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Well, we are back! I have people to thanks I'm going to start with John and Roy of the BCNS for reviving this wonderfully ridiculous idea and keeping it going since 2009. Without them, I'd have nothing to talk about. Thank you both very much Gentlemen We have had help from quite a variety of people The BCNS has supported and encouraged us to run the challenge so many thanks to them. I'd like to particularly mention Kathy O'Keefe for helping to sort out the money, Martin O'Keefe and Brenda Ward for publicity and supplying the trophy, and Kirsty Wilson for her help and support We just couldn't find time to wander the BCN looking for the photographic questions, so we got someone who does this all the time to do it! Many Thanks to Andy Tidy of the Jam Boat, Many people said that the picture clues were much better this year The famous BCN Planner was updated especially for this year by Ian Hindle, who presumably used his inside information to achieve his magnificent 21st place CRT really committed themselves to this years challenge. Ian Darby and his team were determined that the challenge should go ahead, hence the temporary pumps in place at Bradley workshops and Tividale aqueduct. He also organised the moorings in Brum which we gratefully filled up with 24 boats. I accidentally noticed the CRT Twitter feed on Saturday, and that the event was in CRT's events calendar. On the Sunday there were several CRT directors in Birmingham and also a film crew (not to film the directors either!). I'm looking forwards to finding new ways to exploit CRT's resources for the challenge next year At short notice, Rose Narrowboats sorted out our (temporary) accommodation problem by providing their boat Sundance which became BCN Challenge HQ for the event. The alternative would have been a Gazebo, which means it would probably have blown a gale! Thank you to Anthony and his team Running the event meant Team Tawny Owl had to stand down this year, even so we still fielded a team of seven who gathered in forms, deciphered tired handwriting, entered data into the database, sorted out the paddle on Farmers Bridge, made tea, served cake and generally had a good time. It needs a team to do this, if only to stop Sue and me going crazy And last, and by no means least, thank you to all of the people who competed this year. You boated, tweeted, posted and photographed your way around the BCN then turned up at Challenge HQ in good spirits with your crumpled workstained forms. You were all cheerful and charming no matter how tired you were. We appreciated the chaotically filled in forms with their apparent boating paradoxes as much as the properly ordered ones that were easy to enter into the database. Well, almost. You have all helped to publicise the lesser used parts of the BCN, and shown that people do use these 'remaindered' canals So, who is up for doing it again next year? Richard

That's just the very basic starting price, for the smallest of the pods, there are no prices on the site so I couldn't say what the larger pods go for. The website doesn't actually advertise these as house boats they seem to be focusing on the marina owner using them as holiday lets. I agree wholeheartedly with BilgePump, this is a lovely idea, and we do need to have big and lovely ideas because they fuel the creativity needed to takes us to our goals and dreams, but the practical side of this needs to be looked at really long and hard, there is a lot potential here for some massive long term problems with these beasties. If you are new to living on the canal why not try living on a boat first, give it a year or two see what you really think of it, you can buy a nice boat for less than your pod, it will be much easier to sell the boat if 1) you don't like it or 2) you do like it and want a better boat or still really want the pod. ETA I'm sorry Selena, I'm usually the queen of enthusiastic cheering on of ideas but from a financial stand point this pontoon pod make very little sense at all. Sorry.

I bought a boat because I am too much of a cheapskate to pay 2 grand a week to hire one!

For a houseboat that won't be moving I'd think that finding a mooring and loving the place before even looking at the craft may be wiser. Real boats are great because you can move them at will, and well, you know, it's fun, but the nicest floating box in the world will only be able to offer the life and facilities of the area surrounding its mooring. No changing the scenery, night time noise etc. When people look for houses they always seem to choose the area first and then look at what's on the market, the same should apply with these things. In the near future people will go to the marina village to see what has come on the market in a terrace of these, all sold through or by them. The marina won't be looking for people to roll up with nice new ones, they can rinse and repeat sales of existing ones. Eventually they will be replaced and the older pods moved on down the market. Lots of once lovely static caravans end up as building site sheds etc because of their dirt cheap price when old and tired. We all know that boats don't increase in value like houses but these pods may well depreciate far more rapidly than a narrowboat. One of the joys of being on a boat is the ability to explore places away from home. My boat's home mooring is in a far nicer area than where I live, it's in rural Cheshire, but it is all the surrounding routes and towns that appeal so the boat potters about. Any change of boat would therefore be governed by the length restriction on my mooring unless I also found a longer but not too long mooring, at the same price per foot in a similarly decent location within the same distance from home. That could be a tall order but affordable moorings in decent locations for a residential houseboat pod may be more like rocking horse manure. Like dmr and Mike say these modern pods may look sleek but that allows for a simple and cheap manufacturing process I'd expect. The price tag does seem way ott for a design (floating box with nice interior decor) that a lot of people on here who would never claim to be boatbuilders could have a competent go at constructing something similar. No challenging steel fabrication or elegant lines, no employing methods and designs developed over a couple of centuries, no easy way of moving. This is just a small studio flat that would be fun floating on a pond in a property's grounds but as a home relying on marinas and network moorings could be a nightmare. I wouldn't want to live on a caravan site and I wouldn't want to live in a floating pod either due to their entire reliance on the mercy of the site/marina owners. As someone who uses a boat, and echoing what someone said earlier, I too am concerned about the consequences of growing numbers of these ending up stuck in the navigation due to rising costs or fallouts with marinas. One of the forum members posted a picture on their blog passing the houseboat box in Manchester mentioned before and it quite simply appears to be a major obstruction. As drivers we wouldn't want static caravans ending up blocking rural lanes but I can imagine these houseboat pods could become a major liability for some owners in the future and end up doing the same on the canals . Ideal for park owners to buy and rent out by the week for lake holidays. Far from ideal as a home.

What do you mean mildly superior...? I feel totally and utterly superior to hire boaters. I have to get something in return for all the worry, expense and occasional periods of deep depression...

Someone missed out in Richards list of worthy people is his other half Sue, a centre of calm and apparent sanity in the whirlwind madness that was the final day. I suspect it was Sue who suggested it was possible and worked dam hard to get the results out so quickly. So a thank you from me

I see that the lower image shares the same styling cues as the latest widebeams. Look its even got a porthole to maintain the nautical styling cues! ?

That fact that the Ford driver will be using his indicators probably helps his case, though!

As I mentioned earlier, gravel pits seem the obvious place for these things, not the canals. The really BIG problem with them is sewage. The type of person likely to buy one is unlikely to be charmed by the idea of lugging cassettes to an elsan, so it had to be pump-out by a visiting pump-out barge, or a permanent pump-out to land connection like a lot of the Thames flat-afloats have.

That’s my great grandad Here is is steering the tug Fastnet

Heart of Oak was mine and I passed it on to my nephew, not son. There were two boats made, one called Daffodil (Heart of Oak) and one called Dasie. They were used on the Manchester Ship canal to service the locks, transport diving gear and were also used as ice breakers.

I don't usually bother too much if a boat passes a bit too quick, but once had a boat pass me on the Llangollen who was almost flat out. Instead of shouting at him, I got up early the next day and returned the favour. Sure enough had appeared on deck shouting at me so I reversed back to him and said "well you passed me like that yesterday". He went bright red and quickly returned indoors.

We use a twin tub. Extremely kind on electricity usage. ( 230w wash & 120 watts spin) Uses a 'fraction' of the water an auto uses. You put the hot water in yourself (from the cauliflower) as hot or cold as you like. No 'programmes' to get confused. The clothes come out dryer than from an automatic. Costs under £100 A twin tub does need some 'manual involvement' (putting in clothes, adding water, switching on, removing clothes from the wash side and putting in the spin side, removing from the machine). Nothing not to like. Link to one similar to ours. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Portawash-twintub-portable-washing-machine-suit-caravan-motorhome-vw-camper-etc/332093735123?_trkparms=aid%3D555018%26algo%3DPL.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D4b2f33958b3447babe957115623ee3cf%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D352120105221%26itm%3D332093735123&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

PRESS RELEASE MAJOR LEAP FORWARD FOR MONTGOMERY CANAL RESTORATION Unique project protects rare wildlife as canal restored for boats Waterways and well-being charity, the Canal & River Trust has taken a major leap forwards this spring in the mammoth task to restore the beautiful Montgomery Canal on the Shropshire Welsh border. Thanks to a four-year, £4 million project, boats should soon be returning to a section of the canal near Oswestry for the first time since the canal was closed due to a breach in 1936. The Trust, which cares for the Montgomery and 2,000 miles of canals, has been working with volunteers from the Shropshire Union Canal Society and contractors to upgrade nearly five miles (8km) of towpath, restore 1¼ miles (2km) of the canal to navigation from Maesbury to Crickheath and create a dedicated turning point for narrowboats, known as a ‘winding hole’. Construction of the winding hole has just been completed and the basin is currently being filled with water, which will take about three weeks. For the first time in a canal restoration, two nature reserve lakes have been constructed parallel to the canal channel at Aston Locks, near Queens Head, to provide a protective home for rare aquatic flora and fauna removed from the canal. Wildlife such as damselflies, dragonflies, otters, water voles, and rare aquatic plants like Floating Water Plantain Luronium natans are now successfully colonising their new home. Known for its outstanding natural beauty, wildlife and heritage, the Montgomery Canal runs for 35 miles between England and Wales, but only around half of the canal is currently navigable. The Montgomery is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest on both sides of the border. The entire length in Wales is also recognised as a Special Area of Conservation, showing that it is one of the most important sites for wildlife in Europe. This latest major phase is being funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), supported by the Montgomery Canal Partnership, delivered by the Canal & River Trust and should be completed by 2020. Canal & River Trust project manager David Hennessey explained: “The Montgomery is a very special canal and its restoration has required a unique solution. The absence of boat movements over the last 80 years has allowed the man-made channel to become colonised by a wide range of rare flora and fauna. By creating a new three hectare wildlife habitat, we will be able to protect and conserve these species for generations to come, while enabling boats to return by excavating the main channel into a navigation again. “Completion of the winding hole is a particular milestone as this will eventually allow boats to travel another 1¼ miles along the beautiful canal. Slowly but surely, we are achieving the major goal of connecting the mainline Montgomery down to Welshpool.” Canal & River Trust ecologist Sara Hill added: “The reserves are a fundamental part of the restoration. Since construction finished in 2018, wildlife has moved in. We have seen an array of fish, dragonflies and rare water plants making this their home. It’s important we continue to monitor the ecology of the reserves. With help from go pro and underwater drone technology, we are starting to build a picture of how well some of the key plants are establishing.” The Canal & River Trust works with 15 partner organisations which make up the Montgomery Canal Partnership. The Partnership aims to restore the canal fully within the next decade as a haven for people and nature. Montgomery Canal Partnership chair John Dodwell said: "This is a great step forward and will mean 60% of this historic, lovely canal has been restored. We look forward to more support from the public - both by volunteers and by donations - to enable us to make further progress. Details can be found by visiting www.restorethemontgomerycanal.uk." For more information about visiting your local canal, the Montgomery Canal restoration or becoming a Friend of the Canal & River Trust, please go to www.canalrivertrust.org.uk. - ends- For further media requests please contact: Lynn Pegler, Canal & River Trust press office m 07783 686246 e lynn.pegler@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Yes but you thought you were buying a valuable pot noodle and you were wrong about that too ?

It's when the stone or concrete cill cracks and the water blows the masonry into the lock. You end up with a strong jet of water shooting into the lock, and can not operate the lock due to all the water coming under the head gates. Here is one on Blackburn flight on the L&L just before it blew a couple of years ago - the photo was one I took to report it as an imminent failure.

The blurb says these things are based on a Hotel Room, and that sums it up, somewhere to spend a couple of nights whilst you are out and about in the daytime. On a pretty lake these would make an ok holiday home. The big danger is if these are marketed as cheap starter homes and a first rung on the housing ladder because they are not. They have all the disadvantages of renting, paying for a bit of land (water) and having no control over it, but worse they are a depreciating "asset", and looking at the construction are likely to depreciate significantly. .............Dave

But ther are several others not very far away.

If it has poor pipe runs so the liquid lays in the pipe they will eventually smell . Not all installations are the same standard you may remember Biggles had problems with the pipes and changed them to solid. My drop through dosen't small but then when the tank was made it had a threaded boss welded on to take the plastic funnel bit the pan sits on. Onst just have a hole with some kind of sealant. The ball seal is replaced as required so a water seal is maintained in the pan other that when the poo drops through. I don't stand there with the ball open for 10 minutes after the poo has gone down. The only time I get any smell is opening the ball to see how full the tank is or when cleaning seal with a loo brush.

I agree with you Bob I am glad that my system is pure solar with whispergen for emergency only which was very easy to put charging voltage into

There is the possibility of an historic narrow boat attending as well. Both the L&LC Society and The Waterways Museum Society will also be there promoting historic boats on English canals. The event is held every two years, with the theme coming from one country - this year the Thames and English canals. It lasts for 5 days, 19-22 September, and at the previous event they estimate they had 750,000 visitors, including 30,000 school children over the first two and a half days. There is a 45 minute firework display on Friday evening, and lots of music and performances, besides around 200 historic craft. Many of the towns on the Loire have had replicas of their local traditional craft built, and this year the area around St Omer is the French theme, though I suspect they are not bringing their boatlift, though perhaps there will be something in the puppet line, who knows. I was there for the second festival in 2005, as shown below, and I am assured it has grown significantly since then.

We quite like Staly-Vegas! If only for the bar on the railway station ...

You might end up with £1.02 instead of £12.50 if you insist on that ...

Too right! I hired several times a year for many years when i was in the forces and at one point or another did the majority of cruising rings, yet still found the us and them stigma with some private boat owners ... A few years ago when i was fitting out my current boat I hired a boat for a week on the Ashby just to take a break from the work and again it was still very much the same, passing boats that looked like they hadnt moved for years and having morons shouting "slow down" when i was on tickover , I actually challenged more than one and explained i owned my own boat and had been boating for 30+ years and saw the total change of attitude, the excuse being " sorry i thought you were another one of them hirers! " Rick

This is true. Many boat owners polish the Brass and go out for our five weekends and a couple of weeks at best each year. There are also some who dont even visit their boat each year, others of course do use them more often. In my not limited experience, without any shadow of a doubt there are far more private boat owners who tear on past my mooring than hire boaters do.