Bad day

[bigcol]

Today left Willowbridge Marina to spend a few nights ar Mk Marina,as I have tests at Mk hospital over the next 3 days.

 

Thought I take the boat out and give my new Beta a spin.

 

But the journey Was a night mare due to rope, which I cleared, ,grounding twice,hitting underwater objects,and then again the prop picking up a sleeping bag,quilt

Here I was, donning my wet suit getting in, only to find getting in the water level at the tow path only came up to my knees!,

 

As soon as I got direct behind the rudder,the level was only to my waist. (I'm 6th 1)

 

It was so difficult to cut it all away,the immersion suit kept me warm but wad in there for over 2 hrs,

Swallowing water,found the whole process hard and so tiring.

Using a saw,knife and only being able to work by feel,as the suit was so boyent I felt so demoralised.

 

As I'm there 3 kids with their dad was throwing crap of the bridge in the canal!!!

 

Their dad was doing nothing!,

 

Once I got forward drive, and having all this quilt come sleeping bag on board, it was he'll getting of what was only 2ft of water back into the middle.

 

How often are the canals checked and cleared

Why is it so shallow on the tow path side that you can't moor up

Do riverside rescue clear props if you become a member

How difficult is it to install a weed hatch,or how much roughly are we talking about to get it done

Can a cage surrounding the prop work?

 

Can I have a brandy ?

 

Just feel so down at the mo. All the best. Colin

Ps

And if you were walking the canal in Mk with your low life offspring looking on as they threw, the bread baskets and and bricks in,I wish you lots of crap days, and wish you get caught,and your kids grow up to make your life as misrable as they get away with due to your lack of teaching them right from wrong

[DeanS]

Tomorrow is another day At least you dont have the 2 drunk yobs in deep debate outside your boat swearing, as we do at the moment.

[n.b.Goldie]

Sorry you have had a bad day, sometimes its just the luck of the draw.

 

The MK IWA do their best to clear the canal through Milton Keynes of rubbish. They are all volunteers and will welcome all willing hands so get in touch if you would like to take some positive action.

 

Hope your tests go o.k.

 

All the best

Ditchdabbler

[muddywaters]

Firstly hope the tests go well.

Secondly sorry you had such a bad day, but one way to lok at it is the bad stuffs out the way so things can only get better.

Oh and if it's any consolation, I had the day from hell at work lol

[headjog]

There there Colin, go on - have a brandy, have two, better still have one for me as well. Then instead of feeling that you're getting lost in the shuffle, you can shuffle along with the lost - that's the rest of us

 

You got one thing right though,'Never get into fights with ugly people - they have nothing to lose'

 

(good luck with the tests too)

[BelgiumBrit]

Well, at least through great perseverance, you solved the problem.

 

Curious ....how many nb owners have 'wet suits' ? What did you wear on your feet ?

 

Anyway, yoblets are the product of a 'lost generation' , their parents were never taught respect for others, and so, not surprisingly their children don't either ! sad , but TRUE !

[eightpot]

I'm currently returning from an attempted trip to Braunston which I never got to due to a broken driveplate which let go about 100 yards from Milton Keynes Marina. A night on the towpath close to the burnt out office block ("don't worry - that burned down 2 years ago...") ensued while I waited for the engineer to turn up the next morning.

 

Still, it was heartening to see the television I saw on the way out bobbing about in the water on the return journey today.

 

But the memory I'll cherish the most of Milton Keynes was the darling children fishing on the offside. Well I say "fishing", if casting a lead weight at a Canada Goose in the hope of hitting said fowl counts as fishing...

[bigcol]

Well, at least through great perseverance, you solved the problem.

 

Curious ....how many nb owners have 'wet suits' ? What did you wear on your feet ?

 

Anyway, yoblets are the product of a 'lost generation' , their parents were never taught respect for others, and so, not surprisingly their children don't either ! sad , but TRUE !

 

 

Hi thank you for the replys

 

Sorry I called it a wet suit,but it it is a crew saver immersion suit,like a dry suit,but all in one comes all in gloves and feet all in the suit

Got it from eBay only last week!!,thought it be a good buy,as I haven't got a weed hatch,it did work well kept me dry and warm,very thick neoprene

The only trouble is it's very boyent,but yes it got me out of trouble,

Didn't think I would be using it in the first week though

 

I've had more than the one brandy, yes it's been a real crap day,but maybe as you kind folks who replied already,it can only get better??

 

The suit is bright red!!',wife says she would have prefered me in black!! Lol

 

Col

[Caprifool]

I think you did a good job and diserved those brandys.

[koukouvagia]

That's odd, I've lost all the pictures I've just posted!

Be back soon when I've sorted it out.

 

As I was saying...

It's pretty easy to make a weedhatch. I decided, like you, that I'd had enough trying to get rubbish off the blade in icy cold water. Nine times out of ten you can use the shaft - it's the tenth time that does for you.

 

It took me about a day to cut the hole in the uxter plate and the back deck and fabricate the side walls, the rim and the lid a friend then welded it all up for me.So that should give you some idea how much labour was involved.

 

The space under the counter is deep enough for me to lift the lid by leaning in through the space above the back step. If I had to gain access from the top, I'd have to unscrew the boards on the back deck.. This has never been necessary, however.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2011 by koukouvagia

[bigcol]

Thanks all, really appreciated

Great pics!!

Koukovagia !! Well that's the next job ,your pics have Shown me the light!!,although my boat has a rounded bum being Dutch, but I imagine the box can be the same,

It's going to happen when we get back to Willowbridge. I'm not looking forward to going back,it's only 5 miles, but 5 miles of thinking were going either ground or pick up rubbish.

Have the boat lifted out and get it sorted!! As you said, to keep going in or for me not being cofindent enough to use the boat is not a option.

 

I'm not that well, due to operations, and the dreaded chemotherapy, I'm 51 but feel like 90'and hardly any strength

But the funny thing is being forced to act and do something yesterday, when i was sitting down thinking ( with the brandies) reading replys, I felt good, a sense of achievment,of what I had had to do.

 

Thanking you all

 

Colin

[bigcol]

Thank you all for your best wishes,

 

Left Mk Marina, and was crapping my self that it all might happen again.

 

Going really slow, taking the engine out of gear under bridges, it started to really pee down, loads of rain! but we were really begining to enjoy our selves fantastic scenery, and a lot of wide life

 

Just before fenny lock, engine stalled, poled the boat as Close to the side as we could get, but this time rang the son in law, whom put on the immersion suit, he also brought

a PAD SAW KNIFE, which after going in found a xxl thick yellow workmens coat.

 

The pad saw knife rely worked well, these are used in building trade to cut plaster board.

 

Anyway am I just being unlucky?

 

Anyone that knows me, or has looked at my blog,will see that I have a dutch steel crusier, being very narrow at the water line to 9ft beam at its widest x 50 ft in lenght and although the draft is 30 inches re the rudder and Skegness, maybe while looking at the possibility of weed hatch,maybe I should be seeing if I can change the size of prop from I think is 19 inch at the mo to a smaller prop,this means I be able to raise the Skeg reducing the draft of the boat.

Reducing my draft?

I'm thinking now that my Skeg,which does not support the rudder,( the rudder is a hanging one,)

I'm thinking the Skeg is just picking things up from the bottom and introducing said crap to the prop

We've spent a lot of time on the boat,many man hours making it a home,and on our first trip out ,and giving our new engine a run,I ve had to go in twice.

I've taken the ballast of the back

So can I reduce the size of prop,I'm not sure that this one is ideal anyway!! It came with a old 60hp and was used on the Dutch coast ( re clearance between boat and Skeg) if I can run a 15inch this will with a bit of modification save me 4 /5 inches of draft

Seems to be a lot of revs for not much speed,saying that not that bothered with speed,but only operating the boat on tick over just in case we hit bottom

 

Also the surveyed pointed out I have a very large rudder. 65x 65 cm maybe I can reduce the rudder size

 

Install a weed hatch if pos

 

Or give up,

 

Or maybe lighting won't strike 3 times!!

Edited July 17, 2011 by bigcol

[nb Innisfree]

Thank you all for your best wishes,

 

Left Mk Marina, and was crapping my self that it all might happen again.

 

Going really slow, taking the engine out of gear under bridges, it started to really pee down, loads of rain! but we were really begining to enjoy our selves fantastic scenery, and a lot of wide life

 

Just before fenny lock, engine stalled, poled the boat as Close to the side as we could get, but this time rang the son in law, whom put on the immersion suit, he also brought

a PAD SAW KNIFE, which after going in found a xxl thick yellow workmens coat.

 

The pad saw knife rely worked well, these are used in building trade to cut plaster board.

 

Anyway am I just being unlucky?

 

Anyone that knows me, or has looked at my blog,will see that I have a dutch steel crusier, being very narrow at the water line to 9ft beam at its widest x 50 ft in lenght and although the draft is 30 inches re the rudder and Skegness, maybe while looking at the possibility of weed hatch,maybe I should be seeing if I can change the size of prop from I think is 19 inch at the mo to a smaller prop,this means I be able to raise the Skeg reducing the draft of the boat.

Reducing my draft?

I'm thinking now that my Skeg,which does not support the rudder,( the rudder is a hanging one,)

I'm thinking the Skeg is just picking things up from the bottom and introducing said crap to the prop

We've spent a lot of time on the boat,many man hours making it a home,and on our first trip out ,and giving our new engine a run,I ve had to go in twice.

I've taken the ballast of the back

So can I reduce the size of prop,I'm not sure that this one is ideal anyway!! It came with a old 60hp and was used on the Dutch coast ( re clearance between boat and Skeg) if I can run a 15inch this will with a bit of modification save me 4 /5 inches of draft

Seems to be a lot of revs for not much speed,saying that not that bothered with speed,but only operating the boat on tick over just in case we hit bottom

 

Also the surveyed pointed out I have a very large rudder. 65x 65 cm maybe I can reduce the rudder size

 

Install a weed hatch if pos

 

Or give up,

 

Or maybe lighting won't strike 3 times!!

 

I think your priority is first to install a weedhatch then see if you have a problem with attracting rubbish, try to make the hatch as large as possible, it's one prob solved by having WH but another prob if it's tight too work in.

[soldthehouse]

Hi thank you for the replys

 

Sorry I called it a wet suit,but it it is a crew saver immersion suit,like a dry suit,but all in one comes all in gloves and feet all in the suit

Got it from eBay only last week!!,thought it be a good buy,as I haven't got a weed hatch,it did work well kept me dry and warm,very thick neoprene

The only trouble is it's very boyent,but yes it got me out of trouble,

Didn't think I would be using it in the first week though

 

I've had more than the one brandy, yes it's been a real crap day,but maybe as you kind folks who replied already,it can only get better??

 

The suit is bright red!!',wife says she would have prefered me in black!! Lol

 

Col

I see you have a wife and you went in the water yourself. Ive spent thirty one years of marriage and a few years prior to that training my wife in all things menial and helpful in emergencies. She allows me to offer constructive criticism at various times during emergencies and this helps her to constantly improve to such an extent that I feel confident allowing her to do the simplest of tasks

 

PS good luck with the tests

Edited July 17, 2011 by soldthehouse

[bigcol]

Looking at pic, I would imagine that the bottom of WH will have to be kept square, as I have a rounded bottom lol

 

Innisfree take your point on getting a large WH,have been looking at some here,and owners wishing they were bigger.

 

I'm just wondering ,the existing prop is about a inch from bottom of boat,so the weed hatch inside will have to be quite tall to make sure over waterline

 

Whats the norm,or how tall is your weed hatch inside, as imagine the taller inside, the more difficult to clear prop

 

Col

[blackrose]

I'm not that well, due to operations, and the dreaded chemotherapy, I'm 51 but feel like 90'and hardly any strength

But the funny thing is being forced to act and do something yesterday, when i was sitting down thinking ( with the brandies) reading replys, I felt good, a sense of achievment,of what I had had to do.

 

Thanking you all

 

Colin

 

Doing what you've been doing when you're not well is no fun at all. I'm sorry if this advice sounds obvious but stick to the middle of the canal on the way back and only veer to the right if there's a boat coming the other way. If you see floating rubbish take the engine out of gear and use the boat's momentum to take you through it. If you need some steering engage forward gear for a couple of seconds and take it out of gear again as soon as you can. The less your prop spins in rubbish the less rubbish it will pick up. To reduce the potential of fouling your prop as you pull into the towpath put the bow in first, bring the stern in but take it out of gear well before the stern comes in.

 

Of course you may have alreay been doing all these things - apologies if I've been teaching my granny to suck eggs.

 

I haven't read all the post on this thread, but why doesn't your boat have a weedhatch? Is it a narrowboat? The big Thames passenger boats I work on don't have weedhatches and recently some skippers have been getting bollockings for fouling their props in lock cuttings because the river levels are a bit low (too much unnecessary revving according to the boss). The boats are big ugly square things with virtually flat bottoms and I wondered why they weren't built with weedhatches? I think it's probably something to do with MCA regulations which passenger boats come under. Most Dutch barges and new build Dutch style barges don't have weedhatches either. I guess it's really a canal thing, but when you do foul your prop a weedhatch is invaluable.

Edited July 17, 2011 by blackrose

[bottle]

 

Big Col's boat.pinched from his blog. Hope you do not mind Col

 

As he posted the skeg is not connected to the rudder (designed that way)

[blackrose]

 

Big Col's boat.pinched from his blog. Hope you do not mind Col

 

As he posted the skeg is not connected to the rudder (designed that way)

 

Nice looking boat. I suspect it's deeper draughted than many narrow boats which is probably why he's having this problem. The prop is also the lowest part of the boat apart from that skeg which also doesn't help in terms of rubbish acquisition.

 

I wonder how difficult it is to install a weedhatch on a sloping counter/uxter plate? I mean they don't generally install weedhatches on new build barges. I know that many don't venture onto canals, but some do and wherever you cruise access to your prop is a great benefit. I would imagine that the height of any hatch would have to be extended on a steeply sloping counter and that might make getting one's arms through to reach the prop more difficult?

Edited July 17, 2011 by blackrose

[Steilsteven]

Doing what you've been doing when you're not well is no fun at all. I'm sorry if this advice sounds obvious but stick to the middle of the canal on the way back and only veer to the right if there's a boat coming the other way. If you see floating rubbish take the engine out of gear and use the boat's momentum to take you through it. If you need some steering engage forward gear for a couple of seconds and take it out of gear again as soon as you can. The less your prop spins in rubbish the less rubbish it will pick up. To reduce the potential of fouling your prop as you pull into the towpath put the bow in first, bring the stern in but take it out of gear well before the stern comes in.

 

Of course you may have alreay been doing all these things - apologies if I've been teaching my granny to suck eggs.

 

I haven't read all the post on this thread, but why doesn't your boat have a weedhatch? Is it a narrowboat? The big Thames passenger boats I work on don't have weedhatches and recently some skippers have been getting bollockings for fouling their props in lock cuttings because the river levels are a bit low (too much unnecessary revving according to the boss). The boats are big ugly square things with virtually flat bottoms and I wondered why they weren't built with weedhatches? I think it's probably something to do with MCA regulations which passenger boats come under. Most Dutch barges and new build Dutch style barges don't have weedhatches either. I guess it's really a canal thing, but when you do foul your prop a weedhatch is invaluable.

 

 

Dutch barges don't have weed hatches because they're ex cargo vessels. In their working days, when loaded, the distance from the prop shaft to the water line would have been 1 metre or more. Also, the hull shape doesn't help with many as it's often steeply raked.

I may be wrong but weed hatches seem to be a fairly modern inovation aimed at pleasure craft, narrow boats in particullar.

 

Looking at the out of water photos of Col's boat, it looks as if it could be possible to fit a weed hatch but that would depend on how deep she sits in the water to be practical. Col, your skeg does carry the rudder, so changing the prop won't help reduce the draft. Anyway the sizing of props is quite a science and I'd suggest you get proffesional advice before spending a lot of money.

 

The main reason why your boat pickes up rubbish, apart from it being there in the first place, is that Dutch motorschips have very efficient hulls which allow maximum draw of water to the prop for the size and type of vessel. Petra also has an anti cavitation shroud over the prop which tends to have the effect of a vacuum cleaner. I'm intending to fit a Prop Protector sometime soon, you might consider doing the same.

I don't expect it to solve the problem completely, as it wouldn't have prevented picking up an interior sprung mattress as happened at Bath some years back, but it would help with ropes etc.

 

Keith

 

 

Big Col's boat.pinched from his blog. Hope you do not mind Col

 

As he posted the skeg is not connected to the rudder (designed that way)

 

Having looked again, I see that's right but the skeg does extend almost to the rudder. If Col were to remove this it would leave both prop and rudder very vulnerable.

 

Keith

[bigcol]

I've been wanting to post some pics lol

 

A big thank you to Keith. Nb Oakfield for posting the exact pics I would have posted re the Skeg rudder and prop. ( only I couldn't sus how to do it)

 

As per the picture, with all the welding work I had done, the welder extend the Skeg to ofer some protection to the rudder as well. So before Skeg only protected the prop

 

Apart from a weed hatch, I'm going to speak to beta re the prop, and if they say I can get a smaller one, what I'm asking is if I reduced the size od the rudder, which is massive!, changing the prop for slightly smaller, and cutting back the Skeg still protecting prop,even carrying on to rudder and having a cup supporting the rudder. Is this possible?

I'm not suggesting taking the Skeg away but hopefully highering it to come up to protect smaller prop, and may be a 45 cm x 65 rudder' any thoughts?

 

I'm thinking it Might it save me 4/5 inches of draft

 

Big thank you to oak field Keith and Steilsteven Keith for studying the pics ,and BLACKROSE understanding my question re the height of the weed hatch which could be a problem inside

When I bought the boat, aaI was told it sat high and was only a 2 ft drive, but when I bought it it was a empty hulk, so it might have done by I had to add some ballast ?? Although the max draft I've measure is 30 inches at the Skeg

 

My wife and I will persevere with our boat, we've seen it born again, it's our home, all the worries I had with air draft, turns out it's the depth.

 

Any help or suggestions will be gratefully received

 

Saying that as folks say, it may never happen again, but must have a weed hatch or reduce the amount of draft

 

edited for spelling again

Again thank you

 

Col

Edited July 17, 2011 by bigcol

[~ HD ~]

just wanted to say ..

that is .. one good looking boat! .. :-)

( first time i've seen a pic of it .. )