A Cruise On The Ouse

[OldBerkshireBoy]

On the subject on window vacs, I am very happy with my cheap Titan and after testing this morning I can say that it doesnt leak if used upside down.

[Bikertov]

39 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

There is a text service that warns of strong stream advice (when they shut the locks) you can sign up to, the EA do it, very handy for a bit of advance warning if you are the wrong side of a lock as you can usually make a bolt for your mooring while they are still open.

This is handy too.

https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/station/6178

Thanks for that Smoggy - I did sign up to the alerts a week or so ago.

I also have the RiverApp on my phone, that gets the EA gauge readings from all round the country - you can select which rivers and gauges to save as a favourites.

[Bikertov]

Funnily enough, I just got an email alert:

A Flood Alert has been issued by the Environment Agency.

Flood Alert in force: River Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire from Brampton to Earith.

Flooding is possible for: River Great Ouse from Brampton to Earith, including Back Brook, Hall Green Brook, Parsons Drove Drain, Swavesey Drain and Wadsbys Folly.

 

[dom]

Levels have gone down sharply at Earith, so I presume the EA have opened the sluices wide to try and shift some water ahead of the incoming storm, in the hope of keeping the road open at Earith bridge (probably at the expense of Welney). I suspect levels will go up again just as quickly in the coming days. I've never been out on the Great Ouse when it's in full flood, but I'd imagine it could be quite an experience. The washes from Earith to Holywell get pretty wide and it must be pretty difficult to discern the proper channel at times.

[addicted]

We ere heading from bBuckden to Hertford marina in our Shetland 760 (1 of only 3 built. She had a Mercruiser 898 engine. The river had been in full flood a few days earlier and the locks had only just reopened. When we got to Brampton lock we saw a large crowd of people had gathered in the car park of the Brampton Mill restaurant just where river craft were exiting he lock pen. In front of us were 2 much large bots than ours a Birchwood and a   Fairline Sedan. This exited the pen 1st . The weirs stream on the port side caught it first smacking it u p against the bank then carrying it across the river and doing the river thesame thing on the opposite bank. The Birchwood following suffered he same fate. Tony hungback till both these boats had movedclear of the pen exit, then gunned it a tiny flicker of hr stern as the weirstreamhitad that was it we were safely on our way to huge cheers from the watching crowd.

 

Carole

[Smoggy]

1 hour ago, addicted said:

We ere heading from bBuckden to Hertford marina in our Shetland 760 (1 of only 3 built. She had a Mercruiser 898 engine. The river had been in full flood a few days earlier and the locks had only just reopened. When we got to Brampton lock we saw a large crowd of people had gathered in the car park of the Brampton Mill restaurant just where river craft were exiting he lock pen. In front of us were 2 much large bots than ours a Birchwood and a   Fairline Sedan. This exited the pen 1st . The weirs stream on the port side caught it first smacking it u p against the bank then carrying it across the river and doing the river thesame thing on the opposite bank. The Birchwood following suffered he same fate. Tony hungback till both these boats had movedclear of the pen exit, then gunned it a tiny flicker of hr stern as the weirstreamhitad that was it we were safely on our way to huge cheers from the watching crowd.

 

Carole

I take it they didn't use the navigation channel to starboard as you exit the lock then? I used to cut across the weir pool but if you got the wrong line it could be really shallow in places.

The Chet can do similar if you don't allow for it where hardly flood exits on the ebb, it's worse when close behind a slow nervy boat as you can't use enough power to sort it.

[MargeandParge]

14 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

I take it they didn't use the navigation channel to starboard as you exit the lock then? I used to cut across the weir pool but if you got the wrong line it could be really shallow in places.

The Chet can do similar if you don't allow for it where hardly flood exits on the ebb, it's worse when close behind a slow nervy boat as you can't use enough power to sort it.

Alright for you Smoggy  you've got enough power to sort it

Sometimes Old Parge is like a Gondolier with only  42 horses to call upon 

Kindest Regards  Marge and Parge 

[Bikertov]

27 minutes ago, MargeandParge said:

Alright for you Smoggy  you've got enough power to sort it

Sometimes Old Parge is like a Gondolier with only  42 horses to call upon 

42 horses - sheer luxury !

I only have 37 horses, and that was when new. And most of those horses seem to be eating hay and pooping, from the performance I seem to get. In fact, it is probably down to below 30 now, seeing as the engine is over 27 years old.

 

[addicted]

Having been based on the Ely Ouse for a while we were surprised to find the route into Brampton lock changed when we went not having been for a few years. We much preferred the old route where you went straight ahead across in  front of the weirstream. The new route down that narrow channel to the left was a bit of a  challenge it you met a narrowboat coming the other way plus you had to enter the lock pen from the side instead of going straight in and if the wind caught you as you were manoeuvring. it could be really tricky. The temptation was to take the old route across but they stopped dredging that area and it got very shallow.

 

Carole

[dom]

21 hours ago, Bikertov said:

I only have 37 horses, and that was when new. And most of those horses seem to be eating hay and pooping, from the performance I seem to get. In fact, it is probably down to below 30 now, seeing as the engine is over 27 years old.

Have you checked your throttle opening? With the engine off and the morse control set to full throttle, see if there's any extra movement available on the throttle lever at the fuel pump. With an ex-hire, it's quite likely that the maximum throttle opening has been restricted to limit the trouble hirers can get themselves into. You may be able to squeeze some more hp just by shortening the cable a fraction.

Once you know you can get full throttle opening, I'd also see how easily you can hit max rpm (looks like 3k rpm?). If you can hit it very easily, it may be under-propped for similar reasons.

Obviously not much point having huge amounts of speed available, but I'd always prefer to have a bit in reserve, especially if you do make it over to the Broads - and Breydon in particular.

 

[Vaughan]

The Nanni injector pump is of the common rail type and has a screw on the front that controls its maximum output.

I can't remember where it is, but I know it is there, as Nanni explain it on their mechanics' courses in France.  Boatyards usually limit the speed by screwing down the limit screw on the pump lever - there are two, one for speed and one for tick-over.  Others (like me) know that some hirers can sometimes find these screws, so we limit the travel of the cable itself, by putting a small screw clamp on it.  With a Nanni, this would be found at the Morse control end, under the dashboard.  This is because the Nanni pushes the pump lever to accelerate. The Perkins and BMC pull the lever, so the clamp on the cable would be found at the injector pump end.

If you can't free off the speed any other way, ask Peachments or a good mechanic (such as John Spruce) to have a look at the screw on the injector pump body.

Edited to add :

Some boatyards actually made up a brass bracket, which limits the travel of the mechanism inside the Morse control but this is pretty rare, these days.

[Gracie]

This lot are so clever on here although I don't have a clue what they're talking about and what it's got to do with horses is quite beyond me  I hope it's all going well for you Biker

I love the title of this thread........Cruise on the Ouse and when you're moored up somewhere quite delightful........booze and snooze  x

[Mouldy]

On 03/11/2023 at 15:34, Bikertov said:

42 horses - sheer luxury !

I only have 37 horses, and that was when new. And most of those horses seem to be eating hay and pooping, from the performance I seem to get. In fact, it is probably down to below 30 now, seeing as the engine is over 27 years old.

 

Only 37?  Really?  Norfolk Lady, like most of the ex Emerald Star/LeBoat Broom 29 Sedans were fitted with a 50hp Nanni.  Fairly certain that I mentioned to you that we re-propped NL over last winter as she was fitted with an 18x10 when we bought her and now has an 18x13, which has made a significant difference to her performance.

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

she was fitted with an 18x10 when we bought her and now has an 18x13, which has made a significant difference to her performance.

This sounds right and I had a feeling that both your boats came from Emerald Star on the Shannon, where they need forward speed in the currents on the river, therefore a finer pitched prop to give speed.  On the Broads we need a coarse pitched prop, to give good manoeuvring at slow speeds.  And, of course, good power in astern!

Only problem with a coarse prop is that when you do go fast ((across Breydon) this might slowly overheat the engine.

[Bikertov]

3 hours ago, Mouldy said:

Only 37?  Really?  Norfolk Lady, like most of the ex Emerald Star/LeBoat Broom 29 Sedans were fitted with a 50hp Nanni.  Fairly certain that I mentioned to you that we re-propped NL over last winter as she was fitted with an 18x10 when we bought her and now has an 18x13, which has made a significant difference to her performance.

The sales listing says the engine is a Nanni 4.150 HE, which is 37.5 HP, and I think the documentation I have says the same  ?

How can I tell from looking at the engine (I'm on the boat today) as I can't see a plate anywhere with a model, serial no etc  

 

2 hours ago, Vaughan said:

This sounds right and I had a feeling that both your boats came from Emerald Star on the Shannon, where they need forward speed in the currents on the river, therefore a finer pitched prop to give speed.  On the Broads we need a coarse pitched prop, to give good manoeuvring at slow speeds.  And, of course, good power in astern!

Only problem with a coarse prop is that when you do go fast ((across Breydon) this might slowly overheat the engine.

My boat was fitted out by Broom in Brundall, and started off on their hire fleet before going private after about 7 years  

[Jbx5]

Some of the early Broom 29s had this Nanni 37hp engine, looks like their hire fleet were fitted with them as well. Good engine if a little underpowered and better than the 50hp Volvo Md22 which was also fitted at first. A lot of the last private ones built had a 62hp engine fitted. 

John 

[Bikertov]

23 hours ago, dom said:

Have you checked your throttle opening? With the engine off and the morse control set to full throttle, see if there's any extra movement available on the throttle lever at the fuel pump. With an ex-hire, it's quite likely that the maximum throttle opening has been restricted to limit the trouble hirers can get themselves into. You may be able to squeeze some more hp just by shortening the cable a fraction.

Once you know you can get full throttle opening, I'd also see how easily you can hit max rpm (looks like 3k rpm?). If you can hit it very easily, it may be under-propped for similar reasons.

I've tried that now - no extra rotational movement at the end, with the morse set at full throttle. Haven't tried full throlle to get max revs on the water, as I can't get out if the marina today (the Ouse is in strong stream right now)

[Vaughan]

2 hours ago, Bikertov said:

The sales listing says the engine is a Nanni 4.150 HE, which is 37.5 HP, and I think the documentation I have says the same  ?

How can I tell from looking at the engine (I'm on the boat today) as I can't see a plate anywhere with a model, serial no etc  

In which case your engine is quite an early one, and probably has the word KUBOTA pressed into the top of the valve rocker box?  They are a good engine and were used a lot for boats in Italy, where they have a horsepower limit on the size of a hire boat engine.  Should be easily powerful enough for your boat.

The engine number is on a small tin plaque on top of the flywheel bell housing, where it may be hidden behind the gearbox oil cooler.

[Vaughan]

OK, so here's how most of us limit the speed on hire boats.  I hope I am not giving away any trade secrets!   

Take a standard electrical "Domino" or "Chocolate block" electrical connection, with the hole the right size to fit the inner wire of the 33C Morse control cable :

 

Strip off the plastic insulation with a Stanley knife and you are left with the brass body and two little grub screws.

Take off the end terminal of the Morse cable, then remove the little rubber sock over the end of the outer cable. Slide the block onto the inner cable and then re-fit the Morse cable to the control :

I haven't got a Morse cable here in the garage, so I am using plastic tube as the "inner" and brass tube as the outer. I hope you get the picture?

Take the boat out on the river, choose the speed at which you want to limit the engine, slide the block up to the end of the outer cable and do the grub screws up nice and tight. 

The engine speed is now set, and the Morse lever cannot be advanced any further.  Even if you force the lever, it will not move.

So if you find a little thing like this on one of your Morse cables under the dashboard, just loosen the grub screws and let it slide.  You may find you have a lot more power available!

[Bikertov]

I've continued the engine discussion on my new thread

 

[Bikertov]

So my Cruise on the Ouse for today was very limited indeed ...

We got to St Ives at 10am, to find the river level had risen to even higher than Friday, having dropped through yesterday. It was about 0.6m above normal, with over-topping around the marina. 

I was told the locks we "reversed", meaning they were open both ends to let water through. The advice was that even going upstream towards St Ives was inadvisable due to the strong stream alert still in force, and the fast flowing water. 

So I just took the boat out of her berth, did a lap of the basin, and practiced a stern on mooring again.

A few hours were spent tinkering and looking. Then, in preparation for winterisation, I took down all the curtains for cleaning and removed some seating cushions, before heading home while it was still daylight.

We will be back once more before the winter lift-out, to drain the water and fill up the diesel. Hopefully that trip will involve a short cruise in the river, but I won't hold my breath.

 

[Bikertov]

On 01/11/2023 at 15:16, CambridgeCabby said:

For the condensation , we find a “Karcher” window vac is an essential tool 

https://www.toolstation.com/wessex-cordless-window-vacuum/p96553

seems to be the same thing for a far better price 

Thanks for that - bought one yesterday and used it today.

It seemed to do the job - although the condensation was not as bad as last week, the vac cleared it nicely, and any drops that fell on the dashboard were duly vacuumed up too.

I also picked up an extendable window washer (a squeegee on a stick) from Lidl in the week, and that did well on the outside of the screens as the wiper coverage is awful, and only on 2 out of the 3 screens anyway.

To add to the vac, the chandlery relieved my credit card a bit for a mains powered dehumidifier unit, which I will set up once the boat is out of the water and winterised. 

 

This boating lark is proving expensive already ... 

 

[mikeyboy1966]

Sounds like you’re having fun.

river level looks to be dropping,

viewing the webcams I should be able to get to my boat this weekend without waders.

I’ve not been onboard since the end of august ,every time I’ve planned to go down the weather has been horrendous.

need to do some basic winterising just in case.

[Bikertov]

Yes, we are having fun, albeit with very limited use on the water.

Level are certainly dropping, so it is down to the weather this week - but any more rain and no chance of getting on the river this side of winter.

On Sunday the marina gauge was showing about 0.6m, and I saw your mooring was under water. The access road down the side to St. Ives lock was also flooded again, so I couldn't even walk to the lock to have a look.

Might be able to squeeze one more weekend, as they were talking about delaying the winter lift out by one week. But either way, I need to get down to drain the water tanks and fill up with diesel - I couldn't do the fill up last week as the pump was broken.

[Smoggy]

I may have to pop into Jones myself this weekend to pick up another pot of non toxic anti freeze.

If I get a chance with all the other bits that need done.