Leaderboard

Mike, you are in luck!! B and Q are open this morning and do indeed sell Dulux paint, this means you have time to purchase some and watch it dry this afternoon as that would be far more interesting than the cricket...................any bloomin cricket!!

A couple of years ago SWMBO was walking the dog along the towpath, he is a young terrier and full of the need to kill anything that is small and fluffy. Because he pulls on the lead like a demented husky we use a “Halti” which is a head restraint, it goes over his head and around his snout so that when he pulls on the lead we can turn his head to take his focus off of what he is currently obsessing over. As the Mrs passed a moored boat a woman exited it and started shouting “take that off him right now it’s cruel” and other words to that effect. Slightly taken aback my better half tried to explain what a halti is and what it is for. This fell on deaf ears as she had decided it was cruel and no amount of logic was going to sway her idiotic ideals. The Mrs gave up and carried on walking, I witnessed all this as I was cruising along behind her. When I drew level with the moored boat the woman asked if I was with her, I said I was and I was then subject to her abusive displeasure. Knowing full well the futility of using logic to explain anything to the obsessively opinionated (having dealt on many occasions with Jehovah’s witnesses at my door) I simply told her to F*** off and carried on my merry way. Not very diplomatic I know but I have reach the age where I just don’t suffer fools

Top ready, and bottom waiting for cement to dry so can paint......and replace the door glass that has been cracked for.....a few years.

Don't tell me:. Kenny?... Alan?....Johnny? Ok, I give up - what did you call it?

Richard certainly has my permission. I will post when I know more - although with considerably less technical detail - and hopefully it will be a cruise off into the sunset with closing credits ?

Cleaned ready for varnish.

Winter cruising is the answer ?

I tried using a longbow against a bluebottle once ... Didn't end well for the boat but the fly survived!

CaRT Social Media/PR snowflakes that sit in an office promoting the canals for runners/cyclists/fitness etc and never actually visit them need to realise some of the towpaths aren’t suitable for these activities. People need to see the canals in a true light and not through CaRT corporate produced videos and advertising.

But beware, use of Poundland toilet paper can often allow you "to feel the inner man".

It isn't. I unplug it and put it back in the drawer and then turn the power off before I leave.

Great Yarmouth's Venetian Waterway. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/17/new-life-flows-into-great-yarmouth-as-waterways-reopen

Blacking up to gunnels. Painting gunnels with paint is a daft modern concept to catch the unwary at boat shows like Crick.

I recently looked for a bottle fridge, one to hold about 12 wine and juice bottles. Those around the £90 mark were all peltier type. I did get a compressor one for £150 which works well and keeps the bottles at 6 degrees.

The huge problem being that many controllers’ judgment in this matter is flawed.

Used the Coal Cage for the first timelast night. Works very well for controlling a small fire to take the chill out. Once filled and lit it burned steadily on low all evening without the need to constantly add coal, only had to top it up once, (half dozen or so ovals). Need to now wait until later in the year to see how it performs when more output is required, but so far so good for the chilly autumnal evenings.

winter house dweller here - heating on!?

Webasto has been on each morning for an hour for the last few days, its on now as its below 15 degrees in the cabin. I dont do, cold I leave that to house dwellers. Twas on for two hours last evening also. Not cold enough for the stove yet but this is ideal august weather for the secondary heating.

@RLWP knows his stuff and hopefully (with your permission of course) he can update us with the engine’s progress. We all like to read stories with happy endings

As an experienced businessman until I retired / ran away after the 2008 crash. a business plan, many, many drafts long, has already been drawn up, dis-guarded and drawn up again. I know these two boats very well and Wessex has always been an intriguing model because to the inexperienced .... bing bing bong $ signs !! However it comes at a heavy price in regard of man hours. dealing with 6 guests with just two crew and with one of them having to be exclusively below deck as a cook, maid and bottle washer. That can certainly lead to fatigue and " f*** the money, I want a life" It's also an inflexible design. 5 Star or nothing. The standard of build is very high of course ( in both boats ) BUT ...................................... So my background is the Navy (Engineer) and proud Diesel Submariner. I am certainly used to the minimalist shipboard life style together with 16 years in HK, where we tend to live in small boxes and have multi use designs for living, as the norm. IKEA does MASSIVE business here! I know that Wessex cost around 300K to put together. The original owner stated that in the TV program ( seen on YouTube!!) about the boat. I thought that extremely high at the time but I guess he must have used Harrods to fit out the boat. I still think that the prices they want are optimistic in the present climate. I have expected with the loss of 2020 as a trading year for some to fall by the wayside but have to confess and be surprised Wessex is up for sale. Maybe the present owners are leveraged or more than likely the layoff has revealed to them the wonders of "having a real life." Kailani only utilises just over half the people nights of Wessex for the same crew in the same areas for the same prices. it's published 2021 bookings are only running at 47% occupancy and want more than Wessex. NOT a good buy !! Wessex wants you to see their turnover indicating 80% occupancy and it is a popular boat but their NET seems not to include their wages so ................ Even on those figures you have to calculate ( after taking your own wage out ) a 5 year plan to recover the investment. If that's ok for you then fill your boots but a new build would do it in two. Kailani is a design full of wasted profit space. A very traditional and boring layout. Going to be a difficult sale to anyone with a decent accountant. We have a flexible plan - 1) It's a cash buy and our home. No financing, no leverage, no licensing. Guests are calculated as extra income, not essential to survive. Thank the HK property market for allowing us complete financial security for the rest of our lives. 2) We can utilise our daughter as a steward as her school work allows ( paid of course ) OR / AND we priced in a paid and accommodated extra staff member (for weekdays.) Less profit yes but a better work life. 3) A contemporary hull design with unique features that " bring the outside ... in," without having to build a Wessex like roof platform. This is why we chose our builder who has built non trad before. 4) VERY flexible accommodation with each guest having the CHOICE of a double (King ) OR two singles BUILT IN and .. en-suite bathrooms ala Wessex. Oh and it converts into your own private lounge. How do we do it? Magic and 16 years in HK designing furniture solutions as a hobby. 5) The double single allows us to carry (up to ) 6 students for language learning / Art classes or other things we might dream up. inc walking holidays or city adventures with the boat as the base. We will be sluts for money and have a ready made market from Asia with families wanting to send kids to schools and uni. What better way to discover these than on your own private boat. Oh, we have over a 1000 enquirers so far just from HK as my wife has a massive book of social clients. So you might see from these highlights, we have thought it through. Even down to meal planning!

Huggles. Wine not beer in hand., Thank you xxx

Not the same boat, horse or lady. Might have known you'd bring gender anguish into it. Again, not the same horse boat.

But think of all that water that was saved by only half of the flight being used.

This day 2015 en route to the shipyard at Pont de Vaux, Belgium, for maintenance. Top one is 0645hrs in the ascenseur at Strépy-Thieu which lifts boats of 112m x 12m up 73m in 7 minutes, by-passing the old canal with 2 locks and 2 small Anderton-style lifts taking ships 40m x 5.05m. At the top of the ascenseur, 0720hrs and the rapidly changing light, at 0725: Tam

I have.

Off topic but might raise a smile. On visiting a local marina shop: Me: Have you got any smokeless coal please? Him: Why on earth would you want coal in this weather! Me: Your coal is usually wet as you store it outside, so I want to put an opened bag under my cratch cover to dry out for use when it gets chilly. Him: Oh I see. Me: So just the one bag please. Him: We haven't got any in stock.

A life ban for disagreeing with some people? I'm sorry but a number of people in this thread have been as rude, if not ruder than me. I was just more concise and to the point.

You're just making stuff up now. It's a bit sad really. I said that I would travel up the severn with a friend who has been doing that journey for years. I also said that I would use a pilot if going from Sharpness to Bristol.

I really didn't ask you

But this poster did ask a very specific question to which you made no attempt to answer (presumably because you know nothing of CCing the G&S). Yet you are now annoyed that they didn’t disclose information that is irrelevant to their question and pertinent only to your agenda, as if you have some sort of entitlement to such information. Members still have a right to privacy. JP