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Hello all! I have a Morco F11E water heater. Every time I start it all the flames ignite but go out either immediately or after a few seconds. It then tries to relight but only one or two flames will light around the ignition. In the relighting stage I can manually light all the others with a handheld flame. Seems to me there are two problems, the gas flow shutting down and the ignition failing to light fully after the first try. Any ideas? I've cleaned out the water filter and pumped up the accumulator and the water flow sensor stays on while running so i don't think it's a water pressure issue, more likely gas pressure? Thanks in advance!

So, as you may know, I have a new boat! New boat - new surprises.... Yesterday was our first day on board and we spent it removing sodden rotten furniture and flooring from the aft cabin. It started by lifting the mattress, few spots of mould on the ply below. So, with the mattress removed to the well deck I lifted the ply, more mould in the drawers below that. Drawers were stuck solid (when we viewed the boat I took them to be painted shut - doh! Learning experience) they were MDF, and had expanded to fill their holes completely... Quickly after this I was screwing and sawing and using my trusty adjustable spanner (hammer) to get as far in to the mess as I could and see what was going on. When I reached what was left of the floor beneath it all I found water, bubbling up between the pieces of composite board that weren't turned to soil. We removed enough scrap wood (soil) to completely fill the back of my estate car (and weigh heavily on it's suspension) and we pumped about 15 bucket loads of water out of them there bilges. Along the way I was of course hunting for the source of the water. It didn't seem to be in the bathroom or kitchen (from surface looking at least, and all pipe work was reasonably easy to view, either running exposed or at the back of kitchen cupboards. I couldn't see right behind the bath, but it looked dry at least... Chief culprit seemed likely to be the water tank, which runs across the boat immediately forward of the engine (it's a trad stern, which had a fixed crossbed, and no access to the engine room) But, upon excavation nothing seemed to be leaking from the water tank either. However, I removed some of the panels in the wall between what was the bedroom (now closer resembles a green house, with hydroponic system in place on the floor) and the engine bay, to try and get to the back of the water tank, I found myself looking straight down at the engine. I had expected (mostly from reading on this forum) to find a metal bulkhead separating the engine and cabin bilges, which I had assumed to be 2' or 3' high (probably running up to the forward end of the floor boards which are places over the engine....) However, what I found was a 20cm lip, forming the edge of the engine oil drip tray (and the same height as the steel forming this tray on the other three sides of the engine, and running off to each side of the boat. So, I think I found where the water was coming in. The boat has a manually switched bilge pump in the engine bay, and the survey suggested that the stern gland is not in top condition. The previous owners were less than responsible, and he actually admitted to me that he only started the engine once in the four years they owned the boat - given this, I doubt they pumped out the bilges, or even checked them, very often if at all. Now, I am not just writing all of this to relay my tale to you all, (though that is part of the reason, and I hope you are enjoying it), I would like some advice on how best to proceed. Current situation: Floor completely removed for about 10' forward of engine bay "bulkhead". All floor that I have now reached is good - I am unable to proceed just digging with an adjustable spanner, proper tools like a saw will be required to go further. There is a logical stop point on the far side of the bathroom, about 3' further along the boat, I will cut floor to here, and hopefully find everything forward of this point is OK. Floor in living area has decent wood laminate on top. I do not want to remove this if I don't have to. Floor in kitchen has a kitchen on top. As above don't want to remove if I don't have to. One section below sofa in living area allows for inspection to under floor level (not bilges) and reveals no sign of rot. I will cut or drill here to gain access to bilge to aid with assessment. I may be able to gain access to bilge in small locker below the well deck. All the bilges that I have opened so far (in the aft end of the boat) were full of water. They are unsurprisingly very dirty and rusty. I intend to clean, rust treat (owatrol?) and paint, before applying new floor (marine ply?) with insulation and damp membrane. With my current course of action I wont be able to access the bilges forward of the bathroom (middle of boat). While I am fairly confident that the floor here is OK, the bilges will have been wet, and there will almost certainly be rust going on... I am in the process of sourcing a dehumidifier I can take with me back to the boat on Wednesday. I will be on board full time working on this (and hopefully get as far as fitting some sort of bed!) for a week and a half following. What I'd like to know: Best way to clean back rust. Best way treat the steel. Which paint to use in the bilges. How far should I go? How to insulate under the floor. What about a damp proof membrane? What about best construction methods? - batten on top of steel 'rib'? Glue/self tapped? I know there have been posts before, but I just hunted around and couldn't find much which covered most of the above, please feel free to point me to other threads, or just tell me what keywords you think I should be searching. Many thanks! BTW: The irony of my boats name has not escaped me.

We have installed 500W of solar (with another 250W panel to be fitted). We have an MPPT charge controller (MorningStar TS-60) and these sunny days, it takes no time to fill our batteries, especially as our fridge is out of action. I'm wondering if there's a straightforward (inexpensive) way to divert the excess power to our immersion heater to heat the water tank? I think it's a 1kw immersion heater. We have a 1kw inverter also. I guess a more low powered immersion heater would be needed?

I'm currently fitting out a 64ft narrowboat and have reached the point of fitting out the plumbing. I'm concentrating on the fresh water system, of which im adopting a very similar (if not identical) structure to C-Warm's schematic drawing...(see image link below) http://www.tnorrismarine.co.uk/images/cal1.JPG This system on paper looks pretty straight forward to me, I've sourced most of the parts yet connecting them together is a mystery to me. I'll be using push fit Hep2O which is relatively basic to fit, my concern lies more with installing the main components like the calorifier, water pump, accumulator tank, shower, valves etc... Has anyone installed a fresh water system and can guide me in the right direction? P.s - I'm very new to boating and unfamiliar with plumbing 'know how', hence theoretic or jargon related advice won't really help me, im much more apt at learning in a practical and visual method, I would be truly grateful if you could cater to that medium of information, regardless any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

My water pump often takes ages to pump water through., i have checked the system for leaks, added a compression tank and still the problem persists. there is no way to adjust the pressure on the pump. the pump is not that old and the problem has been going on pretty much since i first installed it. Do you think i just have a faulty pump or i need a hight power pump?

Earlier this year we had a new (steel) cabin built, but we decided not to go for a new built in stainless water tank at the same time (we probably should have done, but hindsight and all that...). Now we find ourselves in need of a water tank that will fit through the door or a hatch (both limited by the opening in the steel. So I've been scratching my head trying to find something that we can get into the boat as well as ftting under the front deck, and hit upon what I hope will be the perfect solution: A loft water tank. These are designed to fit through a loft hatch and this one is the largest I can find that will fit through the door as well af fitting nicely under the front deck. the plan is to use two tanks (probably with separate fillers) that will be plumbed together to provide one "reservoir" of water that the pump can provide pressurised water from. I'm aware I'll need additional pipe joins and therefore more potential leak points but I should only need to add one T to join the two tanks to provide one feed to the pump and one additional filler (though this might not be required). Is this type of tank a feasable option for a narrowboat and are there any major pitfalls with a double-tank configuration that I might not have thought of? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, Am wondering if anyone knows of any mooring spots around the Waltham Abbey area on the Lee that have road access please? Need to refit our electrics and find an accessible point where we'll be able to stay for a while on a winter mooring. Ideally need to be near a water point but can probably work around this. Thanks! Emma

Hi, We have a water tank which holds 550 litres. Having had a water gauge that initially did not work properly, we just kept it topped up. Guy came Thursday last week and recalibrated the gauge. It was filled to the brim on Thursday, didn't use any water on Friday or most of Saturday, then used as normal (4 washing machine lots, 5 showers(although we are not standing for ages in shower) and usual tea and cooking usage. the gauge showed empty yesterday and we did not believe it and have called the guy back The tank has just run empty. It may be that we are underestimating just how much water we do use. We have no leaks. Either we are using much more than we thought or the tank is not as big as we have been led to believe. Surely we cant use 550 litres in 3.5 days. any suggestions or advice?

Hi there I have a 40ft narrow boat which I live on. I have owned the boat for 1 month now and the water pressure has always been bad, but recently I drained the water tank accidentally. From then on my water pressure is extremely low, I have tried running the taps for 40 minutes but not much difference. There is another problem, I can't get any hot water. When I turn the hot water tap on the boiler kicks in and stays on for about 5 seconds in till the water pressure has gone low. (At least I think this is why it stops) Can anybody help me on what to do to solve the problem. Thank you.

HI, I'm trying to work out the kilowatt input rating for a paloma water heater. Unfortunately it's out of the boat so I don't have the plate to hand immediately... but... it's one of the 'old looking' ones with the red stripe on the front and paloma in shiny metal. White enamelled. I've found a manual which suggests it might be 635 btu/minute, which I think converts to 11kw. But that sound like rather a lot. Does anyone know what the 'normal' old school boat paloma takes in kw? Trying to work out how many vents I need to install in the re-fit! Cheers, Patrick

Hello, I live on a 45FT narrowboat, and few days ago my domestic water system started to play up. First it just bursted out with water when i opened tap then went on as usual, but since yesterday i keep loosing pressure after running taps for a while, and then i loose all pressure but the pump keeps running. It looks like it can output only certain amount of water then it fails. I have a flojet R4305 - 500 installed, i put some photos of model and arrangement here> https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f5wpaxhxsli0kok/uvBnpvbWbb I was trying to air the system using this trick i have found on anther forum> "Folks should get in the habit of turning off the water pressure and then opening one of the faucets to bleed the air out when they leave the boat to take the pressure off the pump diaphragm, then shut the faucet. When you return, and turn the pressure switch on again, the pump will run for a very short time." ...but it resulted extreme amount of bubbling noise in the system otherwise yielded no results, apart of having water for a while (plus some rust today!) then loosing all pressure again. so now i keep turning of the pump circuits to keep the pump from buzzing forever (it keeps coming back if i turn electricity on). It somehow fixes system for a little while, i have running water, the pump turns itself off when turning taps off(with a kind of odd delay), but then i loose pressure again. Please let me know if you have any idea how to fix it. Thanks Zsolt

Hello everyone, I've bought a 47ft Narrowboat and will be starting to live aboard very shortly. One of the things on the (ever growing!) list that I want to take a look at is the water heating. The boat is relatively young in years (2007) and hot water is coming from a calorifer fed from and heated by the boat engine. This has been working great whilst cruising however on a long term basis, when I'm moored up for a week or two at a time I don't want to keep starting the engine every day just to get a shower in and wash the dishes... I'm not going to have shore power available and having had a look and the option which keeps coming up are gas water heaters (Alde, Morco etc) However I was of the understanding that these could now not be installed under the new guidelines set out in the boat safety certificate? My certificate is due in on October, so I want to look in to an option that'll pass through no prob's... guess theres always a kettle and a bowl! Any advice would be greatly appreciated - and thanks for all the comments and posts on the forum to date, they've been so useful! Cheers, Andy

Hi all Kitchen refit is going well, I am changing my existing kitchen layout from a both sides "walk through" format to an "L" shape on the Port side. At the moment, I have 12v/240v/Gas under the gunnel on the Starboard side and 12v/240v/Water under the gunnel on the Port. Is there any reason why i can't have gas, water and electric all under the same gunnel? i'll leave a 12v and 240v loom under the starboard too. Any advice for doing this? Do the lines need to be isolated from each other? thank you! Jess

I have a grey plastic water tank situated under my front deck. I discovered a very slow leak in a joint in the plastic pipework coming from the pump in that area and that's now completely sorted out. However, I've noticed that the cupboard which houses the tank is still wet. On further investigation I've discovered that there is a small hole right on the top edge of the tank from which water squirts a fine spray when the tank is filled/full. Obviously I need to fix this PDQ. I can't get to actually see where the leak is coming from but I know roughly where the squirt comes out. I was thinking of using Fernox LX sealant, with perhaps a piece of right angled plastic profile over the area bonded on with the Fernox. Is there a better solution, bearing in mind that this water is used for drinking? I'd also really like a water gauge to see how full the tank is. Any recommendations here would also be very welcome. Many thanks for reading this whether or not you have any solutions!

Hi folks Could you please take a minute to sign our petition.We would like to improve the facilities for all who use the beautiful river Nene. https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/please-help-improve-river-nene-s-facilities?source=facebook-share-button&time=1422959109 Thanks Safe & happy boating The new website is now up and running :- http://www.friendsoftherivernene.co.uk/Articles/About-Us

Hello everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me with a calorifier problem i have. Let me start by saying we bought the boat (1993 50ft widebeam) from a third party who knew nothing about the boat and could only show us it running so this has all been a bit of a learning curve, overcoming problem by problem. The boat has a calorifier fitted approximately 1meter from the engine, but we only seem to have hot water when the engine has been running and the boat moving, and even this is only after 3+ hours. running the engine at idle moored up produces nothing. I have bled the air from the system by running the engine to hot and removing coolant filler cap as well as loosening the fittings for water into the calorifier from engine and return to the engine from calorifier whilst engine was running and hot which revealed there was some air in there. each of these actions were done in turn rather than all at once. coolant is approx 30% antifreeze. Because of the length of time it takes to warm up, I believe the water is heating through thermal conductivity of the water in the system as opposed to circulating round the system. The boat used to have a siren/alarm which screamed out from the instrument panel when the ignition was switched on, which we thought was normal until I had our alternator reconditioned as it wasnt producing any power for the batteries and then the alarm stopped and hasnt been back Additionally, on the instrument panel there is a "charge" "oil" and "water" light. Charge light goes out once engine is on and slight throttle applied as I presume it has now been excited. Oil light is never on, but the water light is always on, ignition on and engine on. there is also a single very thin electicial cable with a female spade elctrical connector on top of the engine, coming from the engine where the water/coolant leaves the engine to flow through the pipe to the calorifier. I have no idea where or what to connect to this cable. Can anyone advise what they think may be the problem or what my next course of action should be before contacting an engineer (and paying dearly for it). I will take photos shortly and try to upload within 24 hours. Could it be the thermostat? circulation pump? faulty electrical connection? Thanks for your help

Watercolour on a piece of A5 watercolour paper. And painted on my boat with a Koi pocket set and waterbrush. Source photo is from The Tillergraph magazine.

I bought a canal boat about six months go, it is a 50ft rose cruiser stern canal boat, ex hire and has been extremely neglected over the years. Previously has been over plated. It has been surveyed and the surveyors are extremely happy with the thickness of the steel. Have had welding done, and have put a lot of love and energy into restoring this boat into a live aboard. Really need some help and advice to help me get to the finish line on this project. Whilst Grinding out and de-rusting my bilges inside the cabin of the boat i exposed two small holes of the old steel. Unfortunately the boat was flooded whilst in dry dock lol, and the hulls must have filled with water and now there is water trapped in-between the plates of steel on both the starboard and port sides plus the bottom. The boat is now on hardstanding, out of water but there is still water coming into the cab. When I jump up and down inside the boat I can hear the water sloshing around. The water has not been in there more than two months, but I am worried this may cause serious problems. Is this is a case of drilling into the gap and extracting the water or worse case scenario over plating again. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thank you in advance, T.

Hi all, For a while I've been toying with the idea of buying a narrowboat to continuously cruise along the London Canals, for a few weeks or so I've been doing a fair bit of research but for some areas I still haven't found the answers I'm looking for so thought I'd turn to you guys to see if you can help me out at all! Apologies in advance if some areas have been discussed already and also, if any of the questions sound silly... I really am a complete newbie to this... 1. As I mention - I'll be CC along the Canals in London, so have been researching what distance as I need to travel each week, obviously don't want to take the mick and want to stay on the right side of Canal and River Trust. However, their website isn't totally clear on how far - all I can see is that in a years licence, 15-20miles is expected, which seems more than fine. But how far is the minimum? Just for an example, say I started in Little Venice and was travelling East, how far would I need to travel to satisfy the Canal and River Trust for say one weekend I didn't want to travel 'that' far? 2. Which brings me on to my next point - as I read, each 14 days would be the time I top up water, which would top up my batteries (as I'm moving) and usually empty the loos out. May seem like a silly question but are these water points at regular intervals? Similarly, to electric points? (if I needed it half way) Also, are loo-emptying-places at regular intervals also? 3. Again, brings me on to my next point of water storage tanks and electricity batteries... my budget is around 25k and aiming for around a 40ft-er trad steel narrowboat so from what I've seen, many don't have a tank or seems quite small. If so, can this be retrofitted and to what cost? I understand becoming more frugal is all part and parcel of it (which I'm excited about) but for say a 10/15minute shower a day - what sort of tank should I be looking at to tide me over for two weeks? However, I guess this would hinge on question number two! In terms of electricity, I don't watch a lot of TV but would like to charge my phone, listen to music, have lights! Where should I even start with what to look for to tide me over 2 weeks again? 4. I guess this question is more to the nitty-gritty when I view but what are the main tips/points you'd recommend to look out for a bad conditioned narrowboat? Is there such a thing? Don't mind buying something that requires a bit of modernisation but in terms of 'behind the scene' stuff, what do I look for when looking at an engine? At the electric board? Heating system? Or should this all be taking care of at survey stage? Anyway, I think that's probably enough for now on my first post. I really would appreciate any tips/answers - no matter how big or small! Really excited to be buying - just need to get my head around it all first!! Speak soon, Nat

Hello Everyone, I have had to resort to a post about this as tonight I feel defeated !! after 2 months of battling with a leak in my engine room, I really thought I had it sussed ! - I have had various things to the calorifier done, including expansion tank fitted and all the joints re done, (plumer was doing some other work did this) - I have reseated the calorifier skin fitting with CT1 as I noticed this wasnt very good, - I then found a small hole near another pipe exit, where a spot of weld was missing and filled this with CT1 , really thought this was it. And yet still I find water, and a fair amount !! Alot of people say check the prop but I really dont think its this and I regularly twist the knob, but I am going to attempt to completely repack this at the weekend. For now I have put a bowl under it., I have taken some photos and even a video to try and show the issue and am desperate for some advice, I had the boat surveyed recently and he said everything was in very good conditon so am dubious to think its the hull itself leaking but starting to feel that way. I did run the eberspecher this morning for hot water and it rained lots today. I have a cratch cover and cannot figure it out ! I wondered if it was coming in through the vents but they dont seem wet ? Any help greatly apreciate, it may stop me going totaly mad. Thanks Martin http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/20160712_202756.jpg http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/20160712_202802.jpg http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/20160712_203654.jpg http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/20160712_203703.jpg http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/IMG_4504.JPG http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/IMG_4505.JPG http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/IMG_4506.JPG http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/IMG_4508.JPG http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/IMG_4509.JPG http://www.martin-price.org/downloads/Engine%20Leaks/IMG_4510.JPG Ps. sorry some of the photos are terrible, just home from work and tried to take the best I could on my phone with a torch, The video is a little better I hope

As some of you may know the wife's foot went through the water pump dividing it nicely in half and causing a splash or two of water to threaten to sink the boat (exageration). Has anyone got any advice for how to change the water pump- turn off the water obviously- turn off the electricity supply (I'm guessing)? I also need to replace the front panel which appears to be leading from the bow onto the stair (where the water pump is). Heeelllpppp...

My regular steel built in water tank has an over flow pipe which snapped when we were doing work. Can I just seal it up or will this cause an issue with pressure in the tank? How would I replace a snapped over flow pipe? This is the only way in getting air into the tank. Thanks!

Hi, I have recently purchased a boat and after moving on have discovered that there is no hot water coming out of the hot tap. The water does get hot just doesnt come out of the hot taps. (Cold tap has water ok) The boat is fitted with a brand new surecal 55ltr vertical calorifier with a drain valve at the bottom and the PRV and Mixer tap at the top. (Fitted by the previous owner but never comissioned) The cold water feed from the pump (at the front of the boat) feeds the taps and shower before reaching the calorifier in the engine bay. It then feeds into the bottom of the calorifier and also has a T-piece off the bottom of the feed that feeds into the mixer valve at the top. I did notice that if I turn the red cap on the TRV to the open position water comes rushing out of the hot tap but stops as soon as I release/close it. Does anyone have any ideas on what the issue might be as I dont want to keep the PRV permanently open just to get hot water. My install appears to mirror the connection instructions from surecal except on my calorifier the PRV is also on the top brass part with the mixer valve. (The bottom appears to just be a water feed inlet and a drain valve) Many thanks in advance. Sarah My Calorifer: Surecal Instructions:

I admit myself confused. I get that an open weed hatch, faulty stern packing, or non functioning bilge pump will flood the engine bay - but why oh why does that sink the boat? The ballast at the bow counteracts the weight of several people standing on the stern so should be enough to counteract the weight of water in the engine bay. Am I missing something? Is the water getting from the engine bay into the main hull somehow and over weighing the whole boat? I thought the engine bay, below deck level, was a separate compartment from the main hull and ballast area. Surely there is more we can do to reduce risk of sinking?! Please can you guys clarify.

We are fitting out a boat so its bare bones and one thing we have the space for and really feel like we would get plenty of use from is a bath. We have a 1000L watertank. I am just trying to get to grips with what the hot water set ups are in boats. We do have a diesel heater which came with the boat which needs to be set up. I dont fully understand it that would need a calorifier to have the water stored in or can have instant hot water. Main thing im worried about is having to have two large calorofiers to fill the bath. I know also theres LPG boilers you can get. perhaps having the bath hot water run off that would be the best option? What sort of set ups do you bath owners have?