Poor Maintenance Hire Boat experience - any views?

[MtB]

1 minute ago, LadyG said:

But they don't all know anything about boats. I asked a boater yesterday if I could help (down engine hole).

Wife asked the boss who said the drive belt was loose?

Anyway, obviously sorted. I'm not sure I've even got one, and certainly don't carry a spare!

 

Yes but you're not in the 'seasoned, hands-on boater' category are you? 

 

And you do have one by the way, on your engine.

 

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

7 minutes ago, LadyG said:

But they don't all know anything about boats. I asked a boater yesterday if I could help (down engine hole).

Wife asked the boss who said the drive belt was loose?

Anyway, obviously sorted. I'm not sure I've even got one, and certainly don't carry a spare!

 

Apart for the odd exceptionally rare boat, the drive belt is probably what you call a fan belt or alternator belt. And you would be well advised to carry a spare plus a spare control cable (the longest one). That w y, when one beaks, you will not be paying for someone to go and find one. You could even fit it yourself.

[LadyG]

3 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Yes but you're not in the 'seasoned, hands-on boater' category are you? 

 

And you do have one by the way, on your engine.

 

 

 

My engine drives the propshaft via the gearbox.

There is a belt, I have a spare, it's for the alternator, and presumably the water pump which cools the engine.

I change the oil, and check coolant, also look in the engine hole for anything unusual.

I pay for someone to do an annual "service", every yard does something different.

I expect the engine to see me out.

No smoke, no oil usage between changes.

[MtB]

9 minutes ago, LadyG said:

My engine drives the propshaft via the gearbox.

There is a belt, I have a spare, it's for the alternator, and presumably the water pump which cools the engine.

I change the oil, and check coolant, also look in the engine hole for anything unusual.

I pay for someone to do an annual "service", every yard does something different.

I expect the engine to see me out.

No smoke, no oil usage between changes.

 

 

I'm beginning to think you haven't read the thread. Again! 

 

 

[LadyG]

Free

10 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Apart for the odd exceptionally rare boat, the drive belt is probably what you call a fan belt or alternator belt. And you would be well advised to carry a spare plus a spare control cable (the longest one). That w y, when one beaks, you will not be paying for someone to go and find one. You could even fit it yourself.

I did have a very stiff morse single lever and asked for mechanic to replace, apparently it's heavy duty and just needed the right kind of grease. Mechanic did not leave the spare cable, he said it would not be easy to fit, presumably by me!!!

[Tony Brooks]

19 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Free

I did have a very stiff morse single lever and asked for mechanic to replace, apparently it's heavy duty and just needed the right kind of grease. Mechanic did not leave the spare cable, he said it would not be easy to fit, presumably by me!!!

 

Without seeing the boat one can never be sure, but on the narrowboats I have seen and dealt with, control cables are not normally difficult to fit. I suppose on a trad where the control is effectively inside the boat, one may come across some horrible fit out that prevents access.

 

Normally removes any clamps holding the cable to the boat. If possible the cable should not be clamped tight along its length, it needs to flex a bit as you use it.

 

Then disconnect the ends and unclamp the outer.

 

Take the trunnion the is almost certainly on the control end and half unscrew it.

 

Screw the new cable into the trunnion and use the old cable as a guide/pull through.

 

Gear cables adjust for length with the gearbox and control in the neutral position, while the speed cable is adjusted with the control in slow ahead/astern  and the engine lever on idle.

 

Stiff controls are normally caused by mall adjustment, old age and incipient failure, or not being allowed to flex along their length.

 

There may be a "special" grease sold by the control maker, but I don't think it is special at all, apart from the price. In my view, nearly any grease would do, but I would use a molybdenum grease because the molybdenum would still be offering some lubrication when the grease had hardened.I think you found yet another boge it and run merchant. I also don't think any control using the usual 33C cables is particularly heavy duty. The heavy-duty ones use much thicker cables. Some are better quality than others, but heavy-duty, I think not.

 

Edited to add: the cables are not greased because they run in a nylon sheath.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Tony Brooks

[Tonka]

2 hours ago, MtB said:

 

All of your list, I reckon. 

 

But 1) in particular. It seems the vee belt had come off and was lying in the bilge. Pretty much any seasoned boater would have sussed this in an instant and found the vee belt, and probably levered it back on.

 

Boating is very much a 'hands on' thing. Being resourceful and inventive to overcome a massive spectrum of minor obstacles is all part of the enjoyment of boating for me. If this sort of thing wrecks a holiday for the OP, then mebbe boating isn't for them. 

 

 

If the belt was not on why was the ignition horn not sounding

[Tony Brooks]

2 minutes ago, Tonka said:

If the belt was not on why was the ignition horn not sounding

 

Because it had failed or did not have one, possibly. If the diode pack that allows one sounder to monitor multiple senders fails, it is often easier to just do away with it and rely upon the lights.

[system 4-50]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

Hire Boating is very much a 'hang on' thing. Being resourceless with invective to become a massive spectrum of major obstacles is all part of the enjoyment of boating for them. If this sort of thing wrecks a holiday for somebody else then mebbe boating isn't for them. 

tittivated that for you. 🙂

[MtB]

30 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

Hire Boating is very much a 'hang on' thing. Being resourceless with invective to become a massive spectrum of major obstacles is all part of the enjoyment of boating for them. If this sort of thing wrecks a holiday for somebody else then mebbe boating isn't for them.

 

Just to correct the record, these are the words of system 4-50 not mine.

 

 

[Ceres Two]

On 03/09/2023 at 11:16, Paul C said:

IMHO not normal to have repeated breakdowns and missed/misdiagnosis - normally the engineers with hire boat firms are spot-on.

 

It IS normal to send boats out with faults, then "let them" break down, then travel and do the repair during the week. There simply isn't enough time to do proper repairs on a turnaround day. Sometimes the boat might not be booked out for a week or so, and then it MIGHT get looked at and any known issues addressed, or preventative maintenance done.

 

As with all things in life, there's good and bad hire boat firms - let me guess, you didn't pay that much for the holiday and chose based on price?

A very belated thank you to all those who replied  with their hire experiences, clearly there are very varied views as one might expect. We hired for the first time to check out an area we had never cruised and which would have taken many weeks to get to and from.

It was interesting to post for the first time on here and receive such a wide range of responses, those who responded to the question posed, those who offered views on our personal characters, boat fault diagnoses etc etc. and those wanting us to name the service provider. I have since read more posts on here and can see the patterns !   In response I would say this.....

The hire company was  chosen on location not price, but I will work even harder to  check out the company before booking.

I should have looked more carefully at the engine and ancillaries, heating and water pipes etc on taking the boat - perhaps the fridge door shelf falling off when first opened as we stowed food should have been a warning!

We have owned, crewed and restored canal boats for almost sixty years, one of which is now at the Black Country museum; crewed the Endeavour...built or repaired more vessels than I can remember having set up our engineering company at 16yrs of age, and raced all over the world....but guess what - We didn't take tool kit or spares on our hire boat.  Duh! More valuable learning!

We were later told the low voltage light was "faulty" and "the inverter needs switching off and on each time" it started flickering.

The engineer firmly declined when I offered to bin the perished belt and hose. I had already taken photos before he arrived.

The engineer asked for the breadknife off the boat to cut the hose, commenting that they were great for cutting hose and getting really tough bags  off the prop. He hadn't brought a knife. 

The request over the phone to remove the coolant cap on an overheated engine was dangerous. I refused for obvious reasons but drafted a full report for the hire company in whom I now have no faith. 

Thank you for all the helpful comments.