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thats a bit cheeky ain’t it? what they charging for connection?

Yes but have you got a 12 gauge autoloader? No real boaters are without such things.

It’s called “Rottweiler”. You can’t miss it It says beware of the dog in every window. I suggest you give me a shout first. My nickname is “Odd Job” and I have a lot of tattoos, bald head, bike chain holding my pants up and knuckle duster. You can tell I work out as there are dumb bells on the towpath. I’ll try and make sure I’ve taken my pills

A marina we are in for the winter is charging 31p per unit for electric hook up, plus a charge for the connection to the post. This price per unit seems quite high to me and I wondered how it compares with other marinas and moorings?

Interesting that, not something I’ve ever given thought to but obvious when pointed out. I try to keep an eye on wind direction forecast to see how sheltered I’ll be which is why I recall they were North Westerly here at Tipton. It’s going to be a few more days til they can remove the tree blocking me from moving which has kind of messed up my Xmas plans. But hey ho….or perhaps Ho Ho 🎅

I took a patient over to Aberystwyth Hosp today, along the A44 from Llangurig, and the number of trees blown down on the opposite side of the Wye valley to Sweet Lamb is amazing. Then you go over the top and through Ponterwyd and realise that the estimate of 100+ trees that were blocking the road was probably an understatement. The road might be clear, but there is going to be many months of work to clear what is fallen away from the road.

Like ICE cars diesel on a boat is indeed easy, and cheap, and very common -- also noisy, vibrationy and smelly. Like EVs electric propulsion on a boat is more complex, (currently) more expensive, and still uncommon -- also largely*** free from noise, vibration and smell. Which is why -- just like with cars -- most boats are diesel, but an increasing number are electric to suit those boaters who appreciate the advantages and are willing to pay for them... 😉 *** less so when running a diesel generator, obviously... 😞

There are lots of names between Linslade and Cowley that have disappeared from general use. Quite a few are on that map. Nags Head Three. ( I never did work out where the Nags Head was Peters Two Sweep's Bushes I was also told about Jackdaw Pound that I believe referred to the pound above the Three Locks at Soulbury

I haven't checked the wind direction against prevailing in Brum but a big fat yes to a storm from an unusual direction causing more damage. Trees react to the environment and add reinforcing growth to support against the prevailing wind or other factors acting on it

It is entirely unsuitable which is why earlier I suggested asking Vetus for financial assistance in exchange for advertising. I reckon an 'outboard style' pod motor arrangement in a well could work but its a bit of a shot in the dark to be fair. Having owned 6 different narrow Boats in my life I would have a Diesel engine if I had another one. Its so much easier ! no planets were harmed or saved in this experiment. People keep calling the Boat I live on at the moment a 'narrowboat'. Its actually 9ft wide but because it is a copy of an Edwardian gentleman's saloon launch and I have random non specific junk on the top it gets called a narrowboat ! I was quite shocked. Diesel is king and will be for a long time.

It does, and it has a reasonably high-torque rim motor and a ducted 7-blade prop, all good for low noise -- as Vetus rightly claim 🙂 Two huge negative points though; it's not steerable (surely the entire point of a pod drive?), and if debris damages the "easily replaceable" prop -- which can't be bashed back into shape, it's composite not bronze -- it'll cost you about £2000 for a replacement. Always assuming you don't damage the pod itself, which will cost you about £10000 to replace... 😉 Vetus are well known in the canal world for being "never knowingly underpriced"... 😉

So it looks like I was pretty close then? 😉 So the issue was the pumps ability to self prime was overcome by the airlock between the output of the pump and the (open) tap? eg, as soon as the pump is pumping water it's 25 psi ability was more than enough to purge the airlock. So another and more user friendly solution might be to have a bleed valve 'Teed' into the output of the pump (like a radiator bleed valve) to allow the pump to self prime? As soon as you see signs of water you nip it shut and should be good to go?

Stop planks to die for.

Same here -- luckily I can use the lockers in the semi-trad stern to step up onto the roof (or get down from it), so no ladders or steps needed... 😉 (and the low cabin at the bows, if I ever need to get onto the roof from there -- which I haven't ever had to do so far...)

This is a custom made plastic narrow Boat. Nobody sensible will buy one ! I forget how long it was. I think its about 35 or 40ft. Might be longer. Its not a standard generic 62ft jobbie.. There is an opportunity to get a really good article. Or a lemon. The proposed 'E Pod' motor has a 10 inch diameter propeller. 10kW motor.

Not unless you want to run at much lower rpm and maximum power output -- the problem is that to swing a decent size prop you need high torque, and small direct drive motors don't have it. And while overpropping might work fine on a diesel boat which has lots of power to spare so can afford to sacrifice some, it's not a good idea on an electric drive which has much lower power. Sorry but all this is basic engineering stuff, you can't make it go away just because you don't like it... 😉 Let's take the 10 POD for example, because it looks as if this one is torque-limited -- so power drops with rpm: 10.9kW 1470rpm 13.6" x 7.9" 9.3kW 1250rpm 14.5" x 8.9" 7.4kW 1000rpm 15.9" x 10.4" So yes you can put a bigger prop on it to get lower rpm and noise, but only by sacrificing a lot of the (already small) power output -- and I'm fairly sure 10hp maximum output isn't going to be what most sensible narrowboaters are looking for... 😉

For a few years I used a set of bunkbed ladders to get up on to the cabin. A stool is also good to use as a hop up. A stool also comes in handy as a foot rest when seated up on side steering. Over time I’ve found ways to avoid using most lock ladders but there are still plenty of occasions when I need to use the lock ladder and something to hop up or down to and from the cabin.

So despite the standard shaft cone you can't put a different prop on the E Tech?

It's still a horribly small noisy prop... 😞 15 POD -- 11.5" x 5.8" at 2240rpm 10 POD -- 13.6" x 7.9" at 1470rpm For comparison: Engiro -- 17.2" x 11.4" at 1080rpm

Sheffield keel?

The Moselle carries important freight traffic including rape seeds and the ships are large Yet the recent damage to the lock at Mueden has stranded 70 commercial craft.