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Hi, sorry if this is a stupid question. I viewed a boat for sale today and looking through the file I noticed it was originally built in 2007 with a bow thruster tube. In 2014 the owner decided they weren't going to use the bow thruster tube and because it caused condensation on the boat, and made access to shut off taps difficult they had the tube removed and 2 plates were welded to the hull openings. Will the extra plates that were welded on be a vulnerability or have any negative effects on the hull? Thanks

We bought our boat with a non-working Nobels bowthruster which we are now trying to get working - there are some mysteries I need to solve. Apologies for length of description here I recall vaguely that the previous owner said the charging was rubbish (2 x battery at front charged via 60ft of cable from back) and they had not bothered replacing batteries when they died. But he said he turned the motor manually every now and again to check it wasn't seized (no idea if this was true). When we viewed the boat he took a domestic battery and tried to operate the bowthruster. It grunted a bit but wouldn't do much - sounded like the battery was being flattened trying. So we agreed we'd buy the boat as having no bowthruster - it wasn't a priority. He removed the old dead batteries before we took the boat - presumably for scrap. We've not investigated anything since - 2.5 years. We can't contact the previous owner. We have the boat in dock this week and have decided to see if we can get the bowthruster working. (if the unit is working then we'll improve the charging system with a charging unit near the front of boat, and invest in new batteries) With the help of a friendly local electrics-savvy chap at Hawne Basin we have managed to discover the following: Motor turns as does impeller - nothing seems seized. Good news, as we should be able to do any repair work while back in the water so no rush this week. From the control panel with ignition on, the motor will operate left but not right. I suspect a dodgy connection. Next step is to go through and check/improve all contacts, as some of the 'chocolate block' connections are decidedly iffy. Is there any other reason this might be happening ? Anything specific I should be looking for? Big mystery - the chain is disconnected (see pic below). It has two bits of wire tied round it to stop it dropping completely into the oil bath. Why would someone have done this? Would it be to stop it seizing up dry when not in use? Is there any other reason? I am very confused. When we pull on the chain in either direction the impeller turns, but we've not done full rotations because of the wire. Also not connected chain to motor yet. All thoughts gratefully received!

Hello, my first post, so please be gentle ? I am a female single hander (24' plastic boat for 5 years) looking to buy a 38'-48' liveaboard narrowboat. I have a couple of queries if anyone could kindly give me some advice please. I feel I'm going to need the security of bow thrusters to help me get front end in/give some assistance in turning. How important/useful are they to single handers, as I am severely limiting my choice of boats by having this on my wishlist. I am sure I have read somewhere that they can't be retro-fitted, is that right? My other question was engine size. I will be going on rivers and the tidal Trent (unavoidable unfortunately). The narrowboats I have seen for sale have anything from 20hp up to 38hp engines. I understand it's all about torque rather than hp, but how do I gauge that and work out the best engine size for river work and the tidal Trent. I feel I would be badly underpowered with a 20hp. I have really enjoyed reading and learning all that this forum offers, It's really helped me to get to the stage of actually buying a narrowboat this next few months and moving on board ready for the summer. Big thank you for that!

Having cut an access hatch to get at my bowthruster (it must have been fitted before the deck!) I am a bit concerned at what is in there. Having removed the motor, the flange it bolts to appears to be held on to the tube with plastic and not much else. Is this normal? The view from the top shows the only bolts involved in the process I was expecting to find that the flange was welded to the pipe! On top of this there is no bulkhead behind the tube either. One solution is to weld the tube closed but I would like to keep the thruster since it is already there Advice welcome