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18-20.. old enough to drink, have sex, fight in a war, drive a car, vote. Clearly not old enough to inhabit the same space as some of the sad old grumpy gits on this forum.

if that's the only thing troubling you in life...........you're doing well....

I find your comments extremely rude and doubt that you actually read and UNDERSTOOD my replies. In both the latter cases I responded to questions directed to myself specifically giving my personal choices and in no way suggested that anyone should do without a shoreline. You have no idea how long I spend on my boat so have no grounds for comment. Unlike your implied opinion I do not think it is my place to tell anyone how they ought to live their life anymore than you should. If you want mains a lot of mains power then that is your choice and it is not up to you to try to foist that choice on others. I have never wanted a lot of mains power on a boat but again I can not try to foist that choice on others. I am not the idiot in the 4 x 4 so do not try to imply I have similar views. If you could see my "postbag" over the years you should soon see why I have made the choices I have, but then just maybe you would not understand what I was being told/asked. If you can not add anything to the OPs question do not try to pick a fight with those who have.

I am new to boating, I do not even have my own boat. I am waiting for my house to sell so that I can live life on the water. Some may say I am mad as I had made the decision to live-aboard without any experience whatsoever Okay, so I have not been a big poster on this forum, preferring instead to chat to folk in the chat room. It is there that I was given a chance to gain some boating experience from some members A special thank you goes out to Paulc and Little Duck for inviting me to spend a day with them on their boat, and also, recently a journey through Harecastle Tunnel and to work through the locks of "Heartbreak Hill" on the Trent and Mersey Thank you to Tiller Girl for the invite to Anderton Boat Lift, although unfortunalteley I could not make it that day Thank you also to Trento, as I will be spending a couple of days with him on his boat. This is just what I need and it is much appreciated. I am so glad I came to this forum to meet such nice people both on the internet and in the flesh.

Finally I've had time to catch up on this thread, and I wouldn't say that I've learnt a lesson... because I haven't. What I will say now is... I apologise for my heavy handed language particularly in terms of my perceived attack on cotswoldman. Unfortunately cotswoldman man just broke the camels back in my mind in terms of the general conduct of many members regarding some of the more "contentious posts". I am sorry John that you got caught in my crossfire.. The fact I am a "newbie" and apparently I have to earn the trust of other members scares me and, quite frankly, is unhelpful to a "newbie". After all, are us newbies not the future? I say this because I have seen posts where other "newbies" have been quickly shot down. I my self was accused of being part of CRT and there were demands of my true name and boat name. And why didn't I give them? Because this forum intimidates me and scares me.. I am hardly going to give you my address and on a public forum. There was much derisory language already being used in many posts before I waded in. I have read these forums extensively for a while and much of it is fantastic, informative, useful and fun, and thank you all. But there are so many other posts where, very quickly , a rather unpleasant undercurrent of snobbery and, dare I say it, elitism creeps in. As pointed out, the use of the word Troll is quickly bandied about for all the wrong reasons and often when someone says something contentious... I also spotted a couple of posts for the moderators to step in with my posts! I stand by everything, language excepted, that I wrote. The CRT clearly read these posts and form an opinion based on them. A large part of my career has been doing exactly that (and not for CRT!!!) and very strong opinions are based on that, weaknesses spotted and exploited. So if someone has a contentious point of view, don't pull them up on it... engage them. In the eyes of organisations like the CRT, a "newbie" is little different to a long term user. A user is a user. I am happy to meet with anyone who happens to be in my area, the K&A, Berkshire, Wiltshire if they PM me. Like it or not, over the next few years I may well meet with many of you on the cut and hopefully you will see me as a passionate advocate for boats and boaters. P.S. I AM NOT CRT!!!!

Dishwaters. That's the waters in your washin' up bowl, I presume. MP Oh, I've got one of those, it's coincidentally shaped very like about a foot of 2" pipe. MP.

It was assumed that as it was all 48hr only moorings it wasn't included

I had a look at Venetian a while ago, didn't come across any reluctance to start engines etc but I think they ask for a deposit before you can "sea trial" the boat. This is where it gets tricky. Like a lot of brokers they the attach strings to the circumstances under which you can get your deposit back which, in my view, is unacceptable practice. As regards other brokers in that general area I can thoroughly recommend Narrowboats ltd at Northwich. Liam and Geoff are genuine down to earth blokes, very helpful, and because they aren't part of a big company they have a more flexible attitude.

We all move forward and that includes CRT National Portrait Gallery

Thus showing him the correct system to be the Pump-Out.

As important, is to have the anchor ready to deploy. If all chain the bitter end needs to be rope so you can cut it free in an emergency.

You will need to get an anchor that you can easily handle. Too heavy and you will never retrieve it again. Minimum requirements for chain/rope length are 3 x water depth if all chain, 10 x water depth if all rope and 6 x water depth if a mixture of chain and rope. We use all chain as it means we dont have to carry loads about. We have in the region of 100ft of chain in the anchor locker which means we can safely anchor in 30 odd ft of water. We use a Delta anchor which seems to hold well in most bottom conditions but perhaps would not be the easiest to store on a narrowboat bow. It is perhaps worth practising anchoring and retrieving the anchor once you have it as it isnt just a case of throwing it over the side and hoping for the best.

I think one of the reasons why boaters out on the cut (if not on here ) get on, is because each and everyone has choosen to be on his or her boat. And that choice element puts us all in a single group. Boaters. Nobody is forced, nobody has to be a boater. And because of that, nomatter our social, political or other leanings, when we briefly meet, at a lock or swingbridge, we are kindred spirits. Even if we tut afterwards ...

Well, the article had some paragraphs of pure b*ll*cks, but the sociological analysis was fascinating. Canal society is riven with schisms and fissures and has been since before Rolt was ousted for the IWA by Aickman. It's amazing how we all rub along together, really. MP.

I have to say that in common with David I cannot understand why anyone would go boating and then spend the time tied up. For recreational boating I would have thought that most of us would be moving daily. How other people use their boats is up to them of course but most of the debate about mooring restrictions does seem to assume that wanting to hang around for several days or even weeks is the norm and in my experience leaving aside boaters resident in one particular area for whom moving at all seems to be an imposition is not the case.

I do not agree the obvious answer is "yes", I answered "no". I do not understand why some boaters need mooring rings, cut back vegetation and to be perfectly aligned with the bank when they moor. My fear is that the Trust will keep providing VMs and it will become an expectation that boaters moor on them exclusively. Rather like the Shroppie where most of the beautiful lengths have become 48hr VMs with no consultation that I am aware of. Val

I'm not sure how anyone can really 'represent' a forum such as this? Tim

Any plonker who cold calls deserves you to be rude with them, there is never a valid reason for cold calling, they are all plonkers. Tim