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Thanks for posting those photos, it shows clearly what a state the creek was in. Many have forgotten or have never known what state many of our waterways had got into and but for the efforts of canal societies, WRG, IWA and local people who passionately cared many would not be there for today’s boaters.

Not their best video but still very entertaining. Thought it may be of interest to some given the canal link, and I suspect some will unfortunately be very upset by the potential damage being done through the 'miss-use' of the infrastructure.

Top paddle jammed in raised position at Lock 5 Atherstone yesterday. Two CaRT staff attended promptly, unable to free "down the hole" Pound trained, waders donned and the whole lot done with no more than a couple of hours downtime.

An example

I very much disagree with the bit in red because any multi-stage charger available in the UK and I strongly suspect the USA have a very nasty habit of dropping to float too early so users think the batteries are fully charged when they are not. This leads to ever an increasing degree of sulphation in the hands of the vast majority of boaters. The only people can use a three stage charger to fully charge their batteries are those that recognise this so turn the charger off for a short while and then back on again when it drops to float. They may have to do this several times per charge cycle to reach fully charged. Also a soon as the charger has dropped to float the charging current (amps) is no longer any use is implying when fully charged. The blue part - a complete misunderstanding of the situation as explained below. The charger is just supplying the maximum current it is capable of. It has nothing to do with overheating the batteries. As long as you do not exceed the batteries maximum charging voltage they will not overheat and during bulk where the batteries are drawing all the current the charger can provide the charger design reduces the current. Now the part in green - more misinformation. When a charger of ANY sort that has voltage regulation goes into the absorption stage it has nothing to do with detecting the voltage. That was set within the design of the charger. I suggest you really study what our other Tony explained. An alternator or battery charger is going to have its charging voltage dragged down as the charging current rises. All the bulk phase means is the charging current is so high (because the batteries are well discharged) the charging voltage has been dragged down to below the accepted safe and thus regulated charging voltage. As the batteries charge their apparent resistance to the charging current rises so the charging current falls and thus the charging voltage rises. The voltage keeps rising until it more or less reaches the designed maximum so voltage regulation starts to take place. Once this happens you are into the absorption phase that may take well in excess of 10 hours to get the batteries fully charged. You note there is no detecting of voltage. Its just when the charging current has fallen enough to allow the charging voltage to reach the regulated voltage designed into the machine. A three stage charger may well TIME the bulk charge phase (that is the time it takes to go from being turned on until voltage regulation starts) and then uses that time to guess the time needed in absorption which is all too often too short and thus damaging to the batteries. If you do not believe me turn the charger off as soon a sit drops to float and run the engine at charging speed - see how long t takes for the charging current at 14.4V+ to drop to about 1% of battery capacity. Float charge is just an automatic resetting to the voltage regulator to a lower value such that in theory allows for a charging current to just about keep pace with self discharge and I have never seen a float voltage of 13.2V, more typically its around 13.6 volts. Again I can't see the values in the USA being much different. The other Tony wrote the piece in response to endless instances on here related to battery problems that mainly result from a complete lack of knowledge about batteries and charging. This is not helped by battery monitor makers supplying designs that unless operated by someone who understands all this and adjusts/regularly resynchronises then tell blatant lies and encourages boaters to destroy their batteries. The only way to get the batteries fully charged and minimise sulphation is to understand all that Tony wrote and act accordingly. My advice to others is to ignore your post and study Tony's very valuable piece - then ask for further information/clarification on here. Three stage chargers are good but far from perfect. Thy are very likely to encourage sulphation.

You are doing it the hard way by learning on your own. I regularly boat with folk who have either done more boating than me or boat with different types of boat and I learn how to deal with situations from them all the time despite the fact I first went canal boating over 40 years ago. Anyone familiar with the vagaries of anti-vandal locks probably wouldn’t spend more than 20 seconds bothering with a recalcitrant mechanism and certainly not 20 minutes, particularly if it wasn’t locked on arrival. I wouldn’t class that as a defect from a boater’s perspective. Once you’ve learnt enough tricks you’ll find it much easier. I’m interested as to what I find in the way of maintenance on the way back to my home mooring this autumn. When I left in July I didn’t find note anything untoward heading up the Staffs & Worcs but the further north and then east I went - to Langley Mill and then down to Leicester - the more defective paddles and leaky gates I encountered. The anti-vandal locks on the Erewash are a horrible design and mostly pointless due to their ineffectiveness, I suspect the Chesterfield’s may be the same. I routinely do the 50 locks between Droitwich and the Birmingham level over one or two days with very few issues beyond a few stiff ground paddles, top gates that don’t stay closed and one of the two remaining sets of hydraulic paddle gear that won’t stay in the raised position. Empty pounds aren’t uncommon first thing in the morning but CRT attend at 0800 every morning to resolve. Yes it is slow but if you live on the boat why is that a problem? The rail network is open, it’s only places in local lockdown you can’t go. In all seriousness head for the Midlands once you escape the Chesterfield. If you can’t get on with the canals there it isn’t for you. JP

With regard to diesel and coal...If they are still trading,try "Renaissance in Canal Carrying". Says on my flyer that n.b. "Halsall" covers that area.Tel.07491149149 Email www.fourcountiesfuels.co.uk F.B. Fuel boat Halsall. There is a pub at Ranby!. The system is different across the country,some good some dreadful!!. Good luck.

As it’s hissing with rain been up in the loft. Found a 1973 copy of Mercian and in it a report on Fenatic 1 by Paul King. He doesn’t give the date but I think autumn 1972 he says that about 100 people turned up each day and 30 stayed overnight in Upwell village hall. The junction of Well creek and the Wisbech canal was cleaned out by members of the Middle level waterways club and a new fence was erected to stop illegal tipping. 25 tons of rubbish ,which included hundreds of tyres, motor car parts, two shot guns and the inevitable toilet were cleared from the Creek. By the end the whole 21/2 miles from Marmont priory to the boat basin had been cleared and a start made towards the aqueduct. A further work party was planned for spring 1973. As an aside he says that superb food was supplied by members of the local Women’s Institute. The volunteers came from all over including the R. Stour trust (a great bunch) he says The Wey and Arun were represented as were the Cambridge university canoe club and the Archaeological society. 1973 was the year of the Ely Rally.

Parkour. Invented by crazy French people living in Banlieue. Travelling across an urban environment using the features you find. Limited to young people who are still immortal.

It's not a SUBSIDY it's a TAX FFS

99.9% of all youtube vloggers (not just boating) are pretty bad. They all seem to copy the same approach, staring at the camera while telling you things from a highly personal perspective, interspersed with shots of them doing things, sometimes taken from a drone. All highly unimaginative. It all seems rather pointless and aimless to me. I'd like to see a boating vlog which borrowed the tv idea of a series. Each year could have some kind of overarching narrative. I'd like to see a bit more background thinking, maybe do a bit of proper research and try to inform the viewer a bit about what you're filming. A vague 'I think this canal was built by Telford', doesn't really cut it for me. Most of the canal vlogs I've seen seem to work on the premise of trying to find their own angle. The problem is that this angle is usually pretty thin, along the lines of: "we have a cat", "we are gay", or "I'm obsessed with batteries". Maybe I'm being a bit harsh but these people are trying to make a living doing it. What do I know though? Lots of people follow the popular ones. I suspect viewers are mostly non-boaters who are dreaming... similar to most readers of waterways magazines.

let me tell you a secret... some of these vloggers earn decent money, enough to sustain themselves and do what they like to do. if you want to ask what is there for viewers, well what is there for people to watch a bunch of men kicking a ball around or pretend to be somebody else on camera with an elaborate story and costume? Its upto viewers to decide what they want to see.

LOL the positive votes are because Athy and I both admire your appreciation of our wonderful canal network and thank you for it. There are no negatives (there were once, believe me the rows that led to are the reason they don't exist any more ?) Thank you for your good wishes and I hope you get the chance to have your canal holiday in the not too distant future. Stay safe x PS I also award positive votes to folks that make me laugh out loud. Just saying.

Nine years ago today, my first trip on the Waverley. We embarked at Southend pier, it having started from Tower Pier that morning. Our trip took us to just beyond Tower Bridge, calling at Tilbury on both legs, but not at Tower Pier. Instead we sat in mid-stream between HMS Belfast and The Tower until we were turned by a tug for the return trip. Fine weather and The Thames was like a mill pond.

On this day in 2004 Fradley Junction T&M. And So To Bed.

Completely barking, have you seen these nutters.

On this day in 2015 Rochdale Canal

They should stop cutting back the vegetation full stop. Just think of the savings that could be used for the development of a new Logo - we haven't had one for a couple of years !! We Could even change the name to "Cyclists and Ramblers Trust" (C&RT for short)

Me too - without a pressure washer the non-slip paint requires a lot of scrubbing. As long as the end of the lance isn't too close to the paint it should be fine. I take the approach that if the paint comes off with a bit of light pressure washing then it wasn't stuck on well enough anyway and needs repainting.

I'm not sure what it means to where we can and can't cruise in our boats, but there was a welsh lady politician on the telly t'other evening berating the idea that someone from (insert unpronounceable name of welsh town here) was prevented by law from travelling to (insert another unpronounceable name of welsh town here), whilst someone from (insert name of northern english Covid hotspot here) could quite happily visit either. (I realise that the above is a bit light on detail and doesn't clarify anything, but it's not for me to upstage our Prime Minister.)

I would ask myself if I really needed 3000VA. It is a lot of load on the batteries. The quiescent current is probably higher than a smaller one. I've had a 1800VA Powermaster inverter for the last 13 years. Run everything I needed including a decent vacuum cleaner, a microwave and a lawn mower. Most electric kettles now are 1700W, but then I don't need an electric kettle.

Here are some pictures from the work parties at Well Creek in October 1972. (From the collection of the late Alan Faulkner)

It's always possible it wanted to give up the ghost, but.., if it had been slightly abused, it might have hastened that event.

This is my, if you'll pardon the pun, current solution to the shore lead socket problem. As has been mentioned, the relatively cheap surface mount IP44 sockets can suffer from water ingress. Enough to corrode the internals over time and also to trip out the shore bollard RCD when it pools between the live and earth pins. This will inevitably be on a dark and stormy night. Which way you are mooring has an effect. The socket facing the prevailing wind is worse. Sheltered is better. Settled snow is bad too. Mounting the socket with the receptacle facing upwards suffers less water ingress than the usual facing downwards that many boats have. Some sockets come with a blanking cap that helps prevent water coming in when out cruising and no shore line. In this orientation, the shore line plug (actually a socket) cable entry seal system is important and some are better at preventing water ingress than others. I have filled the cable entry with hot melt glue to help improve the water tightness. These days I have a modified four pint plastic milk carton as a rain shield. (The carton is made of plastic, not the milk, just to clarify). This is cable tied to the cable and shields the whole plug/socket assembly from rain thusly: Jen

Nottingham by night.

He’s the only one worth watching IMO.

As you draw gas out of the bottle, the liquid gas in the bottle boils to form the gas. The energy needed to change the state of the propane from liquid to gas comes from heat which comes from the liquified gas itself ....so the liquid gas cools....so the bottle gets colder. The bottle then is colder than the surrounding air so water vapor in the air can ...and does....condense on the side of the gas bottle. This then runs down the side of the bottle producing a pool of water in the botttom of the locker. Every time you use your gas you will get some degree of condensation. Far more than what you see in your engine bay, in your diesel tank or on your windows.

They may have been boating for a long time ( don't know) but they are certainly not very experienced boaters. If they were experienced she would have shouted down to the skipper immediately she saw water pouring onto the front deck and he should have seen the water coming through the gate and moved the boat back. Instead, she went into panic mode (but still filming!) and he just stood on the back deck completely unaware of the situation. An experienced boater would be watching all the time the boat was in the lock and would instinctively take action. As I said, they may have been boating for a while but there is no way they are experienced boaters. Some people watch and learn quickly and others think they know it all and carry on regardless. Haggis

On Tuesday 22nd Sept. we got to Common Lock on the T&M and found three boats waiting to go down and one in the full lock. The top gate was stuck partly closed because the strap had come off the ground bracket. I suggested that it could be got back on with a bit of ingenuity but the guy with the boat in the lock was objecting because he didn't want to risk the gate falling off with his boat in the lock. One of the other boaters had already phoned CaRT and everyone was prepared for a night stay there. when about an hour later 3 CaRT chaps arrived on foot having walked the 1.5 miles from Fradley. One was carrying a roll of hazard tape so everyone there thought they would just close the lock but they got the collar sorted in 20 mins and everyone was on there way. I think CaRT did an excellent job and don't always deserve the bad press they get,

A boat is chock full of systems, frequently everything that a house has but smaller, more inaccessible, of rare and unusual design and on my boat no professional has had a hand in putting it all together. It also runs on 12 volt with a bit of 240 here and there , the heating is unusual - paraffin - and the engine is nearer the front than the back. Crammed into most boats is an ex automotive or plant engine and coupled to the propeller by a frequently poorly installed gearbox and various couplings. All this is contained in a hull that is impossible to inspect on the inside and not easy to interpret on the outside. Also in this challenging structure is enough gas to destroy a medium sized house, enough amps to melt big chunks of metal and enough diesel to make a very hot thing even hotter. Pity the poor old surveyor who inspects this expensive assemblage and misses a corroded jubilee clip or missing split pin that sinks the whole lot. As MrsM says, check as much as you can and it really is in our own interest to familiarise ourselves with our boats. There, That'll put everybody off buying a boat and make a bit more space on the cut.