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After 10 years paying reasonable premiums for comprehensive boat insurance cover, I can at last genuinely recommend Craftinsure from personal experience. I have always responded to the regular questions here about "Who is a good insurer?" by saying Craftinsure seem good, but only a claim will confirm if that is the case. Well, I've now had my very first claim, and they have indeed paid out! With all the Covid lockdowns from Nov last year, I was unable to visit my boat for almost 6 months. When I finally could visit in April, I found my engine hole about 2 ft deep in water (Its a cruiser stern) despite having 2 auto bilge pumps and 2 x 110Ahr batteries and 100 W of solar. It would appear that with all the rain we had last winter the pumps had been running so long and frequently, they completely emptied my batteries and consequently stopped working. altogether. Further rain eventually drowned half the engine, submerged the starter motor, alternator, wiring, fuel pump, batteries etc etc. It was not obvious that anything was amiss from outside - until I lifted the deckboards and saw the damage directly, and so no one at my moorings had any reason to raise the alarm. Everything was as dead as a Dodo. Another couple of weeks and it could easily have sunk. The estimates for repair were well in excess of £6K and Craftinsure sent their surveyor to inspect and report back to them. They made a couple of minor deductions for "betterment" , my excess etc, but have paid out the vast bulk of my claim. I have to say they have been very fair throughout and all done online. So I am more than happy to confidently recommend Craftinsure as a good insurer that honours its obligations in my experience. I will not consider changing my insurer for the rest of my boating days as a consequence - even if my premium goes up a bit at renewal. That's assuming they'll have me, of course!!!

Local West Midlands Radio today broadcast that the CRT are putting up speed awareness signs for cyclists as the towpath has seen increased use by walkers during lockdown. For the many caring cyclists, such a sign is probably not needed, For the fewer number who do not care, signs are not enough, stronger control needs to be made.

Are you known to be an idiot in other areas of your life too?

Although always referred to as the Stone Barge she was a registered ship as Clinton. We bought her from the Nene Barge & Lighter Co in 1979 for the work we'd contracted with Allied Mills for carriage of grain Tilbury to Weybridge - a revival of work previously done by Wm Stevens with unpowered wooden barges. It's easy to see why we had to do some replating on the bottom. Tam

I think it may be an advantage for you to read C&RTs policy and accept when they say that pedestrians have priority over cyclists. Other wise you may find that this applies to you : From NBW THE case where a cyclist has been found guilty of causing bodily harm by 'wanton or furious driving' yesterday, has raised further questions about pedestrian safety and the responsibility of cyclists in public places, writes Keith Gudgin. Mrs Briggs' family said they plan to campaign for tougher cycling laws to protect pedestrians. He said: "Out of this senseless carnage, I shall try to bring change to the law and change to attitudes. Perhaps in this way I can honour my wife." Cycling furiously along the towpath Cyclists need to remember this law whilst they are cycling furiously along the towpath. If they injure a pedestrian by 'wanton or furious driving or racing, or other wilful misconduct' with the result of causing 'any bodily harm to any person whatsoever' could mean they end up in prison for up to two years or having to fork out a hefty fine or both. As can be seen, they would not need to kill anyone to be prosecuted, any bodily harm to any person whatsoever is sufficient for a prosecution and the law does not state that they have to be on a public road or footpath either so towpaths and private property are also covered. Provide evidence We boaters, as towpath users, need to be aware of this law and take measures to provide the police and other authorities with the evidence of cyclists who persist in riding in a wanton or furious manner or racing along the towpaths in order to get them stopped and/or prosecuted. Remember, speed trials are a form of racing and therefore fall within the remit of this law. Also, I feel CaRT and local councils need to become aware that they could also, by not attempting to prevent furious riding or racing in any form by cyclists, become liable for a failure in their duty of care responsibilities. CaRT could end up with a fine If CaRT and local councils continue to upgrade all the towpaths to knowingly allow cyclists to race or ride furiously without including any other restrictions, i.e. speed humps, gates or even just a blanket speed limit to restrict cyclists then I feel that before long they could end up with a very hefty fine and a court order to implement measures of prevention. Remember, aiding and abetting an offence is treated by the courts in just the same manner as actually committing the offence under British law. Cyclists only one user of the towpaths We pedestrians have the law on our side, we must put a stop to irresponsible and ignorant cyclists who insist that they have the right of way over everybody and anybody on any road, path, track or byway. Cyclists need to be made aware that they are only one user of the byways and that they are required to give way to others. On towpaths, the rules actually state that cyclists should give way to pedestrians. Why do cyclists assume that all pedestrians are going to jump out of their way. Why should pedestrians have to step off the path into the mud and puddles just to let a speeding cyclist go past without even slowing down. What happens if the pedestrian is deaf and cannot hear the cyclist approaching from behind? Not even need come in contact This law, as it is, does not even need the cyclist to come in contact with the pedestrian for an offence to be committed as it states '...do or cause to be done any bodily harm...'. It appears from this that a cyclist could be liable if, by their action, they just make a pedestrian fall over and injure themselves. Therefore any action by a cyclist that causes bodily harm in any way could constitute an offence under this law. Not above the law Cyclist need to be shown that they are not above the law and that other people, other byway users, also have rights and even have a right of way over cyclists in many cases. One thing that needs urgent attention is the identification of cyclists to prevent them from just getting up and riding off after an accident without leaving any trace of who they are. Registration of all adult cyclists and a registration plate fixed to their bike is an urgent and long overdue legal need. The law under which the cyclist was charged... 'Offences Against the Person Act 1861'. This law is the closest to dangerous driving a cyclist can be charged with, and states 35} Drivers of carriages injuring persons by furious driving. Whosoever, having the charge of any carriage or vehicle, shall by wanton or furious driving or racing, or other wilful misconduct, or by wilful neglect, do or cause to be done any bodily harm to any person whatsoever, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable, at the discretion of the court, to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding two years.

That’s not giving cyclists a bad name at all is it. Maybe that’s why they behave like they do thanks to irresponsibility from the likes of you.

Since you asked, Jeff was on the boat last, in recovery from his 2 hour general anaesthetic surgery for an impacted wisdom tooth and cyst. Whilst on the boat his jaw spontaneously fractured and after a lot of grief, to cut a long story short he had to drive home unexpectedly. After a 3 day hospital stay for IV antibiotics and having his jaw wired up rigidly so he can’t move his mouth at all (no talking, no food - not even soup, only pure liquid food and a lot of pain) we are at week 2 of 6 weeks of that and finally managed to get down to the boat late last night after 425mile drive, for some relaxation and change of scene. I did consider tidying a bit (still finishing off the lithium battery install) but the questioner is I suspect more interested in the structure and less about the tidiness. And trying to be a helpful person as opposed to a pathetic point-scoring arsehole, I felt it more important to take and post the pictures before I forgot.

Speak? Speak? Good God man, don't you know that nowadays if some people can't communicate via technology they don't communicate at all? ?

Thank you for that. We've been with Craftinsure for 14 or 15 years, so it's good to know.

I phone her most days - she has dementia so every time we speak I have to remind her we are away on the boat. Her long term memory is fantastic though and I think she was pleased to be able to answer a question. ?

I've just phoned her and she says not, that Quakers have to live within the law.

Do Liverpool boat owners practice polygamy ?

I love this! Embodies the true nature of a discussion in my mind ? To continue this theme: my mum dated one of the Terry's of York heirs. She still has a lot of respect for the Quaker ethos.

Craftinsure are great . My rudder was broke off by a submerged object on the Soar . I did not even think of insurance and purchased a new one for £800 , when it was being fitted the bloke mentioned insurance. I sent them a picture of the broken rudder and a picture of the new one with receipt and a pic of it being fitted. They paid out without question.

I have long advocated speed bumps at busy areas of the towpath ........... ...... preferably angled towards the canal!!! ?

I've been stuffing myself with chocolate for 40 years. The novelty hasn't worn off yet.

I visited the factory a few times over a short period. The reception contained many vending machines issuing free Mars products, when we left we were giving big goodie bags! We didn't win the tender I was working on but a few years later I met someone who worked for the contractor which did, he said that all the staff put on a lot of weight during the course of the works!

Good to know, I swapped to Craftinsure a couple of months ago.

I feel vindicated, have recommended them for years, never claimed, glad I was right. Sorry to hear of your damage, hope all is good from now on. It did rain a bit over winter!

On the Grand Canal D'Alsace (France on the left bank, Germany on the right) there are few places to stop for the night. When two French petroliers turned up we let them lie alongside the Arthur, with a long line from their sterns to the pontoon we were against. This had the bonus, for us, of shielding us from the wash of all-night traffic, while they, genial characters, assured us it made no difference to them. They left mighty early, though, which meant we had to follow soon after.

Clearly more members have worked in chicken factories than owned Liverpool boats. I spent summer of 75 and 76 in a chicken processing plant. I put half a million bags of giblets back in the chickens in 75, one every four seconds and cut up birds for portions and Kentucky Fried the second year. £1 a week extra for that because using the circular saw was dangerous. The woman who was supposedly training me cut the tip of her finger off on my first morning Birds usually lost limbs in the washing baths in which case they were candidates for portions. I never saw any birds get repackaged but I do remember that any cut you got inevitably went septic. We had to process 48,000 birds a day because that's how many there were in each shed.

The Fry family (along with the Rowntrees and Cadbury) were Quakers - there was an interesting programme some weeks ago about the links between chocolate and Quakers. Maybe the fact that Quakers practice Polygamy resulted in the '5' appearing so much in their brands (one for each wife ?)

I thought this also, but using a normal sander i removed the non-slip fine.... roof now like a babies bottom!

The Chicken processing plant near us (10 miles away) has a staff shop which is also open to locals if you can prove you live within 15 miles. There are some bargains - 3 cooked chickens £1, or, 5Kg bags of chicken breasts £2.50 etc and we have availed ourselves of it, but I do wonder about the 'history' of the meat offered.

... and mine. As the owner of a Liverpool Boat for nearly 10 happy years, I hope he doesn't choose to express his ill-informed, stereotypical opinions to me without being asked. (I haven't been here for a while, just started back a few days ago, good to see the keyboard warriors are still going strong)

A friend, John Stothert, who had previously run the boatyard at Norbury on the Shropshire Union, was refitting his yacht at Oundle on the Nene. When finished, he hitched a tow from what was known as The Stone Barge, to drag him through the water and mud of the tidal section (in which with such a deep-keeled vessel might otherwise have taken weeks,) to the sanctuaryof Sutton Bridge on the fringes of The Wash. In one of these pictures we are still, somehow, soldiering on while waiting for the incoming tide to arrive. I believe The Stone Barge later acquired a name and was involved in the grain traffic between Tilbury and the River Wey. John himself eventually sailed to the West Indies, and back