around 90 PSI) as opposed to the Diesel engine's c. 500 PSI, had only about a 12% thermal efficiency. In 1892, Akroyd-Stuart patented a water-jacketed vaporiser to allow compression ratios to be increased. In the same year, Thomas Henry Barton (who later founded Barton Transport) at Hornsbys built a working high-compression version for experimental purposes whereby the vaporiser was replaced with a cylinder head therefore not relying on air being preheated, but by combustion through higher compression ratios. It ran for six hours - the first time automatic ignition was produced by compression alone. This was five years before Rudolf Diesel built his well-known high-compression prototype engine in 1897. Diesel was, however, subsequently credited with the innovation despite the adduced evidence to the contrary." Unquote So, I suggest, the question should be "Why call a Hot Bulb Engine a Semi-Diesel?" but there should be a second question "Why call a Compression Ignition engine a Diesel?" Dr Rudolph Diesel seems to have invented nothing, and merely worked off the back of other peoples thoughts, ideas, discoveries and products and then claimed them as his own.

Quote Wiki "Herbert Akroyd Stuart was always keen to improve the efficiency of his engine. The obvious way to do this was to raise the compression ratio to increase the engine's thermal efficiency. However, above ratios of around 8:1 the fuel oil in the vapouriser would ignite before the piston reached the limit of its travel. This pre-detonation caused rough running, power loss and ultimately engine damage (see engine knocking for more information). Working with engineers at Hornsby's, Akroyd Stuart developed a system whereby the compression ratio was increased to as much as 18:1 and fuel oil was delivered to the cylinder only when the piston reached top dead centre, thus preventing pre-ignition. This system was patented in October 1890 and development continued. In 1892 (5 years before Rudolf Diesel's first prototype), engineers at Hornsby's built an experimental engine. The vapouriser was replaced with a standard cylinder head and used a high-pressure fuel nozzle system. The engine could be started from cold and ran for 6 hours, making it the world's first internal combustion engine to run on purely compression ignition. However, to build a fully practical fuel injection system required using machining techniques and building to tolerances that were not possible to mass produce at the time. Hornsby's was also working at full capacity building and selling hot-bulb engines, so these developments were not pursued."unquote. Quote Wiki "Rudoph Diesel, of German nationality, was born in 1858 in Paris.....After graduation he was employed as a refrigerator engineer but his true love lay in engine design. Diesel designed many heat engines, including a solar-powered air engine. In 1893, he published a paper describing an engine with combustion within a cylinder, the internal combustion engine. In 1894, he filed for a patent for his new invention, dubbed the Diesel engine. His engine was the first to prove that fuel could be ignited without a spark. (you may wish to question that statement!!!) He operated his first successful engine in 1897. In 1898, Diesel was granted U.S. Patent 608,845 for an "internal combustion engine". " Unquote. It would seerm to me that if these two quotes from the (sometimes) highly unreliable Wiki- ARE CORRECT. Rudolph Diesel did not invent the "Diesel" but a true compression ignition engine , capable of starting and running with no external heat input was built a full year before before Rudoph addressed the problem. I have seen it in print that the reason The Associated Equipment Company (later to become AEC) and Gardners and others British C.I. engine builders called their engines "Oil Engines" not Diesels, because they refused to accept that Diesel had invented the engine and saw no reason to give him credit for it. I tend to agree with this position, and see little reason to call Bolinders and the like "semi-Diesels" and feel "Hot bulb engines" better describes what they are and how they came about.

The guard was I believe added to protect the bow from hitting stonework, when entering locks fully laden. If Renton was converted to ice breaking, she would have been lighter, and higher out of the water and therefore would not have needed this guard. Renton was double skinned at the bow. Internally a second 5/16" plate was laid between each knee and rivetted in place, so in practice Renton had 5/8" steel plate in the bows, another reason why the guard may have been superflous. Bilster was of course another boat that never had the extra bow guard fitted.

When travelling forward, has anyone tried getting the Butty steerer to steer the motor, when on cross straps, by pushing the Motor's back end around with the butty's fore end, while the Motor steersman goes onto the engine hole for a sh1t? Os was that just me and my brother!

I used to tie the tiller dead centre, and steer by shafting from the fore end. You are however a long way from the gear wheel if anything goes wrong. I did the Wendover arm several times like this.

I used reclaimed floor boards.

That's it, Jimpy, I remember now, thta was him, but what of the back end?

Re last picture, that look likes Ted's hat! and judging by the large plates under the dollies, that is Bilster on the outside. ( These plates spread load, four bolts per plate, because top of counter was as bad as the bottom!). Note that Bilster then had no anser (ansel) pins. compare with previous photo. What happened to the butty back end c/w cabin, lying on offside, just below the bridge.

One of the reasons for being efficient is you get to see different canals. The plod alongs with a fixed mooring wouldn't get beyond their local stretch of canal. When I had a mooring at Cowroast, and did a bit of fun cruising, rather than another load of coal, I had to get to Braunstone, or even Birmingham to get to cruise I bit of cut that was fresh and exciting. If you only have a week or two off work to see some sights, you dont want to spend a week getting to Birmingham from Cowroast. If you can do it in three days, it allows time to see something new. I can't see why you would want to go cruising and never get beyond your own backyard, because you want to have a break in every lock you get too and you just haven't got anywhere before its time to wind and go back.