dnks34

Could that be a legacy of the frost era Alan?

Thats precisely what I was thinkinng MBA!

When our shaft became worn at the cutlass end due to trapped fishing line we just replaced it...the aft section is about 8ft and it didnt cost all that much. Is that normal shaft wear Alan? Presuming it was caused by the packing it looks quite severe to me. Or was it the rope that did it?

I thought the program was less about the yachts and more about the people with enough money to own them!

Can cutlass bearings run dry? They are water lubricated i think. They are not actually a metal to metal bearing i dont believe, more a hard rubber or neoprene. With cutlass problems ive had in the past there has been a rattle in reverse. Its not a easy diy job....shaft out unless you have access to a very specialised tool.

Its not my intention to condemn any product especially one ive not used. The grp majic has given me good results whilst afloat in the past but i just think the acid worked better for me this time round.

http://www.chemsoldirect.co.uk/grp-majic-boat-hull-stain-remover change magic to majic !

Ive got some grp magic gel which sounds like a similar product to your Y10 Strowagwr but on these stains it wasnt a lot of use really. The acid acted almost instantly on them and it was worth the learning curve applying it! JM, possibly a touch of all three! I have read about mixing the acid up with wallpaper paste to form a gel but as chemistry isnt one of my strengths i dismissed that as an option in fear of purple plumes of noxious smoke eminating from my garage !!

The wind was changing direction left right and centre yesterday...one minute i was upwind the next my face was on fire!!! Dont know why it didnt occur to me it would be safer brushing it on JM! Sharpest tool and shed spring to mind !!

Ive just ordered a face shield from ebay for when i go back up next week to do the other half, for a few quid more than screwfix! Dam! I used a small hand held pump sprayer (about 2L B&M stores) to apply the acid and due to not being close enough to a tap we used an 8 litre garden sprayer for rinsing which was sufficient but a hose would have been easier. It was a windy day so the acid blew back in my face a few times, i did have goggles and rubber gloves on with all exposed skin covered apart from my face, it starts to make your skin tingle very quickly but immediately rinsing my face with water from the 8L sprayer stopped the effects, next time I WILL be wearing a face shield! As i said its excellent on any brown staining (ours had been building up 4 years!) so that tells how easy it got them out. The bottom itself will take a few goes but it does loosen things up and make what will always be a difficult and unpleasant job just that little bit easier. I will probably go for the hempel broads antifoul unless anyone can recommend anything else. Its not something ive got involved with before and my yard was going to do the task for us but as we are going to so much effort preparing the surface we may aswel do it ourselves this time.

The brick acid is effective but if anyone intends using it I strongly recommend a full face shield and cover all exposed skin and wear rubber gloves! It takes the brown staining at the waterline straight out with a wipe over after spraying the acid on. Any green scum or scale requires a bit more agitation if its been there a long time but it definately loosens it and with 2 or 3 sprays with the acid it can be scrubbed off fairly easily after that. Good stuff but rinse off immediately if it gets on your skin....make sure you rinse it off the boat thoroughly also. Right now to read about antifouling.........

Sunday is looking like the best day weather wise so i will let you know, even if i had to do 2 treatments spraying rather than brushing i wont be to dissapointed only costing £3.80 for 5L!!

Brick Acid 5L smiths oulton broad £3.80. I will be putting it to the test this weekend, I am thinking of applying it with a hand pump spray bottle on a mist spray rather than a brush (because im lazy) obviously its going to run off quicker than if it were brushed on so im hoping its still effective doing it this way.

I would be in half a mind to report the Rockland Staithe incident to the BA. Atleast they'd have it recorded if she decided to do this sort of thing regular basis. If i were you JM i would be getting some razor wire and an enormous german shepherd....the cheek of some people!

Speaking as an ex hire broads built cruiser owner I want to assure all forum members that I do not live in the lap of luxury whilst on my boat. I have to flush my toilet(s) by hand, i often wake up to water dripping onto my head (coming from god knows where) my cooker looks like it was reclaimed from an ex council house and the hull is covered in little knocks and dings from its punishment on hire,oh and it caught fire once.........i should get a discount for putting up with all this surely!!

Since when did brantano sell deck shoes!! Are they still in stock!!!!

Your taking me out of context Senator, but amusing all the same! Lets say the BA put a £30 annual surcharge on twin engined boats and dropped the price of an outboard dinghy, would it hurt that much.....really?!!

Bow thrusters no.....stern thrusters yes!!!!!! No im kidding

Lets put the term prejudice aside and accept that its just differing opinions. Put simply a boat doesnt need more than one engine to do its job (inland atleast) therefore a 2nd engine is a luxury item and we normally pay extra somewhere for having that luxury item. (Just ask the government what they think about female sanitary products and you will see where im coming from!!!) I dont agree with that btw. Lets not forget there are many older less valuable twins on the broads so this isnt jelousy either. If twins had been tolled at a higher rate from dot would a difference of a decent pair of deck shoes stopped a buyer purchasing a twin if thats what they wanted? I doubt it. Im not a fan of anyone being ripped off but in this case thats not how I see it. I see at as all good things eventually come to an end. Ive got to say that it is coming accross to me that owners of these expensive vessels think they have been doing the BA and other boat owners a favour by bringing these vessels to the broads and paying into the system, and lets face it the toll increase these folk might be faced with might only be about as much as the cost of fuel to get out of Lowestoft Harbour. At least they can move their boats elsewhere!! What about those who cant fall back on that option when they dont like what its costing, sure abandon us when the going gets tough and leave us wide open to having to pay even more !! :-)

Senator it could have been, cant remember it cost to much to toll it so got rid of it!!!

Strowager please dont suggest I am prejudiced. If the only fair way is by size then explain why a toll for a dinghy is roughly a quarter of what i am paying for an 11m boat. The figures just dont add up do they!?

Nobody is telling you what you can and cant have Senator, certainly not me anyway. If your boat is the one in your profile picture and you keep where i think (if its the same one I have seen) then i think you will be paying through the nose for your mooring for starters! (Didnt want to say where in public and appologies if im barking up the wrong tree!)

In an ideal world i would define a suitable boat as one that has an engine that runs on oxygen and is invisible so cant attract a toll, being invisible it would fit under all the bridges, fit in anywhere and take up no space, oh and the manufacturer would give it to me for free.....I think i have been watching to much late night sci fi !

The thing about it that I fail to understand is why people would want boats with seagoing capabilities for broads use when i would guess at 90% of them neither having the skills or intentions to ever take the boat out to sea anyway. I can totally understand the appeal of the internal fitout and luxury many of these boats will undoubtedly offer but offset that luxury against the increase in fuel and maintenance costs I would still prefer a single screw 50hp for broads use any day. As JM has indicated these boats just dont suit there surroundings and may have been causing the broads industry more harm than good? Certainly a different way of looking at things and not a viewpoint that should be dismissed. As I said I dont care what boat you have its not my money being spent but why buy such a vessel then feel agrieved at the costs involved and lack of infrastructure! Single and twin screw is a clear difference as is sail and power. We only have to look at the cost of an annual toll for an outboard dinghy to see that the toll tariff is in need of tweaking. Im not suggesting that all seagoing vessels should be sent out to sea but at the same time I dont think its fair that a single engined and twin engined vessel pay the same toll tariff, there could well be more toll money in the pot if the BA started looking at it a little bit differently. Toll to value is probably an unfair way of looking at it but I dont see how paying more by number of engines could really be argued with. Its similar to owning a 4x4, many people dont need them and will pay more into the system for having them. If people dont want to pay then they will move them away but I imagine that most will just get on and live with the cost and the broads could well turn out better because if it!

In terms of value to toll, i think there are people at the top end getting an incredibly good deal. Thats just my view, it doesnt mean its right!