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I am for CART, I am for anyone who has anything to do with my waterways even if they sometimes get it wrong. I have found almost invariably in life that its a certain type of person that is often simply anti any person or institute with any kind of authority. I found some people to be anti police and funnily enough it nearly always turned out they had criminal records. We have morons daily who abuse staff in hospitals even when they are treating them!! CART knocking has simply taken over from BW knocking and funnily enough in my 28 years of dealing with them I have always found them helpful, funny innitt?

I bet whoever was on the bog got a shock.

Hear hear, excellent thread. Have to say I found gigoguy's tone intensely irritating at first, but then thought that if Aickman were alive today and posting on here, he'd probably have the same effect and we owe the continued existence of most of the network to him. Sometimes stroppy sods are just what's needed .

I keep turning up on this forum from time to time A little flushed as the blade went past

Twin motion activated chainguns, bit messy and the occasional cyclist gets caught but no one has untied my boat

Who are you again? I’ve never heard of you...

Very much this! Mr Steve Jay is very much a hater of everything CRT, him and the floater are a little tedious.

That's fine I have no problem with what you do with it if it ever becomes your boat I perhaps worded it incorrectly & was pointing out that having boated a considerable distance on a boat with that cabin/engine arrangement & found it a much less pleasant experience than the conventional engine set up on my FMC motor on which I boated 14 years both commercially & hotel set ups

It's a sad fact that, whatever SJ's agenda might be (and yes, I know it too!) he's almost certainly right that not many of CRT's on the ground staff think that their management is any good. Parkinson's second law, I think, that in any organisation, after a time it becomes more important to run the organisation than to look after what it was supposed to be doing in the first place. Why should CRT be any different? We're just lucky that most of the bods on the ground still care about the canals - all the back office people care about is their jobs.

Did you cut any Semi Circular sections out of the Tyres? You could have strapped them on your feet and Hitched a Tow from a Fast Boat. You could have invented the Sport of Aqua Planing?

Over the years I have had mostly good experiences when dealing with CaRT staff many levels. It is perhaps the general decline in pre-emptive maintenance, the closures, poor communications, delays, the reduction of bank staff and the apparent money-wasting schemes which cause so many of us concern over the future. In my experience those CaRT staff at the lower levels do seem to be quite disillusioned compared with those lock keepers employed by the EA on the Thames and Yorkshire Derwent. Admittedly I've had much less involvement with E.A. staff so no doubt someone will redress the balance. Generally I heard much the same kind of comment when I worked in local government but it does seem in the past 20 years some local authorities have made big improvements to staff moral. It should be well within CaRT's grasp to make improvements too but management does need to listen and act.

I think that's a bit unfair, I don't know who this Steve J is but a quick look at his website and it's pretty clear he has an "agenda" and, possibly, a bit too much time on his hands. So those who do know him from the past were making a pretty safe assumption I would say. FWIW a lot of this negativity about CRT flies in the face of my personal experience and I'm sure many others. I'd go further and say the vast majority of boaters I talk to have nothing but good things to say about the way the waterways are managed. The fact that there are some disgruntled workers isn't very revealing, I'm more impressed by the evidence of my own eyes.

Utterly amazing that people clearly state they HAVE NOT read the link but feel free to adversely comment on it's content, and on the poster's honestly held views. In the same post to also declare that in view of who posted, the post would be biased against C&RT, is gob smacking. Even those with experience of working with C&RT have acknowledged and recognised the truth of the views expressed. Rog

If it is on the site of Steve Jay / Steve Jenkin, (Jenlyn, formerly of this forum), I imagine it was never going to turn out with views strongly supportive of CRT! I haven't read through it , but surely it would be impossible to know if responses had been suitably manipulated to support his own message? (For clarity, I'm not saying they have been, only that they could be!).

That weld doesn't particularly matter though, does it? Well, not unless you use the thing round the wrong way, and have the rope pulling on the circular bit (which admittedly seems the popular way of doing it these days). If you use it correctly and have the rope round the stake with the circular bit behind, you're not putting any strain on the circular bit or the weld.

10 responses there. I wonder how many were surveyed and what the ratio of positive, neutral and negative responses were. Picking a handful of the worst ones is always going to create a negative picture of things.

Neither have we, and we have tied up in some allegedly dodgy locations. I agree leaving the boat for several days tied to pins/stakes/spikes is asking for trouble. We spent a very frustrating hour trying to shift a boat that had wedged itself very securely across the Leeds Liverpool back in August. According to a nearby skipper the owner of said boat had left it some days ago, just tied up to stakes, and it had rained a lot... Actually I have lost count of the number of boats we have had to rescue because the stakes have been pulled out. There's quite a bit of good advice on this thread but honestly if I found our boat had been untied more than once in my lifetime I would assume I had a stalker. We had some stones thrown at us some time ago for the first time, I doubt it will ever happen again, it's important to keep these things in perspective.

This year was the first of full retirement so ideal to boat to places that we had long wished to see but work never allowed enough time to visit. Our intention was to travel from Newbury up the western side of the country and travel as far north as possible. In addition we wished to tackle the Severn Estuary, the River Mersey and the Ribble Link, all of which we were able to do. I'm aware that these have been covered in the past but the following is a list of contact details and tips for anyone planning to do one or all of the crossings next year. Severn Estuary Gloucester Pilots 07774 226143 sharpnesspilots@gmail.com Gloucester Harbour 01453 811913 www.gloucesterharbourtrustees.org.uk Sharpness Lock 01453 511968 Swansea Coastguard 01792 366534 Bristol VTS 01179 802638 Portishead Marina 01275 841941 keithberry@quaysmarinas.com Bristol to Portishead You will need to have your fuel tank cleaned and the fuel polished before the trip, used to be advisory but now it is compulsory. Chief pilot had three narrowboats break down in one week all with fuel issues and they will ask to see a dated invoice. You need two tides so at least one night in Bristol and one in Portishead Marina. The Harbourmaster’s office in Bristol will supply a tide table and arrange the operation of the lock to let you out onto the Avon. If it is a high tide they will need to operate the Stop Gates so you will be given a latest time to enter the lock. It took us around three hours to travel from Bristol lock to Portishead marina. Inform Swansea coastguard before you set off and let them know you have arrived safely in Portishead. Call Bristol VTS before you exit the Avon onto the Severn Estuary, they will inform you of any boat movement from and to Avonmouth docks. Call Portishead marina once you can see the entrance, there is nowhere to moor on the outside of the lock so you need the gates open. There are pontoons inside the lock. Portishead to Sharpness The pilot will have kept in touch with you by phone and text since your passage request and he will meet you in the lock. Obviously you need lifejackets but check they are in date. Get your anchor ready for use. Remove as much as possible from the roof and secure everything which cannot be removed. If you do not have a cratch cover tape up the lower half of your front doors. Pilots like Tea, Coffee and biscuits, enjoy the trip. Costs Fuel tank cleaning £110.00 Pilot £200.00 (2017) On the day either cash or cheque Bristol £46.00 (one day) Portishead £54.00 (one day) River Mersey Mersey Pilot Stuart Wood 07770 664951 chestermarineuk@gmail.com Peel Ports Paul Kirby 0151 9496764 paul.kirby@peelports.com Ellesmere Port Lock Swing Bridge gwyn.wright@questservices.co.uk Brunswick Lock 01517076777 mail@liverpoolmarina.com Stephanie Lyons CRT Wigan Office 01942 405761 Crossing the Mersey is the easy bit but to get to the Mersey at Eastham Lock you need to transit the Manchester Ship Canal and that is where the fun starts. Go to www.peelports.com/ports/manchester-ship-canal, scroll down to Publications and Forms and download “Leisure Craft Induction Pack”. In there you will find an Application form and a Seaworthiness Certificate both of which must be completed and sent to Peel Ports, they will accept an e mail. In the Induction pack you will find a list of approved surveyors, the survey is just a basic check of safety equipment and to make sure the boat is in reasonable condition, a visual check. Print out the Seaworthiness certificate the surveyor will not have one. The certificate is valid for a year. Peel Ports contact is Paul Kirby, he is the person you send the forms, insurance certificate and payment to. Once you have sorted out the ship canal Stuart will give you a crossing time and a meeting place. You can access the ship canal either at Ellesmere Port or at the River Weaver. We used the entrance from the museum which requires the local council to operate a swing bridge which is across the exit lock, e mail Gwyn Wright the day before you need it open with a time. Contact Liverpool marina they need a copy of your insurance and a payment in advance to operate Brunswick Lock. You can’t book a mooring in Salthouse Dock via the normal CRT Liverpool Link website however once you know when you are going to cross contact Stephanie in the CRT Wigan office and she will sort out a mooring and an exit time from Liverpool via the link. Eastham Lock needs a very long 60’ rope. Cost In total around £300 (2017) Pilot, Survey, Ship Canal transit, Brunswick Lock. Ribble Link (Lancaster Canal) The link can be booked online but the website does not handle changes well so just because it shows no availability that is not always the case. Stephanie in the Wigan Office is the best person to contact. Tarleton Lock 01772 816592 Harry or 07885 762347 Roger Sea Gate (Savick Brook) 07778 153305 Tarleton Lock is operated by the local boatyard not CRT, they will contact you normally the afternoon / evening before your passage to give you the lock operating times. In the event of bad weather you will be notified if the passage is cancelled. We had to wait until the next day so instead of 6 boats we had 11 for the crossing. Moor on the visitor mooring just after the swing bridge at Tarleton, there is no mooring at the lock not even a lock landing. Tarleton is a very nice village with a good range of shops well worth a visit. Red diesel is in short supply on the Lancaster and it is expensive so fill up at one of the two marinas opposite each other below Rufford Lock on the Rufford Branch of the Leeds Liverpool. The Rivers Douglas and Ribble are straightforward enough but the Savick Brook is very narrow, shallow and the vegetation is very overgrown. If that isn’t enough there are lumps of metal sticking out on various bends, presumably there were originally lengths of wood attached but these are long gone. Lancaster canal is well worth the effort, if you choose to go down the Glasson branch I can recommend the restaurant next to Lock 6. Enjoy the trips they are all well worth doing. Our pilots Tim and Brendan on the Severn, Brendan was training, and Stuart were mines of information about the waterways and the visible objects on shore. Next year we start from Skipton on the Leeds Liverpool and intend to travel up to York and then down the east side of the country. Ken

You always think this is never going to happen to you but it did to me yesterday. Whilst on the boat doing some maintenance. I took my dog for a walk. At Buckby top lock went down the steps to the underpass under the A5, unfortunately the damp brickwork steps were like ice and I got to the bottom far quicker than intended. As a result I have dislocated and fractured my shoulder. When you are on your own and injured with a dog to look after you really appreciate those that help. Top marks to Weltonfield Narrowboats, Nick kept my chin up till paramedics arrived and sorted out my boat and dog till I returned from A&E. Has anyone else had problems with these steps? I was in decent hiking boots, no alcohol involved and have spent my life walking/cycling/working on rough terrain and entering hazardous situations with never a previous problem.

it's a sad fact that the ground staff will get that low in moral that they will leave and then where will CRT be? contractors that don't care sadly

If you won't visit the site to see what has been put then why are you having an input on the content that you haven't read?

Unless the Smartgauge is out of calibration, I think determining the SoC by looking at the morning voltage will yield the same results as the Smartgauge, within the accurcies of both methods. Depending on where you look on the internet, there are different tables of SoC vs rested voltage, with a difference of more than 5%. Which one is right?

Why on earth should I go anywhere near a site that I know has been used by its owner to attack me personally? I'll pass on that one, thank you. Mr Jay's site is like Thunderboat - I have no desire to read either.

how would you know if you haven't read the site? you can in fact comment if you wish but sadly not telepathically

I tried that but they kept taking me around the bend. Maybe I shouldn't have used radials.

Look forward to it Tim

Hi Rick Yes I thought so. I still always use Ray for transport even tho he no longer owns streethay, he is spot on. Bye the way on the move so soon be Beer oclock up there

I did the work the bulkhead divided a new bedroom from the bathroom

The rack in the torcher chamber at the Tower of London would stretch a boat. Ouch!!!!

I think the stuff we were talking about was vermiculite fire brick

Sorted!! Turned everything off, phone and head unit, turned both back on, and there it all is... including Volume and the unit has been running for a couple of hours now without cutting out, so the original problem must have been inside the Sony head unit. Thanks to all for the input.

Yes

mmmmm how long have you been in the flatlands? Many many narrowboats navigate the tidal Trent every year. You are correct in that it needs some forward thinking but is perfectly within most narrowboats and boaters ability

OK... I agree, (and you clearly know a lot more about this than me ). Early amps quickly.... Later and last amps, as long as it takes. I've got an 80A charger and a nominal 450Ah bank, (although it's probably half that now ). If I discharge overnight to say 50%, (using about 100Ah), I find I get about 20 minutes at bulk, (80A), then it drops to a bit less than half the amps being drawn each hour. e.g. 1hr reads 37A, 2hr reads 15A, 3hr reads 6A, 4hr reads 3A, and I tend to call them about full at this point.

I know it well, I used to have a 32 foot Dawncraft on the ouze. Neil

Interesting, though not surprising - I think I got one of those vans!

But those who SJ has in the past decided to post personal attacks on on his own website don't have that option do they?

I think we owe a debt of gratitude to Nigel for adding some clarity to the BC situation. None more so than Peel who probably have been following this and similar discussions and now know more than their own legal eagles could decipher. Perhaps not the outcome we wanted but at least we all now know the situation. I will continue to use the BC as a through route but will plan return trips to avoid charges. I also applaud Gigoguy for his challenge and others who have contributed useful information to this thread.

It may possibly be due to retarding the ignition, allowing unburned fuel into the exhaust. Many years ago, after rebuilding the engine on a Mustang which I owned, I managed to fire it up for the first time with the ignition retarded by quite a large amount. This caused my tubular exhaust "headers" to glow red hot. Setting the timing to the correct position cured it. I seem to recall that a lot of cars of the vintage shown in the film have manual ignition timing adjusters on the steering wheel. I suspect that this might be the drivers "party trick"

I think it now highly unlikely that any of the few remaining ex working boats still with CRT will ever be offered to "Joe Public" on the open market, by any means of sale. The exact mechanism seems to change each time, but unless you can put yourself forward as a heritage group or some kind of trust, I don't think you will secure one by this route. If you want a real piece of history, better looking at those privately advertised, whether on e-Bay, Apollo Duck or via the HNBC. If not already sold, "Otley" would be my current pick for anybody wanting a project. I have no real idea if it would represent more work than malvern, but my gut instinct is that it wouldn't. Most of the BW/CRT owned boats are fairly "clapped" once passed to new owners, (witness the huge spend that Chesterfield Canal Trust people have had to make to bring Python back to a good standard).

I am not sure that is what Pete is saying. 600Ah seems an awful lot to me for a holiday boat as well. It all depends where the 600Ah came from - guess , advice, or sensible calculation. Remember that the larger the bank the longer you can go between charging BUT the longer it will take to fully recharge. Really, in my view, you should look at the recharge time for your use of the boat first and from there work out how you ensure your consumption is balanced by the available charge. That should also give you a fair idea of the optimum bank size. Fitting a huge bank is fine as long as you keep it as near fully charges as you can but if you regularly use it to stay a day or two without charging then there is every chance you will never fully charge it while away from shore power and thus suffer sulphation, not to mention deeper discharges than may be best fro the batteries.

Just to offer a different perspective here: we're (adopted) Yorkshire folk and our kids and grandkids look likely to stay in the area, so we have particular reasons for wanting a 'go anywhere' boat. But even without the family connection, I can't imagine wanting to give the option of cruising 'the northern canals'. It's not just that you can't cruise the bits of the Leeds-Liverpool, Calder & Hebble or Huddersfield Narrow that have short locks; it's that you're cutting off your route to the Lancaster, and most of your routes to the Aire & Calder, the Ouse etc. (all three Pennine routes, leaving just the tidal Trent). That's an awful lot of routes that either already feature among our favourites, or are high on our 'to do' lists. That Pennine scenery in particular is hard to beat!

I am not saying what should /should not be done i am just passing comment on what posts tend towards & the boat in question started off with a conventional layout it was "Bastardised" by BW in their wisdom. & if the owner whoever that might be wants to do serious boating in terms of hours per day then I fear for his hearing with the present layout

Most often, your boat could be doing with being about 5 feet longer, except now and then when about 5 feet less would be handy. How long it is to start with seems to be rather less hard and fast.

Alan, could you do me a favour next time you see the chap who trains the volunteers? Can you ask him why they insist on making boaters who are descending use a bow and stern line, even if alone in the lock. I've argued many times that it's far safer if you're single handed to use a centre rope or none at all as it's impossible to watch 2 ropes 60' apart that often snag on the cables. What's the worst that can happen if you don't use lines at all? You might slowly get drawn towards the gates? Oh dear, how dangerous..