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Oh do get over yourself, this is clearly borrux! Lots of non-historic members here are reading this thread I bet. Anyone reading this thread who is NOT a historic owner can indicate their presence by greenying this post, should they feel so inclined....

Must admit I quite miss Tony's take on things, which is why I nip over to the other forum every now and then though never bothered to join it. He does have a wealth of knowledge and can be enormously helpful, as well as on occasion being a serious pain in the wotsit. I could never understand why he wasn't from Yorkshire.

So Nick was right about historics being bad steerers!

Perfectly relevant. Tony has effectively self-excluded himself from answering Paul C's comments, so you criticism of Paul C for commenting is invalid.

Paul I think you are out of order posting your interpretation / hearsay about Tony on here when you know he is banned from this forum and so can’t put his side of the story.

I suspect the absence of rust is as much to do with the 2 pack epoxy that was applied 4 years ago.

But one will end up going to Llangollen to wind around anyway, although there is a winding hole about half way! The narrows tend to get people agitated, maybe its the slowness due to waiting for the water in front of you taking a long time to get behind you because of the small channel and its depth. Remember, always send a crew member up front to warn others coming the other way that your coming, and get them to take a phone with them too, so as you are kept informed about whats happening. That may sound tedious to the OP but it's simple in practice! Nipper

One has better shape though.

Thanks for the good bits of advice, as usual the replies did stray slightly off topic! I had a great trip down the Severn from Stourport, no issues with the locks, flow or state of the river. The week I spent on the Gloucester & Sharpness was one of the best trips on my boat. Coming back up the Severn was a bit different as the flow and wind were quite strong, I struggled along at 1.5 mph until I picked up a very useful spring tide helping me up towards Tewkesbury. The lock and bridge keepers on the Severn and the G&S were all brilliant and very helpful. I would strongly recommend a hand held VHF for anyone contemplating this trip. I bought a 2nd hand ICOM and it was worth it's weight in gold. Yes, you can use a mobile phone but I found the hand held VHF very useful for keeping in touch with the lock and bridge keepers, also good for hearing what other boat traffic is around. The Avon locks were a faff on my own but all in all, an excellent trip. The biscuits and John 6767 get the prize for the most sensible bits of advice.......thanks

This is quite an extensive collection of images assembled by the late Hugh Compton, author of the Oxford Canal book (David & Charles). This image is in =the negative collection (about 300 odd images). It shows the tug Speedwell, which appears to be on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal passing a swing bridge. but id could equally be somewhere else. If it is the present Speedwell, now in private ownership, the history of this tug would be of interest no doubt.

What it comes down to is that going to court is an exceedingly dodgy way to decide anything, especially if you are trying to prove a point of law, or have some daft idea that justice matters to anyone apart from yourself. If so, he aint the only one!

I agree those pipes are two small. Mine is almost an inch ID and gets blocked, though it does run at a very gentle slop to the side of the boat. An additional issue is that with very heavy rain, or more likely a leaky lock, the water will get into the drainage channel quicker than it can drain down those pipe so will find its way into the boat. You lid is a very neat fit so you might just get away with it (till the pipes block). Finally, how are you going to secure your lid? It currently looks like a novel access for inventive and agile burglars. ..............Dave

You don’t have to apologise but you should, if you have any integrity, acknowledge that your earlier statement that you had only posted facts on the matter, was not correct.

It is your third para that is pure opinion and interpretation and not based on any facts you know. Pure speculation. I disagree. Obviously.

I think that you have grasped it, the consumption drops as the batteries charge and you get hot water as well. That should bed deducted from the fuel consumption for charging even though it is waste heat. If it was from a stove, gas or diesel boiler you would be paying for the hot water. I agree the wear on the engine comes into it but there will be wear on any generator engine and I fear many of the cheaper generators are more a disposable item that one suited to long hours of running. Remember that when using the generator the fuel consumption will also reduce as the batteries charge. Not a lot of help though. I think the only way to find out is to buy a generator and monitor the fuel consumption and see how it works out for you but I suspect for much of the year the cost of a generator would be more effectively spent on more solar. The more you have the more output you get in low light conditions so adding more extends the months in which it makes a contribution. It also starts charging earlier in the day and finishes later.

You planning on shooting some rapids? We've done the tidal Trent with 20hp in a 62ft boat and kept up with others of the same length with 36hp. They were giving it all they had too. A lot depends on prop size matched to engine torque and rpm, along with hull shapes and length x breadth ratios. Never done rivers in flood though, something to steer clear of.

No. I have never been outraged on here, or (if you are going to dredge something up from 10 years ago) very rarely. I think I was once outraged at something very homophobic but rather than ranting, I reported the post in silence and it was removed. Can’t think of another time.

Each ‘sealed’ accommodation space (cabin with a door without much high level ventilation) should have some high level ventilation. So it would be reasonable to put a mushroom for each ‘space’ and meet the bss total requirement for the boat, unless you like a cold boat in winter, you don’t want to exceed the min requirement by much. I also put one slightly offset from the hob to encourage steam out. Mushrooms can drip (condensation) and in very heavy rain I sometimes get a drop or two bouncing of the roof and out the vent, so putting mushrooms directly above the head end of the bed(at least your side), your chair, hob etc is best avoided. I also put one in the bathroom (high levels of moisture as well as a confined space) to encourage wet air out of the boat, so as to reduce condensation in the rest of the boat, though it does make for a cool bathroom. Something I didn’t do and wished I had is to mark the outside of the roof along both edges to indicate the locations of the roof stiffeners, these you can see inside if you haven’t yet put in the roof lining. It makes cutting holes for things like mushrooms, flues and cables so much easier if you can avoid hitting a stiffener.

I keep reading it as,' ice cream ram'.?

Thanks Rusty, that's opened up a new area to explore, although it's up a notch in the price bracket. That link also reveals compressor cool boxes in that price range, although the Dometic ones are double in price. Mind you, even compressor ones are quite heavy on the juice, approaching normal 12v fridge draw. I've already suggested the Icey-Tek type, but I'll test the waters at this higher budget too. Thanks again.

Isn’t Klass what Hudson owners wish they had?

Had you used the approved method of indicating your intentions i.e. sound signals instead of confusingly waving at me.... you would probbly have still hit me!!

I really wouldn't do that. I did it once, and he misread it as a signal that I wanted him to swerve off course and run into my boat head on, (which he did....)

We hear that Germany has now come in line with other European waterway regs and allow pleasure boats up to 20m. This of course still doesn't help with us leaving the EU so only being able to be there for 3 months. And then there's the problem also of medical insurance which the government have now put advice about on their web site. Soooo glad we went over when we did. A carefree and wonderful experience now probably denied to everyone else.

They are trying to attract the Milton Keynes CCers

What about hydraulic paddles? I often leave my windlass on them. Indeed, I can think of a couple on the C&H that very slowly wind down again if left - the weight of the windlass just prevents that. Oh, and I also leave the boat during the last part of a filling cycle to set the lock ahead. Less likely to do this when emptying or when I don't know the lock. Having a short boat, I also tie up to the much-maligned centre bollards, or if none, (whisper) to the ladder.

The point I was making is that some people would see damp slippy surfaces as too great a risk. Others see snow as too great a risk. Others see leaving the boat in the lock at anytime during movement too great a risk. Everyone is different and has a different perception of risk. It's all about the convenience of mitigating risks vs. the magnitude and likelihood of the risk. For me, as I said, I'm happy to leave the boat once filling has reached a certain point, this is because I deem the risk to have dropped low enough to make the convenience of joggin up to set the next lock worth it. You have obviously, consciously or subconsciously, evaluated the risks of boating and decided they are worth it for the enjoyment you get. Other people may decide that the risks are too great and thus stick to safer hobbies e.g. crown green bowling, reading, knitting etc To call people (me) a fool because my risk perception differs to yours is narrow minded in my opinion.

Last week the lever came off in Mrs Rusty's hand whilst she was turning the boat around. I was on the bank and shouted for her to turn the engine off. In a panic she turned the key, shouted back it won't switch off (forgetting that she had to press the stop button). Laugh, I nearly fell off my deck chair. Anyway, when I eventually picked myself up off the floor and got back onboard I stopped the engine, put the lever back on and did up the little grub screw beneath. Yours may be different.