Hungry critters

Looks like the local wildlife have taken a shine to my paper licence ticket - will have to laminate them or I will be breaking the terms of my cart agreement.

Top up anti freeze

Went to the boat to top up the anti freeze - room for 1 litres - hope that doesn't indicate a loss of coolant -I suspect the loss is due to a cool day. 

Noticed on the way the work being done on stenson lock.  

Also went for a walk on the disused cromford canal at lower hartshay - this needs urgent work as the canal is being used as a dump by the local pig farm drain and it stinks really bad. The vegetation also needs clearing as the bit on water has burst its banks. Frustrating as this is an easy stretch to restore. 

Trip to willington

Took the boat for a pint in willington yesterday. It started and ran ok despite not being used since August. Drained off the water tank and opened the drain valve on the paloma water heater. Lit a fire to warm up the boat. Last pre winter job is to top up the anti freeze which was lost when testing the coolant flow in the engine.

Shardlow 23/8/14 to 24/8/14

We had a very poor meal at the new inn on Saturday night - well below the usual standard. The Crewe and harpur was better on Sunday if a little basic - the two for one offer appears to be a mere doubling of the normal prices to make the punters think they are getting a bargain! We had no problem getting a mooring in shardlow this weekend and the pubs were fairly quiet apart from the marina bar which had a rather lively disco.

Took the boat for an overnight stay in shardlow this weekend. The boat didn't overheat for a change although the temperature was much lower than of late - forecast to be one of the coldest august bank holidays on record. Most of the locks were ok if a bit leaky. One disturbing event was the fierce by wash from Aston lock which almost sank a 40ft boat - the boat was pretty high - lack of ballast? it was secured by its back rope only and it therefore turned side on to the lock and the tidal wave from the bottom gates almost turned it over - apparently all the crockery was smashed on board. It could have been a lot worse. The lock landing is so short at Aston you have to moor too close to the bottom gates. People should always tie up with the centre rope as well. The canal was very low at the fat end of the t & m with reports of several boats grounding around the shardlow area.

Brass polishing update

Polishing vents

This is all new to me - never had the inclination to do it - must be getting to the age when one lusts after the Volvo, etc. This is my first effort - only took around 3 man hours and at my charge out rate would have cost £180 plus vat!

Sea trials

Tentatively took the boat for a test run this afternoon - very windy - in these conditions the little springer handles like a cork a a bathtub! I took the boat half way to stenson and then back up to Mercia marina to avoid being too far from base. The temperature didn't rise above 82 degrees f and there was no black smoke from the exhaust or air filter. I will give it another test before taking it out for the bank holiday weekend.

Temperature gauge fitted

Looks ok - wired up the backlight and gauge to the radio switch. I can chose to have it on or not. 

I ran the engine with load for 20 minutes and the max temp was around 80c. I might take it for a run tomorrow, but, I am still cautious about overheating. 

I felt the skin tank pipes and both in and out were warm to the touch suggesting good circulation. 

I am glad that I replaced the thermostat housing now as the new one has a spare temp sensor for the gauge.

I won't miss the radio as it didn't work very well anyway!

Temp gauge has arrived

Investigation work

Took several hoses off the engine and flushed water through the system - the slab tank filler is unblocked from the filler to the heat exchange/thermostat and water is flushing through the engine. The expansion tank was blocked to the heat exchanger - very thin hose. Next week I will take the hoses off the slab tank and flush it through to check for blockages. I checked the engine oil and it is clean. I cleaned out the air intake and noted a very small amount of engine oil in it.  I decided to start the engine and it sounded ok with no oil coming out of the exhaust. I suspect that the piston rings had probably overheated and let oil past the cylinders. Hopefully this is the last overheat - we are not used to 30c temps. I might buy a temp gauge for the boat to monitor it - the blue overheat light on the control panel doesn't come on until it is too late!

a bit of research

Reading various forums on the subject of overheating there are a number of possibilities re the damage:

the damage was obviously caused by overheating due to poor coolant circulation - kinks in hoses, blockages or air locks - not the first time i have overheated - 3rd time.

Oil section of head gasket leak
Warped head
Piston rings damaged
Cylinder scoring
Cracked head
Blocked heat exchanger

Most advice is to change the engine oil as it will be cooked
Also to check for blockages in the air intake which can become full of anything including carpet fluff
As I havent lost coolant it is unlikely to be a coolant leak, but, i need to check the coolant and oil for contamination.
The thermostat could also have failed - only recently tested when the housing was replaced.

There is a possibility that sorting the coolant issue may solve the problem as long as no serious engine damage has occurred.

If the engine needs a major overhaul I will sell the boat 'as is'

I am unlikely to take the boat very far now - probably just to willington and back!

Head gasket blown

The boat overheated again today resulting in steam coming out of the air intake and exhaust system - there was no loss of water this time - the system is now air tight - this has actually done more harm as the loss of water pressure was cutting off the engine before damage was caused. It was a lovely day to take the boat out and we had a nice picnic in egginton. We luckily got a tow back to Mercia marina and only had a short pull back to Findern. Looks like season over for me - I will sort it but I have too many other higher priority things to do than worry about the boat.

Painting the rails etc

I painted the cabin sides where the roof paint had overlapped and the hand rails. The welds on the springer are very prominent so a good finish is impossible. There is no point in grinding off the edges on a 25yr old boat. Will turn the boat

and do the port side when the weather improves.

Only fools and horses Chinese takeaway paint

The insects are lovin it!

Well I will get noticed - probably from the moon!

The official colour is hot mustard!

Not happy with cream

Will go with yellow as cream is too bright

Undercoat finished 6/7/14

Undercoat completed today - also ground off some old welds that were left when the old pole support broke off - before I owned the boat. It is forecast rain  in the next couple of days so completed just in time. Top coat next week weather permitting!

A start on the roof 5/7/14

Managed to sand half of the roof and primer before tea time yesterday. A lot of rusty blobs removed with a file. Haven't chosen the final colour yet, but, looking like cream. Shocked at the price of paint at DIY stores - really does pay to shop around. Will need to re seal around the flue and mushrooms before final coat.

Stern gland tightened and locking nuts

Went over to shardlow marina for some red diesel and spotted this Dutch barge that has been replated - an enormous boat that must weigh 40 tonnes plus - glad I haven't got to black it!

Tightened the stern gland and installed locking nuts - found a couple in the bit box. Awkward to reach but worth it in the end. The port side nut was very loose - the opposite side to the formerly loose engine mount. Being a v bottom means that I am unable to empty the bilge completely - the bilge pump will not sit at the lowest point. I am reliant on the grease in the water to keep the rust at bay. It is full of diesel at the moment after the fuel filter change.

Tidy up the wiring

Today's visit consisted of wiring the solar panel directly to the leisure battery (via the previously installed regulator) and looking at the control panel which had a low output and intermittent fault.

 The wiring of the solar panel went fine, I have left the wires visible as I may wish to remove in the future.

The control panel was unscrewed from the bulkhead and inspected. There were no obvious faults or broken fuses, although, a joint was loose and some of the spade connections had oxidised a little, but, not enough to fail. The output of the panel via the cig lighter socket is still low at 11.5 volts, but, the horn and tunnel light are now working without breaks after a few seconds. I may leave the panel in situ for now and I have disconnected the radio, which would not work due to the lack of power supplied to it.
Now that the solar regulator is connected directly to the battery, the auxiliary cigarette lighter socket can now be used to power my digital radio.
Next job - sort out the stern gland - tighten and add new nuts to stop it vibrating loose.

jobs i need to do on the boat

Just a memo to remind myself:
Replace burnt out fuse panel and radio
wire solar panel directly to leisure battery
tighten stern gland and possibly re pack - add additional nuts to hold in position (currently single nuts)
sort out leaking front window
Get ready for boat safety - not due until April 2015
Tidy trees and hedges at mooring
Paint boat roof - cream or light yellow
Look at a rear cover - the chap that was going to do it has retired

Fuel filter changed

Blimey that was difficult. Very difficult to access the filter due to cables in the way. The top rubber seal doesn't sit in a recess - it sits on the top of the filter so is difficult to hold in place as the two sections are matched up. The old filter was contaminated with a light brown substance - possibly rusty water. On re fitting a new filter I had to bleed the system in two places - the filter inlet and the fuel pump bleed valve. Initially the engine ran very smoothly, once bled, but, it is now back to the uneven idling that it had before. I suppose I will have to put up with the current position, at least the engine doesn't cut out, and it sounds fine once revved. I might top up the diesel tank and put some more anti bug solution in it, plus some redex to clean the injectors .

Recent email to narrowboat world

The canals are for leisure and slowing life down. If you want to speed go on a motorway. The canals are getting like the roads, full of arrogant tossers who feel entitled to go any speed they wish. The moaners also can't be bothered to pass the time of day or even acknowledge on line moorers, it is getting to be an unpleasant experience being on the canals recently. This is a very recent development in the last couple of years. Perhaps there should be a horsepower limit on boats - a common excuse for speeding is "I am only on tick over".
Time to call a truce and remember the community spirit that is sadly being lost to this wonderful network enjoyed by many and spoiled by a few.

David Morrell
Evening cloud

Sent from my iPad

Like a painters radio

Got to the boat today and was amazed at the amount of bird poo on the roof - - spent an hour brushing it off. 

Took the boat a few hundred yards to turn it and noted that it was not losing any water - encouraging. I still need to change the fuel filter - the engine is hunting at tick over suggesting that it is blocked. 

Rob at the mooring has put a fence up to secure our car park - not gone down well with the neighbours but important to keep out our Roma friends.

Also noted that the fuse panel is on its way out - seems to be working intermittently with all fuses - so the horn radio and light will not work properly. I suspect it is the solar panels fault as there is a constant current through the panel when it is plugged in - I should wire it directly to the leisure battery but like the option of unplugging it when running the engine.