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What you have to realise is that the early canal pioneers struggled and made great sacrifices to build a system for bringing fish to areas that previously didn't have them. For the results of all this effort just to be corrupted and used for frivolous things like boats must be extremely aggravating for the real canal users who work so hard to keep the art of worm drowning alive. But seriously, the events described above merit police involvement I think!

It is just in keeping with the modern trend that whenever something goes wrong, somebody else must be to blame. It seems that people want to be less and less regulated in what THEY do, but that somehow "the authorities" are to ensure that no harm coms to them

Oh leave it out. I honestly can't remember the last time I met a grumpy fisherman. They all return my greetings. If there's one on a lock or bridge landing, just land there if you need to, that's what it's for. Don't forget to say "hello mate, how's it going?" Don't make enemies on the cut just for the sake of it, you might need that fisherman's help one day.

As a group, boaters need to stop being so nice about anglers that fish where they shouldn't . We have all had to avoid anglers who fish from lock or swing bridge landings, and I truly don't see why we are all so reasonable. It's time to start photographing them and emailing CRT and the relevant local Angling Association to get this stopped.

There seems to be a contradiction in your post. If the moorings on offer are over priced which is likely to mean not many people take them how can that drain as much money as they can. We all like to think we can get a good deal but I suspect economic pressure are at play here. What I mean is despite the view of some that C&RT are the resident evil they are likely to be having to balance not pricing things too cheap that marinas in the area will complain about. Having a quick look I see that on the Llangollen for example the cost of a winter mooring is aprox £225 for 4 weeks and a marina in the area offering short term moorings would cost £260 for the same period. Of course the Marina has more facilities so may be worth the extra but not everyone wants to moor in a marina. The CRT winter moorings are not cheap I'd say but not a rip off either.

As you liked Balmoral you should try Waverley. Absolutely superb.

A gunwale mounted catapult, minus elastic.

But the moorings ARE cheaper than most marinas. Some individuals may enjoy the opportunity to remain in one spot legitimately, and feel the price is worth it for the peace of mind. The moorings are optional so I don't see how C&RT can be accused of 'ripping off' anyone. Rog

Well, what an interesting thread. Showers most of the day, so I read all the way through accompanied by several tins of 'bow! Very pleasant as I had nothing spoiling or pressing.

Can you sedn a little over here then pleas Rach Now this weekends job, i need to remove the canopy and take indoors to finish off, the easy bit, now for the bit i am not looking forward to, and yes i should of not used it but it has been good in the bast unless i got a sheet from a bad batch, but this deck was made from the best WBP Ply from Wicks, i have used it a lot in the past, in all way indoor and mainly out, built kennels, bird box`s etc This is after a few months and with being treated with 3 coats of poly resin and two metallic primer, so should of been fine even on the cut edge. It as been fixed in well so this is going to take some getting out, screwed, sealed and laminated down. I better stock up on the Bow for this job. The plan is to redo but in GRP, as it should of been in the first place. It will have ribs beneath to strengthen and reduce flex, and thanks to Gazza for the help in materials Much appreciated kida So it loos like it can be painted soon if weather is good, i am looking at going white top and blue bottom now

Hey you gota have faith Rach I now a bit about what i am doing.....noooo woorrrries After being around Yorshire a lot over the last year or so and seeing all the river i am going to start to look into what is navigable, cold be some good adventures ahead.

Whilst I wouldn't condone the reported reaction for a moment, I'm with those who think there's not enough information here to make a balanced judgement in favour of the dog owners. I have a water loving Labrador and if she leaped into the water adjacent to anyone fishing I'd be most apologetic and rather annoyed at myself for letting it happen. Similarly if she bothered anyone else considerately going about their business or recreation. She goes back on the lead whenever she might bother anyone we're passing and she heels closely and/or sits for considerate passing cyclists. If folk come into our space and take it upon themselves to interfere with what she's doing then they assume some responsibility, but generally speaking its my dog and therefore my responsibility to control her as the situation demands.

Hi Rach and guys, to answer Rach`s question as to how i know the air draft, i should of said at a maximium of foot, reason is that i measured the air draft to be from the original water line, so as we know this boat will be carrying a little more weight it will be lower in the water so even lesser a draft. I decided to keep it as a fixed canopy for now as i looked at canal spec etc to see there are few canals with bridges lower than 7 foot clearance, i am sure it will be ok on lakes and coastal areas. Mite be a push getting under the Menai Bridge though, easy do the Britannia though, i will load the bilge with a few cans of cideeer for that weekend though I am not worried about this, as said earlier, this screen and canopy can be made to fold down if i need to in the future, not going to do so now as the places i plan to go will be chosen before the launch is done, any low bridges etc we can avoid. no big deal, more places to cruise than i can ask for, . these little things are not a worry

I spent this weekend next to a lock. Let me just say that that some of the standards of boatmanship witnessed was appalling.

Parts4engines have a perkins gauge and sender for 22 quid, think i will order that.

I added 2" to mine but I cant say it improved backwards steering. A lot depends what water you are on, how wide, how deep, what the wind is doing and most importantly how many people are watching at the time and if they have video cameras.

Once the alternator has energised a loose D+ terminal will not cause the revcounter to drop. I had an identical question on the magazine forum yesterday and here is my reply: If this happens a very few times a day and at long intervals I would check the alternator drive belt for tension in case an electric fridge or large inverter starting up puts such a load on the alternator the pulley slips in the belt. What we are finding increasingly with boats fitted with solar charging is that in sunny conditions and with long cruising days the solar voltage rises enough to cause the alternator's regulator to keep on shutting down for split second. This causes the warning buzzer to beep, sometimes the warning lamp to flash and as the rev-counter is driven from the alternator the rev-counter could start to drop. In this case it tends to be at short time intervals and turning an electrical load (not just one LED light) should stop it for a while. This depends upon the load being applied to the alternator that is doing this. It will probably be the engine alternator if you have two. If it is neither of these things then as the rev-counter and warning lamp/buzzer are affected I would suspect an internal alternator fault is developing but check all the connections on the alternator are tight, especially the blade ones. If you have a twin alternator setup it is probably not worth taking the alternator off for testing at this time but wait and sere how things develop. If one does fail just connect both battery bank positives with a heavy jump lead (take care not to create short circuits) after you make the first start of the day and remove it whenever you stop the engine. That will ensure the remaining alternator charge both batteries. I think its a high solar voltage with fully charged batteries causing the alternator to shut down for a second or so. As I said putting a load on the relevant battery should stop it. If not then a slipping belt is more likely.

Yes, they were smiling. Didn't you see their beams?

They'll look fine once he hangs the furry dice. Absolutely. I'm truly impressed

What a bloody pain that has been, either foam playing up, weather being its usual self and me being to heavy handed again breaking the foam i used with the MDF for the new mould. Its dont though now, and not bad, still needs a few ribs on the underside of the canopy top to reduce more flex. I used 9mm MDF and timber along with foam to shape it easier. The front here was filled with expanding foam, reason is a put a curve in the top and this was an easy way to fill it then cut/sand to shape Then sanded the edge for a good radius, and the rear edge i added some foam which i carved to shape, tapered down so the canvas can clip under it. Once all done i gave it a coat of resin and then 3 coats od PVA Blue, infact i did this days ago but with the weather messing up the job i had to cover it up and wait for this weekend in hope it kept dry. So todays task was to laminate it, i risked it as there was the odd shower going over early on, thank god it stayed fry later on. Left it for a few hours then trimmed back to where i wanted it to be and sand back a bit be fore i smooth over. It is not that heavy at around 10kg, i have decided for now to keep it fixed and not folding, it has air draft of 7 foot so will be ok on most canals, will just have to check before we launch.

Pretty much like the local public library, where the librarians have been for some time, unofficially offering Internet 101, shelter, benefits advice and mobile/laptop recharging services to the local homeless.

But always leave enough to make a cup of tea, it's the law.

Brum Uni has allocated moorings for 2 boats. The first is taken by Peter's boat, The Solar Kingfisher. The second is taken by The Ross Barlow, the world's only hydrogen fuel cell powered narrowboat and named after a student who died after working on the project. I'm not sure any more moorings are possible but if they are, then Peter is the guy to ask. PM me and I can put you in touch. This seems to be on the high end for costs. As I've mentioned, the mooring costs can be avoided completely if you cruise. When I was a full time student (part time and working now) I chopped wood for heating and was frugal with my diesel/electric use. I reckon I came in under £200 for fuel, diesel, leccy etc. I had my boat blacked last month 55' for £350. Would have been less if I'd done it myself. Maintenance budget is the big unknown. It could be nothing but that's highly unlikely. it could be thousands...

I hope that I am wrong but that looks a right bodge to me. It looks as if the standard BMC starting handle dog has been turned down and bodged to fit the extra pulley but in the same way as Chalky explained how to loosen the nut the pump would tend to undo the dog nut. Although they were usually fitted with a tan washer maybe the tab washer was not man enough so it seems they fitted a rectangular plate behind the dog nut with a hole in one side that they secured to the engine pulley with a hexagon set screw. They then welded the dog nut to the plate. As there is only one position where the extra set screw can fit over the years wear may have taken place that can no ,longer be tightened up so it is even possible the pulley is a bit lose on the crank. I have a feeling the 1.5 timing cover seals push in from the front so as long as you follow Chalky's advice about loosening all the timing covers crews and freeing it from the gasket you may be able to change the seal with out taking the timing cover off. However given the BMC's propensity to leak oil I think that I would take the opportunity to fit a new gasket. Check the crankshaft has not been scored by the seal. If the crank is grooved a new seal might turn out to be a temporary solution. PS remember to refit the oil thrower and I think it has a right and wrong way round because it is slightly dished at the edge.