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Ah, this is one of those jobs that I have never got around to finishing off, filler pipe is about 1.5" or something metric. Someone sits on the bed with the mattress folded back and unscrews the lid and shouts 'B****** hell turn the water off we're sinking' I'm sure there's a better way, maybe I'll get around to it this year.

I see that after 15 years the canal is going to be open at last. The protest cruise was organised by a Belgian and the group of local communes on the route who were campaigning to have the work done. The boats were a mixture of Belgians and British dba members and 2 French cruisers. It felt a bit of a cheek to be campaigning when we were visitors but everybody was pleased to see us .

Craftmaster is good paint and was specifically formulated for hand painting narrowboats by a boat painter. It is generally regarded as too expensive by many boaters, but note that it comes in 1 litre tins whilst many other brands are 750ml, and that some cheaper paints quote prices before VAT. I am a really crap painter but have messed with Rylard, International, Symphony and Craftmaster and do like the Craftmaster. Note that the black bit between rubbing strake and gunnel takes a real beating so just slap cheap black paint on and repair it every year, a silk finish is easier to patch up than a gloss. ............Dave

This is the cellar in the house, now painted white, in which Wilfred Owen spent his final night with his comrades, before being shot at the canalside just one week before the 1918 Armistice was declared. Here also is the partially collapsed aqueduct causing the closure of the Sambre-Oise Canal - now to be made navigable again, at last. Well done for going on the protest - not such a common event in France, on canals, at least, but they are beginning to get the idea.

Thanks. Liability in what respect? Getting the certification? The owner was up for taking an offer on the basis of the feedback from the survey, and even had he accepted ten grand less, I'm not sure I'd have gone ahead. Ten grand is a decent wedge of money but peace of mind and no anxiety is priceless. I can fully understand others who wouldn't care so much and would've gone ahead and I'm sure it'll sell to somebody who'll care less than I do.

In 2012 the protest cruise on the Sambre Oise canal had arrived in Etreaux at the top of a flight of locks which went down to where the stoppage was. Many of the boats stayed at the top but we and a few others went down as far as we could. (Can’t locate photos). The author Robert Louis Stevenson canoed along this waterway and writes about in his book An Inland Voyage, and the poet Wilfred Owens was killed on 4 nov 1918 whilst trying to cross the canal at Ors. The commune has rebuilt the game keepers cottage where he was taken and his poems are displayed inside. Closed when we were there.

Then leave the bridge up and the wide people will complain

Only been through Banbury twice but isn't there another pedestrian bridge close by? If so frangar seems to have the best answer

Wind it up....buy a cheap chain & padlock...lock it round the spindle with a BW aware notice...carry on boating....boats will be fine and no one else will bother looking at it ever.

And it does not show up minor dents and poorly prepped scratches as much as gloss. I tend to use something fast drying from Screwfix/Toolstaion on that bit.

That's because you are some sort of SuperSam instead of just TremblingTrace.

We were once held up at a CRT operated lock as their life jackets were one day out of date and they couldn't operate the lock until a van delivered new ones.

Didn't have time for the same close up but here is the pirate today.

I agree, nothing wrong with marketing and for a product that is at least applicable to boat owners. It could have been delivered with a little more information about who he was or perhaps checked if approval might be needed before such an obvious advert, but since thats at least three of us who have checked out toolboxnerd then it works!

Both. Never mind, carry on. But you're right, its unreasonable to expect us to know previous posts, I don't even look at the names.

They steal those too!

If you put the new tank in the existing tank space (which otherwise will be wasted) then you will need to cut away the bulkhead. You will also need to remove almost all of the rust and paint it otherwise it will keep rusting. Even after this you will still likely get rust as condensation will form on the new tank, and this rust will be inaccessible. If you want maximum water tank capacity then you will have a lot of wasted space between the new tank and the hull sides. The obvious approach is to properly derust the existing integral tank and paint it in epoxy that should last many years. ...............Dave

Loads of stainless tanks around. Cracking is a very rare problem. Plastic tanks, either rigid, or flexible are available. A bilge pump in the bilge that a leak would go in to is a better solution. Bunding is generally used where you want to contain a nasty liquid, not potable water. Just pump it overboard. Most leaks happen in the plumbing, not the tank anyway. Tanks should be low down in the boat for stability. Ideally they should be balanced port to starboard, so the boat doesn't have weird lists as the tanks are filled and emptied. Multiple tanks don't need multiple pumps. The tanks can be interconnected so one pump draws from all. Valves can be used to switch the tank being pumped, or if all valves are open it becomes effectively one big tank. They can also be filled from a single point too. Care needs to be taken with air vents so they fill and empty properly, but can be done. Jen

Is it better to seek forgiveness or ask permission? I may have obtained a new bottle from a part time marina employee who was unaware of the current edict. Flurry of calls later and Calor accepted the loss. Possession is 9/10 of the law...

If you mean real craftmanship using 'real' wood and good quality materials, I very much doubt you'd achieve your budget. Everyone has a different idea of craftsmanship - it could be 'totally hand built cabinets from real wood, made to measure' or it could be 'MFI units, hand modified and cut down to suit your boat' The more you vary from 'the standard' that a boat builder offers the more it will cost. The manufacturers "extras" price list for items fitted during the build on one of my boats totals over £100,000 (its not a NB & I have very few of the optional extras) Things like a 'saloon door curtain' is over £300, cushions for the stern £1,300 etc etc. I strongly suggest that you consider electric propulsion (it will cost possibly £10,000 more due to the batteries, generator, and solar panel costs) but from 2025 all boats built in the UK must be capable of being conveted to 'zero emission' propulsion and by 2035 NO boats are allowed to be built unless they have zero emission' propulsion and by 2050 NO boats will be allowed on UK water (Inland and coastal) unless they are zero-emmission propulsion. This means that diesel powered boats being built in the next few years will likely depreciate very quickly as people are unlikely to buy a non-zero emmission propulsion boat as the dealine gets closer.