Leaderboard

I do find this whole preoccupation some boaters have with the T&Cs completely ridiculous. Virtually every time you click on a website, or buy something online, from a sofa to a train ticket to a bit of software, you have to accept a raft of terms and conditions which no-one in their right mind ever bothers to read. Most of these are legally unenforceable and some are probably totally illegal, but it really doesn't matter. You accept them because otherwise you can't get what you want. If you break them, accidentally or deliberately, it's up to the seller to try and enforce them, which, most of the time they won't bother to do because it isn't worth their while. Most of the time neither the seller nor the buyer knows what they are anyway - remember that ferry firm without any ferries that had copied all theirs from, I think, something like the local chip shop? Generally, they are how the firm issuing them thinks you should act and use their product. And CRT's are exactly the same. They are how CRT reckons boaters should behave in order to, in their opinion, based on the fact that they are likely to know more about the general economics and overall make-up of the system than any single individual, make the canal system last longer and be a good place for people to play and live on. For most of us, they work fine and we never even get close to stretching the boundaries of them. On the margins, there are precious few penalties that can be imposed, so they can generally be broken with impunity, usually the only result is inconvenience and annoyance to everyone else around. They are just general rules of behaviour to be taken into account, just the same as when you buy your sofa. No-one gives a toss whether they are legal or not, just whether, in the main, they are sensible. Which, in the main, they are. And noisy and/or inconsiderate bastards aren't, and it really doesn't matter a fig whether they are being it legally or not. They're just a pain in the arse.

Hello all. First post, so be gentle if this is in the wrong place etc. Back in 1976 my parents hired Sabden from L&L in Adlington and headed East through Foulridge Tunnel and beyond. Here are a few pictures, which I hope of are of interest. Any info about the boat(s) and the locations would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I found these on a website of old postcards of Kinver, kinverpostcards.co.uk Most are identifiable as Kinver, but the two of dredging the canal are not easily confirmed to be Kinver (but I like the steam dredger and crane). Most are Hyde Lock. The replacement of the lock gate is at the Vine (Kinver) lock. The image of the boat on the curved section of canal looks to be Paddock cottage, half way between Hyde and Kinver locks, though I stand to be corrected if someone know better.

Couple of things. People have a habit of seeing themselves as set above and separate from nature. This is not so. In nature an animal that attacks, or threatens to attack another animal ten times its weight and four times its height is likely to get its arse kicked. In the case of stroppy swans or geese it's best to fall in with the natural order. Their assumption of dominance is learned behaviour. Also, it's said that swans mate for life. On the contrary, my experience is that they fly away as soon as you let go.

All this bitterness towards swans. Don't people realise that the swan is the symbol of purity, beauty, grace and elegance... Whereas the swallow is the sign of true love.

My 1/2 socket set came from Halfords with a lifetime guarantee many, many, many years ago. When a socket split I took it back, mostly out of bravado. An interesting half hour followed. I don't think one of the many I spoke to had eve n been born when I bought the set. The more they made comments along the lines of 'what do you expect' and 'it' old' the more I dug my heels in. Eventually they gave me a 13mm socket to get rid of me.That was the day I realised I was a Grumpy Old Git.

I used to be fond of agricultural machinery ... ... but now I'm an ex-tractor fan! /coat!

I used to be a stove fan but now I've been blown away by my new Webasto.

It's really the same old story and always has been. since year dot. The minority twerps always spoil things for the majority, causiing mountains of laws, regulations at tremendous cost to us and the powers that be.

I test mine that way, but before connecting the DVM across the GI (in either direction) I temporarily short out the two GI terminals with a short length of wire, remove the shorting wire and then take the DVM readings. This is because many GI's have a small capacitor across the diodes to allow high frequency a.c. ripple to leak to earth, and this capacitor can charge up to the battery voltage of the DVM and give a false reading.

For battery charging you can spend a fortune or buy something good that does the job. If plugged in you just need to maintain the batteries so dont spend a lot. I have a MASO 5 amp multi stage unit on my motorhome, they also do an 8 amp and maybe others? It does a fine job when plugged in and maintains on a float of 13.7 iirc. The price delivered was £28. If you want a charger for using from say a gennie at canal side you need a bigger charger than this.

cant find their ears

Canada geese, a pestilence. shame that recently they were added to the protected list. I wish they should all be removed back to Canada in exchange for wood pellet fuel. They are dirty, noisy and eat more than sheep. Useless as a sport bird, they just peer down the barrel as you shoot them, idle beggars. Feed them slug pellets.

There is a new prison sentence for stealing Lithium iron batteries.....LiFe.

He posts some really enjoyable videos on YouTube, doesn't he. His ramblings are both informative and entertaining.

The Egret is a Johnny come lately compared to the swan, so I think it will be a long time until many hold the same opinion. Lovely birds though.

Well, I never knew geese ate sheep at all!

Me too. Must try to find a use for all this paraffin and oil....

I totally agree, it is the boaters who encourage bad behaviour by pushing at every opportunity the point that you don't have to this or that because it isn't law that I can't get my head round. You would think they actually want the canals to become less pleasant places.

May I draw your attention to C&RTs own documentation on the subject : https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/library/1127.pdf See 3rd para up from the bottom (page 6 of the document) This is an extract of a post by Nigel Moore (20/7/17) on the same subject : "In short, where the 1995 Act has expressly limited grounds for refusal/revocation of a licence to 3 specific conditions, then the issue of the licence CANNOT legally be subjected to compliance with anything else. Where, under byelaw making powers passed on to CaRT by the terms of their Statutory Instrument, conditions of use of the waterways by licensed boats may still be added to, the relevant statutory procedure must be followed – but those, as with existing byelaws, could only govern use of the waterways by licensed boats, they could never be tied to issue or revocation of the licence. Any attempt to portray them as something issue and retention of the licence is subject to, is blatant falsehood. The law quite simply does NOT permit T&C’s to be attached to issue of the licence, therefore the asserted contrary statements and actions are indeed unlawful. When elements of these T&C’s specifically claim to over-ride express statutory protections and prohibitions, the legal affront is all the more objectionable".

watched Storyville on BBC4 last night - Tracy Edwards who skippered the first female crew on the Whitbread race. Wonderful inspiring story. Catch it if you can

The vets at Hillmorton are part of Medivet who have a 24 hr place in Leamington should the need arise (highly recommended by me from personal experience) The vets at Weedon also have a 24hr call place in Towcester (no experience of them) If it is going to be your 'home' vets I'd suggest ensuring that 24 hr cover is provided in some way that you are happy with and suits your location the best.

If you get stuck there is an excellent one in Warwick called Avonvale veterinary clinic.

Rainsbrook Hillmorton Village in the main drag. Took our dog there when in the area.

Yes, that's what I do. From memory I think my toaster draws about 60amps at 12v via the inverter but only for a few minutes so it's not going to kill the batteries. If your batteries can't handle that I suspect they're shot.

That’s what we do. Dull, innit!

I've got a mixture of 3/8 and 1/2" socket drivers, with adaptors between the different sizes, including down to 1/4" for teeny tiny sockets. If I was just buying one set, then I'd probably go for 1/2" drive. which will do everything on a boat. My batteries live under the rear deck, unheated, all year round. No insulation, including some excursions to minus silly temperatures in bad winters, where the canal was frozen a foot thick. No problems. Lead acid batteries are fine like this. Insulating them will only slow down their cooling, not prevent it. Jen

I've got the magazine sat on the side but not read it yet. I bet it was written by some muppet.

The bulk of the T&Cs are probably not enforceable but are a pretty good definition of considerate boating behaviour. Most genuine boating laws aren't enforceable anyway because there's noone to do it, so the pain-in-the-arse boaters get away with it, cheerfully spoiling it for everyone else, like the prat on the Macc.

As much as I dislike the noise, I understand the need. But I move off if it annoys me too much. It’s only ever a temporary irritation. Might be worth remembering batteries can be charged silently in a marina by plugging in to shore line. So, you might find it quieter there. Or You could display “A noise annoys” on a painted plank. It used to be a sign above the classroom door of the Bash Street Kids in the Beano.