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I am sorry if this comes across as rude but over the years I have come to the conclusion there are a very large number of complete numpties out there and even some conventionally bright people are numpties personified when it comes to practical things. As the price of housing has gone up we find more and more of the less well off, and that often means less able to hold down a decent paying job, are buying boats to live on. This is despite them having no idea about practical issues. I fear this is a case in point. For some reason the OP was incapable of seeing people were trying to help him. He obviously though Mitsubishi have only even made one type of three cylinder diesel engine and had no idea that Mitsubishi do not make small marine diesel engine so his had been marinised by another company. This meant that when people asked about the colour he thought they were taking the weewee. He also seems to have no idea that to move forward he must have engine model and number, so asking for that seemed another mickytake. I fully expect he thinks all Springers are identical and all narrowboats are broadly the same, just like cars. In his eyes he had given all the information needed so asking for more information was just being awkward - hence his and in the past many other outbursts and flounces. I don't think its the OPs fault, I suspect he is not very socialised. It amazes me that people who ask for help seem unwilling to give even a rough location when asked so one of our more practical members can take a look first hand and report back I have no idea what one could do about it unless we got a form on each section that needed filling in and posting in the relevant section so the posters have read that they will be expected to answer questions that may seem unnecessary, be expected to provide images if requested, and expect answers within an hour or so or if they object to that not post.

That's not how I read it, he is just trying to look at this issue from a different perspective and I see absolutely no dig at you or anyone else who tries to help on the forum.

Agreed. Chances also are, no-one setting the rules has any idea of how to enforce them or the inclination to do so if it gets at all difficult. I can't honestly see "them" sending their staff anywhere to check and neither can I think the police would wish to get involved in such a time consuming exercise. I suspect they use mobile phone numbers and give up pretty quickly if they have trouble getting an answer - imagine the resources required to do anything more. The whole thing can only be trust based, surely? At best, I think if anyone was caught being a one man infection machine, the fact they'd not isolated after travel would count against them. Maybe someone does actually know how this works but, for me at least, the messages all went a bit Pete Tong when Dominic Cummings driving to Barnard Castle so as to find out if he could do it safely when concerned about his eyesight turned out not only to not be a traffic offence, but also to be a sensible interpretation of the lock-down rules. I don't think I'm alone in this.

Common boys at a prep school! Good heavens, what is the world coming to? People will be voting labour next. ?

Wait till you hear CaRT use the phrase "World Beating Canal System". Then you'll know it is doomed. ?

Perhaps a sticky at the top of boat building and maintenance might help? What sort of questions you might be asked and why we ask them. Why boats are not like cars and why we need to know what the boat builders granddad's inside leg measurement was before we can offer practical help. Trouble is, novice boaters are often in a bit of a state with an apparently dead engine, or whatever, so may not read, or take in stuff like this. Better than nothing though. Maybe a title like "Advice for New Posters on Asking About Techy Problems". Jen

And 48 years ago

It is not just / only / maybe that folks can't express themselves but a lack of knowledge about what a narrowboat is. That is a car has a mahe and model and from that it'e relatively easy to find out what components are in it. Not so with narrowboats; any hull by any fabricator with any fittings any engine gearbox propshaft I'll stop at that Thus when a novice comes on to ask a question he/she is blissfully unaware of the permutations and combinations - and not unreasonably assumes 'we' are taking (whatever) Similarly it may be their first foray into forums - especially technical ones - hence they get 'upset' when we throw questions back at them. If they don't reply methinks because they haven't any idea where to find the information. There isn't an easy solution - important mebe that WE don't throw our toys out in return. Thoughts??

Indeed - we use a twin tub - less that 1/10th of the 'leccy' needed, does a more than adequate job, and, gets them drier than the automatic does. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-TWIN-TUB-PORTABLE-230V-WASHING-MACHINE-OUTDOOR-GARDEN-CAMPING-SPIN-DRYER-3-6/361505902858?

As the volockie said to me "do you mind passing him in the pound" and was right put out when I replied "We will be here all day if I don't" Told the misses I was a smart ass.

Your news could only have been better if the vole had been wearing a mink coat.

Me nether, I only believe Facebook

No attribution intended. I had difficulty in pasting the pic and omitted to delete you in the process.

They are below the 5 year average however the question is how much lower would they have been without Covid.

I am but I don't play it on the boat unless I'm in a secluded spot! I do have quieter instruments to amuse myself with (and a mute for the trombone). And in response to another post, yes, Blakemere is a lovely spot. And where I am now, no engines or gennies are running and I'm back to liking boating again...

There’s a few boaters around that area with dubious boats that have been a pain to CaRT for years, often seen by Sainsbury’s or the County Hall, if one of those I doubt they can pay, if you boat that area you will know what I mean.

Is that why that chap on another thread runs two at a time as most opportunistic thieves won't know which one to take!

Take these antidepressants for the rest of your life and never darken my doorstep again

Multi coloured dogs are more expensive to paint, what with the masking and extra drying time. ?

Shame. Apparently, there is something big and heavy, no one knows what it is yet, jammed behind one of the lock gates on the flight, so skinny boats only till it can be removed. A six year guarantee on grass cutting not growing back would be a good one ? Naplalm the lock landings, then sow them with salt?

That's a left hand alternator. The picture with the arrow shows anti clock rotation and yes I have found an alternator I can rescue an omnidirectional fan from. If it's really impossible to fit a larger pulley I can reconfigure the alternator for slow speed. This has a cost in lost high speed performance but you are never going to get that anyway. If the op would like to drop me a pm I can get an alternator trade price, modify it, fit fan and pulley and supply it ready to bolt on.

I felt sorry for him, he seems to be in need of help, not nice being stuck on a boat with a broken engine. His physical problems will not help any mental problem he may have.

Seconded. Call ahead for a service wash, was cheap as chips.

Nobody did (in this thread). A little frustration maybe that the OP didn’t respond with any answers to his question. It’s not like he hadn’t looked at the thread as he demonstrated with his singularly unhelpful response of “Neither of those” when asked what colour his engine was.

Well done, we’ve all had to do it, and it’s a pain.

I have yet to hear of a generator, even the class leading (and expensive) Honda ones, that your neighbours will enjoy. Also, do heed earlier advice about storing and using petrol and make sure you understand where the fuel vapour might end up. There are solutions which do not involve the power demands of a modern washing machine - perhaps start there whilst you build up your knowledge and experience. Battery tools mean you can spread a lower charging load across several hours, rather than have high instantaneous power demand as you work. The conclusions you draw will depend on whether you intend to cruise or stay put.

Keep your engine. A good big speaker in the right enclosure. Grunty amplifier, and suitable recordings, You could have a Bolinder one day, a Kelvin the next. All without the fumes and maintenance headaches.

In this weather? Poor thing would have gone down with heat stroke. ?

Not as long as they would have been if she hadn't asked at all!

As Matty says its not so black and white. In general the system is better than it was when I moved aboard 31 years ago. We bought our first boat in Coventry and there were more cars, sofas and rubbish in the canal than water. Last time we did the K and A two summers ago it was much the same as it was when we first used it in the early nineties. We have had breaches and lock gate failures etc etc during this time as we always have. Much of the system is now easier to use now with the instalation of girlie electric lifte bridges etc although of course this does mean they fail more often. The system is now even older than it was so more failures are to be expected however good the maintenance. Like us humans things get harder to repair as we get older. I am a glass half full bloke so dont look to moan at stuff all the time and am happy enough with how things are at present.

If you cannot even answer questions to aid people trying to help you, maybe you are making the right choice. My car is a Ford and it won't start - what's wrong with it ? Do you see the similarity ?

i had same problem with my nanni engine , i just brought a kubota engine from a lawnmower and swapped the marine bits on to it.. cost me £250 for engine and £100 for gaskets etc...

And how much does it cost for someone to respond to them, maybe wasting some of the limited funds available that could be better spent on dredging or repairing a bit of infrastructure.

No, but there is no need to push your luck by repeating it out of context and unnecessarily. It is not clever to cause offence by being vulgar. I am well versed in old English and Anglo Saxon but there is a simple reason why it fell out of polite use. Its called civilisation. Sorted the quote for you, because I could.

I have tracked down the original article published by the C&RT and it confirms their impression that 'composting' toilets are becoming increasingly popular and that in response they are thinking of introducing 'poo' bins. In the mean time however, they require that the solids from composting toilets, composted or otherwise are double bagged and put in their domestic waste bins. This is the extract as written: "As the waste from a composting toilet may not have enough time to decompose sufficiently on board the boat before it needs emptying, this waste will still need to be disposed at anElsan/sanitary station. With the increasing popularity of composting toilets, we are hoping to pilot a facility for solid waste from composting loos as part of the London Mooring Strategy but in the meantime liquids go into the Elsan unit and solids should be bagged in a nappy bag and placed in the domestic waste bins." There are so many advantages to composting/dessicating toilets both to the boat owner and to the C&RT and of course to the Environment Agency, that of course it will catch on. We conserve water by locking lock gates at 4pm and sharing locks where possible, but we are happy to flush hundreds of litres of precious drinking water down the toilet every week.