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Good luck with your sale

Time for a hand with locking

Thought I would give an update on this very under used waterway and try to encourage people to make the effort to get all the way to Sheffield. Here is a brief résumé of the steps on our journey. We started from our temporary winter mooring at Long Sandall. There are good visitor moorings here too and a little further North good CRT services at Barnby Dunn. All locks from Long Sandall to Eastwood are large and automated to accommodate the 60m long oil barge 'Exol Pride' that runs roughly twice a week between Goole and Rotherham. The locks are operated using your CRT key unless lock keepers are present. Doncaster. Well worth a visit and exploring for a few days. Good, safe 3 day visitor moorings right in the centre of town. From Doncaster you quickly go through some lovely countryside on the river Don Sprotbrough. Two day visitor mooring just after Sprotbrough lock. Some wonderful walking around the area including Sprotbrough Flash nature reserve, Conisbrough Castle, Conisbrough viaduct and Cusworth Hall. Next stop was Pastures, just after Mexborough Low Lock. Mexborough itself is a depressing town, however, where the canal passes through it is delightful and known locally as the 'Meccy Riviera'. Special mention to the Gorilla Brewery Tap room just after Station Rd Bridge. Space for two 57' NB's to moor up outside and sample the goods Apparently you can also moor overnight here if you seek permission of the owner. After Mexborough there is a CRT mooring available just before Waddington lock at Swinton. We didn't stop here, but it looks safe, gated and secure with what appears to be services that are not shown on the latest Nicholson's guide. Perhaps someone could confirm? Kilnhurst. Mooring available. No facilities. Probably ok for an overnighter. Eastwood (Rotherham). Safe gated visitor mooring here with CRT services (shower/toilets/elsan etc) and a huge retail park nearby. However, mooring space was limited due to some 'permanent' residents and an apparently abandoned craft with 'notice for removal' sticker on it. From here we booked our passage on the Tinsley flight via CRT. (24hrs notice required) Rotherham town centre (30 min walk from Eastwood) is well worth visiting. They're really making an effort to improve the town and I would encourage you to go there and see for yourselves. Leaving Eastwood, we stopped overnight on the lock landing before Holmes Bridge lock.(no problem with this as in the evening nobody will be descending the flight) It is from here the CRT assisted passage starts for the Tinsley flight and the lock keeper met us at 9am the following morning. It takes around 4hrs to do the Tinsley flight. We had four excellent and friendly CRT members in attendance and they know their stuff. It's a lovely flight. The final hour into Sheffield is very interesting and ends at Victoria Quays. A lovely terminus a short walk from the city centre. CRT seem to have handed over responsibility to CV Marine, but we never saw a single person from the company. The office was permanently closed. The showers are permanently closed. Cost is officially £50 a week to moor. Only two days visitor mooring allowed. We stayed nearly three weeks. We loved Sheffield. First impressions are bad though as the Castlegate area near to the Quays is rough. It is a fascinating city, easy to walk, full of history and culture. The beer pub and music scene is outstanding and access to the magnificent Peak District is easy via public transport. We highly recommend it. In the three weeks we were there only three boats arrived. One stayed overnight and left the following day having been put off by the Castlegate area. Such a shame as they missed a lovely city. In summary I would say this section of the system is a hidden gem and extremely under utilised. Sections of the river Don are an oasis of tree lined tranquility and most travelling days we were blissfully alone. I would encourage people to put aside any preconceived thoughts of the areas industrial reputation. Sections of the navigation are absolutely stunning. One caveat, just keep an eye out for the weather as the Don can flood rapidly. I hope this brief synopsis is helpful. Enjoy. For photos see my wife's Instagram page 'Lock and Quay'

Have you ever tried Aussie beer? 😁

I've stopped using Twitter I'm afraid. It's an Elon Musk thing...

Having 280 horses and 0-60 in 5.3 seconds in the car, or 180 horses and 0-60 in 3.2 seconds on the bike, I tend not to do that. One problem with carrying that excess energy is the unpredictability of the car to be overtaken. They might panic and clap on the brakes as you loom large in their mirror and something appears opposite direction, just as you have decided not to overtake. Well it’s happened to me, rear end shunt very narrowly avoided so I don’t repeat the scenario.

Watch out for tearaways riding motorbikes on the towpath

At least some path improvements do prioritise trees and nature.

Just watched the launch of this brand new narrowboat opposite my mooring. Looks a bit on the small side and for some reason the steerer was wearing yellow waterproofs on a hot day...

I have batteries from Eplus for use with my Makita cordless drill. They work fine but I don't leave them on charge unattended.

In the days before most had solar me included but the 5kVA genset coped well. Aircon was 900watt so not that much

Opposite of depth charge innit.

Where did he wind ?

Problem for us was being out at work all day the boat was shut up so very hot when we got home. After the heatwave of 2003 we fitted a roof mounted Aircon which cured the problem 😉

If the boat seems cheap or a bargain, you've probably identified the reason. Too many places it won't fit.

No she isn't. The boat is presented for sale and typically inspection is invited so the potential buyer can satisfy themselves that the second hand boat is in a condition they are happy with. She IS however, duty bound to answer questions truthfully. If someone asks for example "Hey what do you know about all this patch of over-plating here?", she is should say what she knows and not lie.

How about the book "Colours of the cut"?

I might be using the wrong terminology, I don't have the propeller engaged when I'm running the engine and stationary. The toggle under the throttle is pulled all the way out and I'm pushing the throttle forward.

If CRT ever get around to cutting the towpath vegetation the mower would make a right mess of his tent...

I have seen boats with garden canes tied across the handrails supporting sheets held clear of the roof. I think that would make more difference, but never tried it.

There’s one at the bottom of the second lock on the grand Union outside Calcutt boats if you have a magnet 😂

Hope everyone has made it back ok, and that the beer in going down nicely 😀

It would largely depend on how much insulation you have on in the ceiling. If you have a lot I can't see how it would make any difference.

I would suspect that they were similar to other northern narrow boats, so much less of the 'roses and castles', and more geometric shapes and scrolls. The attached poem was written by Reg Wood, whose family operated boats on the Rochdale Canal, and there would have been some influence from the wide boat companies mentioned. Each company had one main colour, though other colours would be used for decoration. Yorkshire boats had extensive varnished areas compared to Lancashire, and were less flamboyant in terms of colour, though some of the panel lining was highly detailed. Sam Yates, who did the painting at Whitebirk, near Blackburn, told me they only had five or six main stainers to make colour paints from a white lead base. Each yard had its own standard for red, yellow, green, black, and two blues, one light and one dark. It was possible to identify which yard painted a boat from the shades used, though there was no specific standard so each colour would be slightly different each time it was mixed. The colours could reflect the companies whose boats were docked, so at Whitebirk the dark blue was the main colour for the coal carriers Dean Waddington, though it would be used on other fleets in small amounts. Many boats on the Huddersfield Narrow would have worked onto the Calder & Hebble, so were only 57 feet in length, and some appear in the C&HN boat register 1793-1828, which would give some names to firms operating boats on the HNC at that time. I suspect that the use highly coloured liveries was something which developed through the 19th century. Early schemes would be much simpler than those for which photographs are available. Boats I have loved.pdf

If you are going to use all that 'lectric running a big enough pump to do what you suggest, you may be better opening the front and back doors and investing in a medium / large fan.

You could always pay before the end of the month and save ~£33 "prompt payment" discount and make it £1273

got Jak mixed up with whoever is using a jump lead. I agree that Jak's solution is simple enough and has no significant downside, however with the modern large solar arrays I think the VSR is a more elegant solution because it, in effect, it uses charge that would otherwise be wasted.

It looks to me to be a 'paint damaging device'. Fender hangers I have seen have been either woood or plastic.

But your seeing it from a visitor not a moorer paying £3K a year. Yes a nice place to visit especially with three weeks free moorings, but you must see how the paying Moorers are getting frustrated with the situation. It is a nice area to visit and same with the waterways to get there. I’m highlighting like you have a bit, the total lack of management presence by CV Marine in the Marina and the total disregard they seam to have for their Permanent Moorers.

Heading for Walsall town arm, just had to clear the prop FOUR times in about 100ft. The fourth was actually weed. Our guest crew member, Craigie, is more focused on collecting litter, the bigger the better, but mainly sticking to the themes of got wheels or classed as tube or pipe. Personally I'm quite happy filling sacks with bottles and cans but the fellas have taken some nasty stuff out.

Mind you, right at the beginning we have this, which basically says "inland waterway" includes the towpath and other land associated with the waterway:

Sprout is enjoying her first BCN Challenge lounging. She has single-dogged up the 21 because the humans were useless. Now enjoying a rest in her Liberace-themed domain.

He said RNLI, not RLWP...😀

I'm afraid its bolt cutters, a bit at a time. Will seem endless, but every bit, however small, will be less to do.

I've never found mooring on a canal to be a subject that needs too much analysis. I often moor in the fashion @Arthur Marshall describes simply because I have a preference for mooring to the very solid objects the navigation authority provides for the purpose and it so happens the normal spacing of these compared to my boat length results in that being the most practical way of so doing. It's a potential trip hazard if those lines come back at angle sufficent to run across where you will naturally walk or step for access to and from the boat. They generally don't in my case because the end up fairly square. I use big rope fenders to cushion the boat against the side. These are a necessity for a boat with low freeboard to prevent the gunwales from going beneath walings. If I use piling hooks I'll attempt to get them at 45 degrees but I don't fuss too much about it. I've never used goat chains. The main thing is to get the lines nice and tight - ideally doubled up for ease of untying - and simply secured to the dolly/stud/cleat.