Leaderboard

Presumably it's to find out what those with composters do with their product, and what they think they could do in future , so not a lot of point in getting the rest of us to, er, muddy the water. The selection criteria would therefore be correct. (Dead heat with haggis below!)

Babbage is an old girl now, has been a boat cat all her life and regularly plops in the cut when trying to turn round on the gunnels. She never gets her head wet, but always comes in and demands a towel rub in front of the stove.....then spends an hour licking herself dry. We dangle a hessian sack or long cloth off the rear fender for her, most of the time she gets out on the bank though. When out cruising, she will go 50 yards either side of the boat, along with through the hedge. The only place she ever wanders off and leaves us is at Sileby Mill on the Soar, where she goes back to her old kingdom of the abandoned cafe and we have to entice her back before we leave with treats and carrying her away!!

Cats love walking gunwales. Despite their reputation for agility, they are not very good at turning round in place on a narrow ledge, or walking backwards. Most slips from gunwales seem to be the result of them changing their minds part way along and attempting one of the above difficult tricks. When I've had cats on board, I've had a fisherman's landing net on the roof of the boat, ready to scoop a soggy cat out of the drink. As you've found, although they hate water, they can swim really well. The problem is not being able to climb out. Carpet tiles are cheap and can be used as a boarding net that claws work well on. Either hung off the boat, or on to the mooring. Each end and each side. When they get too manky, they can be replaced. When they fall in it is, of course, your fault and they will use you as a towel to get dry. Aside from the water risk, I'd say boat living is safer for a cat than a normal house, as there isn't the road traffic hazard. Road safety, being another cat blind spot. Sometimes a falling cat can seem to bounce off the water, barely getting wet at all. How they manage this I've no idea! Jen

It all depends on the purpose of the survey. If the aim is to find out how many waterless toilets there are on boats and how people dispose of the solids then it is OK to exclude boaters who don't not have a waterless toilet. If on the other hand, the survey is to find out boaters views on how solids should be dealt with the survey is seriously flawed. She does say she is "counting toilets" so I assume the purpose is the former. Haggis Arthur can type faster than me ? (most people can!)

The LNER planned to use the 1500 VDC overhead electrification as used in the Netherlands. Manchester - Sheffield was regarded as a good first step. The plan was to stick with steam for main line services and gradually expand electrification of the network rather than use main line diesel traction which was reliant on imported fuel. The war and subsequent nationalization did not initially bring any great changes and electrification of the Woodhead Route together with the new tunnel went ahead after the war. The change of direction came with the first 'modernisation plan' of 1955 and the subsequent changes to the regional boundaries which placed most of the former GCR network under the the control of its powerful political enemies at Derby. Regarding the question of the nature of the GCR's London Extension and its "Continental Loading Gauge" this was, most definitely, part of the original plan and, although it is true that the 'Berne Gauge' did not exist when the GCR extension was constructed, Watkin's vision was of of a "Continental Loading Gauge" sufficient to enable an exchange of traffic between England and France via a channel tunnel. Also, during planning and construction of the extension, ambitious provision was made for the eventual widening of the formation to quadruple tracks - this is one of the reasons for the island platform design. Additional freight or slow lines could have been added without demolishing the stations. Two world wars and intense opposition thwarted Watkins plans which were well ahead of their time. Unlike the far-sighted Watkin, who planned to do so much by provided Britain's industrial heartland with a direct rail link to Europe, the government that made the transport decisions in the 1950s and 1960s went too far in decimating our essential infrastructure. In my opinion many decisions were driven by the personal bias and greed of Ernest Marples, then Minister of Transport who increased his personal fortune by building motorways and then exiled himself in Monaco to avoid prosecution for tax fraud. Undoubtedly, Marples was a complete rotter but subsequent governments, who could have reversed his decisions, similarly failed to see the way forward. For those who oppose HS2 on environmental grounds just look at satellite image maps and compare the concrete motorways championed by Marples with railways and canals that blend into the environment.

Not as much as me! ? ? ?

Ignore the others, I'll tell you the truth and no mistake: - YES, yes you must. In case you haven't picked up the essentials from watching others, here are the basics ...... a) Don't bother with an external microphone, everyone loves straining their ears attempting to decipher your muffled, soft murmurings. B ) If you aren't just filming on your phone and have bought a rip-off Go-Pro'ish from Wish.com, don't waste money on a wind muff as everyone prefers to hear the reality of you boating in a gale. M) Use terminology like "Driving the barge" and "Parking" at every opportunity. Make sure you pronounce "Winding" as "Winding" and not "Winding" 3) After several months cruising astound everyone at how little you've learnt by needing to be rescued on the tideway when your engine stops. The call out engineer tells you the diesel tank is empty, and then does the same to your wallet. + When there's two of you being filmed, ensure one of you doesn't allow the other to finish what they're saying. Interruption to show up your partner is always popular. - No need to lock the camera off, just wave it around so everyone gets to see as much out off focus background as possible. Finally! Practice your dead flat intonation to match your blinkless stare, and remember there's no need to view it before up loading, It'll be fine!

Good evening all and i hope you are well. I haven't been on for a while. The fight i was having with the Bridgewater Canal Company and Peel Holdings, came to a stalemate. They knew that they were breaking the law. They knew their thieving staff were in the wrong and they knew there was no action they could take against me or any other boater. So they moved the bully off the water to a marina. They reprimanded the bin man and Parkinson. And they took all the nonsense about no return within 28 days off the website. So even though I had no written apology from them. I had at least made them adhere to the law. Although now Richard Parry has given in to their bullying. Or has he another agenda?You might think that, I couldn't possibly comment. The "New" agreement does nothing at all for CRT boaters. And allows Peel to break the law again. His new deal allows 10 days unfettered access, from 7 in the original 1960's agreement. But it restricts return within 28 days. There was no such restriction in the original agreement. And that is the cause of the argument in the first place. The Bridgewater Canal is an access canal. You need to use it to get from east to west and north to south through Manchester. So if you go to Liverpool from Northwich a 2-3 day cruise. You have to stay away for a month before you can go home. If you want to go to Marple from Leigh. Again 2-3 days. You have to stay a month. Not only is it ridiculous it's illegal. The law allows BCC to remove a vessel that has been moored for more than one callander month. But only after they have given 28 days notice. You don't have to book. They can't charge a toll and they can't impound your boat, without giving you 28 days written notice. They have absolutely no legal authority to restrict anyone's use of the waterway. Hence the original agreement. It was a voluntary concession on the part of British Waterways. That agreement in itself was just an agreement. It was not enforceable by either side. What is enforceable is. Bridgewater boats do not use crt water without a licence. And removing the 50% reduction. Did you know that Bridgewater licence holders get a 50% reduction on a CRT licence. So we give them 50% off. And they tell us when we can and when we can't use their waterway!? I'm not a great supporter of Donald Trump. But I can guess what he'd say to that deal! P I have had conversations with Cheshire police. And if you have any trouble with anyone from BCC or Peel Holdings. Phone the police and they will assist you. Do not fall for their lies and fraud. The law is on your side. So just don't book. And if you want to, you can stay up to a month. And you can go back as often as you like after 24 hours. Stay safe, and let's all get back to enjoying the waterways after the past annus horribilis. Hope to see some of you soon.

Ah, yes... https://tenor.com/RaHQ.gif

Another one for @TheBiscuits to cast his eye over and no it's not burned

Does that leave you unhinged?

Its optional but if you choose to do it then you must do it straight away before you have gained any knowledge or experience. Also remember that the blog is not really about boating, its about You and your desire to be a minor celebrity ?. ............Dave

Those that can, do. Those that cannot, teach. Those that cannot teach do Vlogs.

I just remembered something - turns out we double-booked. Going to have to cancel dinner. Sorry! We'll have to rearrange but we're really busy for the next... few years.

Ooo! Errr! It 'aint 'arf getting complicated! I think the best thing I can do is get back on board and carefully make a wiring diagram, if for no better reason than to stop you fellows spoiling your good looks by tearing your hair out. What is worth remembering is that the whole set-up was a very sweet starter, with a much complimented beat and minimal smoke --- until she ran out of fuel --- TWICE . . . Meanwhile I'll get the injector pump off and properly serviced.

You could always go through the motions Alan ............

The other might be to do with making the engine insulated return once running and earth return when starting. It would not surprise me if it's not controlling the start battery negative to engine block. I have seen that configuration on some Lister engine photos.

Substitute SUV with an Audi then!

Thank goodness they've used it at last! Ribble is in Knottingley convalescing after a bottom transplant, and looking forward to returning home when we're all allowed to move about again.

Imperial Service Medal

I hope they're not in Evergreen Marine or The Suez Canal though. Alternatively you might consider a Hedge Fund? However I'm not qualified to give Financial Advice.

Good to see that both Oxford and Cambridge have made it through to the final again ?

EXACTLY!

So you are threatening me! You people are unbelievable. Why do you have to lie. If I come through the bridge at Wallingford I use the center arch. I would be so far away from boats on either side you wouldn't know I was there. There is more to life that you cuckoos popping you head out of the side door and barking orders at people. If you have a problem with my boating take down my Reg No and report me to CRT. Doing anything else is harassment. Go and bully someone else! There is no requirement Tim the rule says slow down. If you drop your speed from 4 to 3mph you have complied with the rule. 1000 rpm on my boat is around about 1.3mph plenty slow enough.

Will everyone living around the Mediterranean please flush their lavatories at 11:59 GMT.

Tx, very useful

There's a lot of assumption made on here that people are just installing dry toilets to somehow 'get out of paying' for disposing of their waste. That may be true in some cases but a lot of boaters are utterly sick of the state of toilet disposal on many parts of the network. My last trip pre-lockdown was from Peterborough to Tring to Liverpool over 4-5 weeks, covering several hundred miles. Our boat has a small Pump-Out tank which lasts 2 weeks at best (often less) with 2 people living aboard. I could count on one hand the number of CRT Pump-Out stations we passed, and even fewer were serviceable. The marinas seem more and more hostile to Pump-Out users nowadays. I must have asked at around 6/7 marinas (many of which actively advertised the service) yet only 1 would actually pump my boat out. Excuses included pump not working, too busy, can't do it in the rain, can't be arsed, not worth my time etc. I know Elsans are more plentiful and simpler to maintain, (in fact we have a chemical porta potti as a backup) but these seem to be in a worsening state of disrepair nowadays as well. I know many boaters who have similar (or worse) experiences on a regular basis, and it's not just down to lack of planning on their part. Dry toilets have been sold (rightly or wrongly) as a way of having greater control over when and where you can empty your toilet. We can talk til the cows come home about the moral and legal implications of how people are doing it, but painting the bag & binners as "those dirty nasty people over there" is just childish and won't help solve the underlying problem.