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The big announcement. Team Tawny Owl will not be taking part in the challenge this year. This is because Richard and I are now the organisers, so it might be a bit of a conflict of interest! Tug was intending to tale over the organisation from John and Roy, but due to a change in personal circumstances he is no longer able to, so last Friday Richard and I were asked if we could step in and get things organised for this year. We are just getting our heads round what needs to be done and how to go about it, so for the moment, if you'd like to take part please email bcnschallenge@gmail.com, and I'll get the entry forms out to you as soon as I've finalised all the details. Sue

I went to my local aldi to get one but apparently someone accidentally put a box of them next to a radiator and they destroyed the shop and every building in a 2 mile radius.

Rochdale summit is better.

And, and, and - Spend a few bob more and get an angled collar. There are too many boats around with the chimney sticking out of the roof at a (not very) jaunty angle. Looks 'orrible. Fairly easily available - go to a proper chandlers - I had to nag MC to get one in, and that was in the 'old days'

Yes. We have both an Aldi knockoff fan and a branded ecofan we were given. The branded one starts sooner and runs faster despite them both both looking much the same. It's either a different alloy on the ecofan, or a more efficient (and hence more expensive) Peltier unit, or both. The top cooling vanes on the Aldi version have crossbars to make them stronger, but these might reduce the cooling effect, causing a lower temperature gradient across the Peltier module. This won't help either, as the generated voltage is a function of temperature differential across the unit. Air movement is a function of fan speed and vane shape - the really crap ones just need a very slight extra twist to the vanes to shift significantly more air, but they then need higher temperature to turn the fan fast enough, so it is a tradeoff.

Depending where I am, it can take a long walk.

I'd go for Series as it gives a better voltage output in 'low-light' (Autumn / Winter / Spring) Do you need a wiring diagram for series connections ?

They are twelve volt batteries I have four for domestic at 24 volts and two banks of five for running the electric motor. The batteries in my case are charged to 13.8 volts which is best for having a long life, in my case that's ten thousand cycles down to 80% of capacity.. That's good to know thanks

How did you know he had butterflies in his stomach?

My doctor is adamant that I can only have one month prescription. However, they will give me 2 consecutive one month scripts!

you were lucky, our local did similar but stacked them facing the wrong way. this caused them to suck rather than blow and now theres a small black hole where our aldi used to be

Must read messages before pressing send, must read messages before pressing send, must read messages before pressing send!! Do you think that will sink in? Sue

Some advice, even professional advice, about the layout can be ridiculous so make sure you get a variety of opinions. Our stove is at the front of the boat beside the doors, as is the case with many boats; it's not ideal because all the heat is at the end of the boat but it is convenient. Recently when I sought to have the fireproofing behind the stove improved, the boatyard who had been going to do the job said that to comply with the regulations the stove would have to be moved several inches further away from the side wall. This meant it would be too close to the front door steps so they'd have to be removed. This would have made the doorway unsafe so it should be sealed up. Then I'd need alternative access so another set of side doors would need to be installed. They said basically it was impossible and suggested that the boat be completely refitted so that the stove was at the other end of the cabin. They quoted a minimum of £6k; I went to another boatyard who took the stove out, moved it a couple of inches, installed new fireproofing, re-tiled around it, and put the stove back with the original flue for about £650

If purchasing a boat you may be able to negotiate on price to allow for installation. I have often found a cool, not quite frosty morning can highlight the position of the ribs. When building a hearth/base for the stove, keep it as low as possible as any reduction in length of flue will have a negative effect. A simple metal plate is ample as there is very little heat transferred through the base, cheap and easy too. Aim to get the flue straight as any angle will make it difficult to seal at the collar and lead to ooze down the outside of the interior flue.

How sad, it was the last of the Seven Wonders of The Canals for us to do. We probably thought it is equal to the Pontythingy as the most stunning. Even a drive there to see it would be well worth it.

"there couldn’t be a better place for launching a boat onto the inland waterways." Dear CRT, I own a lovely 14ft x 68 ft widebeam and read the above at our lift in marina of choice - was looking forward to the boating experience. I now realise that we have 20 miles at our boats capabilities, and we are getting abuse from people on little boats wherever we cruise or more(sic). Please can you reduce our licence fee to a % of the network available to us - approx 1% by our re-conning, and not helped by that little boat that mores in Crick, where we like to dine occasionally. We are also thinking of taking you to the court of widebeam rights for not making the locks big enough for boats like ours to leave this area - its a disgrace. Darren and Tracey from Essex

Long serving members of this forum may recall that, some years ago, I was researching the history of Wheelock windlasses before I was diagnosed with Cancer. Two years of Chemo, major surgery and recovery left the trail rather cold, but I have recently determined to finish it, hence the question in this thread, which with Richard T's post has solved one of the questions I had. I still have a bit of research to complete, but maybe by the end of this year I may be able to produce the article I have been working on. I have a copy of the book referenced but, unfortunately, it does not give very much information about Wheelock windlasses, despite it's title.

Oh yeah. Scrub that idea then...