Leaderboard

Torksey in the 1960s and, I believe, in 1939.

Castlefields etc in the 1960s. Gloomsville indeed.

The clue is in the name, morons. https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/bridge-quay-residents-blast-council-for-moving-barge-outside-their-homes/?fbclid=IwAR0lW6fz1AnsI86HYlbLZtGL7UKZevx1LW6AMLl6qmHd0fXJWzANz8WQyrw

I have a 1600 watt inverter and have, this summer for the first time since fitting the panels, run the immersion from the solar panels (same output as you have). On a good day the panels gave me 40 amps and the inverter was taking 110 amps to run the boat and immersion. I have 6 x 110Ah batteries on the domestic set up and so I believe that the required 70 amps from 6 batteries acceptable in the short term. I ran the immersion for 30 minutes at a time with at least 1 hour recharge time after that. If all was well I would repeat. For a 50 ltr calorifier I found that 90 minutes of immersion time gave a tank full at 60 degrees C from a start of ambient about 16 deg C

Forgive me butting in here - I'm new to the forum - but I'd be interested in your views. I have about £50k to spend on a used narrowboat. Not an inconsiderable amount of money I think most would agree. However, some of the brokerages I've been in touch with or seen on the internet seem to have an attitude towards customer service on a par with a poke in eye the sharp stick. Also, many of the boats I've seen don't even appear to be readied for sale with even just a quick tidy up and removal of 4 inches of water out of the engine bilge! Same with marinas I've contacted who seem to say 'yeah we've space, cost you a lot though and we're not really bothered if you take it or not. Oh and by the way that's just the basic cost. We also charge for extras like the air that you breathe and the jetty you walk on'! Am I missing something here? Are narrowboats some sort of massive inconvenience to marinas and brokerages? Is there really that much of seller's market they can afford to be offhand, incompetent or rude? Actually, when I do buy my boat (and I have my eye on a few) I do know where I'm going to moor it. A new marina, architect designed, in the south midlands, close to two junctions not far from a prison. They called me, emailed me and were extremely pleasant. That's where I'm going even if it does cost a little more than others. I'm not even bothered if there's a prison break - they'll probably be nicer and less crooked that some of the boat businesses I've come across! JRT

At the 'request' of Associated British Ports (ABP) Farndale H now has a combined plotter and AIS fitted so we can now keep track of her on the tidal river section of her voyage: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:-1.4/centery:53.6/zoom:11. Her last position shows up on 23rd November just shy of Trent Falls on her way loaded to Leeds. As there are no AIS receivers along the canal section she will only show up in the river. She is due another run this week so should be away from Goole between 07.00 & 08.00 tomorrow with the tide, which means she can make Hull in under three hours. Ten loads have so far been delivered into Leeds and there is talk of CRT moving funds to cover dredging from next year's budget into this. The river section below Lemonroyd Lock is still a problem, even with several inches of fresh on the Aire and the canal section around the Thwaite Mills Museum (amongst others) is a nightmare, testing the skipper's skills to the utmost. Once the dredging is undertaken (and the surveys are now all complete) 500+ ton loads should become the norm rather the current light loads of 350 tons.

I occasionally suffer from phantosmia. I have a very poor sense of smell but sometimes I can smell burnt toast or roasted coffee beans when there's nothing there. .............................. the good side is that neither of my dogs smell at all

Lisa, When people post a question like yours, it is quite usual for some people to inflate minor issues into major issues, because they "might be", (and they "might" be right). If it "needs" overplating now, it actually "needed" overplating when it was built, and it's amazing that it is still floating a quarter of a century later. This looks like a boat that was built with a 6mm bottom and 5mm sides, and there is up to a millimetre less metal in some areas than when it was built. Having said that, he also says that the initial thicknesses were nominal, so it may actually have been thinner than 6mm and 5mm when built. The surveyors recommendations are that the boat be washed, rubbed down at the waterline to remove the rust, and blacked. There may be more recommendations on the next page but, the fact that you haven't posted it suggests not. Had the surveyor been concerned about the thicknesses and pitting, he would have recommended more. There might be some major rust behind the rubbing strakes, but there might not be. In the picture posted by matty, the rust is obvious below the strake. So.... overall, quite a good survey where a few things might warrant closer looking at, but nothing to put you off. My caveats would be: 1) The bit of the date we can see on the survey looks like it is not recent, and is not your own survey... it also seems quite sparse, so I would assume that there are several ore pages with more detail? You shouldn't buy the boat without having your own survey. When was the survey carried out? 2) There have been some people who have had difficulty getting insurance on boats with thinner hulls, so it is probable that people will be wary of thinner hulls. There is also a strong chance that buyers who ask questions in canal boat forums will be steered away from thinner hulls, even if they are likely to last 75 years or so before needing any real attention . Thus, you might want to be ultra careful and avoid boats that started with thinner hulls. Mine was 10mm base, 6mm sides, 4mm top. It would be interesting to hear from owners here with "thin hulled" Springers and the like, and their experiences of insurance?

Pick your professional with care. At this stage, I expect most professional boat electricians know less than the most knowledgable boaters who have fitted them. A bit like asking an 18th century universtiy trained medical doctor for advice on an illness. The best you could hope for is that they wouldn't make you any worse!

We attempted Salters Lode and failed badly at 3.5m. I contacted the ML to enquire as to the width and they said that they didn't actually know, but to try it and see (good old UK Navigation Authority!). We would have fitted into the chamber OK but they have nailed a load of huge lorry tyres to the downstream fender - probably to stop narrowboats crashing into it. These tyres made the angle too tight for us - so we were jammed into the mouth of the lock on a falling tide - excellent stuff. Managed to reverse out after a bit of stress, and then went around The Wash - which IMO is a lot less stressful (as long as the weathers right). I had a look at the corner at Upwell and thought it would be tight but wouldn't cause us a problem - however there are some very low bridges which might have done. Maybe explore the ML from Peterborough by all means - but be prepared for a bit of reversing, and don't attempt Salters Lode unless they've moved those tyres.

Nothing in that survey says it would be uninsurable fully comp, however, if the survey is several years old, things may have got worse since then. It also doesnt read as needing complete overplating. One of the worst areas for corrosion could be under the rubbing strakes, never dries out completely so the rust just eats away.

@Ally is not that old!

I know only too well. When we got our first boat we were in Fettler's Wharf for a few years. But having to take 2.5 hours each way to get to the main line every time we wanted to go somewhere got too much after a while so we moved when Scarisbrick opened.

This is why boaters with elderly pumpout systems still think they are a good idea ...

Get a grip!!

he has grown into a lovely adult. have you tried letting his eyebrows and beard grow?

Staffies...Will take the shortest path between point A and point B,does not matter what is in the way!!...Friend of mine had one that hated water.She rolled in fox poo,so he put harness on her and held her in the shower tray.His girlfriend turned the shower on,and the dog went from sitting in the shower tray,straight through a stud wall and into the bedroom!!?...I was witness to the whole event!!

Indeed, Staffies are lovely natured dogs when brought up properly. When a dog is the correct weight you should be able to: 1. Feel its ribs but net see them 2. See a discernable narrowing of its waist when viewed from directly above, and, 3. See a discernable "tummy tuck" where the stomach rises to meet the back legs, just after the rib cage. If you cannot meet all three criteria then the dog is overweight. It is so easy to check but the majority of dogs you see fail on at least one point.

A broker is marketing and maybe accompanying viewings on the sellers boat.....not providing a cleaning service...although that can be offered at a cost. If the seller cannot be arsed cleaning the boat or moving rubbish/personal possessions, then this gives the potential buyer far more information about the boats care and maintenance regime than something sanitised by a contract cleaner.

I'd echo what Alan has said about Kings Marina. A nice place to stay and all facilities nearby.

He is beautiful though. Always loved Alsatian/GSD. Ma & Pa always had them. Being publicans they were the right dog to have. As some will know, I also love Staffies and now have two JRTs. Only got them in the hope of tripping up MrSmelly when he came onboard.

If I still had the boat I would be seriously looking at LiFePo4 batteries. Actual to be more specific I would be looking far deeper into the charge control. Lead acids also have voltage constraints and the charging system AND user training in the main have conspired to produce a simple system. Try charging any lead acid at 15 volts for months on end, specially if you do not top them up or regularly discharge to 11 volts and see how long they last and how reliable they are. Once you get the maximum and minimum states of charge control sorted (so just like lead acids in resect of control limits but not the same values) you are left with cell balancing and as Dr B and Peterboat have confirmed its not really an issue if you set very conservative maximum and minimum charge values. Even if you must wring the maximum capacity out of lithiums, as said, there are automatic cell balancing solutions available. to a degree I would suggest this "extra" protection is analogous to the gizmos that are added to LA charging systems to allegedly get them fully charged fatser. The major advantage as I see it is that lithiums will be very happy to take the maximum charge you can throw at them as long as the charge control systems allows them to. Suddenly your 90 amp alternator becomes a true 90 amp alternator rather than perhaps a 20 to 30 amp alternator taken over the charging to full period for lead acids. This is arguably no advantage while you are on a shoreline but its a distinct advantage when out cruising or when relying upon solar. The disadvantage as I see it is simply the cost and the danger that taking the cheaper route with second hand batteries MIGHT leave you with very expensive duff cells. Again, as I understand it at present , the majority of today's solar controllers might not be a very good match for lithiums in that they may drop to a float voltage too early and thus minimise the advantage lithiums have for fast charging but I think that is solvable with expensive controllers.

Certainly size-wise small(ish) fits in a boat better and is less likely to be 'under your feet' all the time. Pugs - I have found that being brachycephalic means that they (never say never) cannot swim. We found this when Dudley stepped off the side following SWMBO and, him having short legs didn't quite reach the towpath. His back end sunk, he went 'vertical' and slowly slipped down into the canal - no struggling or wriggling just a "Titanic" type moment. (Got him back by reaching down under the water and grabbing his collar). Next purchase was a lifejacket. French Bulldogs get very sea sick in force 6-7 winds and 8 foot high waves.

Thank you all. That's about the first unanimous opinion I've ever seen on here!!?

Heavily raining. Started engine, fitted tiller extension, ran up to untie front end, ran back to let go back rope, pushed back end out before stepping onto counter. So far ok. About to select astern to reverse out from mooring when I spotted cat smiling at me from towpath. Swore, leapt ashore, scooped up cat, ran to the front end as back had drifted too far for further heroic straddling. Climbed onto gunnel and edged my way back with struggling cat. Employed one free hand to alternatively fumble for hand rail, and then wipe the blood out of my eyes inflicted by cat enthusiastically wind milling his razor sharp scythes at me. Due to restricted eye sight and concentrating on restricting the squirming cat who was displaying not only a deep hatred for me but also a remarkable similarity to a dozen eels, I reached the engine 'ole where the hand rail finishes. Imagine my blind (literally) panic when I realised I was holding on to nothing. I reached out frantically to clutch onto a handhold and with short lived glee encountered boat pole. Couple walking by on towpath applauded my skills at tightrope'ish, cat juggling and enquired if there would be an encore? Laughing heartily through gritted teeth I achieved the counter while alternatively waving cat and then boat pole above my head, thus equilibrium was maintained. I peeled the cat off me like Velcro and unceremoniously projected him towards his bed opposite the stove ......... in which was casually watching me, our own cat. Upon arrival of the doppelgänger levels of activity and noise were accelerated to levels mere imagination would never have anticipated. After about 2 minutes of identical cats screaming at each other and bouncing of hanging plates I stopped in a bridge hole and ordered one of them to go ashore toot sweet and without ceremony. I never knew which one it was that slinked off without a backward glance, but the one that remained glowered at me all the way to Hemel Hempstead.

Exactly! Do you know what the barge is? It looks like the 'Clinton' that we bought in 1980 from the Nene Barge & Lighter Co. for our grain job on the Thames - seen here on the hard at Isleworth along with Argo's little Dutch barge 'Annie' for a quick bit of blacking. We did put a bigger wheelbox on to pamper our crew - not flash enough to merit the term wheelhouse. It was originally teak, but the late John Duddington decided erroneously he would get through Black Boys Bridge just before the mill without bothering to drop it! The bridge was just 1/2" lower than the wheelbox - we were severely displeased, and our partner Tim knocked up a quick ply replacement just in time for the next load. Tam