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This is a very large boat for the canals and I suggest it won’t be pleasant to actually cruise on it, except for those few large commercial waterways such as the A&C. People who buy these enormous widebeams tend not to move much, which always begs the question to me “why bother with all the hassles of being on a boat when you can’t enjoy the advantages?”. You see people driving huge widebeams looking really nervous and stressed, which is surely not the aim! Nearly all the nicer bits of canal are off limits time you. Have you ever driven a boat that size on a just-big-enough waterway? If not I suggest you have a go first, before spending lots of money.

Seen elsewhere ...

Michael McIntyre at his best.

Did a spot of Kayak cleaning up after the good folk of Retford this evening, every little helps.. Mostly crisp packets left by the little darlings fishing/smoking weed upstream at Whitsunday lock. It would be good to think they'll grow out of it and learn to appreciate their surroundings but unfortunately as the saying goes, you can't educate pork. Or shit. The crap was caught in huge blooms of gently fizzing blanket weed, even the kayak was a struggle!

I wouldnt say they lost control, I think it is more...lost the goodwill of the British public with their rabid press releases,.lies and defence of Cummings.

Not the total picture but the government lost control the moment they ignored the Cummings incident.

Hope you got there OK - I think 19 boats making that trip today. We took the quieter route, down to Limehouse... https://scholargypsy.org.uk/2020/06/15/brentford-to-limehouse/

The UK is not that bad - here are a couple of Liveaboards, well within your budget and ideal for a bit of coastal hopping, you could take a couple of years going around the coast in a luxury (heated and insulated) comfortable boat. Proper boats : https://www.findafishingboat.com/steel-passagemaker/ad-55598 I've been mulling over this one for some time, but I've already got two boats. £45,000 or offers (and its in Cork !!!) or this one : https://www.findafishingboat.com/converted-danish-trawler/ad-107405 In North Wales and at £30,000 plenty of money left. 'Modernisation' needed to suit your taste but money left in the budget.

As a teenager I broke up several wooden boats so that their bottoms could be used for the walls of buildings at The Black Country Museum. Perhaps I am fortunate in not being sentimental about narrow boats and I have no problem with their 'circle of life'. I like the idea of a boat that is life expired donating its parts to keep others going (as with human organ donation), but I am not meaning parts being built into modern boats to give them some perceived credibility or added value. Every boat can be rebuilt and rebuilt again, but as you say the costs can be prohibitive - and in my opinion this has been the position with wooden narrow boats for a long time, let alone finding people with the skills to maintain / rebuild them properly. Like many owners I am spending far more on my boat restoration than its end value will be, but because my boat is steel hulled it just feels like a better bet long term (but probably isn't). Of course it is a great shame when any boat is broken up, but this is a part of every boats history whether today, next year or any time in the future. Things seem to have got a lot more sentimental since these boats have become pre-fixed 'historic' - but lets hope that DANE's future can be secured

You can go in 20 shops a day, but you cant sleep in your boat, if you own a house. Nonsense. Your child can go to the zoo to those 20 shops and visit their grandparents, but cant go to school. Nonsense If you are part of the inner sanctum you can leave london with your covid ridden Spouse, go and live in a house built with no planning permission , and not paying council tax, and visit beauty spots at will. As well as driving with dodgy eyesight. Nonsense No wonder people just do what they like.

A solar panel produces power. Power is measured in watts. So a 200W panel could produce 2A at 100V, or 100A at 2V, or anything in between. Clearer?

I'd say that's about perfect for the Northern canal network if you want a widebeam. Maybe a couple of feet shorter if you don't like getting wet descending leaky locks

Eeeeeeeeeeeejut ?

She STARTED! On the Starter she got faster and faster until she finally picked up and ran. It was the starter..duff connections/ dirty armature with the fresh fuel just needed that tiny bit extra to fire up. Initially filled the sky with smoke but then ran clear even in gear. Thanks for all your advice. What's the thoughts on glow plugs for a JP engine. They fit in the Hi/Lo compression valves giving a compression halfway between the two settings. Also Red or Green fly wheel. Martin in the photo of the grey engine you sent there is a brass drain tap in the block plug hole can you tell me what size and thread that would be Cheers Ian

1994, Dresden, and one of the White Fleet.

Got one coming now, cheers Got it coming, it is the same engine however the previous issue i believe was due to the filler cap seal being broken, as of replacement i have not lost any coolant. (yet) Got a guy coming to look at it tomorrow. Cheers!

Absolute Bollox!! Who is the brokerage? Ask them to point you to the regulation....... It would have been all over here like a rash if it were true......

Our holding tank is stainless steel, but as the material was too thin to take a thread for the bolts they made a thick collar for them to screw into. Unfortunately they used mild steel for the collar which then rotted away so one day when the crew member sat on the loo it fell right through into the tank; in that moment she discovered new meanings to both the phrases "dump through" and then "getting your own back"

I’m afraid if you put yourself up as an expert then expect to be called out when both you and the company you run fail to deliver. I have had first hand experience of the poor service they have offered to others.

Or I could keep a 100+ boat going, there is the emotional attachment but I can see over that in that the boat is only worth the engine, i would rather sell a boat to someone who is going to save her than just strip for parts. Yes I can see dane being stripped for her bolly but I'm not going to be the one to destroy a bit of history for an engine. If I could get a bolly at a reasonable price not over the top price coz its a bolly I would consider putting it in towy but at the same time the national has been in her longer than the bolly was and has now been in near on 50 years making it part of towy. Yes I would happly sell the national back to the owner of original boat but I'm not going to be left out of pocket or just a random engine put in her so someone can get there engine back (unless forced due to major brakedown would happly get a k1 or something or jp2 as a replacement) hence I wanted to look at dane but for a price to keep her as is what I'm prepared to pay given the work needed wouldnt be accepted. Its the same as i don't agree with butties being cut in half to sell as 2 motors to make some cash and in the process destroying history.

Didn't lose it from me. They do have a way to go to regain it completely though, having kicked my door down and beaten me up, held me illegally overnight on another occasion, refused to accept my home address existed... unfortunately, humans being what they are, we need police. But whether we need some them is another matter. Watch the news tonight?