Vaughan

You wait till you see me at about 8 years old, walking to school at Langley in the snow, in my shorts! We had a lovely afternoon and thank you very much for taking the time Carol. I also gave her a short cine film of Leslie Landamore, ice yachting on Wroxham Broad in 1963. I reckon you will like that one as well!

Just a thought - the rubber "socks" at each end have 2 jubilee clips - the large one to grip the body of the heat exchanger and the small one to grip the protruding ends of the tube stack. A mechanic has to ensure that the stack is placed in the middle of the exchanger body, so that the smaller clips can be done up first, and the whole assembly can then be fixed to the heat exchanger body, at both ends, by the large clips. This is actually the way that the two circuits (raw water and fresh water) are kept separate. If these smaller clips have not been placed properly (and this is an easy mistake to make) then the engine will effectively be running on "direct" cooling, meaning that the thermostat becomes useless, the temperature will be too cool and there will be no effectve circulation to the calorifier tank. You are basically, pumping river water through the engine, and out the exhaust. I know this sounds complicated but a small error in installation by a mechanic could cause the problems that Seriously is experiencing. I have seen this happen several times, when called out to a boat breakdown. This does not, however, explain why the engine seems to have overheated in the past. All the more reason why Seriously should have someone take a good look.

At the moment Mark and I can only judge on what you have told us, and a few photos. It seems there is a "history" with this engine, and so Mark should have a look at the actual situation. I have a feeling that once he sorts out the basic engine temperature problem, then hot water for showers will follow from that. Keep us posted!

We have also seen the very light winds in Thorpe, and hope they are not going to have a long night of it.

If I could interject for a moment, how is the 3 rivers race getting on?

Bizarrely, from the photo it appears your engine has been overheating in the past, and may have had a replacement cylinder head. If the little valve is the one I think you mean, then that is a temp gauge or temp warning light sender. If you are calling in Mark, I have no doubt it will be worth your while.

Oh moi lor. I was going to say "what a good article" but then it ended with those three words - Broads National Park. Surely for at least today, for probably the most famous inland sailing race in the country, they could still be called the Norfolk Broads?

I always thought this wonderful new public investment was supposed to offer greater protection and safety? Whether or not it is actually "on" the path, I wouldn't want to cycle into that on a dark night!

It is true that some alternators need the warning light circuit to "excite" them, so it it doesn't work, check the warning light bulb before you check anything else. Most modern alternators are "self exciting" but you do need to rev up a bit to "cut them in". Another side effect of these very low speed limits. Always rev up a bit after starting the engine and check the voltmeter is showing a charge, after that, you can drive around on tick-over for several hours, but the batteries will be charging.

I have been thinking about Seriously's trip from Sutton Staithe to South Walsham, as with all the very slow speed restrictions that are now imposed in this area, you don't really get the engine above tickover. It could be that certain boats need to think about changing the thermostat for one of higher rating, to give the engine a chance to get warmer, or it won't be able to make hot water. "Horses for courses" and all that.

Just a thank you for yesterday evening's fun conversation. The "friendly forum" and all that!

I can't add any more, really. You will get noise from the Yarmouth road all night, so if you want a peaceful mooring there is always the Commissioners' Quay, a little further downstream, before you get to Whitlingham bend' on what is now a NWT nature reserve. From there a short walk over the railway footbridge to the traffic lights and a 10 minute bus ride to Norwich or a short stroll to the Rushcutters, or the Buck

This also reminds me of the Norfolk farmer, who had this here roit bootiful young wife. Trouble on in was, he couldn't keep his hands off her. In the end he had to pay off his hands and buy one of them there combined harvesters.

This could be traced to a problem with your baggywrinkles. Actually I stopped sailing a few years ago when I realised I had a Nautical Embolism. A clot between the tiller and the mainsheet.

You wouldn't half point up to windward though!

Actually I was about to suggest that fitting a fore upper topgallant staysail should give "Warp" a bit more "weather helm" but would (of course) require strengthening of the lee braces as the increased inclination to leeward when on a beam reach would radically alter the "wetted surface" below the Plimsoll Line. I am sure our moderator will appreciate the nuances of these calculations.

Let's not jump into spending a lot of money at this stage. I agree with what Rascal says, and I also noticed from the photos that the tank insulation is - minimal - to say the least. This doesn't mean that the the tank should not be able to make hot water though. You had a run from Sutton to South Walsham, so about 2 hours at very slow speed with the engine only getting to 40 degrees, so of course the bottom half of the tank will still be cold, on the basic principle that hot water rises, by convection. I am still concerned that your engine is only running at 40 degrees. The temp gauge is unlikely to be "dodgy" - they either work or they don't - so, as others have suggested, you need to check the thermostat. Does it even have a thermostat? If you get the engine running at the right temperature this will not only be better for its own life, but will probably solve your shower problem as well. Incidentally, if you fit a 220volt immersion heater you must ensure that your shore power installation is up to all standards and well earthed to shore. 220 volts and water do not mix, and I have had bad and expensive experience with immersion heaters in calorifier tanks.

Talking of backstays, you will not see them on a classic Broads River Cruiser such as Brilliant (where I was honoured to have a visit at the Spring meet) as traditional boats such as her are more akin to a wherry. The real strength of the rig is in the size and mass of the mast, the tabernacle and the main deck beam. As it should be, on such a fine, traditional craft, evolved and built for her purpose. Backstays only become necessary when you start enlarging the rig (beyond what it was originally built for) for racing purposes. The Bermuda rig is different of course, and Peter only needs one halyard on his Drascombe as he has (from photos) what I might call a "standing topsail". I think he is right to suggest that the topping lift is brought aft, as that should give a sufficient "spill" of the sail to bring her easily up to a mooring, and then one can sort out all the other bits of rope in one's own time!

It's a good idea, but I would also be thinking of raising and lowering the sail, where I would want to "marry" the two halyards until the throat is up tight. You might end up needing two people, one in the cockpit and one up forrard, just to lower the sail!

Perhaps a silly question - why do you want the topping lift and the peak in the cockpit, but not the main halyard? Is this so that you can scandalise the sail when mooring, but not actually to lower it?

I agree - you won't need much weight for that. A very nice boat by the way. Rather a classic, I believe?

Mooring for a couple of hours implies that you are going to be around and will notice if you are "dragging". Ships anchored offshore always have an anchor watch and take bearings from the shore to make certain they are secure. (or nowadays by GPS of course). I suppose what I mean is, if the forecast says the weather is going to turn bad overnight, then don't moor on a mudweight.

Just a general point that I would like to share, as there was a reason for my question. Normally it is not good to run a diesel for long periods in neutral. The Nanni or Beta (which are the same engine) have a pressurised cooling system which will not come up to designed temperature unless the engine is doing some work. Leaving aside the green issues for a moment, if you want to run one of these, just to charge the batteries, then make sure your moorings are secure and run it on the quay in ahead gear at around 1500 RPM, checking that the temperature comes up to normal. This of course, will also provide you with good hot water. If you run the engine at idle for long periods then you risk glazing the cylinder bores and thus having future problems with cold starting, due to lack of compression. Even more important since these are "indirect injection" engines. The only engine I have met where it is safe to run it in neutral without damage is the Perkins 4108, but never the BMC 1.5. This is why I am attacking Seriously's problem from the engine end first, as the calorifier tank is a heat exchanger and you will not get an exchange if the engine is not hot enough in the first place.

The old fashioned brass PRVs are adjustable.

Thanks Mark, I forgot about the pressure relief valve! At least there is one fitted. So many boats don't even have one. I am trying to think back, but I seem to remember that the MC42 runs cooler than some others. Maybe 75 degrees? Even so, 50 would surely be too cool, and would not provide the same efficiency of heat exchange to the calorifier. The MC 42 incidentally, was developed in close collaboration with Duffields in Norwich, who were Perkins main dealers and wanted an engine specifically adapted for the Norfolk Broads, and other inland waterways.