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Hi all another painting by my Daughter who has done it for xmass for her mum and me painting and dog

I remember a previous discussion on this forum about higher licence fees for those who could afford it, but as I remember no one could come up with a way that would actually be fair. Just because you own a house and live on a boat, doesn't make you rich, the rent from the house might be your only income. Equally you could live on a boat and not own a house and actually be well off, with a massive income and money in the bank or invested else where. Even if you there was a way to fairly calculate some ones ability to pay, people will find away round it, eg licence the boat in someone else's name. Ultimately it's likely any such scheme would cost more to administer than it would raise.

Thought this might amuse https://chesterwalls.info/gallery/oldcanal3.html

“If you don't ask, you don't get it" Mahatma Ghandhi That's really nice of you to do. How about CRT create a system where for every donation you bring in you earn discounts on your licenses or accumulate points? People can donate through the account with a link or ref to this person.

sounds good to me, the citizens on the bank have been getting away lightly, for the amenities and facilities they get in return for their Council Tax it seems very cheap living, I used to regularly get cyclists to sign up and donate to CRT, some were/are very generous, their money needs tapping into

A columnist in "Modern Railways" , when discussing government's reluctance to invest in conventional electrification because some new, innovative, cheaper method of propulsion might be invented in the future, has been referring to this as the "bionic duckweed" solution.

There are many things that are not subject to market pressures. Many public assets are deliberately exempt or buffered from these pressures because it is generally recognised that an unrestricted market disproportionately favours wealthy people and screws over others people. A lot of common land is exempt from market pressures. I imagine you yourself benefit from public assets that are not subject to market pressure - perhaps the NHS for example! I guess the canal is public/common land even if CRT manage it on behalf of the public - so the idea that common land like public parks and the canal should be subject to unchecked market pressures is a worrying one. The canals are an asset that fell into disrepair, revived largely by voluntary and public effort - I cannot think of a better case for free market pressure exemption. Saying that people can rely on the social state is a fallacy(i wish it wasnt!). You may have found yourself in the fortunate position of state/dwp funded mooring and license, but I think you are the exception, not the rule. I know of many instances where people are being denied financial support by dwp, and many instances where this struggle has become so difficult that people give up. Saying that people can rely on the welfare state is often used as justification for introducing unfair market pressures. It is fine on paper, but often or perhaps rarely translates to the real world. There is a strong possibility that the welfare state will only be reduced in future. Generally when people argue 'life is tough, get used to it', they actually mean 'your life is tough - get used to it (I'm alright jack)'

and many successful (and otherwise) businesses start off with a total first venture failure... Starting a business: 1. Get your business model set down in black & white. 2. Cost it fully, absolutely every cost. 3. Work out the throughput you need to make a decent profit. 4. Does your catchment area have the ability to provide & sustain that throughput? 5. Ok, it so far it passes with flying colours. 6. Ask yourself, "Why hasn't anybody else done it?" Don't move on until you have a convincing answer. 7. Ask yourself what changes to circumstances could kill the business. 8. Ask yourself how dependant the business is on you personally. If Covid took you offline for 4 weeks, would the business survive? 9. Ask yourself what particular skill or ability makes you the one for this business. 9.5 Ask yourself what aspect of the business excites you and could be distorting your judgement. 10. Ask how easy would it be for somebody to copy and compete with your business.

Its possibly ignored on marine calorifiers as not many narrowboats have plastic tanks in the loft... But I agree with the principle of an overheat protection thermostat being a Good Idea. Nearly all of them are designed to trip at 90c though (and require a manual re-set), perilously close to the temp a calorifier might reach when heated by engine coolant. Then the immersion heater won't work when you need it as the overheat will always be tripped.

Anyone following current employment law? Or doesn't that matter to you? Felix Dennis

Correct, well it was to me, because I thought I had drained everything but left water in the short length between the valve and the toilet. The statement was in reply to Do these freezing events actually happen on Boats?

Richard Parry!

Never let any brassware freeze, it will crack. It is to be sure that hot and cold are fully drained, the non return valves make it a little more tricky. I have an exposed bar type stat mixer and I undo the nuts when draining down.

I sometimes think we should get a fee at a couple of locks locally where there are usually some spectators.

they could apply for a loyalty card and the more miles they walk the more points they get, and these points could be spent at Morrison’s, on groceries, booze or petrol 👍

Go on, provide the numbers to show this then... 😉 Blue signs and logo changes and parties and van wrapping and executive bonuses and whatever else you can conjure up probably add up to considerably less than 1% of CART expenditure -- and yes that's my estimate, but it's based on some realistic guesstimates of how much these might all actually cost not just "Huge, innit!!!". Yes there's been a shortfall in canal funding and maintenance for a very long time, but both have got steadily worse since CART was set up in 2012, and the Tories have been in power since 2010 -- so they were responsible for the terms under which this happened, which were a triumph in wishful thinking on all sides, both government and CART management at the time... 😞

That might be worth a try, maybe somewhere like Little Venice or Camden Lock. My guess is that it would be largely ignored and lose money (and still get vandalised!), but I'd be happy to be wrong... 🙂

@Matt Wardman welcome to the forum, hopefully your knowledge of heating/insulation will be helpful and it was good to see that you understand that requirements for Narrowboats and houses are different and not saying everything will work on a boat.👍

You are so wrong as I can testify, stop being unpleasant and disrespectful. Get out and don't come back.

Someone wrote an email to the Waterways Magazine saying if walkers, cyclists and other visitors would pay £1 CRT's funding problem would disappear. Great point in my opinion.

It will have to happen due to automation. It won't be an option to not do this. You'd get societal collapse. Not tomorrow but it is coming. I wonder why Housing Benefit is now called Universal Credit. Don't forget all the tittle tattle in the news about benefits and reduction thereof is just the Tory party looking for swinging voters.

Its inevitable over time it will happen.

Huddersfield Broad to Huddersfield Narrow similar to Bunbury

It's the boat that is insured, not the helmsman. Insurance has two different functions. 1) A low-cost piece of paper (and who cares what it says) that is a passport to getting a licence, and not much more. Ideal for those happy to self-insure if push comes to shove. 2) A high cost piece of paper that pays out compensating you for all mistakes from spilling wine on the carpet to setting fire to the curtains to sinking the boat, and everything in between. Also happens to be a passport to getting s licence.

And another 4 I have more but got to reduce file sizes…

All domestic immersion heaters in the UK have required a thermostat and a separate non self resetting thermal cutout since at least 2009.

All the water will fall out of that sink, he has put it in upside down. Tradesmen, Haa!

Get it done sooner rather than later. My last one was in 2019, after 2009, 2015 with no issues. I have had to change/alter, make accessible things that have been in place from original construction 30 years ago to comply. Under the new regime, things that have been overlooked as inconsequential for 25 years are now being enforced. Not the BSS examiners nit- picking, the 'powers above' are regularly checking their tests and even over-riding their results if they see fit to. They (the powers to be) are also insisting on random site visits to quality check BSS examiners boats after a test to ensure compliance. It isnt daft to look through the BSS regs and go through your boat first....but you need to be ruthless, just because it's been like that for so long doesnt mean it will pass now. There are lots of BSS examiners previously used which are no longer available....some due to age, most due to the cost of the courses, BSS certificate cost, and the hassle of having to go back single/or indeed multiple times if rechecks are needed. There also those who used to do them who passed your boat every four years as safe as it was built properly! Without specifically carrying out the checks specified by the BSS. The cost of a BSS used to be £150-200 in the Midlands....retests now have to be charged for just to make it worthwile, quite rightly in my opinion... to check changes, mileage and time. I am in the lucky position of being able to get these jobs done in my own valuable family care and social time....to get my previously OK boat took about 8 hours of work and probably £50 bits and fittings. Yes, I had to alter 30 years old back cabin work by the esteemed Braidbar.

What's this got to do with a boat cruise diary, report or itinerary? Wouldn't this be better posted on a caravan forum? Sorry but there's me thinking I might learn something about the French waterways and it's all about roads!

I made a couple of bread rolls on top of the stove last winter as pictured. Metal bowl spaced off the bottom of a big preheated casserole dish, under a couple of layers of tinfoil (not pictured) for insulation. It worked alright but was quite a hassle - in particular, enough heat to bake bread on top was far too hot to keep my cabin at a reasonable temperature without doors and windows open. The dish doesn't fit easily inside my stove. I did try but it was wedged at an awkward angle and the smoke got in. FWIW I also have a Caprice 2000, and while the oven isn't great it's not *that* bad. I can heat pizzas in it and expect it would manage bread if I tried.

The flaw in that argument is that Bradshaw 1904 lists the two as being the same size above Enfield