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No need for the sermon - I'm moored in Skipton because I want to be here. I know he has a disabled wife that's why I've had the boat closed up all evening (fumes get in through vents too - unless you suggest I tape them up) and that's why before I spoke to him I walked half a mile down the moorings to see if there was a space and why I left it until 9.45 when we were thinking about going to bed to ask him how long he would be engine running. I know his problems, I sympathise, but he knows he has a smokey engine because he told me earlier in the day. He too could have moored somewhere that might have been less of an issue.

I'm not sure that legitimately holding a boat into the side with a rope is the same as a cheese wire across a road but of course cyclists are never in the wrong are they?? If you are going so fast that you can't see a rather large boat & rather large bloke joined by a bit of 14mm rope then I think perhaps you need to think about your speed and attention. Cheers Gareth.

I'm like Dave Moore here, I value the traditions of the past which are rapidly disappearing and or being ignored. Forget flashing lights, do it the traditional way. Have a good old punch up. That's often how a right of way at at lock or bridge 'ole was decided.

Based on almost 50 years of cycling on UK and European roads, I think there's a substantial minority of drivers who see cyclists as an easy target for whatever crap is going on in their own lives. They justify it in all kinds of ways, but it's basically bullying of people they see as even more disempowered than themselves. Over the years I've seen cyclists hated because they're poor, wealthy, slow, quick, badly dressed, sportingly attired, old, young, hard to see and lit up like a Christmas tree. In the end one has to conclude that the problem isn't with the cyclist, but in the driver's head.

Or decide to fit new flooring whilst in the water.

Are they making boats now? Yes, mostly. Don't think we've got to the punchline yet.

The Terms and Conditions that you agree to when you licence a boat (link posted above) say.... There is no ambiguity, or optionality. People not adhering to it are in breech of the Licence T&Cs. Note "You Must Not"

The law-abiding cyclist, who adheres to the rules of which Iam one, Pefer to use the road as it is safer and quicker . I have clocked up over 200000 miles in forty years and yet to be hit by any motor vehical while on the road. As for cycle paths and shared pavements being safer that is total bull. Some years ago the Transport Research Laboratory carried out a detail study of the Milton Keynes redways which uncovered a number of cyclists deaths and many injurys which went unrecord under stats 19. Most people perceive motor traffic to be the main danger to cyclists. Cycle paths such as the Redways, which keep cyclists away from motor vehicles, are therefore thought de-facto to be the safest routes for cyclists to use. In Milton Keynes considerable evidence has accumulated to challenge this view. From John Franklin’s article in Traffic Control & Research The most frequently cited data on traffic accidents is that gathered by the Police, using Stats 19 forms, and collated by the Highway Authority. It is known that many accidents involving cyclists are not reported to the Police, but this is especially the case for accidents that occur on cycle paths and shared pavements where fewer than 3 per cent of accidents are believed to be reported . In particular, accidents that do not involve a motor vehicle are rarely recorded even when serious. In Milton Keynes this situation has been aggravated by a frequent unwillingness on the part of the Police to accept accident reports from cyclists, especially when off-road. One fatality to a cyclist was not recorded as a cycling accident. Notwithstanding these shortcomings, the Stats 19 statistics have recorded a considerable number of Redway injuries over the years. From 1987 to 1998 there were six fatalities to cyclists using Redways. Another cyclist was killed riding along a footway, having used this in preference to a low-trafficked road after leaving a Redway. There was also one death to a pedestrian using a Redway to cross a local road. By comparison, there was only one road cyclist fatality in the same area and period - a young girl who crossed a grid road at night out of fear of using a dark Redway. Five of the cyclist fatalities was as a result of a collision with a motor vehicle. In the other two fatalities, no other vehicle was involved. In one case youths had placed a tree across a path at night, and in the other the cause is unclear, but drink was a factor. Although the raw Stats 19 statistics take no account of the relative mileage cycled on the three types of highway, it is probable that this is more than outweighed by the considerable underreporting of Redway accidents. Poor visibility (particularly at junctions) is the biggest single cause of accidents, but other common causes include sharp bends, steep gradients, bollards, slippery bridges, loose gravel and mud. In short, features which are not compatible with the inherent limitations of a bicycle. The paths are often not suitable for typical cycling speeds. Some very serious injuries on Redways have been as a result of head-on crashes between cyclists, collisions with dogs, and eye injuries from intruding vegetation, all of which are rarely encountered on roads. Todays pavement rider and Sustrans supporter is tomorrows dangerous driver as pavement riders don't gain the roadcraft skills.

I've had that too. Tania filled Caversham lock with plastic then beckoned me in last. I zoomed in as she anticipated and much of the plastic cacked itself. A bimbo on a £500k wedding cake was prodding my narrow boat with an aluminium mop handle and squawking "Keep that away from us, don't let it touch us". As if I would! Tania was cacking herself with laughter!

Good time for folks to read Desiderata

Really??? Is it that slow out there that we are having this conversation Again? For real? I thought this was a winter topic? I really don't think you'll ever convince me it's nothing more than "male reproduction organ envy" I had started to write a long winded reply about all the different types of boats out there and that there's a boat for everyone, just take your time and you'll find something that suites you, but really can't be asked.

Quite. And if a NB owner commits to only cruising half the system, do they deserve a half price licence?

I suppose one way to discourage the selfish attitude of wide beam owners would be if they had to pay a licence fee according to width as well as length. That way they would pay their fair share for the amount of space they use.

We do of course know the answers to your rhetorical questions but perhaps it is helpful to consider why the events might happen as you describe. Do you know that the boats in question heard your horn? We don't know how loud it is and how loud the other boat's engines were. Some boats have such loud engines that the steerers are almost certainly deaf! Do you know that if the steerers did hear the horn, they were able to "locate" it despite another boat not being in view. Yes you could argue that they should be aware of the marina but with so many folk cruising along in a daydream mode I'm sure a lot aren't. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you should bear in mind that sounding your horn doesn't give you right of way. Many boaters are car drivers first and foremost, and will have a mentality that since they are on the "main road" and you are coming in from a "side road", you have to give way to them not vice versa. So I think what transpired was not unreasonable. You tooted, edged out, you saw a boat passing, you had to wait until it was past before proceeding. I can't see anything wrong with that sequence of events.

I have a photo somewhere of three guys at Bradley workshop when it was still the BCN from my grandads family pics, I think thats where I have see the middle guy before but until I find it I cant be sure. Sadly theres no one left for me to show it to either because Im sure they would have known all of them, if I find the pic and it is the guy I will let you know. It has names on the back which is unusual. Laurence might be able to put you in touch with some other BCN boatmen who could help, youve seen this from my site that Paul researched I presume.

The butty is a large Northwich type made by WFBCo

It is essential to distinguish between floodgates and flood locks. Floodgates are single pairs of gates that can't be passed when they're on (closed), but flood locks have two pairs of gates, just like any other lock, and are intended to allow navigation to continue during times of higher than normal river levels. The question of whether or not a particular section of river is closed to navigation then boils down to whether it is a pair of floodgates that are 'on', or if it's a flood lock that's in operation. As for the question about the floodgates below Brighouse, if there was no head of water holding them to, the river levels were falling, and it was physically possible to open them, then they should have been 'off ' anyway. The C&RT goon who thought and said otherwise, and closed the gates on a boat approaching downriver, doesn't know his job.