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They didn’t, they mistakingly thought the lock was sett.

Just got back from a terrific week on the Stourport Ring (the shorter version via Dudley), so here's some information (especially pubs) that people might find useful. Our boat was "Hydra" from Anglo-Welsh at Tardebigge, lovely new 65' 4-berth boat with lots of nice features for a comfortable week including two bathrooms/showers and super-comfy leather armchairs, highly recommended. Afternoon of Day 1 was the Tardebigge flight, no problem (we love locks), would have taken us about 3 hours except we were behind a slow couple for the first part so took 2 hours for the first ten locks and then 2 hours for the next 21 after they let us overtake. Excellent dinner (pizzas and other stuff) at the Queen's Head (booking probably wise), washed down with some very nice beers. Next day was the very pleasant run down into Worcester, moored just below Sidbury Lock, very good food at the King's Head followed by more beer and crib in the fantastic Cardinal's Hat, a lovely friendly old-fashioned pub with great beer and lots of little cosy rooms to get wedged in. Then the run up the Severn to Stourport, should have stopped at the Camp House but didn't realise we were there until we were past it. Went up through the staircase locks and moored at the far side of the Upper Basin, had a good curry at Namaste right next door and then walked up to the Black Star, lots of excellent Wye Valley beers (also quite a loud amplified singer, but we could get away at a quiet end of the pub) -- are you starting to see a theme here? Decided to aim for Stourbridge Town Wharf the next day, quite a long run with lots if individual locks so we couldn't gain time by working ahead, but still got there by teatime. Very little mooring space inside the secure moorings but we were allowed to moor right at the end opposite the warehouse so long as we were only there overnight, otherwise would have had to moor outside the gates (near the water point) which we were told was safe but weren't that convinced, Another good curry at Bombay Pickles on the High Street, then another great beer and crib evening in the Duke William (Craddock's brewery tap) with some good guitarist/singers in the bar corner -- unamplified so we could half-listen while still being able to talk normally ? From there we flew up the Stourbridge Sixteen (aided by a volocky) in a few seconds under 2 hours, then moored above Delph bottom lock and walked up the hill to the Bull and Bladder (The Vine). Absolutely delicious Batham's (as you'd expect), cobs and pork pies for lunch, great dry humour from the barmaid, threatened to ban me and lamp me for various reasons -- a truly memorable pub. Then the Delph locks and along to moor at Withymoor Island Trust, we'd rung before setting off and they said we'd probably have to breast up (we did) but they'd fit us in somehow (they did). Lovely friendly people, gave us a gate key (for a deposit) and off we went to Ma Pardoe's. Last time I was there they only did one beer and it was 33p a pint, now they do four (all delicious) and food -- so it had to be faggots (mmm), liver and bacon (great if you like it), and more beer (now £2.60, oh dear, we're from London...) until closing time. Two iconic Black Country pubs in one day, you can't beat that. About 2h30m the next morning got us through Netherton to the Black Country Living Museum, moored and spent the afternoon there -- really fascinating, especially talking to the people running it. Visited the Bottle and Glass and the chippy for obvious reasons, both as good as claimed. Then moved along to John the Locks moorings at Tipton just past the Fountain, having gone past to the junction and turned so we were facing the right way for tomorrow. Was interesting shoehorning a 65' boat into a 63' space but we managed, then had another excellent evening in the Fountain sustained only by beer and bostin' pork scratchings -- proper fatty salty teethbreakers, none of this puffed-up pork rind rubbish (they had several grades...). Last full day was the long drag along the old main line (much more pleasant than the new one), surprisingly clean water with lots of plants, mostly cleared from the prop by occasional astern/ahead bursts except for one weed-hatch excursion to remove a tarpaulin. Drizzly rain at least meant only the steerer (me) got damp, diverted into Hockley Port (Soho Loop) for water -- point is right at the end, easier to wind first, beware the far end is really black stinky and disgusting if you stir it up with the prop. Stopped at the central Brum mooring to stroll up to the Prince of Wales on Cambridge Street for lunch (remembered it from thirty years ago) only to find it recently but permanently closed with a "For Lease" sign outside, boo hoo. Never mind, we had to resort to beer and pies on the boat, both in plentiful supply. Last evening was planned for the Weighbridge in Alvechurch but when we rang the day before they said they were full, so we ate on the boat and then went there afterwards -- got a table after the eaters left, predictably more nice beer (one bar wall is papered with CAMRA prize certificates) and crib until closing time. Food looked/smelt good but obviously needs booking well in advance, the pub is tiny. One hour in the morning back to the boatyard and then off we went home. A very enjoyable trip, especially if you like proper pubs that haven't been gastropubbed to within an inch of their lives. Didn't seem like 111 locks, they mostly just flew by -- Tardebigge was a piece of cake to do in an afternoon with three of us on the bank (four on the boat). No problems anywhere with trouble, vandalism, moorings, though I did spend a lot of time planning with Canalplan, Google, Nicholsons and Pearsons guides, the Good Beer Guide, and people on this forum. Many thanks to all those on Canalworld who helped with advice, especially about moorings in Brum. In hindsight, I would do the whole trip again with exactly the same stops at the drop of a hat (even a Cardinal's) -- if you like locks and your idea of a good evening is to spend it with friends/family (in our case, both) in a good pub with excellent and reasonably priced beer, it's probably one of the best one-week trips you could do. I would also highly recommend both the boat and boatyard ("Hydra" from Anglo-Welsh at Tardebigge) if four of you want a really comfortable boat for a week -- not a single problem, really well designed and thought out, beautifully fitted out and equipped. It even had shelves in the kitchen which could have been custom designed to take 18-pint polypins from Rebellion, and the steering position is the first one I've seen which had a level place with a lip designed for a plate with a bacon-and-egg sandwich (yes, with HP sauce) and a cup of tea -- or a pint of beer and a guidebook. Even the fridge was bigger than normal with a decent-sized freezer, big enough for enough bags/trays of ice to make proper home-sized pre-prandial G&Ts. It was almost as if whoever designed the boat had read my mind first and fixed all the moans I've had about previous boats (wouldn't it be nice if...) ?

Duck Egg Free Range Association? ?

It's War Ken and he hails from Newcastle and wouldn't be seen dead with a cigar.

With a JP it really depends on if you hand start it or not. We supply our engines initially filled with SAE30 ( API SD/CC) oil. Generally this is fine for all of the electric start JPs we do. However, hand swinging a JP in cold weather is a different thing entirely. If I were you are I would run it on SAE20 if you do hand start it fairly often. If you expect to hand start it in the coldest of winter weather the use of an SAE 10 oil can make the difference between success and failure. Back in the day it was normal to run on 10 weight oil from October to April on the old JPs on a whole range of plant I used to maintain. Back then oil technology was very different and engine oil was far gloopier than now. ( Gloopy: 1960s term for oils reluctant to pour in cold conditions, similarly referred to as p*** in plus 70F conditions ?)

You just have to remember to turn the keyboard upside down first.

I don't think much of Reading either

I think that just isn't true, I'm afraid. Of course it matters. The system was built for working boatmen, who by the nature of the work were fit enough to do the job. When they stopped being fit enough, they were out of work and off the canal, and the same is true for us. Just the nature of working locks and climbing ladder, as well as getting on and of the boat mean that you have to have a certain level of fitness. I'm getting older rapidly (or it seems so) and having occasional difficulty getting up ladders or across lock gates (I boat solo). Should CRT install lifts in the locks or replace every stiff paddle or interesting bit of string on a lift bridge just so I can keep on boating? Nope, I just have to choose easier routes and, ultimately, leave the waterways for the next generation. Limited money means limited maintenance - it's actually quite remarkable as much of the system is still working at all. It's not just the canal system that degrades over time, it's us too.

I see the sense of humour bypass operation was a complete success then.

I'm not sure putting lime Ca(OH)2 in your gin is going to be very good for you....

Propane (LPG, Liquefied Propane Gas) Butane (n-butane) Isobutane Propene (aka propylene, methylethylene and MAPP Gas)

Yes, well done. You're not crackers.

I think he was warning about putting the gas in the wrong bottle. Mixed propane/butane is very common - you will probably have some for your soldering torch.

How little you know about angling.

Great report, but I don't think these two sentences belong in the same report!

Surely midnight is a shade of blue?

Thought this might make an amusing end to the thread, this is how we get our money's worth, up here in Yorkshire, when our power tools go to the great boatyard in the sky.......

My chess board is. I've not got a badger.

I’m following that thread as well , I’m going to have a play myself with the Pi method to see what it can do.

Indded, that is a coracle cabriolet and the orange one is a coracle coupe ?

Some of us are quite clever! George

Hi Scott, Firstly I think a photo of each of the engines you have will allow better advice as the amount of work required to convert from industrial to marine propulsion will vary hugely depending on the spec of what you are starting with and some cases it is not even really possible to do well. Also you may save yourself a lot of pain by marinising the engine rather than trying to fully convert it to the marine spec like we do. Doing the full monty conversion is fairly easy for us as we have the patterns for the marine manifolds/silencer casting but as you mention I would go and sit in a dark room with a beer before I tell you the cost for a set of these. P.S If you need parts even in Austrailia this isnt an issue, we have recently supplied, crank, rods, pistons and liners. along with all the bits to overhaul the injectors and pump and gaskets to a chap in NSW so it can be done. Cheers, Martyn

So, how did Badgers manage to open both gates, or even use a windlass ?

In normal chemical processes, condensate is precipitated when pressure increases. It vapourises as pressure is reduced. In a propane bottle, the propane (C3) will contain a small amount of Butanes (C4) and an even smaller amount of Pentanes (C5). The C4 or C5 will be the 'condensates'. There is also likely to be a very small amount of Butadiene which can combine with other molecules to form gums which some people may call condensates. Increased pressure will increase the rate at which these gums are formed. ......end of lesson.

Usually when something is cycling all you can hear is a ding ding, ding ding, ding ding.

We are pleased to announce that after the implementation of new customer handling procedures, we have received remarkably few complaints.

Considering the surly response you get from a fair number of anglers for a cheery "Morning" as you go by, having slowed down and stuck carefully to the middle channel, I think you're right. Trouble is, the negativity seems mostly to come from them. I maintain a cheery greeting just to annoy them, except at competitions when I accept they're concentrating, though on what I'm not sure as I can't work out why concentration should help much in outwitting fish. I've only really had two snarling matches in thirty years, one who got his rod caught in my windowframe and the other from someone fishing on a lock mooring, so it's mostly a live and let live situation. Anyway, I like them - they're part of the infrastructure, like moored boats and dog poo.

Hi Ours start at About £620 Inc VAT. All depends. on what you want. Here's my normal reply to the standard question "How much is a cratch?" Based on an average 5' Cratch I’ll break down the price for you. The Blank cratch ( no windows or zips) retails at £687.96 in PVC and £740.88 in HW Acrylic Canvas. Then we come to the extras ; Each Zip you would like is £46.31 , This includes splitting the cover and turning back the edge of each zip to avoid fraying, A zip cover storm flap, Branded material zip pullers and roll up straps for the open section. Each window you would like in the cover is £36.38 ( size and location can be decided on site) If you require window covers to protect the windows from dirt /UV and also for security to hide the contents of your bow they are £49.61 each. This includes turn button fittings to lock the covers down and roll up straps to keep them up when light is required. Decorative coloured edge pipe work is also available at £8.40 per running foot. Hope this is clear and you can work out what you would like in your cover.

Thanks. So it is a CRT rule then. What sanctions are available to miscreants? Limiting the rod licence to 3 months? Oh that prompts an idea. Rod licneces should be priced according to length!!!!

see here Mike. https://www.gardnermarine.com/the-early-history-of-l-gardner-sons/

Indeed, I am quite sure a contractor such as carillon will be along shortly to bid for and put.such a system in place......

And, then folks wonder why the 'powers that be' want to install alarms.

Sharks would have been fine. We took maybe 100 yards of plastic tape saying "danger gas main" out of the cut with various large unknown decomposing things attached to it and then noticed the roof was awash with huge leeches, the sort that could suck a whole armful of blood out of you in milliseconds, but worse there were huge segmented worms the like of which I have never seen. We had both sustained cuts clearing the prop as there was a length of razor sharp aluminium of some sort in the middle of it all. I was concerned that these worms would burrow into our bloodstream un-noticed (as pre anaesthetised by the leeches) and then burst out of our stomachs a few days later whilst we were sat round the dinner table. ................Dave

What is needed is someone with one of those huge chisel tipped felt permanent marker pens to go and 'proof mark-up" the sign, deleting the letters 'or', and adding the missing letters 'aul' and word 'inland'.

Very sad. What a waste of money whilst the system’s infrastructure is nearly death from neglect.

Open a window.

And / or the dreaded "ignorant of the subject" proof reader.

Aren't there some instructions somewhere about operating lift bridges safely, single handed. Where is Phyllis when you need her?

'Josher' is a nickname for a narrow boat built by or for Fellows, Morton and Clayton Ltd., Birmingham who were a large independent canal carrier that operated from July 1889 to December 1948. They were still commissioning new narrow boats right up to the end of trading, but the method of construction and overall dimensions limited their carrying capacity especially when compared to the more modern Grand Union Canal Carrying Company Ltd. narrow boats that were undoubtedly the 'Rolls Royce' of narrow boats. Most of the 'Joshers' that continued to carry with 'British Waterways' were soon upgraded to the modern standards of the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company Ltd. narrow boats, being fitted with such basics as electrics and a cabin porthole. Some misguided enthusiasts prefer the proportions of a 'Josher' and consider their lines to be elegant, and when combined with a period Bolinder engine (basically a large diameter pipe with a bucket going up and down within it) are considered to have character. I can't help feeling you already know this

that would fit with the time of these slides I scanned, from other slides in the same batch the area is right but all I had for a date was 80-85

Would love to debate this but no point as your wrong. Epsolar aka Tracer are right. Batteries first, no debate. I'm right Rusty is right Epsolar are right Others on here are right Read page 12 of the downloaded Pdf that Richard linked to above. In my older hard copy manual it's page 6. It clearly shows the order of connection. Until you have gone to your boat, identified the controller you have, reread the manual for the controller and can show me where the manual says you are correct I would suggest that your previous advice be ignored. If you can prove we are all wrong then I will apologise and spend a week wearing a MAGA hat.