Issue 23/3June2014

SEAMASTER LIVES ON

The magazine of the Seamaster ClubVolume 23

SEAMASTER CLUB

Converting cabin lights to led

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Seamaster Boat Logos:We can supply full-colour vinyl transfers with your model number, which are now available for all Seamaster models, including Sailers, at £20 per boat incl p&p. Other logos, etc., may be arranged to order.

Logo Plates Logo Plates for “30” or “8M” logos are available @ £30 + carriage (POA) per set Other plates can be made to order.

Embroidered Sports ClothingEmbroidered Sweat Shirts, Polos, etc. We can offer a wide selection of colours and styles, embroidered with the Seamaster Club logo. Prices: Fleece - specify full or half zip £21.00 + £3.50 p&pSweat Shirt Round neck . . . . £15.00 + £2.50 p&p Sweatshirt collar attached . . £16.00 + £2.50 p&p Polo Shirt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £11.50 + £2.00 p&pBaseball Cap . . . . . . . . . . . . £8.50 + £1.30 p&pAll prices include embroidery of the Seamaster Club logo.

ORDERING & PAYMENT: For all items on this page & page 43 please order from Brian Rowland, 113 Park Avenue, Orpington, Kent BR6 9EG enclosing the correct payment. Please pay for all goods by cheque payable to “The Seamaster Club”. The Seamaster Club cannot accept credit cards but payment can be made by bank transfer.

Please note that all the items shown on this page & page 43 are intended for Seamaster Club members and their families only, they are not for sale to non-members. The Seamaster Club makes no profit on any of these items. Copies of The Seamaster Story may be made available to non-members upon request, but at a commercial price.

Seamaster Club BurgeesSeamaster Club burgees are now available in two qualities. Standard single-sided priced at £10.00 and de-luxe double-sided priced at £20.00, both prices include p&p.

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Seamaster Boat Logos:We can supply full-colour vinyl transfers with your model number, which are now available for all Seamaster models, including Sailers, at £20 per boat incl p&p. Other logos, etc., may be arranged to order.

Logo Plates Logo Plates for “30” or “8M” logos are available @ £30 + carriage (POA) per set Other plates can be made to order.

CONTENTS2 Seamaster Club Merchandise

3 Contents

4 Diary Dates

5 Chairman’s Report

6 From the Editor

7 Membership News

9 News from the Regions

14 Readers Letters, etc

14Templates For A Canopy:

15 Re: Wortham Blake Gearbox

White Smoke from the Exhaust

16 Heat Exchangers - The Untold Story

Mats, Carpets or Rugs

17 Museum of the Broads

18 Later Voyages of Second Melody Chapter 4

21 LED lighting replacements

24 An interesting Tale of Discovery and Danger

27 Keeping Up Appearances

27 Commercial Adverts

31 Members Classified Advertisements

40 Technical Manuals / Workshop Manuals

41 Your Committee

42 Area Coordinators & Technical Advisors

43 Seamaster Club Publications for Members only

Cover picture: On page 21 et seq Michael Cann, Medway Coordinator, tells us how he has converted the original cabin lights on Sarah Louise, his 30, to brighter leds whilst retaining the original character of the lights.

Disclaimer: The views, opinions and any other content of entries in this magazine are those of the contributors; The Seamaster Club, and the Editor, do not accept responsibility for such content.

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2014 - Programme of Remaining Events

Jun 7th - 8th Great Ouse & Fens Afloat Rally at Lazy Otter GOBA mooringsJun 14th. Broads Evening BBQ with Dilham Boat Club, Dilham Village Hall 6 - 6.30pmJun 21st. Broads Picnic Lunch meet and evening Jazz concert, Museum of the Broads, Stalham.Jun 27th - 29th Broads, The Big One, Ranworth Island mooringsJul 5th Broads, Dilham Boat Club Evening BBQ, Dilham Village HallJul 12th-13th Great Ouse & Fens Summer Garden Party Sans Souci, Little Paxton Jul 19th - 20th Great Ouse & Fens Bedford River Festival Jul 19th - 20th Broads Afloat meet, Brooms & Sunday lunch at The Yare, BrundallJul 26th-27th Thames - Afloat meet, Middle Thames Yacht ClubAug 10th - 24th Thames East Coast CruiseAug 15th - 17th Broads, The Navy Lark, Beccles Yacht Station Aug 16th -17th Great Ouse & Fens Afloat Rally at Brampton Mill GOBA moorings.Sep 5th - 7th Thames - Afloat meet, Cookham MeadowsSep 12th - 14th Broads - The Salhouse WeekendOct 4th Broads, Lunch meet with Dilham Boat Club, Rising Sun, Coltishall.Nov 8th - 9th Seamaster Club Members Weekend & Annual General Meeting, Waveney House Hotel, Beccles.Nov/Dec Great Ouse & Fens End of Season / Christmas Lunch TBADec 6th Broads, Christmas Party, Wayford Bridge Hotel, Stalham

Coordinators are requested to notify the editor as soon as new events are scheduled for their area.

All copy should be sent to the Newsletter Editor: email: editor@seamasterclub.org or post to:

Brian Rowland, at 113 Park Avenue, Orpington, Kent BR6 9EG

DIARY DATES

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Chairman’s ReportJune 2014

Chairman’s ReportAs I write this report the sun is shining, and the forecast for once is for a warm and pleasant weekend. Like me, I am sure many of you will be looking forward to getting out in your boats, in my case for a shakedown cruise, as to my shame I haven’t been out on the water at all so far this season. I have been rather an absentee Chairman for the first part of the year due to holidays (Florida Keys and Peru), and trying to move house (likely to happen in June). I did manage some boating, only as a passenger, namely Key Largo in Florida, where we saw dolphins, pelicans and manatees. Then in Peru we cruised on Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest lake at 5,800 metres above sea level. Here we visited the floating reed islands where people still live and enjoyed a lunch of freshly caught lake trout. Alright for some, I hear you say!All this has meant an element of taking my eye off the ball with the never-ending refurbishment of my 813, Coldstream II, by the well-intentioned and ultimately skilful craftsmen at Wayford Bridge Marine. Hopefully, we will at last be able to pick the boat up this weekend, and the new galley worktop / cupboards / bulkheads do indeed look splendid. Problem is they make the rest of the interior woodwork look shabby – you know the score! Some essential work was done whilst all the cupboards were out; being the replacement of all the 30 odd years old original and now extremely brittle fresh water pipe work. We also had the shower tray filled and gelcoated as it had started to craze and flake off. Finally, to allow the possibility of a hot shower without disturbing all the neighbours by running the engine, an immersion heater has been fitted to the calorifier, working when hooked up to shore power. Given the age of our boats these are all things to be considered, especially the pipe work, otherwise you might wake up to a nasty leak!Here in Norfolk, some hardy members have already enjoyed the first rally of the season at the Waveney River Centre over Easter, and I am sure there will be a detailed report inside this magazine. A further meet took place at the Lion Inn at Thurne over the first May Bank holiday weekend, and the annual Oulton Broad rally will happen next weekend, over the last May Bank Holiday. Being a Bank Holiday the pesky English weather is forecast to take a turn for the worse, but they often get it wrong and the Seamaster Club doesn’t let a small matter of rain / wind / cold / snow interfere with having a good time. Read all about it in the next magazine!Whilst your Committee did not meet formally this month, the business of the Club continues to function smoothly. As already mentioned, the 2014 Members Weekend and AGM is booked at The Waveney Hotel in Beccles, watch this space for more details. Additionally you may have noticed that the magazine has been refreshed slightly (font at least), and for the technologically minded, the Seamaster Club Facebook page continues to grow, both in content and interest. Our Publicity Officer is spreading the message in Motor Boats Monthly again, with an article on how he re-engined his immaculate 24, Mayfly, with a spanking new Nanni diesel. The Vice Chairman has also appeared in this illustrious publication with a shock horror article on how he took an “inland waterways cruiser” (his aptly named 27, Delight) out to sea! What will he get up to next?Happy boating, Peter

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From the EditorRe: Problems with a Marine Surveyor! (Mag 23-2) I am pleased to be able to report that Insight Marine Surveyors Ltd, have agreed to honour the CCJ and Keith Plant has now been paid and the cheque has cleared.

I am pleased also to report that another company, MarinAGlaze, has agreed to offer members a 10% discount when they quote Code SMC10. MarineAglaze market a range of premium boat care products including fender cleaner, general hull cleaners, streak remover, etc. More details in page 27 including a report by Roger Matthews.

With the start of a new season we have had an encouraging number of new members in the last two months - 15 to be precise. This has helped our total membership to remain around 400 members including a handful of foreign members.

In this issue of Seamaster Lives On you will find:Dicussion of a member’s difficulty tracing the cause of white smoke coming from his exhaust.An article from ASAP Supplies describing the different types of heat exchangers that exist for boats.Mike Cann’s article describing how he has converted the original round cabin lights to leds, giving brighter light and consuming less power, but retaining the orioginal appearance.An article by Mike Starnes on exhaust repairs to his 24, Blue Omega.And an interesting “adventure” by Paul Killick who describes meeting up with an old friend (a Seamaster 30 with an interesting past) and getting back to his Thames boatyard in the floods late last year before some of the Thames locks were closed.

On the personal front I am delighted to report that Planters Punch is now back in the water and ready to go. Following my illness and recuperation the Vice-Chairman and the Treasurer did indeed come along and clean the boat. Indeed they did so a week before scheduled so that when Sylvia and I arrived we found her already gleaming in the sun - a lovely surprise. Added to this on the scheduled day they also fitted the replacement head lining in the wheelhouse (which I had varnished beforehand) and fitted two solar panels on the top of the wheelhouse, plus sundry other small tasks like fitting the pilot’s seat.

As if this was not enough I had arranged for the boatyard, Goodchilds Marine, to re-commission the boat for the season and they even took her for a shake-down on Breydon Water. They subsequently did further work on the windows and heater fuel pipe in double-quick time (the fuel pipe having failed the boat safety check). All is now in order and we look forward to a great long weekend on the Oulton Broad rally.

Incidentally, Goodchilds is a superb boatyard giving proper old-fashioned family service at a good price and with excelllent facilites. The only snag for you is that there are few moorings.

Happy boating everyone, and please watch your wash when cruising on inland waters.

Yours

Brian

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New Members1911 Starwind 813Tom & Kate GabrielLudham Great Yarmouth Norfolk NR29 5AB01692678870 07502232401tom.gabriel2@btinternet.comNanni DieselLudhamNorfolk Broads

1912 Rainbow Isle 813Nigel Ian Jones & Patricia MossCaversham Reading Berkshire RG4 8EN01189461664 07799825320bewitched@tmoss72.fsnet.co.ukWortham BlakeTingdene Marina, CavershamRiver Thames

1913 Heaven Sent 25 AdmiralRobin & Frances LuntSutton Surrey SM1 4AP02086439954 07961082304robin.lunt@sky.comNanni 3 cyl dieselPike & Eel MarinaG. Ouse & Fens

1914 Lady’s Well 30Sean & Martina RooneyRahard Athenry Galway+35391877800 +353872353724toseanrooney@gmail.comPerkins 4.236Maddens Marina, PortunmaShannon Navigation

1915 Lillian 3 23Harvey & Linda BamfordDanbury Essex CM3 4DN01245223344 07714332925harveybamford@gmail.comPerkins 4108 Diesel with Enfield outdriveHeybridge BasinHeybridge / Malden

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

1916 TBA 24 CadetMatthew CuoghiWest Kingsdown Kent TN15 6HE07939647359matt.cuoghi@gmail.comBMC 1.5 DieselNorfolkNorthern Broads

1917 Mainstream 23Derek & Lilian KayFreckleton Preston Lancashire PR4 1DZ01772631805 07955306870derek@dlbkay.plus.comPerkins 4108 DieselPendle Marine, Lanc Canal,CatforthInland Waterways

1918 Bluebell II 23SJames DixonExeter St Davids Exeter Devon EX4 2AJ07806525694james@mosscliff.co.ukRetreat Boatyard, TopshamDevon & Cornwall

1919 Blondee 30Malcolm & Kate WalkerRedhill Surrey RH1 1JW01737 764334mwwalkerrose@yahoo.co.ukTwin Thornycroft T154 DieselsWindsor MarinaThames

MAINSTREAM - Library pic

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1923 Rumai 813Roger & Maggie HaversonUpware Cambridgeshire CB7 5YQ01353725915 07770615842roger@upware-village.co.ukBMC 1.5 DieselReach Lode, UpwareGreat Ouse & Cam

1924 Ferrers 23Mark Walker & Ashley MapesWerrington Peterborough Cambridgeshire PE4 5BP01733328955 07512343985mwalker38@googlemail.comPetrol, outdrivenone as yetPeterborough

1925 The Waggler 27Paul & Eve HowShortstown Bedford Bedfordshire MK42 0UX01234741912 07843123988paulhow@homecall.co.ukFord Diesel with PRM gearboxBedford Boat ClubG. Ouse

1920 Oy Fay 27Murray Montgomery & Rebecca SuttonHolburn London WC1R 4PF07788742188murraymont@aol.comBMC 1800 Diesel with Hi-Drive GearboxWilsons & Son Sunbury onThamesR Thames

1921 Kyros 27Keith & Robert RobertsonWelwyn Garden City Hertfordshire AL7 2EU01707377519 07850976277keithwrobertson@hotmail.comPerkins 4108m Diesel withHurth gearboxLee & Stort Cruising ClubLee, Stort, Thames

1922 Badger 8 813Gillie Ivory & Chris BarnettPebmarsh Halstead Essex CO9 2NW01787269229 07585441495gilly.ivory@gmail.comPerkins 4108 DieselGalleon Boatyard, BecclesBroads

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Resignations687 Sylvia & Colin “wish to cancel our membership as Laraine (23) is now up for sale, (at Jones Boatyard, St Ives). We now have a new boat, unfortunately not a Seamaster, but a Shetland 27i. We have enjoyed reading the Seamaster club magazine over quite a few years and wish continued success to the Club. When Laraine has a new owner I will, of course, recommend that they become members of the club.”

1714 Wayne and Pauline “are selling Miss T (30) and have bought a different model.

1716 Roy & Gillian have sold Lady Lancefield (Springfield 27) and resigned from the Club.

NEWS FROM THE REGIONSGREAT OUSE AND FENS REGION

LazyOtter Rally 7TH and 8TH June 2014

This event will be the first afloat rally of the season and will take place on the GOBA moorings adjacent to The Lazy Otter

Restaurant and Bar, at Stretham, CB6 3LU Cambridgeshire, which seems like the middle of nowhere, half way down the Old West river between Hermitage lock and Ely. You will need to bring your own food, barbecue and chairs. If you are unable to bring a barbecue, Gordon and Doreen Shores have volunteered to bring a large double barbecue to share. I will bring along some beer and wine for members, which I will purchase with club finds.The rallies afloat provide an excellent opportunity for members of the club to get together to exchange experiences and discuss any difficulties they may have with their boats, so that the more experienced can give advice and provide assistance to members.We shall be holding a quiz with prizes and a raffle to raise funds for the Club. Any donations of raffle prizes would be appreciated.Brian and I have been members of the Seamaster Club for 14 years and in the early days, on one very hot summer afternoon we were moored at The Lazy Otter and all of a sudden the wind blew up into a gale force, blowing over our generator and forcing boats

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Sans Souci Rally, Little Paxton12TH and 13TH July 2014

Sylvie and Mike Chase have returned to England from their home in New Zealand where they have spent the winter months and have once again kindly invited us to a Garden Party Rally at their home on the bank of the river at Sans Souci, Hayling Walk, Off Mill Lane, Little Paxton PE19 6LR near St. Neots lock. There will be mooring space for up to 10 boats. Please telephone Mike or Sylvie on 07740 083332 to reserve a mooring space. Alternatively, there are plenty of parking spaces if you wish to come by car.

Barbeques are provided but please bring along your own food to barbecue and accompaniments

We will have our usual raffle and once again all donations of raffle prizes would be gratefully received.

Bedford River Festival19TH and 20TH July 2014

Not enough members were interested in having

into the far bank where they were stuck fast. A brave Seamaster 27 came to the rescue but he also got stuck on the far bank until the wind subsided. The locals call this a “Fenland roll”.We were drinking wine at sunset that evening without putting on any lights and when it got dark Brian said he had “bits” in his red wine. I put on the light and the wine was covered completely with black fruit flies, so he strained it through a paper towel and carried on drinking it! One of the first Seamaster Rallies we attended at the Lazy Otter on one Saturday 6th June. The theme was “Teddy Bears Picnic” where everyone bought their teddy bears to join in the fun. My birthday is on 6th June and I also discovered at that rally that three other members of the club were also born on 6th June, two of them were Hazel Moody and June Gaynor, both of whom have since retired from the club but many will remember them. To celebrate my 65th birthday this year Brian is taking me to the Lazy Otter restaurant.

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an official Seamaster Club presence with their boats at this great carnival weekend but we will be there because we have entered our boat in the best dressed cruiser competition and we are usually moored near the suspension bridge, not far from the bandstand. If any Seamaster Club members are at the festival we shall be in our tent after the parade, which is usually held about 2.00 p.m. If anyone wishes to join us and bring along their own picnic, they will be welcome.

Rose Fisher, Area Co-OrdinatorBoat: Spirit of Wild Thyme

NORFOLK & SUFFOLK BROADSBroads Authority NewsNew text service to help Broads boaters: Boaters can get information on the best time to cross Breydon Water on their mobile phones. The Broads Authority is trialling a new text method of sending out the predicted best time to reach the mouth of the River Bure at Great Yarmouth during May and June. For just 6p plus their standard message rate boaters can text the word “Tide” to the number 60777 to receive the predicted low slack water times at Great Yarmouth Yacht Station and the time of sunset for the day of the request and the following day. (Source: Broads Authority web site).

Fisherman’s Inn,Burgh Castle

March 29th

How good to see everyone at The Fisherman’s Inn at Burgh Castle on 29 March, helped by a glorious spring day! We had a good turn out. The food was good and served in good time. Thanks must go to Alice and her team at the Fisherman’s. A low tide proved a bit difficult for those who came by boat.

Attendance:Eric and Dorothy Lady MargaretPeter and Sandra Opus IIRoger and Dottie DelightMichael and Susan Mayfly Will and Su Spirit of Adventure Jon and Caroline Rum NavyDavid and Gisela Touchwood#Alan Davies KoraliRay and Margaret StornowayWill and Patti Jenny WrenStan GoosanderPat and Roger New MoonVal and Trev NorthstreamBy boat:Pam and Chris The JB John and Lesley Glengarrif Angela and Stephen with guests Alison and Mark Emma Louise

Angela and StephenDavid Revill said:‘Twas a goodly meeting at the trough of the Fisherman’s Inn in Burgh Castle recently! As I was not driving, I might warble that a new named beer was not that bad either!!!!!I think that I can confidently say that all those present enjoyed themselves – plus the fact that the company was good too.

Easter at the Waveney River CentreApril 18th - 20th

This was the second running of this event and as Easter was a month later this year our hopes were high that unlike last year the temperatures would be better than sub zero. They were but for the wind which made it feel just as cold. Undeterred we set off for the Waveney River Centre. Roger had arrived just before us

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having spent the night at the Stracey Arms after sailing from Potter Heigham, then leaving at 6am to cross over Breydon Water. On arrival we quickly plugged in to the shore power. Later Peter and Sandra arrived. Jon and Caroline had hoped to come but Rum Navy was still having major work done to its hull but they would come by car. In the afternoon we had great fun trying to erect Peter’s new gazebo, almost losing it in the wind. The evening was spent in the gazebo eating curry, made by myself and Sandra, sitting around three electric heaters which we had plugged into the shore power. The next morning we all huddled in the gazebo

drinking tea and coffee trying to keep out the cold wind. At midday John and Andrea arrived and were made to feel welcome this being their first Seamaster event. Later that afternoon we took a short ferry trip to the other side of the river, whereupon we had a lovely walk on the Carlton Marshes. In the evening we had a pre-arranged meal at the newly refurbished Waveney Inn. The meal was a great success and I must say the landlord and staff looked after us very well. Easter Sunday morning was spent chatting and again drinking tea and

coffee. Then in the afternoon sixteen including Peter and Sandra’s family plus Peter and Stella who were just back from their holiday in Peru and their daughter Laura. Again the lunch was excellent. Finally the day was finished off with five of us having a cheese and port evening on board my boat with the usual amount of hilarity which summed up the whole weekend. The next morning everyone set off early and all agreed it was a great weekend despite the weather. One last thing, I must mention the Waveney River Centre and it’s very good facilities. There is a very well stocked shop, heated shower & WC block, launderette room swimming pool and café along with the newly refurbished Waveney Inn Pub which I must say again was excellent. So if you are in the area it’s well worth a visit.Attendees were:

Mayfly - Michael & SusanOpus 11 - Peter & SandraDelight - RogerLady Jane – John & AndreaRum Navy - Jon & Caroline(by car)Coldstream 11-Peter, Stella and Laura (by car)

Will’s Spring Bash, The Lion Inn , Thurne

2nd & 3rd MayAfter a very well attended Fisherman’s Inn lunch meet and a nice Easter weekend, Thurne seemed a little quiet this year but talking to our regular attending members it was just unfortunate that other things had clashed this year. The Saturday started off a little dull and chilly, but by late afternoon the skies cleared for a lovely evening and a warmer Sunday.Three boats attended by river, Northstream, Crossbow and Glengarriff and a further 10 members attended by road to join us for the

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evening meal.As usual the Lion Inn rallied round to accommodate our table alongside several other very large groups and all arrived on time together. An enjoyable evening was had chatting about up-coming events and on-going boat projects.Attendees were:

Delight - RogerLady Margaret - Dot & EricTouchwood - David & GiselaVincent - Martin & SandraYellow Hammer - JanGlengarriff - John & LesleyCrossbow - Clive & ChristineNorthstream - Trevor & ValJenny Wren- Will & Patti

Evening BBQ with Dilham Boat Club

Jun 14th.Evening BBQ with Dilham Boat Club, Dilham Village Hall 6.30pm. Our annual get together at the Dilham club’s BBQ is a really fun evening with great food and some entertainment; one not to miss.

Jazz Concert at Museum of the Broads

Jun 21st.A picnic Lunch meet and evening Jazz concert, Museum of the Broads, Stalham, hopefully with trips out on Falcon, our 1894 steam launch. For the evening entertainment this year there will be a Jazz set up. Should be good fun. Lets hope the sun shines.

The Big OneRanworth Island

Jun 27th - 29th

Due to the financial restraints we are all experiencing this years event will again be a no cost meeting. So no paperwork, no tee shirts and no goody bags. All of the usual things like fun competitions, a quiz on Saturday evening and the big gas BBQ will be set up for all to use. No doubt Dot & Gisela will be after us all for those raffle prizes! and to buy lots of tickets!I will issue your wonderful Seamaster ducks on the Saturday evening. So just turn up and enjoy it all.

The Navy LarkBeccles Yacht Station16th – 18th August 2014

Hot on the tail of a very successful meet at Ranworth (hopefully!) it’s time to start thinking of the next big event and another excuse to meet up and enjoy the company of likeminded Seamaster enthusiasts.The moorings have been reserved, The Waveney House Hotel booked for Friday evening and the Pearl River takeaway put on standby to produce an excessive amount of food on Saturday evening.The only thing that’s missing are those hardy Norfolk Broads members and their boats!! Brian has included a flyer for the Broads members with this magazine so if you would like to come along please let me know by e-mail at jonmale@live.co.uk or give me a call on 07902 912043 or 01603 630782. Numbers are limited as we are sharing the moorings with the Vintage Wooden Boat Association and whilst they have technically shut down (so I am told) there should be a large contingent from a splinter group in attendance (wooden boat/splinter group – pause for laughter!!!) I have been advised that the yacht station is fully booked that weekend already for casual visitors so book your space early to avoid disappointment.I hope to see as many of you as possible there for what I am sure will be a very relaxing weekend – members of the club committee will also be around on the SaturdayHappy CruisingJon

NORTH EAST REGIONSouth Yorkshire Boat Club

Saturday 12th AprilWe were guests of the excellent SYBC (South Yorkshire Boat Club) on the afternoon of Saturday 12 April. 15 members managed to make an informal and relaxed gathering. It gave us less experienced ‘boaters’ the chance to pick the brains of the knowledgeable. A bit early in the season for an armada of boats to attend but as the club has a number of Seamasters in the basin there was still an opportunity for boat spotting. The weather was good enough for strolling

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around the basin and casting an eye over the pre-season clean ups. Nigel Sanderson’s ‘rare’ 950 is an interesting piece of kit. I have to admit I admired a couple of non Seamasters. I am sure I will get out of that habit with time. A big thank you goes to Des Waite for helping with the SYBC side of the arrangement. They have an OPEN WEEKEND 5th to 7th October for anybody that can make it. Attendees:

Des & Joyce WaitesPeter & Wendy CoultasMike & Jan TooleMel & Margaret WilksStuart & Linda LordMaurice BeanRichard PursellNigel SandersonRod Jones

This was our first meeting, as they say, ‘under new management’ and it is hoped that it is not our last.Stuart Lord

THAMES AREAMTYC Sunbury on ThamesJul 26th-27th - Afloat meet,

The last time we held this event it was extremely popular - MTYC make us particularly welcome. Moorings are provided at the club and I organise a dinner on the Saturday evening and a lunch on the Sunday. The club has no bar so bring your own booze. Please let Brian Rowland or me let me know if you plan to attend and how many of you there will be and whether you are coming by boat or car.Brian Rowland is available on 01689 824531 or email brian@seamasterclub.org. My contact details are: Peter Gwyn-Griffiths, 96 Manor Lane, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middx., TW16 6JB Tel: 01932 ��� ���

Unlicenced on the Thames!Nearly half the structures on the non-tidal Thames are unlicensed, the Environment Agency has discovered.A river wide survey of so-called accommodations - which include pontoons, jetties, and moorings - is under way. Owners of riverside property have to pay for a licence but the latest estimate is that 40% - 45% do not.The drive follows news of another anticIpated cut in government funding, expected to be around £1 million although Defra have yet to announce the grant for the financial year which started last month. And it comes amid growing concerns about the rising cost of registering boats on the river.Marinas along the Thames are being targeted by enforcement officers to check on unlicensed boats. In a recent legal opinion obtained by the EA, a barrister has ruled that the existing waterways registration order applies to tributaries, backwaters and marinas as well as the main river. Source: River Thames News

Readers Letters, etcTemplates For A Canopy:I am after a set of templates for the canopy for a Seamaster 23, do you know anyone who might have a set or where I can purchase them?Tony Havard

Sorry Tony,I don’t know of any and in my experience it is always best to have a canopy custom made

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for a proper fitPaul Killick, Seamaster Technical Re: Wortham Blake Gearbox:From: Tim Haxley, member 1904 I am losing drive on my wortham blake box, are new clutch plates available? Or who might recon the box?

Hi LewisChertsey Meads Marine are the only people to talk to on 01932 564699. They have what’s left of the parts and special tools.Paul

White Smoke from the ExhaustMay 2013Hi Paul,I took your advice and took the boat out of the water and have had my outdrive serviced (it was well overdue as well), had the engine serviced, carb refurbed, fuel pump sorted and petrol tank cleared out. It starts and runs very well now, no flat spots.I had a full survey which luckily came back ok, except the carb was away at the time so I couldn’t demonstrate it running but since then I have had a new BSS certificate while it was out of the water.I notice when putting the power on I get a lot of white smoke out of the exhaust where the water comes out. I am not burning oil and can’t see any water in the oil etc. Any idea what could cause this?Kevin

Hi KevinAll good newsI suspect the white smoke is steam, the only real way to discover is to have the exhaust gasses analysed like they do cars.Paul

Hi Paul,The white smoke is steam. I have had the head gasket and the manifold gasket replaced, everything looks ok with pistons etc. I have had the impeller checked out but can’t seem to get rid of the steam which gets worse when at higher revs and when warm.The only thing my engineer is suggesting now is it might be the manifold itself as they have a chamber at the back apparently and it may not

be dealing with the mix of water and exhaust gasses properly.Do you know of anywhere where they supply this type of manifold, we are pretty sure mine is a 1000cc ford Anglia engine. Do you know of anyone who can perhaps confirm if this can be the cause of the high levels of steam?Kevin

Hi KevinYes the manifolds are available from Freeman specialist (Sheridan Marine) but aren’t cheap. 01491 652085. I thought we decided you had a 1500cc Cortina engine? Have you back flushed the cooling system? In my experience steam is not unusual especially when a thermostat is fitted on a direct cooled engine. Think about it. Stone cold river water entering red hot engine STEAM. The exhaust system also creates hot gasses then injects cooling water straight into it.Usually when those manifolds fail internally the engine runs terribly and you get milky engine oil, take a look at its colour for me?Paul

April 2014:Hi Paul/Brian,Several months on and lots more work, I have replaced quite a few more bits on my Seamaster 23, coil, distributor, starter motor, have had the cylinder head and exhaust manifold gaskets replaced, had a new head and new valves, and pressure tested the manifold.Paul was right, it is a 1500 pre cross flow.As a result of al the work it runs like a dream except for one thing, I still have a cloud of steam from the exhaust, cold warm or otherwise. Worse as speed increases but also visible on tickover. At the back of my boat the exhaust outlet is only about 4 inches long straight from the engine to the outside, well above the water line and there are no U bends or water bottles to cool the water before it is ejected.Another boater said I should just extend my exhaust at right angles so that it goes down into the water and the water and steam will be expelled under the canal water and I wont have any steam clouds behind me, he says lots of boats do this.Someone else said this might cause back pressure.

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method doesn’t always allow the engine to get to its optimum working temperature and means the engine will be running colder than it should be, it is also not normally hot enough to heat a calorifier. This method is considered a less satisfactory method of engine cooling. You could also experience problems as the water galleries inside the engine can block up with impurities from the raw water, the engine components are more susceptible to corrosion and you are unable to add anti-freeze into the system to protect the engine over winter.Indirect cooling – This is the most popular method of engine cooling as the raw water (sea water) never comes into contact with the engine components. The engine will have a separate fresh water circulating system which is passed through a heat exchanger. The raw water is also passed through the heat exchanger inside a tubestack which transfers the heat from the fresh water to the raw water and then the raw water is expelled through the exhaust system, this method, although a bit more complicated, gives better temperature control which is regulated by a thermostat allowing the engine to run at is optimum temperature. This type of system allows you to add cooling additives such as antifreeze to the closed circuit and will produce enough heat to heat up a calorifier.Keel cooling - This is more commonly found on narrow boats and works by pumping the engine coolant water around the engine which is then passed through pipes or skin tanks on the bottom of the hull that take the heat from the water which returns to cool the engine again, this is a closed circuit system and the exhaust would more commonly be a dry exhaust on this sort of application, one of the advantages of this system is that there is no external water source that will enter the cooling system and cause blockages. However, some keel cooled applications incorporate a raw water pump that would be used solely to supply the exhaust system with water, the engine coolant will still be contained in the closed circuit.

Mats, Carpets or RugsFor some time Gisela and I have looked at the hash which I made of ‘fitting’ ground-covers in our 813. Over the years I have cut off-cuts into a rough shape to fit into the four spaces

Can you advise if it is safe to extend my exhaust under the water or have you any idea what can cause the steam on an engine that seems otherwise to run perfectly and has had nearly every major part replaced or checked.?Kevin

Hi KevinHave you checked the water cooled exhaust / inlet manifold for holes especially where the hot spot is between exhaust ports and inlet ports. This was designed into the combi manifold to help heat the fuel/air mix, it’s a little like a core plug right in the centre. Can only be seen with manifold removed!Otherwise I can only assume it to be cold canal water on hot exhaust gasses, basically condensation. Yes one can extend the exhaust outlet under water, some Seamaster 23`s had this arrangement and lots of other boats have it. Volvo outdrive legs and outboard engines do the same.Hope this helps RegardsPaulPS I can’t remember whether your engine is direct cooled, direct cooled with thermostat and bypass valve or heat exchanger cooled?

Heat Exchangers - The Untold Storyby ASAP Supplies

There is more than one way to set up a cooling system for your engine. We would like to share our knowledge of the different methods and how they work.Direct cooling – This is the most basic set up, where water is pumped from the sea or river, it passes through the engine water galleries which transfers the heat from the engine to the water and is then expelled from the engine through the exhaust system. This

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downstairs. Each and every time there have been pieces sticking out and when these were cut off, more appeared. Now, however, we are sorted! I read a couple of adverts in a freeby paper concerning the trimming of carpets etc. and shortly went round to see one of the companies. ‘Twas behind a pub in Stalham, which I thought was a pretty good place to start. Having discussed the scheme with Roger, the owner, he agreed to come and visit ‘Touchwood’, take measurements and carry away my pieces of off-cuts to treat. Early

the next week, I received a call to say that he would be at the boat with the new offerings. He had his lady with him and I considered this to be the full carpet-fitting team all at once! What a very pleasant surprise it turned out to be. Roger laid those four pieces and they fitted like a dream, photo attached. He is such a man that he had substituted some of his own carpet, to match, as the pieces which I had given him were too small to use, according to his professional eyes. So, if you want to have a really good job done at a very reasonable price by a professional, give Roger a call and I’m certain that you will not be disappointed.RUGZ & MATZ 01692 580896 or e-mail rugznmatz@gmail.comDavid and GiselaTouchwood, 813.

Museum of the BroadsIf you are cruising on the upper reaches of the River Ant above Barton Broad or you are on holiday in Norfolk then I can recommend a visit to the Museum Of the Broads at Poor’s Staithe Stalham at the head of Navigation opposite the Moonfleet Boatyard.The concept of a Museum devoted to the story of Broadland was first put forward in 1974, but it was only in 1993 that the idea looked as if it might come to fruition when Len Funnell offered 3 boatsheds in the former Herbert Woods boatyard. After much hard work by Robert Paul and Pamela Masters the Museum opened 3 years later in June 1996. It had taken 22 years since the museum had first been thought of, to the opening.The museum stayed at Potter Heigham for 2 years before moving to its present site in May 1999 thanks to the help and generosity of the owner of the site Mr Norman Ashton.There are four buildings on the site at Stalham Staithe. The entrance to the Museum is through an old warehouse (dated1820) and is called the Wherry Building. In here is the reception, shop with the rest of the building devoted to Wherries with a full size replica of the cabin of a trading wherry.The second building, The Marshman’s manned by our own marshman houses displays covering windmills, rush work, the work of the

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accordionist; how romantic is that After boat chores the following morning we queued for fuel. It took a long time as the speed-boat ahead of us took on 800 litres of petrol. The stink was awful, but it all proved worth-while when we realised that we had found Nemo; we were parked across his bows. I’m sure this information will reassure many of you grand-parents.At last we were served and could set out across Binnen-Muritz, through a narrow strait and onto Muritz, the second largest lake in Germany. It is 10 km wide and 25 km long, so a compass course was required to locate the exit at the other end. After a little while, Castle Klink appeared to stbd. Having such a name redolent of suffering, I imagined a dour fortress with deep dungeons. The fact was

quite different; a minor stately home with lawns leading down to the water’s edge, a sandy beach, a café and an almost empty marina; an ideal spot for a wander and some lunch.Back on the lake, we settled down to a long slog with nothing to look at. At times like that I wish that SM had larger engines so that she could plane and reach her destination sooner. But we had chosen one with the powerless Perkins so we progress steadily. The afternoon was hot and windless. The only excitement was a plague of flying insects which suddenly appeared and filled our cockpit. I imagine that they had just hatched from the lake. Some swallows were trying to hoover them up, but a hundred more would not have made much impact on such a swarm. An hour later we tied up at Rechlin, all hot and sweaty. The marina was not large, but it had toilets and showers which were what we really needed.

reed cutters and wildfowlingOpposite is the Origins Room that details the beginnings of the Broads and how they were opened for the tourist industry. You can also read one of the Museum’s latest exhibits the Time Line.The final shed, The Boat Building, contains several of the Museum’s collection of boats, including MARIA the oldest racing yacht in the country (built 1827), a Norfolk punt, and airborne lifeboat. It also has a display on the history of pleasure sailing on the Broads and a brief description of the Broads classes.Outside there are several more exhibits including a small River Cruiser Tyganda, a Commissioners Launch, a reed lighter, a weedcutter. and possibly the world’s smallest concrete dinghy.Possibly the main attraction of the Museum is the Edwardian steam launch Falcon which takes trips on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays down to Barton Broad (Total time is about 50 minutes).If you have an hour or two to spare and you have the time then do visit this delightfully tranquil setting.The Museum is open 7 days a week from Easter to the end of October.

Later Voyages of Second Melody Chapter 4

Our trip to the Mecklenburg lake district in the former East Germany was proving to be the best cruise we have ever done. Waren is a beautiful old town with many timber-framed buildings, some of which have been tastefully restored and others waiting patiently for the treatment.It was a very hot day so we spent an hour or so in a fascinating antique shop. The owner chatted at length about her holiday in Scotland. She and her son had cut off some hair and buried it there. I suppose that seemed safer than leaving their hearts.The town-centre harbour is lined on three sides with restaurants, cafes and shops. There was even a chandler’s with a Touren Atlas 5 to help us proceed safely and confidently. We ate a very pleasant Italian meal on the terrace of one restaurant while being entertained by a skilled

Castle Klink

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The following morning we were a little disconcerted to find a police patrol-boat floating on the other side of the pontoon. They were not looking for us. Maybe they were just admiring the ospreys which were fishing in the lake; big fish were taken. They continued to entertain us for an hour; the ospreys I mean. Then we had to continue our journey. It was another hot sticky day, but with the promise of thunder. There was more traffic and several locks so progress was slow. It was not improved when a hotel boat insisted on its right to priority, passed a dozen of us and then got stuck entering the lock. We all loved its skipper so much more after that; well it’s good to laugh.Our journey now took on a different aspect. We were in a positive labyrinth of small lakes joined by short lengths of canal and twisting lengths of the river Havel; quite enchanting. There were many opportunities for diversions to left or right. We, as usual, ploughed on; ever true to our quest, whatever that was. We were having fun, until, that is, we arrived at Schedtsee. There we detoured to the north and tied up to a pontoon at the Furstenberg Bootscenter. From there it was only a short walk to Ravensbruck, the site of the notorious concentration camp for women. The first sight was a supermarket built by some insensitive money-grubber hoping to make use of the cheap property with car-parking. A poster told us how protests and demonstrations had prevented its ever being opened. The site of the camp is securely fenced but we were able to walk through the forest and absorb the atmosphere. We could see little of the camp but there were reminders. A life-size bronze sculpture depicted emaciated inmates carrying

a body; presumably for burial. The victorious red army had left a memorial to the liberation – a T 34 tank. Large buildings in the forest seemed to be used to accommodate youth groups. But then, what can be done with such sites? Maybe it should be left to nature. Trees were thriving but otherwise she appeared ineffective. I don’t recall a forest so silent.On our return to the boat, Mary enjoyed a refreshing swim in the lake but I was too downcast to join her. Further along the lakeshore was a huge wall where were recorded the names of the victims. It’s a pity the wall has to be so large.

A more pleasant aspect of this section of

our trip was the variety of other craft that we passed on the water. Many were simply a raft with a garden shed or gazebo atop. Some had a roofed veranda at one end and an out-board motor at the other. Fathers fished from the veranda, mothers sunned themselves in deck-chairs, whilst small children climbed squealing over the roof. It didn’t matter if they fell off; the water was warm and deep enough for swimming. One boat was heavily disguised as a pirate ship. It’s not something I would do myself, but it raised a smile and was, therefore

Ravensbruck Memorial

Minimum carbon-footprint!

Floating garden shed

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totally worth-while. Another was a paddle-boat of about 20 feet long. The first things to catch our attention were the cabin windows in the form of eyes of almond shape. The paddles were about 5 feet in diameter. On the aft-deck a smiling couple reclined under a “Bimini” on comfortable chairs, their knees going up and down as they pedalled past; such fun! Pollution must be at a minimum and the fuel can be pleasurably consumed. I would not like to pedal it into a strong wind, but, in sheltered waters like these, small lakes deep in forest, it seemed excellent.

It was late when we arrived at Bredereiche. At last the thunder shower started, relieving the oppressive heat. The jetty to which we tied up seemed rather flimsy, but there was no wind and we were out of the current so we felt secure enough. Four teenagers amused us for half an hour jumping in the water and splashing each other, shrieking with laughter. They didn’t seem to mind the rain. The same was not true of cyclists who arrived and erected their bivouacs on the playground adjacent to the moorings. I imagine their meal would be less than festive.

The following morning started fresh and bright, but by mid-day the heat was building and it was obvious thunder would arrive soon. We reached Zehdenick by 2:30, moored in an old dock and set off immediately to stock the larder. “Go left at the main road,” we were told, so we did. It was a long, hot walk, with only ice-cream to sustain us. The shopping complex, when we reached it was a sad affair. We went into several shops trying to bolster the local economy, but the quality was poor and all we could find to buy were post-cards, plus bread and milk. Not all Germany, it seems, is booming.

Back at the dock we had just time to shower before the rain arrived. We could have stayed on deck! After the rain-shower, we chatted with neighbours, Angela and Walter, who suggested we should go into town together to a restaurant they knew. They spoke English well and we had a very pleasant party. The town proved to be delightful. Clearly we should have turned right when we went shopping.

Returning to the boats, we came across a heap of household articles on the pavement. Walter explained that when one replaces one’s goods it is the custom to pile the old things outside so that people can help themselves. There was little that could go on an 8 meter, but one item did catch my eye; a piece of hard-board painted black. At the top was painted the name of a brewery and below, in white chalk, the message: Zimmer frei mit hafen blick, (room free with harbour view.) Maybe I had taken too much wine, but it seemed to be just what we needed. It now resides in the guest room of our French cottage. It still seems appropriate to me, though the harbour is well out of sight.The next day started wet, so we spent our time catching with laundry and other chores. In the afternoon it dried up a little and we set off. It was only a short distance to our next stop, Liebenwalde. Through the lock we went and into the Vosskanal, passing the despised hotel boat on the way. Soon it began to rain again; as heavy a rainstorm as I can remember! Not only rain, but strong wind and there was nowhere to tie up. As if that was not enough, the port wiper-blade, the driver’s side, blew off and clattered out of sight. I was blind. Tall as I am, I could not steer and look through the stbd wiper. We had had a similar experience years before when the bonnet of our old Range Rover blew up on the A34. We had been passing a Volvo at the time and there was a steep drop to the other carriageway on the offside. Fortunately, we were only doing about 50 mph and Mary guided me calmly and safely to a lay-by. This time, in Second Melody, it was a doddle. Mary assumed command, “Left hand down a bit,” etc and all was well. The storm passed long before we reached the marina.

Room to let

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LED lighting replacements.It was one of the first things I noted once I’d taken over Sarah Louise, Seamaster 30, how little light the standard light fittings provided. Moored as we were on our first night at Chelsea I turned on the lights and was surprised how poorly standard 10 watt bayonet bulbs lit the saloon. So as one of my winter projects I determined to see if I could improve upon this. Having caravanned for many years I’ve used with great success LED replacements and augmented standard lighting systems with them, so why not the boat?The standard circular Hella ceiling lamps were in a poor condition on my boat with the aluminium ring showing signs of corrosion. Also the internal connections were in a bad way having been in service for 30 years or so. This type of Hella lamp is unfortunately no longer made, so replacements or parts are not available. I know some people have replaced the lamps with something completely different, however I wanted to try and keep things looking original if possible. Deciding I’d need to remove all the internal fittings I took to the lamp and cut away all the protruding base mouldings that held the brass connections, next I flattened out the mild steel galvanised plate that serves as an earth connection and bulb support. This was very easy to accomplish with a small pin hammer. I left the galvanised plate in place, but also used a good glue to attach it firmly to the plastic fitting. Whilst the glue was setting I turned my attention to the translucent bulb cover. This particular lamp had been used (I suspect many are the same) with an over-rated bulb. Over time this had caused the plastic to cloud over and in parts turn brown. Knowing I’d not be able to remove the cloudiness totally, I scraped the brown plastic away very carefully with a sharp craft knife. The resultant is okay, in that the brown discolouration has gone but some of the cloudiness remains. As I mentioned the aluminium surround had been attacked and showed signs of corrosion. The way I chose to deal with this was to very lightly rub down the metal until all signs of corrosion had gone with fine wet and dry paper, I used it wet as it gives a smoother finish. After

this it’s time for paint. I’d decided not to go with another silver or aluminium finish, but off-white so to match in with the ceiling. I used a white primer followed by several coats of gloss colour. There was nothing special about the paints which I bought from my local car accessory shop, just standard spray cans. Out in my garage I constructed a spray booth from an old card board box and sheeted up everything near. The secret is to add multiple thin coats turning the object being sprayed so it’s attacked from all angles! Using an upturned pot or similar helps with this. When the primer coats are finished and properly dry, rub them down slightly with wet and dry, used wet and then start with the top coats. The other secret is to start spraying just slightly ahead of the object, so that as the spray passes over it there’s no spatter and the spray is even.Warning!! Make sure you only spray in well ventilated places and wear a suitable mask.

In previous experiments to replace the bayonet bulbs I’ve tried LED strips and even a rectangle of LED’s – the latter turned out to a really nasty surprise as it super heated and the components started to fail, so seriously not recommended.Instead I have gone back to my caravan lamp replacement experience and decided upon a G4 24 LED 12v halogen bulb replacement, mounted on a connector block. The clever point of these lamps is they have in built rectifiers so polarity is not a problem. They are not particularly expensive at £8.76 each, when you consider the run time you’ll get from one; but also they are a batteries friend. Consider if you will a standard bulb, most are about 10W (watts) although there are others double that capacity. The LED replacements I have chosen

The finished results of spraying and scraping.

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are rated at 1.9W. So for this example the 10W bulb consumes 0.83A (amps) per hour the replacement consumes 0.31A per hour. Then we need to consider the light output from the bulb and LED’s. The bulb still only emits 10W of light, but the LED will emit the equivalent of 20W. I ought to mention the colour of the LED’s too. They come in two ranges; cool white (read bluish) and warm white. I prefer the latter, but it’s individual choice in the end.The LED’s I’ve chosen are warm white which is categorised at 6000KFor electrical reference A=W/V: watts divided by volts gives amps.Connecting the partsTake a G4 bulb, remove the plastic spreader which holds the two wires apart – see figure 2

Figure 2You’ll need to put a crank in the connector wires one to fit snugly into the connector and also to raise the LEDs up (so there’s no chance of them touching the base plate).The power supply is also fitted directly into the connector block. As the LED’s I’ve selected are capable of dealing with AC as well as reversed polarity this is a simple one to one connection; also there’s no need to worry over polarity.Now lets turn to the power lead. I recommend only using tinned wire, this is to prevent electrical problems caused by corrosion of the conductors; which is due to the atmosphere our vessels have to contend with. In any event I’d advise tinning the ends of all wires as it provides a much better electrical connection. For those who like know what tinning involves, it’s simply adding solder to the ends of the

wires, thus sealing the metal strands together is one solid piece. Add solder to the tip of the hot iron and bring the iron up under the wire to be tinned, as the wire becomes hot the solder will flow onto it, touching the solder to the heated wire will also do the same thing. Figure 4 gives an idea of what this looks like and yes, you do need 3 hands. When this is complete crimp or solder the appropriate terminators to the ends of the wires so you can connect up to your boats power supply.

Fig 3 Tinning wiresFitting it all togetherThe competed lamp unit can now be added to the baseboard, it needs to be properly secured by a nut, bolt and split washer through the connector block to the metal plate. Double sided tapes will not hold for long, do it properly for a good lasting finish.

Fig 4 LED installed in housingOnce installed back in the boat remember to check your fuses. LED lamps use a lot less energy so the fuse rating can be reduced accordingly. Use the formula A=W/V to determine how many amps each lamp uses and reduce fusing down as required.

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Blue Omega Exhaust Repairs‏ I attach some pictures of the exhaust section (between manifold and silencer) at the point where cooling water is injected just in case the story may be of interest to other members. “Blue Omega” is a 24ft Cadet, 1964 vintage, that is still running on the original Wortham Blake engine (Ford Zephyr). Blue Omega has been in the family since 1966 and the only non routine parts changed on the engine are the water cooled manifold and a bent valve rod (both changed about 25 years ago).

Towards the end of last season we began to smell exhaust fumes in the cockpit but not finding any obvious leaks put it down to a following wind blowing the exhaust back.

However on re-commissioning the engine a few weeks ago I noticed steam rising from the lagging around the exhaust pipe at the point where the cooling water is injected. There was still no obvious sign of an exhaust leak and I could not feel any hot exhaust gas escaping when running my hand over the lagging. However I stripped it down to investigate and was amazed to find the exhaust had corroded to the extent that it had completely broken into two sections as you can see on the picture. The lagging was holding the two bits together and doing a reasonable job at keeping the

Sensible Safety Warning:There are many different types of LED replacements available on the internet, some very good, some dangerous. In the making of this article I trialled a cheap Chinese block of LED’s that were advertised as replacing car bayonet bulbs and came with a self adhesive backing. Running these LED’s produced a great deal of heat, even though my constant voltage power unit was supplying 12 volts correctly. After about 30 minutes of continuous running smoke came from the assembly; so definitely not recommended!So it’s case of knowing your supplier and cheap isn’t always best.The single 20W G4 bulb I selected only got warm when run over 10 hours indoors and shut inside the lamp unit. However I wouldn’t recommend running two in the same enclosure as my tests show a pair will raise temperature too much. As always there are other LED’s available in power consumption and light output, so there is a certain amount of trial and error involved. Please check after modification the fuses are correctly changed and also that the enclosure remains only warm after extended running.If anyone does experience problems with this modification I’ll be happy to answer any questions.LED’s sourced from LED Supreme UK, Chesterfield, DerbyshireItem 230669156614 G4 24 SMD LED 12v 150LM 1.9W White ... Cost £8.76 each.http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ledsupremeukMichael Cann, Medway Co-ordinatorPhotos by Ruth Cann.

The finished lamp unit.

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had two 180HP Ford diesels on shafts. Shotleys manager had bought her and then discovered an intermittent loss of oil pressure on one engine, he had several so called marine engineer experts look at it but no one could explain the fault with any degree of assurance so he asked me to take her for a test run and give him my thoughts on how best to proceed the next time I visited Shotley which I did.Truth be known I was dying to have a crack at her out of interest as much as anything else. O/K the fit out was very heavy, thick mahogany and plywood everywhere, far to chunky and poorly jointed. The engines took up most of the cockpit and the forward bulkhead was a foot further forward than on a factory boat, they had not used down angle transmissions so the engine boxes were at steep angle in line with the engine inclination with large pilot seats on top and a narrow flat floor between the fore and aft cabin doors. The fuel tanks took up all of the space under the rear cabin bunks that were very nearly wide enough for doubles. The cockpit was enclosed by a heavily constructed timber wheelhouse with two sliding doors and the overall appearance was poor, when ashore I noticed the large props, 22 shafts and huge bolt heads running in four lines protruding through the hull roughly where the engine bearers should be. I confirmed their purpose once inside between the engines.Anyway I went into Shotley on Sea Chant as arranged, checked it over ashore before it

RUM RUNNER (Ex Green Ivy)

exhaust gases in. The point of interest here is that lagging on the exhaust can hide a major problem to such an extent and run the risk of gassing the crew!

A local steel fabricators made up a stainless steel replacement for me and we are now enjoying fresh air again as we go cruising. If anyone needs a similar part I used Steelcraft in Soham, Cambridgeshire who were very helpful and quickly produced a top quality piece using the remnants of the old system as a pattern (e-mail: office@steelcraft.biz).

My main concern now is how long will the manifold last as the replacement has already lasted longer than the original, has anyone any ideas where to find manifold for a Wortham Blake Ford Zephyr conversion?! Mike Starnes

An interesting Tale of Discovery and Danger

The boat is very interesting and a long story. I first saw it there in September 2012 and again in October 2012 when aboard Sea Chant. I just managed to stem the current in astern and spoke to the owner who confirmed her original name and engines because I suspected I’d seen it before miles from Abingdon. The flow was so fast I couldn’t hold station for long at 2500RPM in astern and with the added danger of Don aboard Harmony Row losing control behind me.I was correct in my assumption that I had not only seen the boat before under the name of “Green Ivy” but had worked on her in Shotley Point Marina Harwich for the owner who was the marina manager. The boat was custom built in 1974 and

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was launched for testing. The engines were a mishmash of marinised parts, dirty and appeared much larger than when installed in other craft for obvious reasons. They fired up O/K in clouds of smoke and once up to temperature I raised the RPM slowly until both were free running on the stops, max RPM was about right and the turbos spun up nicely and both oil pressures were normal. Assured all was well I locked out, ran out of the long narrow marina channel into the expanse of the harbour and increased RPM slowly, the thing took off at 16 Knots on half throttle and minimum turbo boost pressure. Just as I opened the throttles further the port engine alarms went off and all oil pressure was lost, I shut it down re started it and slowly increased the RPM again and the same thing happened. Annoyed that I wasn’t going to find out just how fast this thing was on this trip, I played about down the Stour on one engine, where no moorings were, just for interest and quickly got her back to 15 knots on one engine only, then returned to Shotley and locked back into the marina basin. I had already guessed what the oil pressure problem was from years of working on Ford Truck and Marine engines, “oil pump drive slip”. Problem is that the oil pumps are in the sumps so would require lifting out, turning upside down, sump removed and new pump installed. The big problem was how to get the wheelhouse off and re-fitted without destroying it? I suggested he didn’t re fit it and had a new helm shelter constructed from GRP by Viking Mouldings but he wanted to retain the darn thing. After a few hours deliberating and lifting her back ashore I decided I could lift the 1 ½ tonne engine and spin it on its side inside the boat. A year later due to the owners ill health I returned by car with a new pump all kitted out to do the deed, three days later the engine was back in and so was the owner in hospital. I couldn’t hang around down there so returned home to wait for the owner to arrange re-launching and sea trials but sadly he died in hospital so that was that. Most annoying was never being able to take her for a proper run on both engines to discover how quick she really was. The boat sat there ashore for two or three years and one year disappeared, sold

to someone up north I was told. I often wondered whether I would ever see it again and in 2012 in Abingdon, moored opposite Sea Chant and Harmony Row was an unfamiliar Seamaster 30. Not named Green Ivy but appearing very similar in many ways with the same huge exhausts. No one was aboard but it looked like someone was living on it as did the boats moored nearby. I took some pictures and cruised very close to it trying to find somewhere to post a club flysheet but it was raining hard and we were due to moor in Abingdon Marina where our boats would stay until the last week in October 2012 for our annual Autumnal Cruise and back to Weybridge before Chertsey lock closed for winter maintenance on November 1st. Don and I returned to Abingdon by train as planned but the river was in full flood, we knew it would be due to the previous weeks rainfall but had no choice, we had to be back by November 1st before Chertsey lock’s closure and the club AGM plus we had booked the week off months in advance. The marina needed us out because our temporary berths were booked for six month winter moorers the very next day. Don and I pulled out and onto the main river that was running high & extremely quickly,.We were both single handed because for some strange reason nobody wanted to come with us the week before November. No sense of adventure! We decided, as it was late Saturday afternoon the best thing was to go upstream under Abingdon Bridge and overnight on the swimming pool moorings from where we could wander into town for evening meals at a very good Indian restaurant we had been to before. Negotiating Abingdon Bridge’s only navigable arch with a seven knot current against was interesting to say the least, I lowered the mast and VHF aerials in advance after seeing how high the river was. We certainly had to push the engines through that narrow gap where the river speed was even faster than main stream, the wash we created was excessive to say the least and the bridge echoed the exhaust and engine noise enough to attract the attention of all around. I am sure there was a foot difference in level between the buttresses.

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The proposed mooring was clear but the river was level with the timber capped banking, luckily this mooring is set back into the bank with a tree lined bankside upstream of it which caused a lee with slack water but a slight back eddy close in. I grabbed two mooring lines, stakes and club hammer, made my approach as I was immediately aware the back eddy was pushing the boat forward surprisingly quickly. I got alongside and made a big jump ashore onto the very soggy grass and had to pull back hard on the stern line to prevent Sea Chant from burying her nose into the trees ahead, I stood on the straining rope whilst hammering in the mooring stake and made it fast pronto. The stake was visibly pulling out of the soggy grass so I quickly wrapped the rope around a nearby Lifebuoy stand that was concreted in and took the headline forward securing it around a tree and back to a side cleat to secure her temporarily. Don made his approach, I don’t think he heard me shouting back eddy and tailwind. I grabbed his head line off the foredeck but the back was swept around and before he knew it was out into the stream again, after a while he managed to get Harmony Row in far enough so I could grab the stern line. After a long period securing the boats and setting fenders in case the level came over the bank during the night we sat and had well deserved spiked hot coffee with the Eberspacher on deliberating our situation and a plan of action. After dark on our own boats with heaters running beautifully we made phone calls and I logged into the EA (Environment Agency) river Thames level web pages, opposite was the Seamaster 30 in darkness. The EA website suggested levels were high, red boards at the locks and levels falling. If you don’t know the Thames has manned locks, operable out of hours by owners via the electro hydraulic mechanisms. In this mode the sluices are governed by a three or four stage delay to prevent opening the sluices too quickly and causing incidents and accidents, when the river levels rise and fall coloured boards are displayed warning boaters. Yellow for increasing and decreasing and red for high and fast when navigation is not recommended. Most owners are not insured to travel against red boards unless given express

permission to do so. We walked into Abingdon as planned in very heavy rain, had a lovely Curry at a very favourable price, a few beers in a hostelry then back on board for a good night’s sleep. Well I had a good night’s sleep apart from a couple of trips to the heads when I checked we weren’t floating around in Abingdon’s parkland. I think Don was restless because he was nervous about his first flood water experience looming ever nearer. By morning the river was still racing past but had dropped a few inches so we made the decision to head down stream and see what the next lock and weir was going to be like. That’s when I spotted someone aboard the Seamaster 30 so I went into astern for the chance of a very quick chat, not easy in that sort of stream and a fresh breeze but at least I was able to confirm it did used be green Ivy. The owner tried to tell me something about not having the same engines but I couldn’t really make out what he was saying with the engines running astern at 2500 RPM. With Don behind I had to abort further conversation so went ahead to re-negotiate the narrow channel leading to the bridge. The story of our interesting, challenging, stressful but altogether enjoyable passage to our home moorings during the rest of the week was in the Mag back in 2012 or early 2013 I think. This story all started when I emailed some photos of the Thames at Abingdon in flood 2014 to Brian R, taken by a pal of mine who has moved to Benson Oxfordshire riverside where Brian & Sylvia R used to moor Planters Punch and in the photo was the mystery Seamaster now named RUMRUNNER. As Brian had requested magazine material for the next issue and a photo for the cover, plus I was grounded yet again due to inaccessible boats for BSS inspections for the third week running I sat at my PC and churned out a story relevant to the photo and the boat pictured. I hope you enjoy the read and are not one of the thousands of flood effected people.Happy New Year and Good Boating for 2014

Paul Killick

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Keeping Up AppearancesAnyone who knows me in the boating world knows I love a clean boat so I’m always looking for products that make cleaning my boat as easy as possible and still giving great results.A couple of years ago I went on my annual trip to the London Boat Show with our treasurer Jon Male and while grazing the various stands ever looking for something new we came across the AGlaze stand, I had never heard of them but Jon had and suggested we had a look.AGlaze is a Kent company dedicated to producing refinishing products for automotive, aviation and more importantly marine industries. Jon informed me he had used their fender cleaner several times and highly recommended it. He also said what a helpful company they are to deal with. Once on the stand I met Michael Bollom the managing director, who was very helpful and recommended to me a couple of products that he thought I would like.The first product he recommended was their Eradicator sponge and Nano lubricant. These products work together as a brilliant mark remover, a black streak, small scuff or ingrained dirt with the combination of these two products

the results are quick and easy. The sponge is their high quality version of the magic sponges sometimes seen in supermarkets and the Nano lubricant enables the sponge to work efficiently and also prolongs the life of the sponge.The second product was the Wash N Shine shampoo. It is a little more expensive than washing up liquid or car wash, but it has been specially formulated to clean painted surfaces and GRP without damaging the pigment structure in the colour and ‘dulling’ it over a period of time. The removal of streak marks can be done with ease and will give your craft added gloss with less drying.After looking at both these products and others, I bought their sponge, lubricant and the wash n shine as they had a great boat show deal. Since the show I have used these products regularly and replenished my stocks at the next show as they really do what they say on the tin.The good news is after my last visit to their stand at this years boat show, I convinced them to advertise in our magazine and better still to give Seamaster club members introductory discounts by quoting the Code SMC10.You can view all their marine products at their website www.marineaglaze.com.