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I know a lot of people are struggling financially at the moment, but I hadn't realised just how bad it is getting. Today I have seen at least 12 family groups of 6 or 8 people who must have moved into 23-28 foot cabin cruisers since yesterday. There were none of them out and about on Thursday when it was raining, but on a sunny weekend it seems 3 or 4 generations have just become liveaboards ... Hmm.

You've never tried eating one? They need to be boiled for several hours before they are soft enough to chew. If you cook them with enough garlic you can get them to taste of garlic, rather than hose pipe. A bit like the recipes the French use for snails and a similar texture.

It's called getting old ? when we moved aboard in our 30s we would hop off onto the bank etc etc, now we'll into our 60s there is no hopping as the knees simply don't allow for it lol.

Still bored so made another one, wall hanging piece this time

With no dry-dock for many miles, the slip at Auxerre proved useful once in fixing a cooling system leak. We hauled Secunda up as much as we dared. The slip itself was installed by the German occupation forces in 1943, when a fleet of armed vessels was brought up the Yonne, They were then hauled out here to be taken across Burgundy by road - the Canal de Bourgogne being insuffiently large for the job. To achieve this 1,500 forced labourers demolished houses along the way and regraded the roads. Special trailers were used, with three tractor lories pulling, and four more behind, primarily for braking on the hills. Those taking these pictures risked their lives, yet none of the craft ever made it. The entire fleet, said to be over 50 craft, was destroyed by Allied aircraft farther south.

Well as from tomorrow you can go to a second home in spain but not overnight on the boat???!!

That would worry me there are 5 people living in our postcode

Just to keep you amused until some comes along with a sensible answer : Im the girl that makes the thing that drills the hole that holds theRing that drives the rod that turnsThe knob that works the thingy a me-bob Im the girl that makes the thing that holds the oil that oils theRing that takes the shank that movesThe crank that works the thingy a me bob.It a ticklish sort of job making thing for the Thingy a me bob especially when you don't know what it for.But its the girl that makes the thing the drills the hole thatHolds the ring that makes the thingyA me bob that makes the engine roar. And it the girl that makes the thing that holds the oil thatOils the ring that makes the thingy a me bob thats gonna win the war.Im not what you'd would call an heroin at allI don't suppose you'd even know me name But though i never boost of my important postIll strike a blow for freedom just the same.That works the thingy a me bob.That works the thingy a me bob. It a ticklish kind of job making the thing for theThingy s me bob especially when you don't know what its forBut its the girl that makes the thing that drills the hole that holdsThe ring that makes the thingy a me bob at makes the engines roar an Its the girl that makes the thing that holds the oil that oilsThe ring that makes the thingy a me bob thats gonna win the warIt is n all

Slips are the cause of most boat injuries I think. I'm always dubious when I see people painting their roof in a gloss or satin finish and I don't like the style of painting narrowboat gunwales with a cm of gloss paint on the very edge - right where you need good grip to avoid slipping off. Gloss and satin paints are fine when it's dry but treacherous in the wet. I know a lot of people say they never go on the roof but you never know and for single-handers the roof is unavoidable. Anyway, in an emergency situation if one does need to get onto the roof for some reason, then slipping and falling is the last thing one would want. The other thing I don't like are cleats or other deck fittings mounted on silly places where someone can trip over them. It's fine to say "but I know it's there" the trouble is other people may not and if someone else has to move your boat to safety for some reason (if you become incapable) then they don't want to trip on an inappropriately positioned deck fitting that they didn't see.

And that is what is so very wonderful about having a means of transport with your own private facilities! When I was first recovering we bought a secondhand motorhome off eBay so we could travel all over Europe with our (now grown-up) kids. It was just amazing and took away all the fear of being caught out away from a loo. I don't think there would be much of an advantage between the different types in my personal case; it's rather that I'm very used to emptying a cassette loo and haven't used a pump-out before. There is something cowardly comforting about familiar systems and I am determined to be able to manage and maintain as much as I can on the boat myself. Saying that I don't doubt that I would quickly master the pump-out system. Can't quite get my head around composting loos ATM but again that is probably down to my inexperience and ignorance.

Perfik!

Statistically, i think we are individually quite safe. Yesterday in East Cheshire there were four new infections recorded, and it's pretty unlikely I'm going to run into one of them. Especially on a boat.

They can spit if annoyed you know!

It might pay you to study the electrical notes on my website and use them to work out exactly how your charging system is wired.

"The Marcellus" and The Old Man. The year after I bought "Marcellus" 83/84 (?) Pete will know much better than me. It all started when I put both boats on Uxbridge Dry Dock for blacking and adenoids. "Marcellus" was on the left which was the darker side of the dock, "Rigal" was on the right, more sunlight and lamps above. About day three and we were into blacking, I was doing "Marcellus" and Zita was blacking her clothes and the dogs over next to "Rigal". Most of the week we were on, individuals would stroll in to have a gander at what was what, most didn't approach or say anything, probably for fear of being given a brush and told to join in. I was over in the furthest dark corner sloshing coal tar around the butty's stem post when my right elbow was tugged and I heard an indistinct murmur. I started to turn I could see a dark shadow slightly behind me, but was interrupted by the person who shakily pointed out three patches I'd missed. I replied something about it being dark over here, and a couple of more places were tapped which I'd also not seen. I minute or so later my dogs appeared next to me and Zita chuckled and asked me who I was talking to. She'd heard me and wandered over to see what was up. She said I'd been on my own and nobody had entered the dock or passed her by. Having come off dock we wanted to practice more of our buttying techniques and strewth there was a lot to learn. We went down The Paddington Arm and then back towards Jim's Stink Hole where we kept them. It was upon leaving Denham Deep heading North that we made the poor decision of trying a long line. There wasn't enough ballast on the butty to stop her floating like a ping pong ball on the surface, plus there was a cross wind which was catching her side cloths like a sail. Those who know the area will appreciate how open that area is (was in the 80s). Alongside The Flashes I realised I was crabbing with "Rigal" I quickly turned to check how Zita was doing with the butty. She wasn't fairing well and was in danger of ending up on the bank. That was the point I realised there was a second figure back there. If the line was about 60 feet it meant that back of the butty was 130 feet behind me. However I could make out she had an old man dressed in a dark coat next to her, and the two of them were together rowing the elum to keep the stern out. I was busy enough keeping "Rigal" straight to look back again, plus I had to start to prepare for the upcoming lock, keep the butty moving, plan for breasting up etc. In the lock I asked Zita how she'd felt about that stretch. She said it was blowy and at first was worried she'd stem up against the bank, but she suddenly realised to use the rudder to wash the stern over and was surprised how easy it was to do. Some years later we had friends stopping over and gave them the butty's cabin for the night. They were unfamiliar with a traditional cabin or its layout. However next morning they told us they'd dreamt about an old man entering the cabin. He was fiddling about with the wall where the panel with the picture of the castle's painted. Then he kind of walked through the bed and then the end of the cabin. What intrigued me was they didn't realise the wooden panel with the castle painted on it was the drop down table behind which was of course the larder. Nor did they realise the bulkhead the other side of the bed was a door which passed into the hold. Mainly though I was intrigued that it wasn't immediately obvious to them that two people don't share the same dream, especially at the same time. Things went quiet for a while until Jan Deuchar of Paper Dasher “Hereford” commented that whenever they passed our boats (we were moored on Crocker's field at Shardlow before it was dug out) on their fortnightly jaunt up to Shardlow basin to fill, empty and return to Trent lock, Their two children (both probably pre school at the time) would wave as they passed "Marcellus", but ignore "Rigal". When she asked them why they told her they waving to the old man sitting on the back of the butty. I'm not trying to convince or persuade anybody, I merely submit our experiences as they occurred at the time. A few more years and "Marcellus" was cut and made into two boats by the late Ian Clifton. The back end was formed into a bow for the shorter boat subsequently named "Marcel". I understand both boats are now named Marcellus, I have not learnt of any subsequent owners' experiences.

I can understand why you would want to limit the radius BUT its a very long term purchase and a lot of money - most yards will collect you from stations even now - better to travel for another hour to find the right boat - IMHO Rugby Boat Sales are the best in the business by a country mile - also a trip to the "golden triangle" (Calcutt/Braunston/ABNB/Rugby/Whilton/Tollhouse) will pay dividends. Boat delivery by water or overland is much more common in these times and pretty competitive - use Shiply.