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My last thread on "living afloat"! I've shied away from making a big deal of our decision to return to land but after a trawl though old threads I remember how I used to share stuff so, with glass of rum & coke in hand (probably influencing my decision!), I decided to share. We fell in love with boating in 1985 when we went on a hire holiday with friends (Clubline Cruisers hired on the Coventry arm). It was many years before we could afford it again but when we did we fell in love again - we hired in 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2007 I was flying high in my career but developed a skin condition called hidradonitis suppurativa which is a progressive incurable condition which can eventually lead to permanent disability, so we decided to suck the most out of life while we could, chucked in our jobs, let out the house and bought our boat. Over 7 years we've travelled widely and had a fantastic time. I can never put into words how great it is to have met so many wonderful people - our circle of "proper" (as opposed to virtual) friends has increased beyond imagining and I'm hoping these people will be our friends for life. Alas the inevitable happened - my HS has progressed to the point where I can't lockwheel any more. Anyone who knows me will understand how devastating that has been - I was the lock queen, walking up to the lock and locking all the boats in front of us before our turn. Many times Dave & I have walked up or down flights before banters and locked boats up or down. It would have made perfect sense for me to then take over steering and let Dave do the locks. But. I don't like steering. I hate it. I did try - I did a course last year to try to get over it, but no - I can do it but I hate it. If I could lock wheel and steer, maybe. But just steering, no. Then Dave & I thought it'd be nice to get ourselves a van (not a caravan!) and explore on 4 wheels, get to places a bit quicker and get to more places. So we can still suck the joy out of life, just not on a boat any more. When things don't work out as you hope you need to spin the variables and find something else that works for you - we're very excited about the new chapter in our lives. So there you go, we've bought ourselves a house in Stoke where I have regular work and Dave's prettying Iona up for sale. We're enjoying the benefits of land living but there's a lot of sadness still there. In the future we're thinking a nice little tupperware that we can trailer on and off the canal - who knows? You might even see us joining the BCN Challenge on a rubber dinghy We'll certainly be keeping an eye out for banters, though we won't be able to bring our own accommodation with us. There's always Tawny Owl - we need to get first dibs with Millie as our persuader. Unkle Richard has a soft spot for Millie the fearsome wolf We've had an amazing time and been privileged to be part of a unique community - thank you for all those that have made it so pleasurable. I'm not leaving the forum - even though we're not boaters any more I still have loads of experience to share and of course the accounts to do. Hope that wasn't too personal - I do have a tendency to spill all late at night after a few rums

Any distress flare pack will include two or more rocket launched parachute flares. These go up to around 1000ft, take nearly a minute to come down, and are still burning at over 1000°C when they reach the surface. They will set light to almost anything they land on. Setting them off on land like fireworks is the most stupid suggestion imaginable.

Someone asked me for a photo. I think it was GoofGurl. As title, a maureen steak with mooring line through the loop, and hammered down flush with the ground so it doesn't present a trip hazzard. (Excuse the spelling error GG.I left it in as I rather liked it haha!)

I am going to dispose of these responsibly how ever long it takes but I have to say that the almost complete lack of official guidance and I stress official as opposed to some of the advice on here, does explain why people wouldn't dispose of these things responsibly and safely. There are 2 distress flares and 2 smoke flares in the pack. I would think that the distress flares are parachute flares so these things are highly dangerous and really shouldn't be messed about with unless it is an emergency. When I was in the army I saw a couple of people who had lost fingers mucking about with thunder flashes so I am not going to anything with them other than give them to some responsible authority. i'm sure that I am not the only one who has come across this dilemma and I am sure that they can be disposed of properly it's just a matter of finding out. So if Naburn cannot do it then it will be the coastguard getting a ring on Monday.

Sorry Bettie, is the "steak" rare, medium or well done!

By 'Bloody Steak' surely you meant to say 'Rare Steak'? CT

Those are quite truly some of the most over the top fake rivets I have ever seen. Don't the people who build boats like this ever look at what it is they are trying to fake before having a go at their "copy"?

Isn't that indicative of the 'Southerners' taste in beer as well ?

Boat builders use a " joggle stick " for that job. https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj8yLP5luTMAhXh36YKHcEuC20QFgg1MAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.builderbill-diy-help.com%2Fjoggle-stick.html&usg=AFQjCNG_thDX3jIYATfr2S3EvP4W99LJUw https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjv1dDcmOTMAhWBu5QKHa5tC-MQjhwIBQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.boat-building.org%2Flearn-skills%2Findex.php%2Fen%2Fwood%2Fgenerating-the-shape-of-a-bulkhead-flagging-off%2F&psig=AFQjCNGdwtzWJHVbEzuV5E70MyFusMLwaQ&ust=1463680316496109 https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi0rIKZmeTMAhXIJZQKHQ5YBMcQjhwIBQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lackeysailing.com%2Farchived%2Fdaysailor%2Frebuilding%2Fbulkheads2.htm&psig=AFQjCNGdwtzWJHVbEzuV5E70MyFusMLwaQ&ust=1463680316496109

Welcome. Yes, quite an epic - and you are lucky to be in possession of a full set of face, that windlass could have gone in any direction.

The age old question "what's the hurry?" Its seems a fair question but moving at a speed above tickover is not always about being in a 'hurry'. Different boat users have different priorities its just the way it is. For example one of my most satisfying days boating was when I had a friend steering and I did the locks and we boating efficiently from 6am until 11pm. We went from Cassio Bridge lock to Grove Lock on the GU in a day. I operated 50 grand Union locks that day. Some may say we were in a hurry but to some people it is about efficiently moving through a well designed inland waterways system rather than crawling about looking at the wild flowers. Everyone is different.

.... and whilst I'm on a roll. All you end-of-garden moorers. If you spent half as much effort on decent mooring arrangements as you do on signs enciting, cajoling and threatening passers to slow down, the world would be a better place. Not content with appropriating a chunk of the public navigation for your private use, you want to further deprive the rest of us of it by making us crawl past your boat, which you're not even occupying. A permanently moored unoccupied boat does not need passing boats to slow down to a crawl to past it. It won't be damaged be the disturbance of passing boats. MP.