What went wrong in 2012

[Naughty Cal]

So we have had the highlights of 2012 but what about the other side of the tale. What didn't quite go to plan in 2012?

 

For us one leg of one trip stands out. The outbound tidal Trent leg of our Easter trip to Leeds. A bit of river we should know like the back of our hand by now!

 

First problem was when we jumped the wake of a much bigger boat and landed all wrong on the cabin side. The resulting bang convincing us we had holed the boat so we made a swift retreat to the moorings at Gainsborough. After a short inspection no damage done but we did now fancy a swift drink so we set off in search of a pub.

 

One turns into two and we are now behind schedule. No matter we can make the time up along the way!

 

No we can't and we finally run out of water at burton stather mid channel. And here we have plenty of time to review our error as we wait for the tide to lift us off the river bed. Still cheese and crackers with fresh coffee is nice mud river!

 

Eventually we have lift off and we make it to Goole a whole tide late much to the amusement of lockie.

 

 

[Guest]

Worst thing I can think of was losing the domestic alternator while bombing up the Aire approaching Ferrybridge luckily.

 

For some reason the mounting/tension nut seemed to want to undo itself just as we went under the A1(M) bridge

 

Fixed it once we pressed on into an past the flood lock.

 

Oh and our starter battery finally gave up in the summer but luckily we were about 2 mins. walk from our car when it decided to do so.

[Kwacker]

Nothing !!!!!

 

YAAAAAAAAY!!!

 

Happy New Year

[Mrs Trackman]

Too much weather and getting caught on a rising Soar already on red after coming up the Trent on amber. I was scared enough but 2 weeks later a boat was stuck on the weir after trying to wind in fast flowing water. That was in June, our 'summer'

[alan_fincher]

We had a less than auspicious "final parade" at the Braunston show with "Sickle", where the gear linkages decided to become "unstuck" just after we set off, and were heading towards the back end of "Raymond".

 

Fortunately Mike the Boilerman and "Reginald" retrieved us, and Uncle Richard was on hand to take the bits away to "glue" back together - it could have been worse, and "Raymond" has retained that unique back end shape!

 

 

I could also mention getting "Sickle" across the top of one of the very fast flowing weirs on the by-washes down the Audlem flight - but I won't to avoid embarrassment!

[DeanS]

Worst thing I can think of was losing the domestic alternator while bombing up the Aire approaching Ferrybridge luckily.

 

For some reason the mounting/tension nut seemed to want to undo itself just as we went under the A1(M) bridge

 

Fixed it once we pressed on into an past the flood lock.

 

Oh and our starter battery finally gave up in the summer but luckily we were about 2 mins. walk from our car when it decided to do so.

 

Worst part of 2011 for me was FERRYBRIDGE

[Guest]

Worst part of 2011 for me was FERRYBRIDGE

 

Pray tell - the VM's there have always looked OK to me - though actually we have never moored overnight there.

[Caprifool]

No boat yet :-(

[madcat]

Audlem gets everyone Alan,lend you the T shirt.

What went wrong for us,weather,pestilance "still coughing up nuts n bolts" and feelin yuk. Death sadly and illness of family and friends.The passing of Kim,ginger moggy aged 21 due to complications of old age.Mary horse a similar age , pts due to incurable health problem. Its been a horrible year and it started so well with Andy and Andrea doing such a brilliant job of refooting the back half of Halsalls hold. Hope for better things next year.

Caprifool,hope your dreams work out soon . Hugs from madcat

[Plinketyplonk]

Well, I spent £10k on a boat back in May I think & it sank 2 weeks later! It's cost 1000's since (it was 50 miles from my home, had to keep going over to pump it out & had to wait to get a tow to garstang marina to get it lifted out, then paid hard standing fees until I could raise the money to bring it back home by road). However, it's back now, 2 mins from work & now I have a blank canvas to fit out, gotta look on the bright side!

First time I've posted on here even tho I've been reading for a couple of years, I registered a couple of days ago 'cos I figure I'm gonna need some advice soon!

Anyway have a great new year everyone!

[richardf]

Realising that the rebuilt engine I had bought from what I thought was one of the best - turned out to be a bag of crap!

[Plinketyplonk]

Forgot to say, thanks to George on the Lancaster for the tow & all at garstang marina....

[Barnfather]

The weather, plain and simple.

 

On any opportunity to go out it was either raining or blowing a gale. On the times it wasn't, invariably the river was in flood from previous rainfall so we couldn't get out of the marina.

 

I don't think we could stick another 'summer' like this one, as it becomes an expensive toy sitting in the marina if its not getting used, so fingers crossed we will have better weather in 2013 and lots of cruising opportunities!

[Tuscan]

Well, I spent £10k on a boat back in May I think & it sank 2 weeks later! It's cost 1000's since (it was 50 miles from my home, had to keep going over to pump it out & had to wait to get a tow to garstang marina to get it lifted out, then paid hard standing fees until I could raise the money to bring it back home by road). However, it's back now, 2 mins from work & now I have a blank canvas to fit out, gotta look on the bright side!

First time I've posted on here even tho I've been reading for a couple of years, I registered a couple of days ago 'cos I figure I'm gonna need some advice soon!

Anyway have a great new year everyone!

 

 

Welcome , post away

 

 

 

Toss up between going aground firmly before wood end lock , just up from the Swan and having to be towed off by an old ex hire boat to their great amusement. Or getting a block of wood stuck between bottom of prop and Skeg loosing all control and spending a day thinking we'd a broken gearbox as we could feel nothing round prop. 70 year old boater saved day with mooring pin turning shaft forcing wood free.

[dmr]

Our TravelPower went spectacularly wrong but after 10,000 hours of hard use we really can't complain.

However this really is a trivial issue as that good Mr Cox can make them as good as new in exchange for beer tokens (though quite a lot of them).

 

The Trent and Mersey went a bit wrong but can be fixed.

The CaRT elections really went badly wrong with some good boaters from this forum loosing out to a hijacking by the IWA.

Worse of all it looks like our climate might have gone wrong.

I do hope that next year shows this year to be a blip rather than a permanent change.

I suppose from a boaters perspective at least too much rain is much preferable to the prospect of too little rain!

 

..........Dave

[keble]

Boiled battery, requiring replacement of 3 leisure batteries.

Must get round to giving the battery bay a proper clean out!

But I did rewire them the 'Gibbo' way.

[Woodstock]

Have to agree on the weather front- It was our first season with our own boat and we're moored next to a river which seemed to be in almost constant flood!

 

Second was breaking down in a lock on the Wolverhampton 21- which then led to an expensive bill

 

 

Trying to be optimistic- The boat's had a lot of TLC and is (hopefully) in the best condition she's been in for a while- and Next summer will be warm and dry (fingers well and truly crossed)

 

and to cover another post in one go:-

 

My resolution for 2013:- To learn to steer the boat into locks- so I don't have to listen to the other half saying "I want to do locks", one more time

 

 

Happy New year everyone

[Dave_P]

Getting to Standedge Tunnel, only to find that my boat was too big to fit! Had to go back and round the Rochdale to reach Huddersfield.

[Caprifool]

Caprifool,hope your dreams work out soon . Hugs from madcat

 

Aw thanks. I'm working on it and slowly, very slowly.......I'll get there.

[Timleech]

Big hole in the T&M canal.

 

BBC coverage of the Jubilee Pageant,

Michael Buerk feels the same:-

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/dec/30/michael-buerk-bbc-queens-jubilee?INTCMP=SRCH

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/dec/30/michael-buerk-bbc-queens-jubilee?INTCMP=SRCH

 

 

Tim

[Neil TNC]

Mrs TNC decided to re-arrange the stuff in N Bear Nest's bathroom...then knocked the ceramic soap dispenser of the shelf...the dispenser was undamaged, but went clean through the basin.

We have since got a suitable basin of Ebay for 20 quid, the fitting of which was finished today....the soap dispenser now resides back where it belongs...beside the basin

 

As for the final fling of the fitout of Barge Maurice A...I now know a lot more about hydraulic systems...the engine room is never lightly go rusty!

 

After a re-work of the valve chest, the cooler is connected to the dump side of the valve chest

 

 

There was also the case of the rudder shaft getting stiff, once wet (a fault with nylon bottom bearings that also affected some early Piper barges)

It took three blokes, chain pullers and Porto-Power to extract shaft!

 

Edited December 31, 2012 by Neil Arlidge

[ditchcrawler]

Welcome , post away

 

 

 

Toss up between going aground firmly before wood end lock , just up from the Swan and having to be towed off by an old ex hire boat to their great amusement. Or getting a block of wood stuck between bottom of prop and Skeg loosing all control and spending a day thinking we'd a broken gearbox as we could feel nothing round prop. 70 year old boater saved day with mooring pin turning shaft forcing wood free.

I have had that happen twice.

[Timleech]

 

As for the final fling of the fitout of Barge Maurice A...I now know a lot more about hydraulic systems...the engine room is never lightly go rusty!

 

After a re-work of the valve chest, the cooler is connected to the dump side of the valve chest

 

 

There was also the case of the rudder shaft getting stiff, once wet (a fault with nylon bottom bearings that also affected some early Piper barges)

It took three blokes, chain pullers and Porto-Power to extract shaft!

 

 

What do the hydraulics do? That looks a very flimsy cooler to use on any sort of hydraulic system!

 

Nylon does absorb quite a lot of water, given the chance, and swells accordingly. Much better to use something like Vesconite, other suitable materials are available.

 

Tim

[Beo]

Our much adored dog died at Hawkesbury junction during our Easter trip.

[Neil TNC]

What do the hydraulics do? That looks a very flimsy cooler to use on any sort of hydraulic system!

 

Nylon does absorb quite a lot of water, given the chance, and swells accordingly. Much better to use something like Vesconite, other suitable materials are available.

 

Tim

 

The hydraulics just do the (Lewmar 185TT 10hp) bowthruster. Owing to the bowthruster being right in the pointy end of a fairly nice under water shaped barge I wanted to limit the tube size to 185mm, as any larger tube would have required some scaloping of the trailing edge of the tube. We need a bowthruster of around 10hp, Lewmar did the biggest that would fit a 185mm tube.

The system was a disaster from the start as it was not all sourced from one point and Mitch the fitter "disapeared"* just as the fitout of MA commemced. Beta supplied the pump "for a lewmar 185TT hydraulic bowthruster" and Aquafax supplied the thruster and tank assembly. This is when I (of no hydraulic experience) picked up "leading" the fitout. The oversize pump and valve assembly were at least compatible (constantly recirulating type) but had to have uprated size hoses (1" draw, 3/4" pressure to valve block) Once this was done the system worked OK (out of the water). The tank was getting too hot to my mind (probably within operating temp, but in a rather busy engine room, with genny and boiler), so decided to try a redundant gearbox cooler which was lying about the workshop. This would not work on the draw side, as it had ports that were too small. The mistake was fitting it on the pressure side, out of the water this worked fine

 

After the quickly aborted in the water explo-trial I bypassed the cooler and trialed the system without the cooler. It worked fine, infact with the large pump, full thrusting is available at tickover (rather where you need it and where a lot of hydfraulic systems fail to deliver.)

 

Subsequent reserch showed that the cooler should be after the valve block, before the oil is returned to the tank, through the filter.

On my tank the valve block was connected straight to the filter, but a bit of insitu modification enabled me to split this connection, and by turning the filter through 180 degrees, a 300bar Bowman cooler from ASAP has now been fitted to these points and works fine.

Shows the tank before modification

 

"disapeared"*

If you think the hydraulic system was a distaster on MA, you should have witnessed it being fitted to the sister barge...probably the reason Mitch "disapeared"!

 

You are quite right about the nylon bearings, Grahan at Riversdale says they are not actually nylon, but either not up to scratch, or more probably, (seeing as the botton pot bearing is still OK) the intermediate bearing was banged up into the tube, where there could have been distortion, due to welding. I did not trust the top "nylon" bearing as there is rather a lot of torque applied by the large ram, so this has been modified by turning the arm "upside down" and fitting a proper 45mm bearing underneath

 

Before

 

After (yes I know my kindling supply is in the way!)