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May I suggest that you don't need half the pieces of equipment you have on your boats. However, personally I wouldn't feel the need to be as judgemental as you're being and slag you off for having them. Just because one has a bow thruster doesn't necessarily make one reliant upon it. It really depends on how it is used. I can steer my boat perfectly well with or without the BT but it is nice to have for reversing long distances and for close quarters handling around GRP boats for example. By the way, in 15 years on this boat my BT batteries have never gone flat. In answer to the OP's actual question, I have a 95kgf thruster on a 57ft x 12ft boat. Part of the power specification is not simply the boat dimensions but also how far the tunnel is set back from the stem of the bow which reduces mechanical advantage.

I have just looked in unbelieving horror as a boy aged about 12 got off a hire boat that was coming up through Hillmorton bottom lock carrying two bags of rubbish and ignoring the bins, threw them both into an attractive flowerbed on private property and ran back to what I guessed were his parents. All looked well dressed respectable intelligent people. I carefully picked the bags out of the flowers and put them in the Biffa skip provided by CRT. I then telephoned the Hire Company whose management promised to speak to them harshly. It's getting worse isn't it? Or is it just me getting old?

It would be more sense to lobby for the removal of the booking system completely. If you turn up and there is no room tough

Its not a crime to be an a***hole, if it was the police would be even more overworked and the prisons would be bursting. As for the end product of parenting its easy, I just tried to make them turn out like an even better version of me ?. I suppose thats the problem, the a***holes just produce lots of little a****holes, or maybe lots of even bigger a****holes. ...............Dave

You said: They are a useful accessory for newcomers to assist in mooring with a strong wind, but you become addicted..., which sounds a lot more absolutist than it's easy to become addicted. You're backtracking a little. I don't think your suggestion is necessarily as reasonable as you think. Some people with BTs hardly use them so you wouldn't notice. Don't automatically assume that if you don't hear a BT the boat hasn't got one Anyway, it does get boring when someone comes on with a question and it immediately descends into the same old nonsense.

That's not subtle enough. A blast of reverse and forward to suck the water out from under them and then replace it is much better as there is no contact.

Daft idea just to save the cost of a VSR. The day you have an engine problem necessitating much cranking you will regret this system. Why try to be different? Why do you think everyone else has a seperate battery? Because its sensible. Just have a small 80Ah start battery charged by a VSR and you have no worries,

Narrowboats are so popular down south 'cause you can cruise all the English and Welsh connected system. The narrow canals of the midlands split the wide canals in to a number of zones, with no easy way to move from one to another. The Scottish canals were all built sensibly wide, so no need for the compromises of a narrowboat, unless you enjoy walking like an ancient Egyptian! Jen (with a narrowboat!)

Alan, I've tried but can't resist it. PLEASE take this comment as humorous rather than critical. "and as the roar of 1/4 million gallons of water hurling over the weir grows even louder she raises her voice to be heard... 'step 14! Attach left end of roll bar 'D; to port side Fluke 'F' using M10 x 25 bolt 'K''

Perhaps you could, should, would be the one to get him some help for his own good before some big guy puts him and his generators out of action permanently? I have had 3 such stroppy boaters, one finished up in the cells for a night for threatening me whilst I was phoning the police who heard him say he was going to sort me out (good luck there, I've been trying for years) , one attacked me and the police took him away and one was found dead in his boat some time later. ( no, not me. I leave them still breathing, just) Yes report, name and shame, tell everyone, you could save a life, his or the next poor boater who moores next to him.

Hardingswood Junction is the nearest and the Bluebell is a real ale pub. Alternatively, Red Bull (either 2 or 3 locks north. Or if you are coming down the Macclesfiled Canal there are good moorings before the aqueduct over the T & M, although you might notice a slight wiff from the sewerage works nearby.

Make the best of it - it looks like they will be closing the pubs again early September as a 'balance' to opening the schools. It has been decided that kids education is more important than having a pint.

Three way fridge (if you can still get them) is a NoNo. Potentially dangerous on gas, eats lot of electricity whether on shoreline or not. If the thought of a BIG battery bank fills you with horror - then mebe a 12V fridge would do, but they're expensive and not of the best quality. As Uncle Tim will probably say put in a 240V one and a decent battery bank plus a good inverter and relax...

Oh _that_ sort of Beaver.

Lucky old you, I brought a Harris angled brush which shed hairs from the first stroke. Complained to Harris who said that Particular brush wasn’t made to the same standard as their other brushes. They sent another one however which was ok. One of the problems I have found with the cheap sets is that the bristles are often shorter than branded ones. I started my painting on the superstructures of Tankers which were white with a brown cutting in bottom band, all done by hand with international paint. No rollers except on the hull when we were alongside a suitable jetty and then with the roller on the end of a very long bamboo pole you proceedEd to put some black stuff on the ship and a hell of a lot on yourself. on one ship the mate took great pleasure in having us paint white with the sun behind so difficult to see where you had been. He then inspected it later and his favourite saying was “theirs more holidays in this than a Chinese f.... calendar do it again” Hard apprenticeship on Joe Shell in the 50’s

Saw him today and thanked him again, we are now wondering if he bought Jim's old boat, Nb Elizabeth as that is were he went to. Terry left me a big pile

They were! That photo was taken before we bought the boat. The cupboard with all this in is nice and clean now and I intend to keep it that way (famous last words). Here are two more seemingly meaningless images to help explain where things are a bit! https://imgur.com/a/YWjQNZf The picture of the bedroom is just to show where I was stood (facing towards the port side) to take the picture looking into the cupboard, between the bedroom and the steps up to the stern deck. The cupboard door swings open to close off the aft cabin from the bedroom at night. Looking into the cupboard (which is L shaped towards the stern). the domestic battery box is to the left behind the twin tub washer, on a slightly raised plinth. everything else is above the battery box on the left hand side around that corner, apart from the 12V breaker which is above the ironing board just inside the cupboard door on the right, and the inverter, which is opposite that on the left hand side just inside the cupboard door. I think a lot of the wiring you can see behind the 220V consumer unit is the back of the instrument panel up on the stern deck, where both the domestic and starter battery isolators also are, down by the floor. I really need to take my proper camera with a really wide angle lens to get everything in one shot!

They used to publish a Nicholsons for the Broads and Fens. Mine (bought second hand) is dated 1986, but not much if waterways importance has changed. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ordnance-Survey-Guide-Broads-Fens/dp/0905522974 MP.

Slightly off topic. Do you know why elephants have big ears? 'Cos Noddy wouldn't pay the ransom.

Hi Bod. What a lovely keepsake. The main thing you need to keep the doll away from is sunlight. The UV degrades the plastic making it go hard and brittle and also will degrade the pigments especially the red. Keeping it above freezing is probalby also a good idea. I guess it is made from plasticised PVC. I would wrap it in cloth and then in a box well out of the sunlight. Should survive 2 years without any degradation.

But you need to tell that to the folks who don't even seem to be capable of travelling in a straight line on a calm day without the constant whine of the b/t.

On this day 2017. Grounded ship on the Trent being rescued. https://www.facebook.com/100008544101828/videos/1698918590402928/ Also on this day 2017. Fulbourne in Lincoln

I've lived aboard for 7 years, no mooring, 35ft boat. My total costs average a shade short of £2K a year. This includes a top end engine rebuild, 2 sets of batteries that I knackered because I didn't understand how to charge them properly, installation of solar panels, a full repaint and re fit of living area. All apart from the rebuild done by myself. I don't cruise too much, range around 50 miles a year. The keys to keeping costs down are a good solar array, a small genny that isn't thirsty for the winter months. A gas fridge costs £25 a month to run but I reckon that's cheaper than replacing batteries regularly or running engines or genies for hours every day. A small boat engine helps, you don't need 40hp to creep along narrow, shallow canals. Calorifiers might be all the rage but you need to run the 40hp lump to make them work. Better to have an old fashioned morco for hot water, will save you lots of money.

You advised me to do something that I said I intended to do in the very first sentence of this thread. I'm not doing it in the middle of the night. Most people wouldn't. Most reasonable people would agree I shouldn't have to, and being told that I should have to because of somebody's bullying behaviour is abusive to say the least.

It is worth telling CRT about antisocial behaviour, but only what you know for certain to be true. So the generator running, yes. The other things you have mentioned are only hearsay and rumour, so No to them. Stick to the facts you have witnessed first-hand.

I refer the honorable gentleman to the very first sentence of this thread.

If you can get the old pieces out and have some new pieces cut, then fit them yourself - the cost won't be that much. Other's labour will always make the cost look bad. The best other necessity is to stop the wood getting wet and seal properly..., to avoid the problem reoccurring down the line.

If this is a serious question. When closed the bottom of both sets of gates sit against a bulk of timber, brick work, concrete or a combination thereof, In the case of the upper gates this forms the cill that you can often see when you empty the lock. A blown cill is when something has moved the whole thing so the gates can no longer but up to it. This could be extreme neglect plus water pressure or as its often the shallowest part of the lock a boat hitting it or catching on it and dragging it out of place. I suspect that when water is spewing in under the gates people call it a blown cill but often its debris trapped between the gate and cill. That's why its a good idea to carrry a keb - not that I ever have.

is it so wrong i have dreams about a nicely painted engine bay?

Hobbits for engine room painting appear to be in short supply. Cruising the Cut in one his vlogs dealt with this by having his engine lifted out by a boat yard. Superficially it seemed a bit extreme, but the more I think about it the more sensible it seems - a case of do it once and do it well.

See the hints and tips page on the craftmaster website if you are considering the traditional coach painting route, a good summary of the various elements of the whole process. Others will advise various short cuts depending on the results you wish to achieve. On something the size of a narrowboat then get to know which power tools you will need to save time and elbow grease (eg angle grinder with clean and strip discs for rust, and RO sander for dealing with painting large panel areas, are typical minimum to save a lot of time) Most paints are british standard colours, but they all fade. If your existing paint is more than a few years old it will be a different colour now from what came out of the tin originally, so colour matching is an interesting concept.

Locks can only ever be a deterrent. The determined thief will get in - end of!! So it doesn't really matter if they are relatively easy to overcome, or impossible. There will be very few places on the canals where there wont be a rock, or something, nearby, with which to smash a few windows. I agree that serious consideration should be given to getting out when the smoke and/or flames are licking your arse. Unlocked, Thumb Turn, Yale Type, are all fairly easy to operate. Something needing a key which may, or may not, be in the lock or easily to hand, could result in disaster.

When I am in the boat the main key set is in the lock all of the time which means it's simple half turn to open the lock. I removed it so that the spare key placement could be shown clearly in the photo. I would suggest that my method is even quicker than using a bolt lock on the door. I have 4 means of exit all of which can be opened very quickly. I am more than happy with my arrangements but I genuinely thank you for your concern.

? I never miss the chance to persuade someone to explore the BCN. Going around Brum is a lovely route and will possibly be the easiest. But I reckon going through Brum is the more interesting and indeed the quickest by perhaps a day or two. ?