Rescue at kentish town

On Sunday night a boat managed to get stuck on the cill at Camden, so i knew on Monday i would be very busy all day on Monday by Sunday evening all was in place and the salvage agreed, so down to city road basin by 8.30 then up to Camden with work flat Opel and bantam tug weaver, arrived by 11.30 the boat had rolled over to port in the lock and was down at the bow by 3.30/ 4.00 she was floating and pumped out we towed her back to to st pancras then home in the bath by 10.00pm

BIO DIESEL FACTS

Red diesel or gas oil could contain bio diesel, known as FAME or fatty acid methyl ester, bio diesel is hygroscopic it sucks water into the fuel and holds it there and if the are any bacteria in the fuel it could lead to bacterial growth within the tank and in turn lead to blocked filters, also a little known fact is that bio diesel has a shelf life of around six months 12 months at the most so there for it would be wise to turn tanks around in this time (IE) use the stuff. once in the tank bio diesel has a life of 6 months due to its reduced oxidation stability , and over time oxidation can precipitate solids again with the potential to block filters and fuel lines also excess water will be evident after a prolonged cold spell so water traps should be fitted ad  checked regularly, fuel stabilisers are available in the marine market with reference to the storage of fuel over a long period in excess of six months like a 180 ltr fuel tank so seek advice and research which is best marine 16 products seem to be the only one that addresses this as a selling point and having used this myself within my job i must say it works but seek advice as to your exact requirements. Remember the trick is to use the fuel and not keep the tank topped up as has always been the idea most live aboard will not have a problem but weekenders will need to think a little bit more about there tanks and wot is going on .

With regret

It is with regret that as from the 28th of june i will no longer be an rcr engineer i have mixed feeling about leaving,

MORE FROM RICKMANSWORTH 2011

Pictures of the lock jam at the end of the show Sunday and of me on tiny tug Sunday morning the tug was a section eight boat chopped and welded re engined and built by p&s marine bridgewater basin watford a real fun thing to have to play with all weekend oh and notice a fully loaded corona first time in 15 years that Trevor maggs had loaded her with coal in all that time but he did and went all the ways back to braunston not bad for an 83year old and well done Trevor ur a hero and a legend

RICKMANSWORYH FESTIVAL 2011

A good weekend at rickmansworth  this year 100s of boats attended 1000s of people too and was a success for the trust and the boat tug of war was brilliant as usual.

CANALWAY CAVALCADE APRIL 2011

Bio Diesiel

With the introduction of low sulphur bio diesel on to the waterways many questions are being asked as to the long term affects to the modern engine and that some degrading of the rubber seals with in the engine might be affected, this is as present an unknown but likely to affect the engine as stronger detergents and other chemicals are mixed to lower the dioxins in the exhaust, also that the fuel will degrade as it ages , therefore if you have a 180ltr tank a usual sized tank for a narrow boat, it would be prudent to cycle your tank throughout the year in other words run your tank lower than usual, fuel filter will need to be changed on a more regular basis and i would strongly advise the use of MARINE 16 Treatment available from the river canal website follow the links to the web shop, A better way if possible is to have a day tank installed fed from the main tank a throw back to a by gone age but with out doubt a better way of isolating a fuel problem I'm sure you will agree, and i think we might see boat builders adopting a smaller fuel tank instead of the large type we are all used too anyway have a safe and trouble free year and all the best.