Recent content by davey

Ah yes but there are bound to be other people with similar problems so all is not lost. Sadly these days it is rare for people to be given a proper education because of the dreaded Health And Safety At Work Act. Back in my school days we had an excellent metalworking shop and boys would leave...

Fibreglass keels went out of fashion for this very reason! Some cradle building seems to be required. I came to this thread as a Google result although it is not really what I wanted. I am trying to research bilge-plate-repair for a Colvic Springtide 25. The problem is that the marina's...

I am seeking advice on how to bond a bronze shaft-strut (AKA a stern bracket, or P bracket) to a GRP hull. The boat is a Kingfisher 22+ and when it was built it was fitted with a 5 HP Brit Imp petrol inboard as recommended by the builders. The original owner had a great deal of trouble with...

A friend has a Colvic Springtide 25 which I towed from Dover to Cardiff. In spite of THREE marine surveys no one had noticed the fact that the boat was considerably heavier than when it was built. In fact we now know that the long deceased sailing club Commodore liked a steady boat as he had...

Not all impact wrenches are created equal and for some jobs the 1/2" drive type are absolutely useless. The job was trying to dismantle a Chicago Pneumatic jack-hammer that seemed to be clogged-up. The jack-hammer was what could be called the man's model, NOT the ladies model as it was quite a...

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Hmm. A lot depends on how hard the boat is going to be sailed. For instance some skippers like to heel the boat so far over that the gunwales are almost level with the water. This puts a lot of leverage on the keel and its bolts. In addition a...

Wish I could help but all I can say is that fishing is all about getting something for nothing and I have had several outboard motors stolen over the years. Just ask yourself who is going to be able to either fence or use your pots. By the way a common MO is to sail in at high tide in the dark...

Yes I joined the CSMA (now called Boundless) long before this happened as I wanted to upgrade my recovery to a personal one with full recovery that was not done via my insurance company. Allegedly being a CSMA Member makes one eligible for getting a good deal from Britannia Rescue although just...

This is why the Police would like to see some CCTV. Note however that hauling away a broken down two ton 4x4 and a boat trailer in such a short space of time requires (1) Knowledge of where the stuff is. (2) Having the equipment to move it. I think the bellowing of "GET BACK IN THE LORRY!"...

Recovery Scam WORST BREAKDOWN RECOVERY EVER! My recovery was done through my insurance company but it turned out to be the WORST RECOVERY EVER bar none. The situation was that my best 4x4, the one with a new head, new pistons, new radiator, new timing belt kit etc etc has been stolen by a...

Why not consider a British Seagull Century Plus? OK its only about 5 HP but it has that huge propeller which is driven at 1/4 of the engine speed. If one finds a motor that has Villiers ignition it is not very difficult or expensive to upgrade this to Wipac. Noise will of course be a problem...

Re Renault Couach and the BMW D7/D12. No they were not re-badged Sole engines, they were marinised Hatz industrial engines. Lubrication is by a dipper just like a lot of lawnmower engines so it is not possible to have an oil pressure light. There is a magnetic sump plug which needs to be...

The base engine is a Hatz and the industrial engine parts can be obtained from Bryco at Daimler Road. The flywheel generator was extremely bad as regulation was achieved by shorting-out a tertiary winding with a thyristor. This created voltage spikes and radio interference. The late George...

Ah but if it is so bad that is a bonus as it is less likely to be cannibalised by thieving toe-rags. You know the type? Heroin addicts and drugs and booze come first so they do not do their shopping in the normal way. The Yanmar 1GM10 is IMHO only any use as a mooring weight because it is a...

Allegedly the engines that drive the refrigerator on lorries that carry frozen food will run OK for well over 10,000 hours. They never have timing belts as far as I know as thirty tons of frozen beef is far too valuable to trust to a timing belt. Usually over-sized aluminium sumps are used on...