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Words of warning, take heed or not. The description reconditioned has no legal meaning. It could be anything from a quick wash down & paint to a strip, measure, machine as required and rebuild with new parts. I would want to see invoices for the machining and new parts. So you are thinking of paying £7000 + £1000 survey fee for a 45ft Springer, which have a V bottom and some were made of 1/8" steel plate (I am not sure a 45 ft one will be, but it could easily be only 6mm hull plates). They are old and will be rusty. I would suspect that if the swims need replacing so will much of the hull. I think this sounds far too cheap and stands every chance to be an attempt to sell a load of trouble on to a novice boater. I am not sure if it is worth proceeding because that £1000 for a survey could end up being wasted. If this is not for live-aboard use (so a holiday boat) I feel you could get a GRP narrow beam canal cruised in a better condition for the same or less money. Please take great care.

At some point this thread is going to have to satisfy the bored.

Even better, he's Free.

Money saving tip; Get rid of the TV

1m

Boxmoor Floating Market, June 2nd 2022 (I feel like that last picture would make a really annoying jigsaw puzzle....)

From the Act: "the applicant for the relevant consent satisfies the Board that the vessel to which the application relates will be used bona fide for navigation throughout the period for which the consent is valid" Some on here are narrowly defining 'bona fide for navigation' as only relating to distance travelled/cruising pattern. I would imagine it's pretty easy to convince a judge that banging pins into concrete is not consistent with 'bona fide for navigation' as a boat used properly for navigation will have no need to bang pins into concrete. Therefore the board is not satisfied, therefore licence is not issued.

Bimble came back to me on the question of higher voltage panels. This is what they said: A panels power is ALL that matters. The general voltage x amps = power is all that matters. Higher voltage panels produce lower amps. When a charge controller drops the voltage it increases the amps. An fantasy example (with easier Maths!) A - 120w panel is 120volts and 1a.... through a charge controller on a 12v battery drops to 12volts and 10a... same power - 120w B - 120w panel is 240volts and 0.5a.... through a charge controller on a 12v battery drops to 12volts and 10a... same power - 120w

Regardless of the theoretical legal position, if CRT believe you have either not satisfied the CC requirements, or you have broken the Ts and Cs in some way, they may refuse to renew your licence when it expires (but will not revoke an existing licence before its end date). That leaves you with an unlicensed boat on their waterway. You can of course go to court to force them to issue a licence, and you may even succeed (although it's very unlikely). But during the time that court process takes, your boat will be unlicensed, giving CRT the right to remove it from the water. If the first action does succeed you can then go back to court again to claim that the removing of your boat from the water was not in fact within CRT's powers, and seeking return of the boat, payment of your legal costs, recompense for any damage done to the boat, and possibly damages. And again there is a very slim possibility that you might succeed. But the whole process will involve you in significant work, expense and stress. Most people decide instead to (more or less) comply with CRT's requirements, as its a whole lot easier, cheaper and less stressful.

Fascinating debate, thankyou for the contributions. One of the reasons I think charitable status hasn't worked is that CRT simply isn't 'lovable' in the way that 'National Trust' is. By adopting a corporate ethos (seemingly driven by brand obsession, remorseless secrecy and a refusal to publicly take responsibility for its shortcomings) goodwill from its users simply doesn't exist - the ever declining satisfaction of boaters being a prime illustration (which simply isn't a matter for discussion). Admittedly, CRT is caught in a tragedy of the commons. Everyone thinks they have a right to access the towpath to walk, run, cycle and now (encouraged by CRT) to paddle but no one is prepared to pay more than £1 per person per year in E&W. Why should they? It doesn't matter whether the canal is 4 feet deep or just six inches. Doesn't matter if locks work nor if all the wharves, yards, and other properties are flogged off to developers. Doesn't matter if 35,000 ageing white folk can or can't go boating. The demonstration of health and wellbeing strategy isn't just futile but it's actually existentially dangerous to the fabric of everything most of us hold dear, namely the maintenence of navigation. So let's start again shall we?

Afraid I can't do the plummy accent, umms, arrhs and classical quotes, but here are some money saving tips from some one in receipt of an income from the government and an acknowledged expert in spending very little of his own cash on a luxury life style. This could make an informative and useful spot on the TV show. Worth the OP asking if he wants to take part? I'm no stranger to being a bit short of the readies at times. Here are my tips for you, the great unwashed, channel 5 watching, lower orders. If you are in a spot of financial bother from assorted divorce and child maintenance expenses, then try and get a government income that includes the use of two homes. One in a prestigious Westminster neighbourhood, the other a country pad in the Chilterns. With fuel and fare prices sky rocketing, getting around can be a huge expense. Instead of using buses, trains and cars, get your chauffeur to drive you to the airport and take a private aeroplane to your destination. Not a penny for you to pay! Clothing can also be expensive. The same suit, worn day in, day out will save dry cleaning costs. Sleep in it too and pyjamas aren't needed either. Accessorise with a hi-vis jacket and hard hat from whatever work place you are visiting for a photo op that day. Any company up in the grim North will be happy to give you these and not expect you to do any hard work in exchange. Barbers cost a fortune, so when the mane is getting a bit shaggy, attack it randomly with the garden shears. Need a well earned holiday, but can't afford even the cheapest package? A billionaire chum will happily give you the run of his private island in the Caribbean. Just ask! Can't afford to replace the ghastly decorations and furnishing left by the previous occupant in one of your free homes? An old couple with appalling middle class John Lewis tastes. The girlfriend wants some expensive wall paper and furniture and the miserly £30,000 grant just won't stretch that far? Simply ask a party donor to pay the balance. A side hustle writing Daily Telegraph columns can bring in a few extra quid to tide you over. Get an advance for a book about Churchill. No need to actually write the book. Worth a try, though you may not succeed. Get the current bit on the side, or spouse a government income too. I've found this a bit tough to arrange so far, though there is an "Ethics Advisor" post on the jobs board at work that I reckon she will be a shoe in for. Damned if I know what "Ethics" are, but I vaguely remember from my Eton and Oxford days it comes from the Greek ἠθικός. One of those new management fads no doubt.

Yes but....public service TV went out of fashion about 30 years ago, modern TV is about entertainment, often downmarket "reality" entertainment, and often about making the people taking part look like idiots or self centred fame seaking "unpleasant people" (its a family forum 😀 ) so I personally would steer well clear of this sort of thing. We have in the past been approached about appearing in a TV series, I declined then and would certainly decline now.

“…looking for boaters to share money saving tips” “Don’t buy a boat”

The purchase price of the boat is £3500, plus and extra £3500 for a reconditioned Lister SR2 2 cylinder engine, 2-1 reduction gearbox and prop (also from same seller). The mechanical bits above need fitting (which my hubby can do).

He only wants a bloody crew mate gay or not what up with every one leave the bloke alone bulling comes to mind

I think I'd find that uncomfortable standing in the rear hatch area and having to reach back to the tiller. Mine overlaps by only a few inches, but seems to make all the difference comfort wise - in fact I reckon all the boats I've owned were set up that way.

1 m This is one thing I also like to know when looking at a possible purchase - or to be more precise, the height of the tiller arm, which is to some extent dependent on this measurement. Too high, and it can become really uncomfortable after a long day steering.

^Well mine is anyway which makes sense when builders have to consider best use of 2m wide sheets of steel.

You know that, I know that, a few others do too. Doesn't seem to bother many though! Yes. Get someone to stand well clear and video it please, it can go on one of those dubious elf'n'safety DVDs 😁

In principle, the only additional cost should have been the thermostatic valves themselves which allow independent control of each room, but I also needed a new programmer and 3-position valve. No point heating rooms you don't use. The system is in fact one of the standard Honeywell heating plans described in one of their leaflets that you used to be able to pick up from any decent heating and plumbing supplies shop. The original system in our house seemed to have been designed and installed by North Thames Gas, evidently by graduates of the cowboy school of plumbing. It had a simple two-way diverter valve that meant the boiler could either heat the hot water tank or the house, but not both simultaneously. WIth a 12kW boiler and hot water tank only capable of absorbing heat at a rate of 3kW, when heating water, the boiler was only firing up 25% of the time, meaning that as soon as you drew off some hot water, the house started to cool down until the water was up to temperature: there was no facility to disable hot water heating. In accordance with the Honeywell information, I fitted a 3 position valve and new programmer that allowed simultaneous hot water and heating, fitted thermostatic rad valves and binned the wall thermostat. Modern Railways did a detailed article on Western Region's Intercity 125 cylinder head problem and its solution in the 1980's.

The bean counters are never good authoritative sources of engineering information.

Well, if the OP has not immolated themself after 4 years, or been filled in by a neighbour, either they are lucky, or behaving correctly. N

I don't have a car, but I do turn off the boat's diesel engine if I'm on a lock landing and spot a boat coming in the opposite direction who has priority owing to the level of the chamber. It might be ten or fifteen minutes' fuel saved. On a series of busy locks it might be half an hour to an hour saved. Someone will now come along and say that's a bad idea because of...

Except the licence is usually on the inside...

... or fit lithium batteries which will absorb everything your solar panels can produce until they are full. Switching from lead acid made my solar become about ten times more useful, simply because there is somewhere to store the sunshine.

But how should we start again? Are you saying that CRT have enough money to fully maintain all the currently navigable canals and rivers currently in their care, and it is just poor management and decision making that is causing the problems? Because there have been numerous threads on this forum that show there is a lack of money causing a substantial part of the problem, and that more money is needed. Also I disagree that the people who use the towpaths don't care if the locks work or if the water is deep enough, many of them enjoy watching boats. And maintaining the navigation stops the canals becoming stagnant ditches which no one would want to walk alongside. Do you have any practical suggestions as to how things could be improved? Just starting again with a new navigation authority would simply mean more money wasted on another rebranding. I think CRT should carry on, with new leadership hopefully they can convince the government that there is benefit to the wider population in funding the canals. And maybe the way to increase charitable donations is to stop collecting on a national level, and collect locally for specific projects or canals.

I am well aware of that Arthur. The point I was making really was the way some squeal because CRT "changes the law" and they don't like it but are quite prepared to shut up when they like the idea. So really the squeals aren't because CRT has "changed the law" but because it might impinge on them doing what they want to.

Come on then show us how it's done! Or have you been there before and got a result?

There's still a requirement in law to display the licence, it's just that no-one cares if you don't as long as your number is visible. There are hundreds of laws in this country that aren't enforced because mostly they just don't matter. When they do, they get used. Almost everyone breaks several laws every day. You can't prosecute them all.

Try this chap on eBay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175309780774?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=U92L1nQ_SI6&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=vBzH7WUPSoW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY I was very happy with my smoke box and he said he could do other parts.

It’s bullshit TV, conditioning us to live on Jack Shit. They won’t include foraging for cigarette butts? It’s not as common these days as it used to be. But there are some folk still picking them up. And I guess mine sweeping in pubs is also a kind of foraging but on the decline?

Dame Kelly Holmes came out as being Gay yesterday I believe? Well no surprise to me, when I was Sgt Major in Aldershot she was my Cpl PTI I knew she was gay and knew her civilian girlfriend, at that point it was instant discharge, however did it matter? Not in the slightest I was having her posted to further her career and give her a chance in the Olympics (a great success as it happens). The reality is life is hard enough without making it worse for people, we are only here once so we should enjoy it and not judge ourselves or others, we are thankfully all different

Maybe read is post again. he's looking for a crew, not a date. and being polite enough to put his gay card on the table... maybe to avoid being stuck with someone who can't get past that.

But equally, I suspect most folks on a gay site are not looking to crew on a boat either. Seems perfectly reasonable to me to ask on here, which doesn't exclude asking in other places as well.

Would you not be better asking on a gay site, most folks on here, whatever their orientation are not looking for a boat to crew on. PS I know it is pride month or some such nonsense. I just find it odd that people think being off centre is the most important feature of their personna. That's not aimed at OP, it's a general observation.