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It's a very different forum to the one I joined that enabled me to meet in person so many people who I count as friends for life now. We've lost a disproportionate number of female posters as well which is skewing the demographic and making it a very uncomfortable place to be at times, not just in political threads. It is a great shame.

I would expand that statement to read "The proliferation of political, or politically inspired threads from a small number of unpleasant members who have little of no interest in canals or boats is annoying" I seldom. if ever bother to open any thread started (almost daily) by one particular idividual, as I know it will invariably have serious racist or xenophobic undertones. Whilst I have no problem with the discussion of political issues in principal, it seems that most of the political threads are invariably started by individuals with an extreem right wing philospophy, which does not reflect the views of most of those member who I have met, and as MTB suggests could be the reason why many previously enthusiastic and useful members no longer participate.

In today's Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2019/aug/12/canal-boat-painting-in-pictures

What a cracking and very tiring weekend we had. Myself and my brother who came down to give me a hand got the boat from Hyde in Piccadilly Manchester ( 8 hr trip ) to Boothstown ( 5hr trip ) where we have left it for a week ready for the next run to Parbold. Weather wasnt to bad, first day was a bit moist but that busy with the bloomin locks i didnt notice much. It was interesting to visit Manchester from a different view point. I have been driving for years all over Manchester and it look so different from the canal. Bit rough, well very rough in areas and all kinds of `things` going on, morso under the city near Canal Street. Some of the locks in Manchester were flooded really bad and taken a good time to empty them. We got he first 19 done from Hyde to Piccadilly in the first day then Sunday got from Piccadilly to Boothstown in good time. It didnt start of to well as when as when we did the prep of the Friday night the engine would not start at all and in the end found it to be air in the fuel lines,and what a pig it is to get out. In the end we came back Saturday with a primer bulb to see if we can help push fuel through which did the trick while cracking the injectors a few times. The engine lift pump has failed i think and not a bad thing as i would like to fit an electric lift/fuel pump. So good weekend to get half way under the circumstances to the Ribble Link which is tidal, we are booked in for the 14th September to get to the Lancaster canal, around a 3hr trip give or take. The 6hrs to the mooring near my other boat. https://youtu.be/M1pYHPImWXI https://youtu.be/0ORmySvrI7s This was a quick blast to see ho it goes full wack. I feel happy as it will cope with ease on the Ribble https://youtu.be/ph_q-3J_8rQ I chained up the leg to give better draught which all went well and level the leg more, i need to sort the pin out yet though as the leg kicks up when in reverse. A few very close bridges, infact my brother was sure the canopy would be ok up to keep us dry from he rain on the first day. That did not last long. And a few locks had a little seepage lol.

It is very strange how a proportion of posters (and Dan) simply don't get how the presence of offensive/libellous posts on a site makes some of us not want to be associated with the site in the first place. It has nothing to do with reading the unpleasantness, or not. This is partly why so many of the bright and cheerful people who used to come here, no longer do. The whole place takes on a mean-tempered mood and new visitors look around, read a few of the sour and miserable political posts possibly by accident, decide this place is not for them, and leave.

Would you like the view from an expert? For background, I spent 10 years as Technical manager of a group developing surface tolerant 2 pack epoxy coatings for BP Chemicals in the 80's and have significant field experience of applying them in difficult environments (ie offshore splash zone etc). I know 2 pack epoxies. I know how they need to be applied. 2 pack epoxy is the best coating for a narrow boat. When applied to the manufacturers specs, the coatings should last 10 years. YES. 10 years and maybe more .......as long as they are applied right. Blacking lasts up to 2 years and can look pretty naff after just a few months. The only saving grace of blacking is that the steel is thick and boats last a long time as there is a lot of steel to corrode away. We bought our boat over 2 years ago and had it blacked after a few months. We've just had it blacked again. Why? It wasnt the cost. This time it was more the convenience of a quick 'in and out'. I think though now having seen how our first blacking survived and now the 2nd one (which was applied by a yard in good weather) is deteriorating...although will be ok for another year or so...... I will go for a two pack in a few years time. It's not urgent to me though. There is lots of steel left. I do not worry at all about my blacking (and I know coatings). Yes, we will switch to 2 pack but my biggest worry is finding a yard that will do it properly. I spent 10 years watching professional coating companies screwing up many many jobs even with paint inspectors monitoring the work. Temperature/moisture when applying is very difficult in the UK and the source of many problems. Last year there was an enquiry on here by someone who had a soft coating after their 2 packing and I organised some 3rd party testing of the coating in a UK based lab to check state of cure etc. The results clearly showed something had gone wrong in the application. An expensive mistake. It really does make me worry about finding a yard I can be convinced with who really knows what they are doing and don't cut corners which is the main cause of problems.

So I decided to go off for a couple of weeks, first week on my own second with Jayne, so I had to be near a train station for Jayne to catch up with me. Friday night we went to Kilnhurst to empty moorings a couple of miles and 3 locks down river, it was easily achieved but disappointed to find the ship inn was closed when we got there so we had a carry on curry instead . Saturday we got up to heavy rain all day! Sunday more of the same, Jayne caught bus back to moorings then drove home, Monday some sun so went down to Pastures [its all canal to there] arrived at Mexborough low lock to empty moorings find river well into the red and Sprotborough lock [next lock down] was closed, had a chat with Stuart a lockie and was told it will be in the red for a couple of days. Wednesday water just in red so left it until 1 o clock and went with another boat, made the run to Doncaster in heavy rain all the way, just as I tied up to empty moorings a full scale thunderstorm erupted for 2 and a half hours!!! Thursday some sun so drive batteries were recharging from the solar, I decided that I would wait there for Jayne on Friday evening. Friday, sunny hooray late afternoon Jayne arrived and we went to Barnby Dun to empty moorings, had a very good Chinese carry on . Saturday set off late morning reasonably sunny day arrived at Thorne over 3 hours later and moored up with ease [this place is normally packed] Sunday day off Sister and Brother in law came for a BBQ. Monday set off late for Bramwith lock nice mooring with walks at the end Tuesday late set off after a longish walk with dogs, arrived in Doncaster to empty moorings late afternoon and went for a pint or two and a spot of dinner Wednesday Jayne went into Donny for her eyebrows to be plucked and just missed a drunk/druggie kill a 78 year old lady with his Range Rover sport and then drive off " src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/angry.png"> he was caught and is in deep dodah!!! we decided to go to Sprotborough and go for a good curry at the top of the hill, moorings nearly empty again!! Thursday back to the pastures very high headwinds all the way! Pastures moorings empty again! Friday we went to Kilnhurst cut end lovely mooring there so we stayed until Sunday had an easy time even though it was incredibly windy all the time, only a few boats moving and why they were in 50 MPH winds beats me Sunday swift run back to Rotherham leaving the batteries at 55% charged which is an ideal storage charge. At no point you will notice did we have a problem with range for out sort of cruising at all times the weather was the problem, yes we didnt go as far as we wanted but we didnt want to cruise in the rain very pointless to me as its all about enjoying yourself. Changes to be made, more solar, more batteries, and a better speed controller. The real problem though was the lack of boats boating for me the waterways were dead and the question is why?

Yes the forum racist/fascist, he has taken over where "naughty fox" left off. There is at least one other of the same ilk!

Sorry, this is nothing to do with radiators but every time I see the makers name (Elton Moss), i immediately think of a very nice dessert -) haggis

Yes I know it's a personal choice, but by kowtowing to Daesh gives them validity, at the expense of thousands of years of history. For that reason, I hope the owner never changes it, and he is less likely to do so, if people are educated as to the real meaning of the word, and that it does not belong to the wackadoodles who have purloined it.

The 'Shroppie Shelf' is not a regular step profile, but varies in the depth below the water, the thickness and the width. Gokart tyres can be useful, as they sink, but they will often fall below the shelf or roll into a gap between a couple of projections. Wheelbarrow wheels (8") work in most places, but are not wide enough for some. They are easy to store though. Car wheels will hold you off the shelf in most places, but are more cumbersome to deal with, and they leave quite a gap between the bank and the side of the boat. My experience? I've moored on the Shroppie for about 26 years and have tried most things. On piling the usual sort of rope fenders are fine, fitted with a variable length rope to adjust for variations, but nine times out of ten if I am on the shelf I use wheelbarrow wheels. The other alternative is knowing where to moor; places to avoid and places that are good moorings. On my mooring, which is on the Shroppie main line but on the offside, I have some very wide tyres which I hang down on chains fixed to a pin buried just behind the concrete edge. You can get plastic wheelbarrow wheels and tyres on eBay quite cheap. Wide tyres can be got from a tyre place who will be pleased to have you take them away as they cost them about a £1 to dispose of (legally). Tyres off a Range Rover Sport or similar should be big enough for your permanent mooring.

We have seen this boat a few times, and nothing wrong with that name. The fact a group of psychopaths have hijacked the name of a Egyptian god is irrelevant. Personally I would rather our media used the derogatory term Daesh, especially as apparently, the twats it refers too don't like it.

In situations like this, it is often a case that the seller badly wants the boat to go to someone who will love and appreciate it, rather than a trader or someone just looking to turn a profit. In cases like this being that person is more important than the price it is being sold for. It was a bit like this with my first ever boat. The seller sort of just asked "how much can you afford" and took the figure we said, as I think he liked us.

I've been considering and from all the comments unless I am keeping the boat another 10 years which I'm not doing 2 pack is not worth it. Before I sell up in 2025 costs would be 2 pak £1600 or 1x Blacking in 2022/3 £650 (2020 blacking is included in repaint) I have better things to spend nearly a grand on .......

Properly prepared and applied epoxy bitumen does not “chip off” etc. Nor does it abrade easily. We had ours done in 2012 and took it out in 2017 for a look, but unnecessary. Even after many, many locks. Once cleaned up, you couldn’t even see where the waterline was. Also not affected by diesel etc. “Normally” blacked boats seem to spend 1/2 their lives with rusty waterlines. Epoxy blacked ones do not. The blacking pigment can fade though, to a sort of grey or grey brown, although I think this depends on the make. Our hull after 5.5 years, after sanding to put on an extra coat (which wasn’t really necessary).

As with all boats. Imagine if you had to broadcast to strangers over VHF with your boat name; avoiding cheesy, suggestive and clichéd is always a good start. I like your idea of respecting your home town, lovely around there and great people but Whaley wanderer is all I got.

not if you're a fan of Cliff Burton era Metallica also to OP, shouldn't the nutjobs be ISIL not ISIS ? i'd Google it but I don't want that in my search history (dons tinfoil hat) in case THEY're watching

Also the rudder may have come loose on the shaft. The shaft-stock passes through a tube off centre in the rudder and secured to it by a through bolt and nut and one or two pinch bolts. Not uncommon to come loose on Liverpool boats. Waggle the till bar horisontally whilst watching the rudder tip sticking up in the water. If loose there would be a clank, clank from side to side as well.

I will not be participating in the poll as it is asking the wrong questions, which should not be about Political threads in themselves, rather than the content of some political threads, which at times can be both unpleasant and offensive.

That is why I booked mine in for blacking and painting in August. No guarantees with the British weather, but a better chance of it remaining above 15°C during August than any other month.

Yes to the first bold, no to the second. If RCR don't have local engineers - which is in most parts of the system - they have a call list of engineers from local boatyards, and quality does vary. I also personally know several of the experts who get called in if the RCR bod or the local boatyard bod can't fix the issue. Third line support costs more, which is why they always run you through the cheaper people first! If you get going again by bad diagnosis you are happy. If your sunk boat isn't refloated or recovered in 6 hours you get cross ...

In my view the key to securing the future of our inland waterways is to secure sufficient funding to eliminate the maintenance backlog and keep up to date with ongoing maintenance, whilst having a large enough contingency fund to deal with the inevitable unexpected age related failures. An impossible task in the current political and financial climates.

Like an earlier poster, being only 27ft I can frequently get into these gaps. I particularly remember slowly cruising past the pontoon at Newark eyeing up a gap between two gin palaces. The owners' looks turned to incredulity as I slotted in with the prow of one actually overhanging my stern. My usual quip "Always room for a little 'un !" got no reply, and I was studiously ignored until I left next day.

It's an expansion vessel.....