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A boat's length depends on the reason it is being measured! For selling it is (usually) as long as possible including fenders. For mooring fees it as short as possible excluding removables like fenders. For blacking it is the waterline. For living on it is always a bit too short. For tight bends and winding it is always too long. For any other reason it is any length you like between max and min !!!?

Coming from a working lifetime of using these connectors and being totally picky that is "wrong" as well. The pins should be horizontal thus stopping the water running into the cable gland. It can be a complete PITA having to make sure the hundreds of connectors that you have on an outdoor show are all horizontal but it pays in the longterm.

Just had this through so if anyone is buying themselves anything for Christmas they can save 15% off everything..... BFEARLY Happy Christmas!

Just been for a look. I have taken fotos but for some reason they will not load today?? I am feeding animals for the next couple of hours so will try to download them again later. Anyway I dont know if its on the way up or down so it is certainly touch and go and will depend on your boat profile. Nothing been either way today that I have seen. Its just over an inch into the red and the weir is level with no drop so if u are familiar with the location you will know your cabin height, thats at the diamond lock. At Nell bridge lock its lapping over the concrete shelf just inside the bridge arch so again some will pass at this level and others will not. I can go down tomoz in the morning around 10 to see if its going up or down if you wish? Tim

It's up to you really. You'll probably have to do so a bit of work to fit a new pump unless you're lucky and it has the same fittings, but your choice of pump should be based on pump specs (flow rate and pressure to suit your system) not the fittings which anyone can change. The pump should be fitted with a strainer upstream of the pump and with short lengths of flexible braided hose to/from the pump rather than directly to rigid pipe as this copes better with the pump vibration. Buy a whale gulper 220. It doesn't have a filter and requires no cleaning. Mine's still going strong after 15 years with no servicing. Fit and forget.

Finally after 5 years of kicking water down the waste and balancing on one leg I have replaced the shower tray and enclosure, it has been pxxxing us off since day one the shower tray outlet was at the front of the tray hence balancing on one leg to kick the water down the waste, the waste is now where it should of been in the first place at the rear of the tray, also the new shower enclosure has nano self cleaning glass and it actually does my better half is over the moon with it , this is the old tray 2nd picture is the old shower 3rd picture the new enclosure & tray

Yes, for the first time, unlike my 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Pub Cruises, I've not gone beyond the boundaries of God's Own Country this year This wasn't my intention - back in April it was going to be the Fens (again) or the BCN. But just beyond Huddersfield I was stopped in my tracks by a fallen tree and a double hernia and I thought my boating was over for several months. Two Huddersfield boaters, Terry (Mad Harold of these forums) and David got me back to Sowerby Bridge, and I must thank them again for that, while feeling a bit of a fraud, as by late May I was given the all-clear for hard work and heavy locks, and set off again with a change of plan. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for a pub cruise - Yorshire is now the Beer Centre of the UK, with 238 breweries, more per head of population than anywhere else. And lots and lots of great pubs. And some not so great. Once again I must warn pub diners that my scoring DOES NOT INCLUDE FOOD. I eat out very, very rarely when boating, and not at all this year. My needs are simple - a good pint or two of cask beer, and a packet of plain crisps, and my price criterion consists of these items together. It varied this year from £2.60 (just an ordinary village pub) to £5.75 (!!!) - a real city centre rip-off. To remind of my scoring system: There are 20 points: 10 for beer and 10 for everything else. Up to 5 for beer choice to include one non-national brand or unusual beer type (certain mediocre 'cooking beers' such as Doom Bar, Abbot and Bombardier are not counted!), and 0 to 5 for quality: 0 and 1 would be sent back - (didn't happen this year) - 2 means wouldn't have another - 3 is acceptable - 4 very good - up to 5 absolutely superb. To make it clear, I'm talking about real ales (cask beers) here. I'm a beer fanatic. So a score is in three parts: Beer choice+beer quality+everything else. e.g 1+5+7=13 has the same total score as 4+2+7=13, but the first pub has 1 superb beer, but the second 4 rubbish ones. So you can tell quite a bit from the scores as opposed to the comments, some of which may seem a bit downbeat, but often explain why the score isn't higher. Everything else includes service, staff, clientele, general atmosphere, situation, decor, interesting pictures, special features (eg library!), quirkiness, cleanliness, price, and the presence of live or other music, juke box or fruit machine (all minus) and whether there is a place for drinkers as opposed to diners. And beermats. You may already know some of these pubs, but remember my conclusions are just a snapshot, as I visited most only once. Some are canalside, but others involved a trek - I'm prepared to put in a bit of effort for a good pint. Occasionally I took buses where evening services were available. The CAMRA website https://whatpub.com/ was very useful for finding good pubs I wouldn't otherwise have known about (you don't have to be a member to use it). I also consulted the 2019 Good Beer Guide, but the pubs in it were sometimes a disappointment. GBG in my comments means the pub is in the latest (2020) edition. Where I visited a pub on previous years Pub Cruises , I've added my comments from them for comparison. Part 1 (two parts this year) contains more of these, but I did make an effort to find new pubs on familiar waterways, sometimes neglecting old favourites which I've commented on in previous years. This didn't always have good results - I felt occasionallyt I was drinking there so you wouldn't have to! Part 2 was new territory for Cygnet, although I'd been up to York and Ripon before. So here we go. Rochdale Canal MOORINGS, Sowerby Bridge (Jan 23) 3+3+7=13 Not my sort of place, but a warm refuge on a freezing night. Comfortable and well lit. The nearest to my mooring. HOLLINS MILL (formerly The Works), Sowerby Bridge (Feb 18) 5+4+7=16 Only the name has changed - still barn-like, echoing and dim, but discovered a secret room with books and a sofa and escaped the music. (2018 - 5+4+6=15 Different name, but still a large, dim echoing barn) HOGSHEAD, Sowerby Bridge (several visits) 5+4+7=16 Still large and dim, but one or two corners with table lamps to read by. And no music! GBG (2016 - 5+4+5=14 Large, dim & noisy) BLIND PIG, Sowerby Bridge (Oct 14) 3+3+5=11 Seriously weird and slightly nightmarish, full of deranged looking people behaving oddly in a rather tatty garish nightclub atmosphere with art and millinery for sale around the walls. Only went in to thank Julie the landlady for rescuing my lost dog, but now discover it's in the GBG! Some sort of joke? COMMERCIAL, Sowerby Bridge (Nov 13) 3+3+6=12 An average Wetherspoons (I'm not a 'Spoons snob - they vary.) Understaffed and full of kids early evening, but comfortable with good light and no annoying music. LORD NELSON, Luddenden (Oct 10) 3+4+8=15 Well-refurbished and welcoming village pub with collection of books on Nelson and maritime matters. DUSTY MILLER, Mytholmroyd (Mar 28) 4+3+6=13. A rather bare, trendy open plan makeover of a listed building. Comfortable but not homely. BLUE PIG (Midgeholm WMC), Hebden Bridge (Mar 29) 4+5+8=17 Hebden's best-kept secret, hidden in the woods to the north. A club, but welcoming. Absolutely no pretentions. DRINK? Hebden Bridge (Mar 30) 2+5+7=14 The only place I could find a seat on a Saturday night. Less spartan upstairs than formerly. Rather pretentious (staff and some clientele). Local 'artisan' brews. Closes early. (2016 - 2+4+6=12 The 'other' micropub (other than Calan's). Rather stark. Limited opening hours.) ALBERT, Hebden Bridge (Mar 31) 5+3+4=12 Old-fahioned town pub - no local beers, unsmiling service, stale smell, horrible music. Invaded by kids. Rather expensive. Got out and went to: NIGHTJAR, Hebden Bridge (Mar 31) 2+4+4=10 Amateurish micropub with limited uncomfortable seating, trendy dim lighting, and NO CRISPS. VOCATION & CO, Hebden Bridge (Oct 11) 4+5+5=14 Really a restaurant with beer, not a proper pub. No crisps, just expensive bar snacks. But all their own very good beers. RAILWAY, Hebden Bridge (Oct 11) 4+3+8=15 Very friendly basic boozer, but driven out by VERY LOUD jukebox. Calder & Hebble Navigation and Huddersfield SHEPHERD'S REST, Sowerby Bridge (several visits) 5+4+7=16 Not quite so good as it was - beer not quite superb, stove not lit, light not so good. No longer in the GBG after many years. (2015 - 5+4+8=17 Surprisingly cosmopolitan decor. GBG) (2016 - 5+5+8=18 Now my pub of choice, with the sad demise of the Puzzle Hall* GBG) (2017 - 5+5+5=18 My 'home' pub. Great beer and good welcome. (2018 - 5+5+5=18 No-nonsense Ossett Brewery pub doing what they do best. GBG) * The long-awaited re-opening of the Puzzle Hall is imminent - watch this space. CROSS KEYS, Siddal (Nov 12) 5+4+8=17 Pleasant locals's pub with small stone-flagged bar and 3 other larger rooms. Welcomed by barman, customers and 2 very friendly dogs. GBG VICTORIAN CRAFT BEER CAFE, Halifax (Oct 13) 5+4+6=15 Busy ex-Italian restaurant behind the theatre, run by the former landlord of the Puzzle Hall. Over-loud live and recorded music and too dark to read, so provided my own light. GBG COLLIER'S ARMS, Elland (Sept 21) 1+4+9=14 Sam Smith's, so one cheap acceptable beer in a lovely little pub with no music, telly, jukebox or fruit machine. Also 'Mobile, Tablet & Laptop Free Zone'. Just the buzz of quiet, contented conversation. Bliss. Cash only, too. MILLER'S BAR (formerly Black Swan), Brighouse (April 24) 5+4+6=15 Trendy makeover with uncomfortable furniture, staffed rather slickly by hipsters. MARKET TAVERN, Brighouse (Apr 25, May 30) 5+5+8=18 No music, no telly, no fruit machine, just a simple micropub with a great atmosphere, friendly knowledgable service and superb local beers. Closed Mon & Tues. GBG (2018 - Brilliant addition to Brighouse's pubs. The best micropub I've been in. GBG) THE CORNER, Huddersfield (Apr 26) 5+4+5=14 Upstairs bar tucked away in a corner(!). Rather stark. Casual amateurish service. Mostly local beers, GBG RAT & RATCHET, Huddersfield (Apr 27) 5+5+7=17 Old-fashioned pleasantly shabby main road pub outlet for the Rat Brewery. Several little rooms Retreated from Saturday live music. GBG KING'S HEAD, Huddersfield (Apr 28) 5+5+6=16 Apparently award-winning conversion finished at last. Large, cheerless and echoing, like drinking in an empty church. GBG (2015 - 5+5+8=18 Large echoing half-finished barn. GBG) Looks like I was more tolerant 4 years ago! GROVE, Huddersfield (Apr 29) 5+5+8=18 Eclectic interior with weird 'art' collection. Astonishing 19 cask beers and own lined glasses for a full pint. No music! GBG HEAD OF STEAM, Huddersfield (Apr 30) 5+4+5=14 The other station pub - really 4 pubs (cask, craft, 2 dining) Appallingly intrusive music. Comfortable, but little atmosphere and rather expensive. VULCAN, Huddersfield (May 7) 5+4+6=15 Basic local pub with sports theme, tellys, jukebox, etc. Beware Fridays (karaoke), Saturdays (disco) and Sundays (band). GBG (2015 - 5+4+5=14 Good cheap beer spoiled by awful music. GBG) SPORTSMAN, Huddersfield (May 8 ) 5+5+8=18 Friendly staff and snug back room with good light. Very busy at weekends and unexpected live music at any time. GBG (2016 - 5+5+8=18 Weirdly assorted clientele. Can be very busy. GBG) WHITE CROSS, Bradley (Sept 22) 4+4+8=16 Odd combination of friendly local on major road junction. Excellent service - turned down jukebox volume where I was sitting without being asked. GBG (2016 - 4+5+8=17 A real locals' local, despite the main road. GBG) (2018 - 4+4+8=16 Large comfortable traditional local pub, despite busy crossroads. GBG) FLOWERPOT, Mirfield (Sept 19) 5+5+8=18 Typical Ossett pub with good vibes and beer. GBG (2016 - 4+5+8=17 Typical good Ossett Brewery pub. GBG) (2018 - 5+5+7=17 Well-refurbished Ossett pub. Admire the allotments as you walk from the moorings. GBG) SAVILLE ARMS, Thornhill (May 31) 3+3+7=13 Walk up the lane from Bridge 29. Pleasant enough village pub with several small rooms but overloud music and smoke drifting in. Next to very impressive church. CHERRY TREE, Horbury (Sept 18) 5+4+7=16 Rather blandly refurbished brewpub with own beers cheap and good, but little else of interest. NAVIGATION, Calder Grove (June 1) 1+3+7=11 Large canalside family oriented pub trying to be everything. Blessedly peaceful on a Saturday evening, but rather dark. CALDER VALE, Horbury Junction (Sept 13, 14, 15) 5+4+8=17 Characterful brewpub (Luddite beers) with simple large stone flagged rooms and little concession to comfort, but no music, telly or other intrusions. Reached from Broad Cut across the river via VERY creepy steel tube slung under the railway. Aire & Calder Navigation and River Aire GRAZIERS, Stanley (Jun 2) 4+4+7=15 Large main-road pub 15 mins walk from Stanley Ferry. (2016 - 3+4+7=14 Acceptable. A trek from Stanley Ferry's awful 'pub') ROBIN HOOD, Altofts (Jun 3, 13) 5+4+7=16 Large comfortable brewpub (Tarn 51 Brewing) with free food on Mondays. GBG (2017 - 5+4+=17 A good unpretentious local with efficient staff coping on a very busy Saturday night. GBG) (2018 - 5+3+7=15 Pub with microbrewery attached, but beer of variable quality. Regular book events. GBG) HARK TO MOPSEY, Normanton (Jun 4) 5+3 +7 =15. Recently refurbished with a comfortable pleasant ambience and no music. Beer mediocre despite the efforts of the barman to get me a good pint. Worth visiting for the appearance and name. GRIFFIN, Castleford (Jun 14) 5+4+8=17 Much improved canalside pub, a plain local with no music, but not very busy on a Friday night. GBG BOAT, Allerton Bywater (Sept 12) 2+4+7=13 Pleasantly tatty, friendly riverside pub with much-improved moorings. HORSE & JOCKEY, Hut Green (Sept 3) 0+3+6=9 No cask beer, despite the notice outside and info on Whatpub. Characterless makeover. Had a pint of Guinness then left. GEORGE & DRAGON, Whiteley (Jun 18) 1+3+6=10 Rather neglected food-oriented roadhouse not worth the trek over from Whiteley Lock. Single beer from Watney's - didn't realise they still existed! Scottish notes not accepted. BAY HORSE, Great Heck (Jun 17, 26, Sept 4) 3+4+8=15 Attractive re-vamp, improved beer and good service in this Old Mill Brewery outlet make Heck Bridge a favourite mooring once more. (2016 - 2+3+6=11 A disappointment. Used to be excellent. GBG) KING'S HEAD, Pollington (June 15) 3+3+6=12 Small open-plan pub, a village asset, but could be much better. Friendly service, but nothing special to deserve GBG (2016 - 4+5+8=17 A friendly quiet village local. GBG) (2017 - 3+3+7=13 Unremarkable, even uninteresting village pub with impersonal service. Disappointing.. GBG) NORTH STAR MARINA CLUB, Goole (Jun 16) 1+4+7=12 Simple small friendly bar with a (needed) refurbishment.Pet chickens welcome. Closed Tues & Wed. JENNY WREN, Beal (Jun 27) 1+4+8= 13 Basic old-fashioned friendly public bar. No music. Proper open fire for cold days. That's it for Part 1. The disparate dates are due to this year's cruise being out and back instead of the usual Big Circle. Part 2 will be (almost) all new ground - not for me, but for the Pub Cruises. ¡Hasta luego! as they say in Yorkshire.

No problem. In case you dont want to travel much further tomorrow and assuming you get through, the moorings at the top opposite the pig place are empty just for your info.

Fotos added above.

Absolutely. But I went to coating specialist Rawlins Paints, and followed their advice. Results are excellent. In my opinion, the purpose of any coating is primarily to stop corrosion, and the decorative aspects are secondary, but still important.

I really enjoyed this series. It was just about canal boating with not a celeb in sight. Well done Beeb.

The L&LCS and their L&LC short boat Kennet were given another award last night, this time by the March Christian Trust, who said of the volunteers: The Friends of Kennet from the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society have made an invaluable contribution to the restoration and subsequent use of the Kennet to educate the public about the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, its boats, boaters and their families. They were awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant from 2011 until 2014, which enabled them to engage with a wide range of audiences and encourage more volunteers to become involved with the vessel.

I've printed off the manual, so will have a read and see what I think. ... and check the wire sizes.

Have you liberated Tilly?

Thanks for that comprehensive reply. We sit pretty low in the water so I think we might head that way and take a look tomorrow. We're currently at Somerton Meadows (actually a lake) so we'll get there when we get there.

It's a good thing you pointed that out but like I said i know nothing about propane heating systems. I could imagine myself asking when did i install a pond in the boat . lol.

It was white until the 'self pump-out' brigade got there.

Why is it always a brown door or do they start out a different colour?

@LadyG To add photo's taken on a Smartphone simply: Take the photo you want to add using your Smartphone. Create or reply to a post using your Smartphone. Click on "Click to choose files" link at bottom of the post you are writing. Navigate to where your phone stores photos (Gallery on an Android phone). Tick the photo(s) you want to add to the post. Finish writing the post and press "Submit to Reply" as usual.

Here's from Alan and Cath Finchers blog from the Summer... . Then we got to Scowcroft Lock No 61. One of the gates wouldn't open. I was completely puzzled, it didn't seem to be jammed in any way, there was nothing on the bottom of the lock, along the cill, which might have stopped the gate moving. I have never seen a lock gate so firmly fixed before. Until Lock 61 decided to completely halt our progress. Only having one gate isn't a problem. One boat goes in, then pushes over to the other side, then the second boat goes in. However, once Tasmania was in the lock, and Flamingo tried to enter the lock she wedged firmly in the gates, just behind her bow. She was completely stuck. This exerts huge forces, but still the gate didn't move at all. We couldn't go in, and we tried reversing out, but couldn't move. We got everyone tugging on the fixed gate - it wouldn't move. We tried 'bouncing' the other gate - pushing rhythmically on the balance beam so that the gate bounces. Sometimes it's possible to dislodge a bit of rubbish that is caught behind the gate and get another centimetre or so of width. Then we tried a 'Spanish windlass' to open the fixed gate a bit. Then on the open gate. Nothing we did made the gates move at all and nothing gave us any more width. Moving again. I went back to the lock behind us, where Daphne and Swan were coming up, and explained the situation. "Oh, that lock's been broken for ages," they said, "it's supposed to be being fixed sometime

Hi Blackrose so basically what your saying is from now on it’s all plain sailing ????????????? Dr Bob being amongst such wonderful people like you lot how on earth could you put me off????? Lol ?????????????

The technique certainly works. I did a similar thing a few years back, to give half the bank an equalization charge once every week while using the other bank - thus ensuring that the high eq charge voltage didn't damage any of the boat's electronic items - and got an extra years life out of a set of knackered batteries. But I just swapped the cables each time rather than using a big switch.

A mate of mine, when asked by Oz immigration “Do you have a criminal record sir?”, replied “I didn’t realise it was still compulsory.”

But what about the empirical evidence given on the other ecofan thread?

Your oversimplified use of the second law of thermodynamics can't really be used to support your opinion. And that's all it is I'm afraid. Nobody is disputing that the energy used by the fan must come from somewhere and nobody is suggesting that energy is somehow created from nothing. Any losses in heat output from the stove to run the fan are minimal and in some cases the transformation into kinetic energy may result in those convection currents increasing and being more evenly distributed. So what we're talking about is converting a minimal amount of stove energy to kinetic energy to improve the efficiency of the system. If your rationale was correct the second law of thermodynamics could be used to show that any efficiency improvements in any thermodynamic systems don't work without additional overall use of energy in the system - which of course isn't true. That was 15 years ago. You can buy them on eBay for as low as £22 now.

I didn't want or put fergyguy off!?

Production line construction at Harland and Wolff Ltd., Woolwich, also from C&RT Online Collection (and published in several books)

Thanks for bringing this to my attention indeed. This is a very very dangerous thing to do. The fan must ALWAYS be pointing into the largest clear area of space, this is imperative for safety reasons. It would be safe if the stove was centraly located away from any bulkheads but in a normal boat instalation with the stove in a corner near to hull sides and cabin sides etc, the blast of furnace temperature air being emitted by the eco fan being directed against any wood will cause instant incineration. Large areas of wood would be scorched with seconds and be a blaze within one minute. Any ceramic tiles would crack and fall away and any firetardent board used as backing would warp and curl up at the edges exposing bare wood to instantly incinerate. I think we must again inform the uninitiated that the heat generated by such fans has been measured and found to be similar to that produced by a 747 jet engine at 3 inches.

Just a few more for the Grand Union

As it will be a fresh install I'm Tempted by this. Having removed my alde some time ago I have a full central heating plumbing, albeit sans the boiler, in place and a 10 meter coil of 10mm copper tubing left over from my build. Might be picking your brain on this Mike.

I don’t quite understand your point. None of the boat that passed you have moved you significantly. Which suggests that actually, whilst they may not be at tickover, they aren’t going fast. Some people like to cruise slowly and thus, depending on the nature of the canal, there may be no need to slow down further. Tickover in any case varies a lot. Tickover on our boat is still quite fast and so is the norm for passing moored boats. Tickover on some other boats makes them barely move and have no steering. There is no rule that says one must pass at tickover. Those outraged and entitled people who have those red “pass at tickover” signs would have made better use of their time learning to tie their boats up properly rather than going to a shop and sticking an ugly an arsehole-indicating sign on the side of their boat. I would say you are correct. Although to be fair I don’t have any experience of mooring a widebeam. So surely your point should be about the idiot who is incapable of tying up his widebeam properly rather than the people passing at a speed that is perfectly acceptable for a properly tied up boat? Personally I don’t see why people should have to slow down excessively to compensate for other people’s inability to do something as basic as tying their boat up without 2’ of slack in the lines.