diff --git a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/ByteableMarshaller.java b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/ByteableMarshaller.java
index 5b83e2d0e..f9b1ef9ea 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/ByteableMarshaller.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/ByteableMarshaller.java
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ public abstract class ByteableMarshaller<E extends Byteable>
 
     @Override
     public void writeSize(Bytes bytes, long size) {
+        assert size == this.size;
         // do nothing
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DoubleMarshaller.java b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DoubleMarshaller.java
index 917cd1ca6..012f68ac3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DoubleMarshaller.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DoubleMarshaller.java
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ public enum DoubleMarshaller implements BytesInterop<Double>, BytesReader<Double
 
     @Override
     public void writeSize(Bytes bytes, long size) {
+        assert size == 8L;
         // do nothing
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DummyValueMarshaller.java b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DummyValueMarshaller.java
index 6006844f7..a80299622 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DummyValueMarshaller.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/DummyValueMarshaller.java
@@ -90,6 +90,7 @@ public enum DummyValueMarshaller
 
     @Override
     public void writeSize(Bytes bytes, long size) {
+        assert size == 0L;
         // do nothing
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/IntegerMarshaller.java b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/IntegerMarshaller.java
index a20c49a7e..379b7e3d0 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/IntegerMarshaller.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/IntegerMarshaller.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ public enum IntegerMarshaller
 
     @Override
     public void writeSize(Bytes bytes, long size) {
+        assert size == 4L;
         // do nothing
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/LongMarshaller.java b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/LongMarshaller.java
index 0e2403d52..975c553d5 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/LongMarshaller.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/LongMarshaller.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ public enum LongMarshaller
 
     @Override
     public void writeSize(Bytes bytes, long size) {
+        assert size == 8L;
         // do nothing
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/SizeMarshallers.java b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/SizeMarshallers.java
index ce00a356d..f80c33605 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/SizeMarshallers.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/hash/serialization/internal/SizeMarshallers.java
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ public final class SizeMarshallers {
 
         @Override
         public void writeSize(Bytes bytes, long size) {
+            assert size == this.size;
             // do nothing
         }
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/map/ReplicatedChronicleMap.java b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/map/ReplicatedChronicleMap.java
index cd5642d1c..a8da7eb80 100644
--- a/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/map/ReplicatedChronicleMap.java
+++ b/src/main/java/net/openhft/chronicle/map/ReplicatedChronicleMap.java
@@ -743,13 +743,8 @@ final class ReplicatedChronicleMap<K, KI, MKI extends MetaBytesInterop<K, ? supe
                 return 0;
             }
 
-            final boolean isDeleted = entry.readBoolean();
-            long valueSize;
-            if (!isDeleted) {
-                valueSize = valueSizeMarshaller.readSize(entry);
-            } else {
-                valueSize = 0L;
-            }
+            entry.skip(1); // is Deleted
+            long valueSize = valueSizeMarshaller.readSize(entry);
 
             alignment.alignPositionAddr(entry);
             long result = (entry.position() + valueSize - start);
@@ -793,7 +788,7 @@ final class ReplicatedChronicleMap<K, KI, MKI extends MetaBytesInterop<K, ? supe
         if (!isDeleted) {
             valueSize = valueSizeMarshaller.readSize(entry);
         } else {
-            valueSize = 0L;
+            valueSize = valueSizeMarshaller.minEncodableSize();
         }
 
         final long valuePosition = entry.position();