CHERTSEY

BOATS, BRIDGES, BOILERS ... IF IT'S GOT RIVETS, I'M RIVETTED
... feminist, atheist, autistic academic and historic narrowboater ...
Likes snooker, beer, tea, rivets and solitude, and is strangely fascinated by the cinema organ.
And there might be something about railways.
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Thursday 21 March 2013

Cutting it

Jim has refitted the cutter on Chertsey's engine pipe ready for the trip to the Port next week. I don't believe we ever damaged this one on a bridge; it was held on with bolts that were rattling loose, and the idea on a nut down the exhaust didn't appeal, so we took it off for that reason.


I am still in two minds as to whether the aesthetic and tunnel-crap avoidance benefits outweigh the extra height, but

2 comments:

  1. Get a shorter one for tunnels ??

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  2. Although 90-95% of the time in a "wet" tunnel like Blisworth you will largely get away without a "cutter", on those remaining small percentage of times, particularly after certain weather conditions, it is a very serious mistake to go through without one.

    I can imagine you can work out how I know this, (!), but all I can say is it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, took hours to clean up the boat and me, and I was still suffering from grit and soot in my eyes about 2 days later.

    That said, our boat throws enough smoke that my "pipe" of choice, (except in wet tunnels!), is a similar height to that you picture, but with no cutter, in a bid to get the smoke to pass overhead, rather than getting "slit" and much of it then coming straight at you.

    I really must get a "proper" pipe made for normal use - the slightly bent Midland Chandlers offering currently in use doesn't really look the part!

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