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We came across a boat on the Staffs and Worcs, chap in the back and two ladies on the bank pulling the boat round a bend. I asked if they needed help and he said he had list steering and proceeded to demonstrate that when he pressed the bow thruster button nothing happened. His tiller was working fine but he didn't seem to realise that he could steer with just the tiller.

Good news: Victron have got back to my supplier (Springwood Haven Marina, who have been very helpful throughout). They have tested the units and it is indeed a fault within the 4.01 firmware. This will be fixed in the next update.

Got to be angry. A happy grinder won't take your fingers off if you lose concentration for a moment. Think this: Rather than this:

He was trying to get round the gnomes....

Can't help thinking that some of these posts are rather missing the point. One may be able to use solid core cabling or hard copper gas pipes because the BSS doesn't specifically prohibit them, but surely the point is why would you want to if you know that the recommended alternatives are safer? Finding legal loopholes might be ok when talking about things like taxation for example, but surely not when it comes to the safety of one's family and friends? Some contributors on here seem to prefer to discuss the cheapest or bodgiest way to do things while just staying on the right side of the BSS, rather than the right way to do things properly and safely.

Pointing out others' spelling mistakes rarely goes well, lol!

We have one like that.

Going to get a reg tomorrow so fingers crossed.

Never mind all this talk of bow thrusters and boats I say bring back crossply tyres drum brakes and a bloody big steering wheel instead of this wimpy power steering grrrr..

Quite. A thread consisting largely of posts moaning about bow thrusters which was sparked off by a story about a boat without a bow thruster...

Yes, very different. Incalac is incorrectly spelled.

I would say it depends how it was being described, but to my eye it is just a chest with roses painted on it in a classical style - nothing to do with British canals and their 'traditional heritage'. 'Traditional heritage' is a funny thing as the people selling most of the rubbish claiming to be bargeware / canalware on the back of it being traditional are the ones who are directly responsible for slowly killing it. There are very few left who are genuinely interested in traditional boating and the high quality equipment required to go boating, and those that are interested are massively outnumbered by those who have no interest in canal history at all

Ron ‘ough zer famous french impressionist en vacance

I was in Bristol a few years ago when a motor and butty pair of hotel boats tied on the mooring of the trip boat REDSHANK. They were asked to move as REDSHANK was due back but their path back into the docks was obstructed by other trip boats moored several abreast directly ahead of them. As a former 'captain' of narrow boat pairs I decided to watch to see how they got around the boats obstructing them and to see if the steerer would do the same as I had in mind - he did not as he used the bow thruster fitted in the fore end of the butty !!!! Back in the day there was a professional pride with boat handling and getting out of awkward situations with minimal fuss, which was rare as generally you do not get your boats into awkward situations in the first place, and this was a turning point for me as I realised that there was no longer any skill required to work as a professional boatman. My boat is an 82 year old 71'6'' narrow boat and has never had a bowthruster. If it did have a bowthruster it would need to be about halfway along the hull as the fore end is just coming out of the water when it is empty

It works, ? controller is indicating a charge and agreeing with the battery monitor that was already fitted and NO MAGIC SMOKE ???? Just need to understand what all the different numbers mean lol. Huge thanks to all who have helped, ???

I've seen one boat using a bow thruster to line up to go through the bridge at the end of my garden. The bridge is on a straight bit of canal...

What an amazing trip. It brings back great memories of last year when we did Limehouse to Teddington which was made so much more relaxing and enjoyable thanks to all the help from SG. We hope to do it again next year but this time go down river to the barrier.

I have raised this with the CRT licencing department before and they claim that the rivers only registration is a licence which is contrary to their own legislation.

I'm sure he's around somewhere

But with locks that size no-one would be able to use it!

Bet it wouldnt hold water

Here’s a basic wiring diagram I made a while back. You can ignore the starter battery, the VSR, and anything else you don’t have. It may help you Basic DC Wiring Diagram V2.pdf

All cables have resistance. The thicker the cable the lower the resistance, and the shorter the cable the lower the resistance. So a short length of 1.5mm at the end of a long length of 16mm (for instance) will have no effect on voltage drop. So as long as the thin cable is comfortably within its current rating there’s no problem. Sounds good. Individual cables is arguably more elegant but if the likelihood is that you’ll rarely have all three feeds simultaneously fully loaded then the single feed will give a lower voltage drop.

Although it is now a charitable trust and has restructured more than once it still casts the same shadow it did as a Quango. They may not have even realised yet that merely writing Mission Statements and getting the expression Customer Care into every second sentence only impresses the sycophants around the board table. Introducing new rules to capture maximum income and minimise revenue loss was obvious. However it was solely aimed at those already in the system. Nobody likes change, but even more so people lose respect when they can see that trying to play the game raises your own profile as a target for further costs and inconveniences. While, operating below the radar seemed to make ne'er do wells invisible leaving only the law abiders to pay the money and follow the new restrictions. So if you have a selfish disposition, are an opportunist or are a sociopath then C&RT will humour you while losing the respect of their fair playing, fare paying client base. I wonder how many of their staff understand the basics required to operate an effective inland navigation? Even the office workers and architects should look at a those who clog up VMs etc and understand it undermines the first principle of their employer. Do they? If they don't then where's the shared pride in what they're doing?

A quite amazing trip, though running up a gravel bank in Putney at 7 mph was a somewhat unexpected extra. All canals should be supplied with rising tides to easily resolve such situations. I was far too busy steering to take photos, but my brother-in-law got this perfectly framed example as we passed Tower Bridge. MP.