Maintenance

De-cluttering the boat and other sundry jobs

Possessions build up!  Expecting visitors and having to find space for them to put their stuff, decluttering was required.   So some will go away (home to clutter there?) and some will go to the car only to return in due course.   I must say the boat does look good after!

The bowthruster joystick finally broke off.  It is vulnerable to damage as it projects into the port rear seating space.   A replacement can be obtained and an order has been put in (expensive), but on back order with delivery promised at the nd of August.  No good really.   A little thought and a sprung momentary two way toggle switch was obtained from Vehicle electrical specialist for minimum cost.   Just needs a little panel making and job done.

It has been decided to recover the bathroom floor.  As an inexpensive solution, and already having vinyl self adhesive tiles left over from a job at home, this gained approval, and the job done using a little spray adhesive on the existing floor covering to help.  Working in such a confined space was exceedingly tiring for an old-timer.  At the end I thought a shower was called for and then discovered that the shower pump wouldn’t work blowing the circuit breaker.   Investigation definitely pointed to the pump and rather than mess about trying to find the cause, went to Midland Chandlers to find a new one.   Of course a replacement like for like was not possible, so a different manufacturer’s product was purchased.  This had a different configuration as well as being larger and required re-plumbing and fitting vertically to obtain enough space.   (Having recovered the old one and taken it home where I have better facilities, dismantling it found it to be dry and rusted up.   Freeing and cleaning it got it working.   It can be a “spare”.   

 

Bottom Blacking and more

We have just collected the boat from Debdale Wharf Marina after a week’s work plus.   In the early days of having the boat when we were moored at Harefield right next to the slipway, we had the boat pulled out, and ourselves jet washed the boat, scraped the sides and put three coats of Comastic on.  However when we moved our mooring it was necessary to make other arrangements and in the first instance we used Rose Narrowboats.  It cost us a lot more really as a result of all the little add-ons.   Seeing how some of the boatyards deal with this process in a seemingly rushed way made me look for other solutions to steel preservation.   I had read about grit-blasting and two part epoxy coatings and knew that Debdale had a reputation for this work.   Getting in touch and learning of the method used by them, I decided to go down that route.   The boat is 20 years old and a thorough hull inspection was warranted plus the prospect of a good 10 years life from the technique convinced me.   The special feature is the hot zinc sprayed coating put on after the steel is cleaned and before the epoxy coating.   

More on the calorifier

The cold water service was made secure with a new stop-cock and the water tank drained and given its winter dose of non-toxic antifreeze.

A new calorifier has been sourced from Coppercylinder supplies (http://www.coppercylinder.co.uk/).   Same dimensions as the old one, so the lagging needed to be shaved.  A jig was built to achieve the minimum waste and a really accurate cut.  The risk of a freehand cut damaging the copper cylinder wall was too great.

 The previous installation was done in plastic pipe, so components have been sourced to fit.  At the same time there is an opportunity to fit a thermostatic shower mixer tap.     There has been a lot of head scratching to decide how to fill the pipes when fitted to avoid any airlocks.

Roof

The roof takes a hammering from solar UV light as well as more physical damage from coal bags, the gang plank and being walked on. Part is still in original paint and showing signs of rust quite badly. Over the last few days most, but inevitably not the smallest of these rust spots have been rubbed down and primed with either a two part epoxy rust treatment or a cellulosed based red oxide paint. After waiting for a dry quiet day with minimal sun, a top coat of blue gloss was applied yesterday and left to dry.

Water Pump Woes

In the journey reports I mentioned that the water pump failed.   I thought it might be helpful to include a little more detail.   We had a clue of a problem when, after an evening at the pub, we were getting ready for bed and found the taps in the bathroom dry - and moreover I was convinced that one tap had been left open.   Fearing that we had pumped the water tank dry I remonstrated with Pat and demonstrated the problem only to be surprised that water flowed.  So, forgot about it.  The next morning, again there was no water.   This is quite scary when you have a guest on board like a Grannie who uses a lot of water for everything and set in her ways.   We carry an emergency bottle of water, so a cup of tea was immediately available and there was a request for the bucket to be extricated from the front well under the anchor so that the toilet could be flushed.   Fortunately, examination of the water pump (empty front cupboard to remove floor panel) revealed that if hit, the pump would work provided a tap was already turned on.  This is very suggestive of a brush or pressure switch problem.   As we had an emergency workable solution a more measured approach was possible.  It was Sunday and we would be on the move the next day, so thought the best solution was to acquire another pump and keep the malfunctioning one as a spare.  A phone call to Whilton Chandlery confirmed that they are open Mondays and that they had a pump in stock.   What I did find out, however, was that the pump we have is the wrong one, designed for use with an accumulator.   We have no accumulator.  This is known to shorten the life of the pump.  The one in stock at Whilton was the right one.

Fitting the new pump was very easy.  DC Power off, main stopcock closed and with old towels in place there was very little seepage when the pump was removed.  I used a little silicone grease on the O Rings to help them seat again cleanly.  The wiring was just cut and the new wiring connected using crimped connectors.   The new pump has a bypass system within it, so that the pump only works at full speed or not at all.   If a low flow of water is called for then the bypass functions and this saves the constant operation of the pressure switch which we used to be aware of before and which caused the TV to check out presumably due to the RF interference.

The Old Pump was a Flojet Model R4305-500 (12v)

The New Pump is a Flojet R4405143A not suitable if an accumulator is fitted, but right for us as we have no accumulator.

Eberspacher

I found an approved repair shop locally in fact, in Blackheath, A23 Engineering Ltd.  It was one of those places I love.   A cramped lock up full of shelves of bits of metal and electrical widgets and a very helpful engineer (Sean) who when chatting told me that the best maintenance such a heater can have is regular use.    Indeed, the manual recommends that the heater should be cycled on and off regularly (Sean thought that once a month would be OK) even if not fully used.  Other than that there isn't much that needs doing until it goes wrong.   He will be putting it on test for me to determine the reason for failure and letting me know.

Eberspacher and Oil Change

As we had done a fair few hour since last oil change, this was due now.  Accordingly I took the boat out of the marina for this as usual.  There is no access to the stern in the marina and care needs to be taken with the waste oil.   Safely moored up, the procedure was completed in about half an hour with new oil filter.   Having the built in sump pump makes the removal of the old oil very easy using a bit of old hose and a bucket.   Once the new oil is in the bucket can be emptied into the now empty oil containers and taken to the local authority disposal point.

Eberspacher Heater.   Whilst on our travels, the heater failed to ignite properly one day and shut down.  A number of successive attempts failed and as the heater has been on the boat untouched since new I thought an overhaul was indicated.   Rather nervous about how to get it out of the boat I gave it a long hard inspection.   One exhaust pipe shrouded in ?rock wool? inside a corrugated metal sleeve.   Two water pipes, flow and return, and the diesel fuel line.   Then how to remove the heater itself?   There appeared to be no obvious fixings.   Worried about this last I telephoned Braidbar.   Iain was very helpful and described a 10mm nut at the back and the heater sitting in a cradle.   These identified, I drained the central heating expansion tank and reasoning that all the water remaining would be below this level, disconnected the water pipes.   There was very little leakage.   With the exhaust  and the fuel line disconnected the body of the heater was easily removed to be taken to the nearest approved repair shop when back home.

The final job was a washout of the engine bilge using the wet vac and to return the boat to the marina. It had been quite a warm day and I later found out that my fluid deficit amounted to at least 3 pints of Marston Pedigree.

The Boat Safety Exam

I spent the morning and early afternoon on the boat making final preparations for the examination.  Technically, the existing time expired fire extinguishers could be tested and re-certified, but the cost of this could not be justified.  So I had purchased new ones.  However, I had discovered on re-reading the manual, that the fire extinguishers I had purchsed did not have an adequate aggregate rating for a 60 foot boat and I had needed to aquire an extra one.   Tim Crew arrived punctually and he worked slowly through his extensive tick box check list of items.   I was pleased to have confirmed that my work on the battery installation had indeed been necessary.  The boat passed the test, but the following advisory isses were raised.

1. The shorepower connector is not marked to BS EN 60309 or BS 4343.  This is a weather proofing issue apparently.
2. There is insufficient fixed low level ventilation.
Additional recommendations
3. Fit a bubble test device to the gas system in the gas locker to give a quick indication of any leaks developing.
4. Fit an LPG gas detector.
5. Have the gas appliances serviced.

Preparing for the BSS Exam

Time is approaching when I have to submit the boat to a boat safety examination.  Checking through the manual there would appear to be a few potential problems, one being that the batteries need to be secured (at the present time they just rest in a tray) and the terminals should be covered.    Asking other boat owners in the Braidbar Owners Group produced a number of possible solutions.   I have opted to fit a tensioning strap over the batteries and this was surprisingly easy to install needing only two holes drilled in the 1/8" thick rim of the battery tray, one each side.  I then bolted a metal loop to the holes through which the large hooks of the tensioning straps fit.    Limited space available for the drilling needed a flexible shaft to mount the drill, but the whole exercise was surprisingly easy.  A shaped piece of plywood was screwed to the top of this to protect the terminals.

I have also taken some measurements to enable me to fit a cable operated remote fuel shut off.  (Future project & not needed for the BSS - The placard referrring to the location is adequate)

Engine Air

Air access for the engine

I have long pondered on the question of how Nuggler's Beta 1903 engine gets air.  Being a semi-trad design, the engine compartment has a bulkhead broken only by two wiring ducts and the hydraulic lines to the bow-thruster which run alogside the swim.   The marineply deck transmits the sound and also rattles, so although the boat is very quiet externally, from the steering position it is quite noisy.   I would like to install sound-proofing but am anxious not to reduce air access.   So as a first step, today I took the angle-grinder to the double skin on the semi-trad side panel and took out a rectangular section about 3 X 4 inches from the inner skin.   Thus there is good access to the engine bay for air, between the steel panels.   I covered the hole with a brass louvred panel and it looks quite neat.    Now the next phase is to source some sound insulating material.