Leaderboard

This - and I'm a long-time cycle commuter. The petition calls the towpath a 'safe, fast route'; if anyone is riding fast down a towpath, they need chucking off it. Towpaths are too narrow for riding fast.

15mm, 22mm and some imperial sizes?

But as a timber Ash is very strong, and perhaps more importantly very flexible and shock resistant, which is why it is used for things like hammer, axe, spade, and chisel handles, it is also used for sports equipment like hockey sticks, baseball bats, rowing oars, archery bows, etc.

Seriously, you can find outliers for anything. Making a safe gas installation is a lot easier than a full electrical system. That fitter neglected to do one thing; test the gas system with pipes cold. This is much easier to do on a boat (if you use bubble testers) than in household installations. Manometers are really not great. I don't want to encourage anyone who has limited mechanical skill from working on a gas system (getting mechanical joints tight enough but not too tight requires some feeling for the use of spanners). However I'm tired of the demonization of gas. The same people who act terrified of gas are quite happy to get work done on their car by an apprentice who is paid £3.50 ph; then get in that car and drive at 70mph on the motorway. Car brakes, steering, etc are a lot more complicated than a boat gas system!

Nothing is the answer because CRT would just use the extra money to invest in building instead of their core business which is navigations. You clearly have never dealt with them my mate does as his Bar is rented from them they are useless, thieving, lying wasteful T*****s I when I converted my boat from diesel to electric had nearly 6 months of hassle before I got the license this is the norm for them! The phone for Tinsley flight has broken and has been for months its not been replaced why? because it means they dont have to fix or allow use of the flight! This stuff is constant they arnt all like my comments but a lot are, now I really have done I asked some boaters about your ideas and they are still rolling around on the floor laughing, my suggestion is buy a boat and then discover how expensive it is before having silly ideas

Mine is a Mastervolt, its so good I have never got round to putting it into power save mode

Mains equipment every time. Ensure u have a good quality inverter that uses very little power when switched on and sleeping. Some are terrible such as Stirling which use far too much power. Master volt are very good just for one. Mains equipment is humungously cheaper to buy and vastly more choice at the drop of a hat. Mains uses a very little more than 12 volt but that is far outweighed by other factors.

https://shop.canalrivertrust.org.uk/ Canal & River Trust Key £7 or https://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/bwb-sanitary-keys-ag-023 £5.90 DO NOT buy from eBay, i bought one in the past and so far it has worked in one out of about ten locks tried, the key is just too thick for most of the CRT locks. I ended up buying two or three direct from CRT so i know they'll work and the cash has gone direct to where it matters* *board meeting biscuits and director's new car

Let me just check that I've understood the argument against CaRT increasing the annual license fee to pay for much-needed canal maintenance... -- CaRT doesn't spend enough on canal maintenance and hasn't for many years -- this is causing the system to deteriorate and we don't want this to continue (or get worse) -- we like paying a tiny amount to cruise/live on the canals just like we have for many years, it's a really cheap way to live innit -- we don't want to pay more 'cos it's not fair and some people couldn't afford it (and/or don't want to / can't ask welfare to pay) -- so somebody else (e.g. walkers, cyclists, Joe Public) should cough up, not us, even though we get by far the biggest benefit from the canals Is that right? Really? Boat license fees are currently in the region of £1000 which is £20 a week. To increase the overall CRT budget by 25% (£50M) -- probably what is needed make a big enough difference to fix the problem -- it would need to increase to about £2500 which is £50 a week. For what this gets you and compared to the other costs of buying/running a boat -- and certainly compared to the costs of living on land -- this is an increase from ludicrously cheap to very cheap... CaRT wouldn't be able to make such a big change overnight anyway because they don't have the maintenance staff or equipment to suddenly use up another £50M a year, this would have to be built up over maybe 5 years -- and it would be better value to do this in-house instead of subcontracting it, that way money isn't creamed off to service company shareholders and CaRT build up a skilled workforce who maybe even care about the canals a bit. So the fee might go up by about £300 a year for 5 years, by which time we could have a properly maintained canal system that works in the long term. This increase is gradual enough that it wouldn't immediately throw people out onto the street, and if it makes them change their lifestyle it gives enough time to do it. Could anybody who really loves the canals -- presumably, most people on this forum -- honestly object to this? ?

Any adhesive will only be as good as the bond between the paint and metal. If the paint is loose then it will just 'pull-off'.

They're close enough together that you're forgiven.

So not that much cheaper than new from China, which would be about £1400 for similar.

Well if you fancy popping up to Glasson Dock sometime next month I'll buy you a beer.

Differential licence pricing was put forward by British Waterways back in 2006 following a ruling by the waterways ombudsman that shared ownership boats were being treated unfairly being charged almost 2.5 times the fee paid by other private boaters. The consultation failed to gain boater support and so the idea was not implemented. I suggest you read up on the many consultations that have taken place over the last 20 years.

£375 each at the moment but they do have a BMS to stop all the ups and downs in life, I am just trying to buy a BMS for my small electric car its 15s 400amps at 60 volts so lets see what I get quoted. If I just wanted a balance while charging and passive BMS rated at 60 amps I could get one for 70 squids, and that might be the way I go if the price is way to expensive

14 years and still going, but then it is a 48V 24 cell traction bank. 2 x 3000va Victron inverters, on 24/7. All domestic 230V equipment apart from pumps and some led lights and fans. But...... 5Kw 48V dc diesel gen to keep it all going when not on shore power. Runs for a couple of hours every day or two depending on usage. System not very tolerant of neglect, so would not recommend if not live aboard. If you want to have all the functionallity of a house afloat, this is the sort of (expensive) kit required. For just camping aboard, go low voltage + small inverter and expect to wear out leisure batteries every few years.

Shot blast and powdercoat. I had 2 cast iron park bench frames done about 8 years ago. They are outside in all weathers and still perfect. Cost about 20 quid for cash if I remember correctly.

July 2009, just slightly upstream of Dav and Pen’s Marne photos - at Dizy, where the Lateral Canal goes off towards Reims among other places, and the Marne continues upstream at the top of the second photo to Épernay. The CEVNI rules which govern navigation on continental waterways allow for an uphill travelling vessel to cross starboard-to-starboard with one travelling downstream under certain circumstances, and it displays a blue board and/or flashing white light if it does so. The lock mechanism here for the lock up onto the canal is on your port side when going upstream, which means you have to cross over to operate it, putting you notionally on the ‘wrong’ side of the river. However the CEVNI rules have a further exception which says a vessel travelling upstream and turning into a side arm of any kind has priority over any craft coming downstream. Despite these two rules within the CEVNI code I have three times had a cruiser coming down the river from Épernay trying to pass port-to-port here even though I have also made my intentions clear by announcing what I was doing on VHF, and each of these sadly was flying a red ensign. Tam

Neither will a means tested increase No one here has shot down any sensible suggestion Yawn!

You won't get a straight answer but I have one boat with 12 V and one with 230 V. When the 12 V one dies (which it shows no sign of doing although 25 years old) it will be replaced with a 230 V one. A decent inverter plus mains fridge is generally cheaper than a low voltage fridge. If cost is a key factor, there's not that much difference in energy consumption between A+ and A++ fridges but lots of £££. It is worth checking what ambient temperature a mains fridge is designed for, there are several bands. Our mains fridge is on a boat in France and only used in warmer months, and was chosen for higher temperature ratings. Most, but not all, fridges have a wide band of suitability nowadays. The key parameter is the quiescent current consumption of the invertor. Some go into "sleep" mode if there is no power demand, and it is said that they may be reluctant to start a fridge or low power lighting. I can't comment further, others doubtless will. An invertor for a fridge needs to be rated at several times the running power to cope with starting transients. We run a small domestic fridge (about 70 W measured power consumption when the compressor is running) off a 1 kW continuous rated invertor with no problems, and could probably go lower.

Your topic title says "12V or 24V". I assume this is a typo, as you then go on to talk about 240V, but having the low voltage DC as a 24V system has some advantages. Lower voltage drop over long runs, less stress on inverters to take it up to 240V and so on. There isn't as much low voltage equipment around to run on 24V, but pumps, LED lights and so on are all available in 24V versions.

It depends on what inverter you have and what fridge you buy, if its cheapest fridge and cheapest inverter you will lose out, but if the fridge is A++ and the right inverter you may win but the margen will be small. Also how do you plan to use the boat, if its on shoreline for 11 months a year then 240 is the winner, if its never on shoreline then its marginal, If you have loads of solar or you cruise for say 4 hours a day then again probably 24 volt wins.

Hi I have an identical boat from Midway just a few little differences in fit out 2012. I am going to my boat this weekend for the first time since you know what (hooray). If you PM with an email address I can then send you all the details I have. I also so have some build photos if you’re interested.

Who's objecting? It's just your idea of a means tested license system is flawed. And no I'm not hiding behind those on low incomes - I would be prepared to pay more for better maintenance.

It's a lovely trip with some interesting bends. The 180 deg before Buscot lock is a good challenge! Between St John's lock and the A361 bridge there are moorings on the left hand side going upstream after the last bend - beware, that bend is shallow so keep wide! It is a large field so no problem with distancing. Last time I was there it was free - or no-one came to ask for any money.

We have a 74' harborough marine boat. We did not a survey done and have paid for overplating to be done. The survey determined that the wet bilge be scrapped so new rear bulkheads had to be inserted. We have fitted a new lister LPW 3 engine and skin cooled it. Ikea provided most of the interior. She is called Foxton and is one of the original boats and we can now proudly take the heritage of harborough marine around the canals, as she once did for ABC boats.

I thought you just said they were "on your moorings" -- doesn't that make them liveaboards? If not -- they're leisure boaters who live on the land and use the boat for holidays -- then they can afford a bigger license fee, since they can afford a boat *and* a house they can hardly cry poverty, and the added cost is small compared to owning a holiday boat anyway. You seem to be clutching at any straw to make out that poor people will be disadvantaged one way or another. What I'm really proposing is that the license fee should be graduated just like income tax (in theory, ignoring tax havens), so the poor pay less towards the cost of the canals (maybe even less than now?) and the rich pay more than they do now. What exactly is your objection to this -- is it that you'll pay more? I certainly will every time I hire a boat or if I retire soon and buy one, I'd be happy to do that knowing that I was helping to renew the canal system. How about you?

Yes U570 when it was captured and became HMS GRAPH. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Graph Also a couple surrendered in the Thames https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA55TW3CHXVGGJE6UJI059JG0H5-U-BOAT-SURRENDERS-IN-THE-THAMES/query/U+776 WW I as well: https://historyhouse.co.uk/articles/uboats_in_british_ports.html U570 - HMS Graph. Gunther Prien also entered Scapa Flow and sank The Royal Oak.

Some years ago with our first boat a Chrighton narrow 32ft cruiser we exited onto the Trent from Keadby taking it steady as it was our first time on the Trent a Gin palace shot past us digging a big hole in the water and causing us to bob and sway about violently depite turning accross their wake. Not very impressed we arrived at Torksey just in time to see him go through the lock. on our way to Lincon we saw them havinf a BBQ at Saxilby going past at low revs I made a loud remark about hurry up merchants causing fear and inconvieiance to other craft on the river. Some time later I had a nice letter from him saying he was very sorry and as a member of the Stawbury island boat club they tried to be considerate of other boaters.

Often people don't need a financial incentive. Just the desire to help keep our canals going or to learn new skills and get some fresh air may be enough. I'm sure many live aboards wouid be happy to act like lengthsmen in return for being allowed to moor in the same place. All year round CC'ers are in a good position to report issues and do basic repairs. I wouln't want anything financial in return.

I think you have melted his brain. A terrible thing is cognitive dissonance. I read the words you posted and followed it quite well. I'd rather the fees didn't get too steep, but they would have to go up quite a lot before I stopped paying them. If nothing else, the prices of secondhand boats would probably come down quite a bit, attracting more people onto the water who would accept the higher ongoing costs.

Did someone mention RECKLESS?

As Biscuits says the wanderers licence covers non-club waters. I fish your area when out on the boat and I have a E.A license and CaRT wanderers license, many boaters believe if they fish off their boat they don’t need a license, I fish off the boat or next to it, but I make sure I don’t fish where it states a club permit is required, you have just got to be sensible and if near a match venue and can be seen don’t fish. There’s lots of hidden spots near you for good fishing.

The manual shows that there should be one (it is also an anode, and erodes away), so maybe whoever replaced the anodes forgot / didn't know about that one. Whilst you are 'out' get on put on, it helps to protect the leg.

it was 93 when the price of diesel rose above petrol.( no tax) But in 2006 the duty on diesel was 6.5p litre higher than petrol

What do you base this on? If boaters license fees are not paying for the product (i.e. well maintained, navigable canals) then clearly boaters aren't paying enough? Why should anglers, volunteers and general taxpayers be subsidising our navigation? If there was a massive locust swarm that came and ate half the wheat in the world and the bread price doubled, people say "oh, but we're paying too much for bread". But surely the price of the production of the bread needs to be reflected in the cost of the bread, otherwise why would anyone sell bread? As it stands it seems that we're benefiting from the investment made by the freight industry over 100 years ago, and that this has a time limit unless further investment is made - and the people who benefit from this are boaters. Anglers don't need deep water, people walking along the towpath don't need to have boats there (if anything they're competing for the space). I think it's fair to ask what would it cost for boaters to pay their way - and if it's genuinely too much for us to afford then to ask whether boaters navigating is enough of a public good that the taxpayer should cover it. Alan said "100's of millions needs spending". So can we say 200 million over the next 20 years? That's 10 million per year. According to CaRT website there are about 34 000 canal boats in the UK. 300 GBP extra per boat per year would raise that number. Why shouldn't boaters pay it? And if that's too much then perhaps CaRT does need to consider closing some of the canals so that we can afford to maintain the remainder. Let's be practical about this - not idealistic. Perhaps the truth of the matter is somewhere between "I won't pay more nor have any hand in helping - the canals will be closed in our lifetime" and "boaters can pay 1000s more and volunteer hard and the waterways will stay 100% open". I for one hope there is enough of a core following of boating that at least some of the major waterways (e.g. Grand Union) will survive pretty much forever.

Pathetic. You are riding a vehicle, use it on the many thousands of miles of roads designed for the purpose.

Nothings being wasted - at 95% the batteries are taking a very small current that one controller is quite capable of providing all on its own. Yes, and yes. Otherwise the other controller wouldn't have dropped out

They do. It's the Waterways Wanderer permit covering all CRT waters where the fishing rights are not managed by another group or club.