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It's also very confusing for the new wave of canal boaters. I imagine a lot would sail past thinking I'd like to turn round but my name's Smith.

The number of boats I've seen moored opposite winding holes recently indicate that the signs are in fact needed these days. I spent an entire afternoon (feeling guilitily like a jobsworth) a few years ago pointing out to both hire and private boats that they were mooring in the one at Rode Heath before giving up and sticking a notice on the towpath fence to point it out. I was greatly relieved next time I went to see CRT had both put a sign up and taken the relevant rings out. Mind you, people still try and moor there. Same on the lower Macc. Sometimes, signs do perform a useful purpose, especially when the cut is filling up with ignorant people.

or even a "turning place for boats", not sure of exact wording but at the Devizes winding hole. I have also noticed a few "winding hole ahead" signs in addition to the actual winding hole signs. It is clear that CRT want to erect signs and are just looking for any excuse to do so. Maybe the forum could help and have a little competition to invent new signs......... "Beware of the Blue Signs" "Take Care Shallow Canal Ahead" "Do Not obstruct the Cyclists" "Rubbish Bins Full, Please do Not Use"

This is the crux of the matter, the grant from government is effectively the taxpayers paying a contribution to the canal, and therefore the taxpayers can expect their needs to be catered for, not just boating needs. CRT need the the grant to be maintained, and will have to show they are providing a service to all, not just a narrow group to get it.

I take everything said above as further confirmation that IWA are failing and have lost their way. We don't need a cut down "Festival of Water", we need a return to campaigning for places at risk. The fact somewhere is at the periphery of the network doesn't make it at risk. Forty years ago Blisworth was hardly on the edges of anywhere, yet leaving The Grand Union truncated was without doubt an option that relied upon heavy campaigning by many different individuals and organisations to ensure that didn't happen. As for suggesting feasibility of returning to campaigning turnouts is "limited by the need for a suitable space (eg council-owned park or common) to hold the event and sufficient moorings for up to 100 boats." Demonstrates a total lack of insight into what campaigning is about or how to do it. One of the main reasons for choosing a particular location was often because lack of Waterways maintenance was endangering its future. As has already been said, lack of attraction in visiting somewhere is reason to not spend money on it. Vicious circle syndrome. Holding an event, it isn't necessary to supply a nicely coiffured park to house beer tents, food stalls a fairground and trade stands. We would warn Waterways at least a year in advance where we wanted the largest number of boats possible to turn up at . It was their problem how they adhered to their responsibilities regarding navigation and access. They didn't want to be seen nationally to have failed with a year's advance notice. We then boated/week-ended for days to get there, and if necessary moored abreast when we arrived (Think of The Braunston Strike of 1923). It all highlighted to everyone how inadequate and non conforming the situation was at that location. I have no proof but I would expect Waterways to have used the outcome to highlight to their paymasters their need for better funding to do their job (?). Whatever, it did achieve some things, saved some about to be lost locations and refocussed Waterways' approach to what it did and how it did it. Through The IWA, boaters had a voice, no power, but a voice which made things happen. Climbing into bed with Waterways only benefitted Waterways. It removed the thorn in its side (us the paying customer) it castrated The IWA and re-educated the new generation of canal enthusiasts into being boaters only interested in going to comfortable, easy to reach boat shows that provide numbered mooring spots, mud free car parking, bouncy castles and beer tents. As a result boaters started to happily accept situations that previous generations had refused to, and indeed had fought against. Increased fees for less service A boating season!? A maintenance season!? Lack of need to be accountable to paying customers. Meaningless/expensive restructuring and shifting of areas of responsibility that only confuse and confuddle (even their own people). If you want a boat show you've got your Braunstons & Crick etc. And jolly rollicking good fun they are but so far as campaigning is concerned, we are the poorer for failing to do any. Sorry for the rant, I didn't intend to, my only intent is to remind (maybe for the first time for many) what was achieved in the past and how.

Ah, I will get my wallet out and join them now, do you have the account number, sort code and membership forms available Glynda?

We have a dog who everyday surprises me about just how clever she is, she has lived all her entire 11 years on the canal system, she shows zero interest in that silly CRT sign. Maybe dogs can't read, maybe they don't like blue, or maybe they are just above that sort of silliness. 😀

I'll grant that "ten points of the compass" might not be widely understood, but since the text also refers to that as 112½°, I don't see why a person of average intelligence shouldn't be able to work out the meaning.

So, are you suggesting that anyone helming a NB is unable to comprehend instructions written clearly and unambiguously in English? In reality it just means that the person fitting out the boat needs to understand the laws - all the helm has to do switch them on. Maybe using pictures will make it easier :

How about this one for useless and inaccurate, photo taken while in lock 6 at Atherstone.

Not entirely sure, but they do all seem to have brown noses and very shiny knees on their 'corduroys'.

PLEASE don't FORGET that CRT still gets a government grant - presumably to make the canals and towpaths used by folks other than boaters and mebe the signs are part of that 'making the canals inclusive' bit. The signs migh also help in reporting an incident / whatever to the Polis / whatever... No apologies for trying to be reasonable....

Carry on Ray, I think sunny has become a bit overcast.

I think it may be 1868 or 1870, as that is when the tunnels were opened out. I think that photography was only just starting in 1838.

It's a matter of supply and demand. Much the same with used cars at the moment - most will find they could sell a car they bought new / nearly new 2 years ago for more than they paid. It's unlikely to last forever but it's anyone's guess when it'll calm down. If the motivation for the surge in buying is 'life's too short, I want a lifestyle change / Covid / can't have a foreign holiday so I'm buying a boat / holding on to my boat' - according to the brokers, they're the main reasons - those things should, fingers crossed, become less of factor in the medium term and help ease demand. Vloggers glamourising the liveaboard life I don't spose have helped but I've seen some of the more prominent ones jack it in in the last 6 months or so. But for every one which does there's another that replaces it. Personally, I'm hoping for a crap winter. Walking around a brokers in the freezing cold or when it's peeing down, to view an unheated boat, will take the edge off for many. That's my hope, anyway.

I'm from Sheffield as well, I've also had a narrowboat for 10+ years. I've never had the boat on the SSYN. Unfortunately for me, Sheffield (my beloved home city) is on the arse end of the system. Ie it's a dead end and a very long dead end with limited cruising opportunities. My boat has always been in the Midlands. I used to be moored near Rugeley and it was only an hour and 10 mins by car (not at peak times), Sawley Marina where I was moored many moons ago, was only an hour..... Where I'm moored at the moment is approx an hour and twenty mins to an hour and forty mins away from home depending on traffic / time of day. My advice would be, if you're not planning on living aboard, is to NOT have the boat moored in Sheffield.

The other possibility if you want to test your love and patience for narrowboats with lots of breaks would be buying into a boatshare. You don't get as much choice of which days you spend away, but you do get access to a nicely maintained narrowboat within your budget.

To be honest Polly, I wouldn't personally live full time on a GRP boat, if there was a feasible narrowboat alternative. But I'm getting the impression your trips will be a few days here of there, and maybe a couple of weeks when you can- so its not yet a permanent liveaboard situation. So if I'm right, you could take the approach of getting a GRP boat for now, and if you enjoy the boating lifestyle, make plans to get a narrowboat. My thinking here is that if your time aboard is limited, and you're working full time anyway, you might not want to spend lots of days doing repair work, but rather to get cruising asap. In that specific context, I would give at least a bit of thought to a good quality GRP boat, but with the long term eye on a narrowboat. All that said, if you do have the funds for a decent narrowboat anyway, then it makes sense to go for that option.