TimD

I've also had this problem. I found that a sharp not heavy knock with a stick of firewood seemed to kick the accumulator pump into action. I presume it was due to a worn part sticking. I also found the problem annoying when showering, but the solution was to turn the shower tap on, knock the pump into action and then it would stay on for as long as a tap was open.

You do realise that if you have a widebeam with a mooring in Stratford/Worcester, if you want to go anywhere other than the Rivers Avon or Severn, you'll need to get a pilot to take you down the Severn Estuary into Bristol? And once in Bristol there's only one route along th K&A until you reach Reading.

no, unless it's a very wide canal you drive in the centre. You only pass on the right.

Erm, then how come this song Tom Beech's last trip was ever written if there was never a folk song tradition about canal boating.

Hindsight ;-)

The red-dye is so that the authorities can see if road vehicles have used it, and is OK to use in boats regardless of whether it's for heating or propulsion. The question about how much tax you can/should/ought/do pay on the fuel is another topic ..... I thik I'll quickly pop round the shop to buy some popcorn :-) Have fun on your new boat.

The Double locks has let its standards slip a bit in the last couple of years. It's in a great location but the beer and food has been on autopilot for a while as they know they'll always get the custom. If you have to make a choice of just one then Turf Lock is much the better bet. Oh and the towpath walk at tiverton's just become a hell of a lot more interesting BBC link

As you point out the EA data doesn't really match up to boat navigation. If you often travel on the same river sections it is worth keeping some notes so you can match the EA river height with the corresponding Red/Yellow/Green status at the river-lock/gate. The EA gauges don't correspond to the lock locations so you'll need to choose carefully, making sure you have the right river(not a tributary)! It's also worth keeping an eye on a couple of points up river as well to give you an idea of what's to come. On the point of insurance, I don't know for sure but I would imagine that providing you don't enter a river section when a river's in the red and you don't deliberately dawdle unless conditions are perfect then you should be insured. If mooring overnight then make sure you're on a good floating pontoon.

As long as you are careful with the stove, leaving the boat with the fire going also reduce the risk of another boater's nightmare - being burgled. If burglars are about, which boat are they going to break into, one that has smoke drifting out the chimney?

This depends on what you mean by "moor somewhere for a couple of months". If you are prepared to move your boat every couple of weeks albeit half a mile down the canal each time, then move to a completely new place every 6 to 8 weeks, you should be OK as a Continuous Cruiser (CCer). Over the Winter you'd be able to get a BW wiInter mooring if you wanted to stay put for 3 or 4 months don't know. If you really do want to stay put for 2 months at a time then you'll need to keep on finding marinas that can put you up for your stay.

Using the same logic you should advocate banning CCing because some CCers bridgehop/never move. Oh yes while you're about make sure that boaters in marinas don't stay aboard overnight unless they have a residential mooring and pay council tax for it. Don't you realise that by requiring bike licenses and insurance you'll put the good guys off taking up cycling in the first place but won't stop the "baddies" from cycling without insurance. Good luck predicting which newborns will be cyclists! Or do you mean "all anticyclists should be shot at birth"?

Agree with most of this but purely for the sake of balance. You are at the mercy of river levels there, there is no sanitary station on the cut so the you need to get to Leeds or Castleford which are quite often inaccessible. [there might be an Elsan at Lemonroyd marina but you'd need to pay to use it]. The pubs in town are a bit ropey especially if you're after real ale and one of the pubs featured in Nicholson's near the lock has disappeared. The other one "the two pointers" is your best bet. The only public loos in town are always locked, and there is no decent cafe around. I soon got fed up with having to go up the steep hill into town all the time The nearby station is a real plus and if the mooring is on the western bank then you'll be able to drive a car right up to the boat. A friendly Lockkeeper is often around and is a good source of info regarding river levels, and had no worries about leaving my boat unattended there for a few days.

Make a plan but keep it flexible. This time of year you often find you can't moor where you want to because there's no space at the visitor moorings. 6 hours a day is sensible plan if you're on your own, but if there's two of you then planning 10 hours a day is easy even if you do have to stop for a hour to do shopping and another for lunch. You'll still have a couple of hours daylight if you really need to push on to somewhere better. Oh and if you're going near Birmingham or Manchester don't forget to factor in the hourly stops to clear the propellor!

It's certainly easy to overplan because the details are never turn out as you actually envisage them. Flexibility in your planning is always a good idea. When planning an important be aware that stoppages/floods etc can happen at any time.