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Please refrain from posting fotos of proper boats ont forum. Most of us have to suffer a narrowboat!!

The marina has had the 'lift out crane' booked for many months little knowing that Welsh Lockdown would start at 6pm. We managed to get out about 11am so have had the rest of the day to drain down, clean, scrub the bottom, vac-pack bedding and generally Winterise her. There are still some boats being lifted, hopefully they get done before the deadline. The Marina has been told to close at 6pm, all shoreside facilities are to be locked and all 'Electronic access fobs' to be deactivated. Lockdown until November 9th. You begin to realise that she is 'quite a big girl' when you see her out of the water & alongside people. Crane weighed her at 12.2 tonnes (but that does include 2000+ litres of fuel and the lift chains) Less than 2 feet between boats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GRP Glass Reinforced Paper ?

I have never understood why an already existing organisation that has contacts in Government and the EU policy makers is by Rotal Assent, and, already represents ALL branches of boating (including Canals, and runs canal based training courses) is frowned upon by the inland waterway users - maybe it is the name. Royal Yachting Association. https://www.rya.org.uk/courses-training/courses/inland-waterways/Pages/hub.aspx They have done more to stand up against European governments re Red Diesel than any canal organisation.

And there lies the problem. Divide and rule. What is needed sded is one proactive organisation that represents ALL boaters.

I find this is getting more common, with some having 2 lights at the front!! Like you, I struggle with the oncoming boat, using umbrella or hat visor to protect eyes. I have now started to keep a large LED work light at the back with me, if I really struggle, I direct it at the other boat and turn it on just before the boats meet.....usually to shouts and complaints as they lose their vision. As we pass, I explain that I have had just that for the whole duration of them coming towards me.

Can't see its anything whatever to do with being LEDs. Doesn't matter whether they are tungsten, halogen, fluorescent, sodium or anything else. They are all just as dazzling if they are too bright and poorly angled.

Nah, oil drip stoves are great when properly set up. Clean, no heavy bags of coal to lug about and only need cleaning every 500 hours of running. About the same cost to run as a coal stove at current prices. Oh and controllable too (added later). The main issue is finding out how to look after them properly.

John Harker Ltd https://www.severntales.co.uk/severn-bridge-disaster.html

The backboiler model has firebricks at the sides only. The bricks protect the side panels from the direct heat of a large fire so I would replace the broken firebrick but the urgency depends on how hard you fire the stove and how big the chunk is. You might be able to make a temporary repair by sticking the broken firebrick together with fire cement. N

Pedant warning. In that case the page hasn't been left blank.

Much easier (and cheaper) to blank off the holes than to completely dismantle in order to swap the back panel. Use big penny washers (repair washers) inside and out for each hole, and seal them in with Envirograf high temp sealant. Put the nuts on the outside in case you need to refit a boiler sometime. N

I wonder why they think Rugby is on the Grand Union. Anyway fast forward 43 years not much has changed. This is my solar electric canoe and yes it does run off the sun and do 2.5mph It's a 17ft long GRP former training rowing boat. £25 on eBay was a bit of a steal I have to admit !! Next plan is to put a second 80w panel over where my legs are with a gas strut so it can be opened up to get it and out and when closed it will protect ankles from sunburn. Also a handy picnic / beer table. 160w on there should improve the range to run all day on one 20ah LFP battery. At least that is the general plan. It's just a single hull vessel so takes very little power to push it. I put a 28lb thrust minn Kota pod on it with a 8x6 RC aircraft propeller.

I'm currently moored in West Yorkshire (Level 2?) but 100 yds from the Lancashire (level 3) border, though I believe that bit of Lancashire is actually greater Manchester (level 3). I think I'm strictly in the Calder Valley (Level 2) but the postcode is Oldham (Level 3). A small dog walk can involve several border crossings. Took the dog out for her late wee tonight and met a sheep on the towpath making a dash from level 3 to level 2. ................Dave

Close I’m stern bathroom bedroom kitchen living room now Maps are in already, district line as I used to live at Turnham Green. All parts of bathroom purchased no trains missing parts

To be fair that's not silly - it's like pages in formal documents saying "This page intentionally left blank".

may I propose Justin, the Vagabond, Churchie and the WC. they are all opinionated and clearly ready to dictate but I'm not quite sure about the benevolence factor in the cases of more than one of them.

Passed a Ferrari in my 2CV uphill in the snow one winter. It was soooo good.

And a lot of people repeatedly trot out the tired anti-green tropes about "what about the carbon footprint and cost of mining all that lithium and making all those batteries and building all those windfarms and making all those solar panels?" while carefully ignoring the point that Oddjob made, which is that lifetime footprint including all manufacturing and recycling/disposal costs is what matters -- and when this is done, all these renewable-based solutions (batteries, windfarms) come out way ahead of fossil-fuel transport or power generation. Incidentally I believe the same is true for carbon-fiber planes like the 787 -- it does take a lot of energy to make the materials and they're difficult to recycle, but this is far outweighed by fuel (CO2) saved over the life of the plane from the weight saving because planes use a *vast* amount of fuel and lighter planes use less... Always check the numbers, "common sense" and intuition is very often wrong ?

Please check stoppages. Salters Lode is closed this week, opening on 24th, and then the Nene stoppages start on November 1st. I will be in Ely on Wednesday 21st if you want a chat about anything!

As a relatively (these days anyway) rule respecting good boater, I can't say I've ever been worried about any daft rules CRt or BW before them impose. I didn't when I lived on a leisure mooring, either. In practice, I don't think the bulk of these changes will affect anyone who boats with a bit of consideration. And I still think the oddest changes are down to their seemingly endless hassle with young Dunkley, ex of this parish.

To stop all the confusion why the hell do they call them "pram" hoods, when the thing they are fitted to is the stern of a narrowboat. Let's call them "stern" hoods eh!!!