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Hi Foulridge Thanks for your feedback, you were such a lovely family. Sorry the exterior of the boat didn’t get the same makeover as the interior, weather and time against us with so many boats to do. I know you had a good time and even admitted to liking the boat in the end (everyone loves Damson in the end), like we said we’ll send you a special offer on our new boat, due in the next few weeks. Darren72 1. You booked your holiday with another company that went bust. 2. You opted not to take up the offered cancellation scheme. 3. I told you I would put your case to the liquidator. 4. I have done this. 5. The liquidator will not complete his work for 12 months. 6. I had said I may be able to top any payment the liquidator made out of good will. 7. No one I am aware of has received any payment from the liquidator yet. 8. Publicly mauling me is hardly likely to make me offer you much, remember I have had nothing from you and owe you nothing. A little unfair don’t you think?

Today as we have been doing a few jobs on the boat on our mooring we have had boats from 5 different hire fleets come past. Viking Afloat, Anglo Welsh, Countrywide Cruisers, Napton Narrowboats and Canal Cruising Co. The sun is shining and families are relaxing as they move along the canal. Everyone is smiling and happy. It is wonderful to see so many boats moving again after the cold winter months. To see so many hire fleets out makes me smile. Those people who are hiring the boats are the ones who will be buying meals out to keep the pubs we like to drink at open, visiting the little shops along the way and puuting some cash in their tills. It is because they are there that BW have to keep maintaining the infrastructure of the canal. The majority of the boaters I have seen on these hire boats appear to be relaxed and competent on the tiller. If they are repeat hirers then these might be the people who will soon be bringing some much needed business to boat builders or brokerages when they can resist the draw of the canal and the desire to own their own boat no more. If they are hiring for the first time then how likely is it they will get off that boat at the end of their hire period and never set foot on another boat again. Yesterday we took the car down to get some coal from a coal boat which we knew was moored nearby. As we trundled the trolley with coal back up the towpath to the car there was a share boat waiting to enter the lock. A man was standing holding onto the rope while a Viking Afloat boat was in the lock coming down. It was one of the fleet that operates from just above the lock. A family on board with smiles as wide as a widebeam as they set off on their adventure. The man holding the rope on the share boat muttered something about how long he was going to have to wait because "there was a Viking Adrift" on it's way. I know if we were sharing wide locks I would much rather do so with the cheerful family of hirers and their inexperience than the sour faced share boat steerer! We noted that above the lock the coal boat owners joined us in grabbing a bow line to help turn a hire boat round and we all chatted to the happy family on board while they waited to enter the lock chamber - the same lock chamber which now had the share boat in. The one who was not getting any assistance to open or close gates to ease his passage through by the 4 boaters standing talking to the hirers. I know there will always be tales of things that happen to inexperienced steerers. Many of them will be hirers. This season I hope we can all remember we were all novices once upon a time and give a friendly smile to those people spending their hard earned cash on a holiday on the canals. Perhaps we can impart a little of our experience in a friendly way which will assist them in their onward journey? It is great to see them all out and about. Here is a toast to all hirers everywhere

Welcome to the forum Lynne. If you going my way I'd give you a tow....anytime. I wont be checking anything, I'd just do it because I'm a boater. Good Luck, Andy.

Floatingtrader: Just stop for a minute and try thinking before making yourself look a fool. Waterscape do not run any moorings. Waterscape is a website. One of the things that website does is list waterways facilities. This includes marinas, moorings, chandleries etc. most of which are entirely independent of BW. Saying Waterscape runs the moorings is just proving that you don't know what you are talking about.

Fish farts. That is all

I'd like to add to Tugboats comments, and warn a few other people Last July I bought a few pints of Fosters L*ger at the British F1 Grand Prix, it was £6.00 a pint - - and was truly awful. - Please stay away from Northamptonshire I've also had occasion to buy hot snacks at various motorway service stations - they've been awful - - - please don't use motorways (I've also drunk in a couple of pubs in Llangollen - and must warn fellow boaters that they were full of Welsh people, and they all sounded strange . . . . . . Just thought I should even things up a bit about the weaknesses of other locations

How about we hold back on our opinions and let the lady get her engine sorted chaps? Richard

No I am not a troll, and I have as much right to post as you do, I have no knowledge of the OP, but I do have a bit of sympathy for him, and we cant all have university grade English when posting, I assumed this forum was for all boaters, not just a select few cynics.

I am dissapointed in this discussion, I am sorry for Journeyman having his boat trashed, I would be very angry and upset if it happened to me!some of the people that have posted, come across as smug and cynical, and I begrudge putting money on my dongle to see nasty remarks made about others posters typing ability, enough comma,s for you. and a full stop. Nora.

Unfortunately the OH has to work on Friday so we wont make it onto the A&C (Pollington) until Saturday evening then head on up to Leeds. You may have come past the New Junction by the time we get there. Will keep an eye out for you though on the way there and back. That will be because Jesus never bloody existed

Wouldn't it be good if they did early-bird curries at £15 for two

BW is ceasing to be and the headache is that things are probably set to get much worse than they were under BW. I predict there will be a lot of nostalgia for the good old days under BW soon; I can but hope I am wrong!

You can only do a compression test with the cylinder head on! Richard

Having read this complete thread i am annoyed at that oh so typical labelling of people namely gypsies or pykies , i wonder how many actually know the difference , true gypsies veiw the word pykey as an insult. Anyway personally i refer to either group as travellers, just as i see myself as a traveller when out on my boat. Yes i will concur there are some bad ones, but there are also a lot of good ones, to draw another parralel with the boating community of "travellers" in recent years the reports of boating equipment stolen by other boaters has increased significantly ... just take a look through the posts on this forum.... My boat is moored in a very secure marina with both card barriers along with gated locked pontoons but even so there have been several thefts, the perputrators actually using boats to effect those thefts and the targets generally being equipment only of use to other boaters, so before tarring a whole community of travellers in caravans for the sake of a few bad ones, take into account there are also a few bad ones in every community static or not, including this wonderful community of travellers in boats. The only actual experience of predjudice i have personally suffered was when i owned one of the large ex gypsy caravans or trailers as they know them, it was absolutely immaculate as they cover all the cushions with plastic from new, anyway i digress, i took it to cornwall for a holiday, firstly i stopped at an asda store on the way down and was immediately challenged as they thought i was going to take residence on the carpark, then on arriving in cornwall , although i told them the size of the caravan and booked and paid for a double pitch, i was told they didnt like that style of caravan on their site, which was incredulous as it drew admiring glances from everyone who walked past and more so those that looked inside as it had a queen size bed in an end bedroom. Alas because of the cr@p surrounding travellers that we were subjected to for our choice of caravan, my ex wife decided we should sell it after that holiday, yet amongst our group of travellers irrespective of the boat we are travelling on everyone along the towpath give us a welcoming wave and we are encouraged to moor as we are seen as bringing ambience to an area along with trade, very much double standards i think. Rick

For the very best curry if you are at Thrupp catch a taxi to Heathrow, then a flight to Delhi.

Philistine!

Many congratulations. The Memsahib and I are celebrating 30 years of Marital Gridlock today. I established two basic truths some years ago. (1) chocolate eggs are compulsory this time of year. (2) they had better be large, expensive, and made of plain chocolate, preferably fairly traded. It doesn't get any easier! Contrast my liquid Easter egg which usually comes in a glass bottle from a Scottish island... That's the most important consideration, getting us back on topic!

It is the hire boats that move the most. They are the ones that press on each day making the most of the limited time they have aboard. The same boats go up and down the system either on a circular route or there and back each week or fornight. They do not have the luxury of tying up in a picturesque spot and deciding they like it so much they will stay there for another day. If it was not for the need to ensure that people from all age groups and all backgrounds are able to actually wind a paddle or open a lock gate then we would soon find the maintenance of the locks would start to slow up. No hire boats = less queues at the locks at busy times so why should BW rush to repair the broken paddle gear? The lock still fills with one paddle just a bit slower. We all have stories of seeing a hire boat nearly do something really stupid. Most of us have witnessed a hireboat actually hit something it should not have done. Sadly some of us will have experienced damage inflicted to either a boat or some piece of canal infrastructure by a hire boat. Now - stand up anyone who can put our hands on our heart and honestly say we have never nearly done something really stupid? No? ok - stand up anyone who can put their hand on their heart and honestly say they have never hit any piece of the canal infrastructure with their boat? hmmmm - now I would suggest that is there is anyone now standing then they probably have a floating caravan that never leaves the marina Now to everyone else I suspect the occasion(s) they nearly did something really stupid and with regard to the damaging something it is a case of "There but for the grace of God go I"

It is a fundamental sadness of humanity, I think, that is seems nigh on impossible for a positive statement, however well intentioned or innocent, to be allowed to stand as is without someone wishing to piss all over it. People seem to have a unique myopia about their own flaws, and yet perfect vision concerning everyone else's. Hire boaters, share boaters, owners of shiny boats, owners of floating sheds, those who never stay in the same place twice, those who never leave the marina... Those who go too fast, too slow, are over friendly, unfriendly, helpful, unhelpful, thoughtful, intrusive... It's a nice day outside. Don't get hung up on the minor stuff.

Hi Steve I live here at Billing Marina and would like to set the record straight if I may? The Marina is situated next to Billing Aquadrome, it all belongs to the same company. I have lived here since September last year and I LOVE IT. The park is accessed via 24/7 security, you then access the Marina with an electronic gated access and it is not possible for a non resident to get on to the Marina. There are a range of people living here on the Marina, Self Employed people,retired people, Directors all the way down to a cleaner at Althorpe House! however there are no 'Pikeys'. Yes there is a very nice Travellers site about 3 miles away, it is very clean and tidy but it is not on the Billing Park. There is a mobile security on the park which patrols through the night, and in the park rules 'Teenagers who reside on the park must be in by 2300'. As I don't live on the park itself I can not confirm if this policy is strictly adhered to,however as we are talking about the Marina I am digressing. We do as one member has stated 'police' the Marina ourselves,anyone unfamiliar would be challenged and yes it is possible to leave your boat unlocked here, don't know of any other place on water or land where you could do this in todays crime ridden society. :-) everyone on here is very friendly and help each other out, one lady across the gantry does not drive, so her neighbour takes her to the laundry, whilst I take her shopping. I allow another lady to use my laptop and she in turn will sit with my dogs for me. The facilities here are fantastic, included in your mooring fee (ours being (£2,200 for our 60' boat)are passes (for four named people) for a superb heated indoor swimming pool at the Venue Complex, complete with Jacuzzi, Flume and childrens area. Entry to all the events throughout the year held here are included in your mooring fee. A fishing pass is also included. One member posted with reference to 11 month stay and this is correct, you have to vacate for 31 consecutive days to comply with council rules. The whole of the park is closed 6th Jan to 6th Feb, and all residents of the Park have to leave for the said 31 days, as a new marina resident we are not obliged to take our 31 days at this time,we can take our 31 days at any time, so we are going up on the cut for ours. with regard the Sewer, occasionally it does smell here however Billing can not tell the wind which way to blow! and I do know that there was a complaint made to the sewerage company and they were looking into it, and to be fair i have not 'smelled' anything since before christmas. There is laundery, shower blocks, Indian and Chinese Restuarants, a lovely Garden Centre which is in the 'Billing Garden Village' which has some lovely shops including a Fishmonger which I highly recommend. I think for my mooring fee I get value for money, I would be interested to see how many Marinas in the UK also provide the same level of facilities as Billing. Lastly I am not employed by Billing and these views are all my personal ones and my experience of living here.I could go on and on, I hope this sets it all straight as I love living here and would hate for anyone else to be put off. My friend here on the Marina , had a lodge for a month on the Park while she was waiting for her boat to arrive and she enjoyed her time on the Park. regards Sue aka ILOVEMYNARROWBOAT