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? ?

No, RENTON. Nice bit of film.

Staged payments with ownership of vessel at each stage paid for needs to be in contract......and contract needs to be legally sound. Colecraft have survived more than one crash, Tyler wilson similar.

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

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.

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.

Sorry to drag this off topic but not completely, decay resistance is as much structural as a product of the living processes in the tree, practically a tree is a thin smear of living cells surrounding a functionally dead core.

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.

The company that’s doing them up Urban Splash have just announced they have got the go ahead to redevelop another section of the original flats. I don’t think they have been a great success with people buying as it was aimed at the yuppie type with prices well above the average. I walk past there with the dog quite often and don’t see much life around there. Maybe it wasn’t the investment everyone was hoping.

That's another good thing. It isn't raining in Wigan today ?

Just posted on the BCNS Facebook page: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-rope-maker-1976-online?fbclid=IwAR0QgydcUImVff3Tx9L7zLBhrd2XRANCTvO5YWERhoBwtqk9q8FDv415iwI Alf was a well known figure on the BCN in the '70's and '80's.

I would go for 240AC for nearly everything (not water pumps, as there are good, compact DC pumps). Advantages: Cheap replacements sourceable nearly anywhere. Better quality for a lot of fittings (12v DC fittings are often poundshop quality, particularly lighting). No worries about voltage drop over long cable runs. No worries about voltage fluctuations blowing equipment (12V Battery DC voltage can vary by 3V)

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.

240v every time. BUT - make sure that you have the electrical generating capacity to support a 'floating flat'. Unlike a house where you just 'click a switch' and the electricity is available, YOU are now the electric generating company, the electric storage company and the electric distribution company. You can only use what you have 'made'. Understanding and living with 'self supplied' electricity is the hardest aspect for new boaters to come to grips with.

WE HAVE NOW RETIRED FROM ALL BOAT MOVING ACTIVITIES. THANK YOU TO ALL CUSTOMERS & FRIENDS. See you around the Inland waterways, enjoying retirement on-board our own nb. Always happy to mentor new boaters looking to research, 0r buy a first narrowboat. WE DO NOT RUN A BUSINESS & DO NOT CHARGE FOR SHARING OUR 43 years boating experience. Everything we discuss with you online is 100% confidential. Contact us by email (apaws4chat@gmail.com) Linda & Don

The canals could definitely do with more maintenance but just throwing money at an empire like CRT to pay for it isn’t the only answer. As I have already mentioned, we can all play an active part to help in a practical way. Even retired managers and accountants can offer up their time! Then there is the question as to whether CRT use the money they receive wisely. They are far more expensive to run per mile than other trusts like ANT even when you take into account the tow path. I think H&S is a barrier sometimes but volunteers could sign a disclaimer to accept risks, not that there are many risks to doing maintenance. Sometimes I think it’s just used as an excuse to ring fence organisations. There need not be a threat to paid workers either, I’m simply suggesting that volunteers could fill the gap where maintenance is lagging further and further behind risking closure of sections of canal. It will take far more effort to renovate the section once lost. EU directives about dumping silt on the bank don’t help either!

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.

A gradual (and graduated) increase in the fee (say, over 5 years) may drive a few people off, but better maintenance should bring more in, admittedly with a delay. But it's clear that the situation as it stands isn't working, so *something* has to change or it'll just carry on getting worse, with more and more stoppages and complaints about poor maintenance. I do understand your point very well, which is precisely why an increased license fee should be graduated -- those on low pensions or low incomes should pay the same as now or maybe even less, those who can afford it (and are effectively underpaying) should pay more. This objection has now been raised a dozen times in spite of the fact that I've explained a dozen times why it's wrong, so please don't do it again ?

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.

On this day in 1971 Coventry Basin

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.

Did someone mention RECKLESS?

No, it was Great Haywood out of Haircut 100.

Exactly - this is my overall point. If the license fees are too low to cover maintenance of navigation, then they should be raised. If boaters can't afford to pay the increase that it would take, then boaters can't afford to boat. It's not fair to socialise the cost of what is - mostly - a leisure activity for the a small portion of the middle class. IMO that's the reason it's being turned into social housing in some areas - because it's actually subsidised by the public. If boaters had to pay for what they use it would perhaps cease to be an affordable way to life cheap?

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.