Advice on How To Clean Your Narrowboat Propeller When it is Clogged up With Leaves

Now that  winter has arrived the leaves are falling fast off the trees into the canals and rivers, thus creating a problem that narrowboat owners should be aware of.  As the propeller on a narrow boat turns during cruising, any leaves that are floating or suspended in the water can collect on the propeller blades and get stuck on the propeller building up into a 'dohnut' shape and sticking to the propeller.  As a result, the narrowboat will be loosing drive and this can potentially make the engine overheat, puttin a strain on the engine.  If you are experiencing loss of drive and engine stress because of leaves stuck on the propeller of your canal boat, the best way to resolve this problem is to put the gear box into reverse gear.  This should throw off the build up of leaves and resolve the problem.  If after trying this, you are still experiencing problems, pull over and take the weed hatch off and inspect the propeller by hand to make sure that no other foreign objects are tangled around the propeller.

For more information on narrowboating see Whilton Marinas You Tube Videos