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There are certainly CRT instructions that all gates should be left closed unless otherwise advised. Not every action we take has to be covered by legislation, thank god. There are all sorts of opinions about boat etiquette, which is why this is a forum for discussion, but CRT's position on this is quite clear. It does mean that first time hirers and the inexperienced may make the odd mistake, but the consequences shouldn't lead to empty pounds too often. It's a commonsense solution, deliberately ignored by a few selfish people as most commonsense things are.

There is a smaller one (38m) built in 1952 moored in Thuin (Belgium) which has been turned into a museum. The cabin is a symphony in polished dark wood. 2 bedrooms and saloon but no bathroom definitely historic.

Ground paddles only. Circled for clarity.

Where are the paddles?

Nowadays we just use an app.

Gates that are merely closed are not sealed. There are gaps between: the heel post and the quoin, the bottom of the gates and the cill and there is often a gap between the mitres. This is true even for brand new gates. They have to be this way so they can be opened and closed by a human. Once the gates have a head of water behind them they will settle into the cill and quoins, forming an effective seal. This way you can get away with stone quoins and wooden heel posts. If there was a tight seal between the two, the gates would be too stiff to operate and the heel post would be worn out (and leak) in a week or so due to abrasion. If a gate is unsealed (open) the only points of contact are the pin at the bottom of the gate and the collar at the top. This is why a gate can fall into the lock if the collar fails. Look down at the bottom gates from a tail-bridge as the top paddels are lifted. Narrow, mitred locks, Fradley for example, are best. The gates lean backwards into their sealed position, hopefully snuggling into the quoins, pushing onto the cill and firmly closing the mitre. This phenomenon becomes more obvious as the gates wear. Gates are designed to be completely unsealed with no head of water against them, for ease of use and to minimise wear. Once there is sufficient head of water then all the joints: the cill, the quoins and the mitre should be fully sealed by dint of the pressure.

Fixed that for you

I've heard good reviews of https://cheshirecattraining.co.uk/. I think they do a ladies only training as well.

So those who give greenies think that mental health issues are a laughing matter? Shame on you. It's the most difficult health problem of this generation, and professional help needs to be proactive. Those affected are not going to be cured with a few pills, they are going to suffer in silence. Society does not want to know, as evidenced above. ,

Great idea 🙄funds given to support health care should instead be spent on the historic waterways network. Well done NBTA for promoting awareness to mental health issues and the problems some boaters have in accessing help. My support continues ✊

Artex is horrible. You put it on your ceiling and is full of Asbestos

Before getting too deeply into it satisfy yourself it's totally feasible. I fitted 18 mm solid oak t&g fairly late into a self fitout. When Iooked in detail I was only able to fit it in the saloon/living area. In the gallery there wouldn't have been enough room to get the white goods under the work surfaces whilst in the back cabin the under bunk drawers wouldn't have opened. Beaten by Mike

So what humanity needs is some new disease, which we have no cure for, no preventative treatment, and little knowledge of how it spreads, to kill off all the weak and vulnerable amongst us...

I just drove down to my local shop to get a couple of things and as I was coming out of the farm where the mooring is I saw a large object moving on the dirt road in front of the car. As I got close it tumbled to the side of the road and I drove alongside and saw it was two red kites fighting in each other's talons. They were literally 6ft from my car window. I watched for a few minutes as they were too engrossed to pay much attention to me. They were really hacking into each other with their beaks but I couldn't see any blood. When I got back from the shop 20 mins later they were still at it so it looked like it might be a fight to the death. Is this common behaviour in red kites? I've never seen it before. Two birds fighting territory or males fighting for mating rights? Unfortunately I didn't have my phone on me otherwise I'd have posted a picture.

Swans are complete bastards. We had a local one that was witnessed killing at least two "rivals". Dead of old age now, I have to confess I am pleased to say - the birdlife around here has increased dramatically since his demise! We don't get many eagles or ostriches on the Thames, so I can't comment on them. Believe me if one swims past I shall consider it worthy of a post... I have noticed this recently. I think it's something to do with deliveroo culture...

Too fast, and too aggressive, in my opinion. likely to throw polish out to the edge, and create heat on the surface.

"A team of mental health practitioners" are getting the money. This rather implies they are trained professionals, not just random members of the NBTA. The project is "supported" by them. Nowhere does it say that some untrained bod from an unmoving boat is going to come round and sort your brains out. It's obviously an odd concept to some here, but there are quite a few intelligent and highly qualified people living on boats for one reason or another. Some may like to use their expertise to return something to their community. There are a lot of prejudiced, blinkered and ignorant boat owners too, but of course you'd never guess that from reading this forum. Perhaps you should read real words, rather than what you make up in your head. Be quite a change, that.

My endearing memories of seeing camping boats in action mainly involve watching six blissful boy sprouts with their legs dangling over the front end as they watched a lock wall approaching. They obviously never introduced a badge for anticipating crushed limbs. I once observed a fascinating exercise reminiscent of an Eric Sykes film. A brood of youngsters heroically leapt the gap to the towpath, each brandishing a windlass. Falling over each other they ran up to the first Hillmorton Lock which was open and ready for them. Attacking the lock with gusto they slammed the gates closed in the face of their steerer and raised the paddles. Their mate swinging around on the tiller couldn't make himself heard above the noise of his hard reversing engine and could only watch on in dismay as his marauding charges turned their attention to the upper paddles while all leaning on the beam determined to force the gate backwards against the stop. Quickly giving that up as a bad job they galloped off like a herd of wildebeest to right any wrongs that may await them around the corner, the towpath behind them littered with lock keys.