Leaderboard

So i got one and its doing a good job so far, but it will require a bit of fine tuning to get it perfect. It has mapped out the boat nicely, the pics below are just a sample run of it doing the saloon area. The configuration options are good and with some adjustments it should be a good little boat upgrade hopefully.

I am not sure recommending wide/broad waterways for new to boating customer looking for a narrowboat is the best of ideas. I think the OP will find narrow locks easier for his first time.

Not sure about that, you can't both be right but I think it is possible that you are both wrong?

Me too, in the same boat (so to speak!)

Another shout out for the South Oxford. A four day trip from Calcutt would include The Follie, Napton flight, Fenny Compton Cropredy and Banbury. According to Canalplan AC it's 45miles, 44 locks, 3 days, 4 hours and 45 minutes at 7 hours per day. Then following that for a second holiday - 'The Rochdale' - beware of wolves!

There are countless incidents and issues reported upon regarding cycling on the towpaths, most of which are (often rightly) berating inconsiderate cyclists. Just now I'm on a water point with my hose crossing the towpath. I've just watch a cyclist travelling at pace see my hose, dismount and lift his bike over my hose before hopping back on and disappearing into the distance. I was unable to thank him for his actions as I was inboard so he was also unaware that his actions were witnessed, and he won't read this here, but credit where credit is due. I'm sure there are many cyclists like him who are sadly, like us boatists, let down by the few who stand out for the wrong reasons. It would be nice if consideration was the norm, but we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that perhaps it still is.

I'm sorry Roger and I won't be able to attend, which saddens me for various reasons. We have many memories of Mr Mac and will be thinking of you all.

Bored with pointless arguing with someone who is not capable of ever being even slightly wrong.

Doesn't that rather depend on what he intends to do to you when he catches you?

We will be updating Canal World to the latest version of Invision this weekend, either late Saturday or Sunday evening. Canal World will be down during this window though it's not expected to last more than 2 hours. This is a minor update and the overall look and feel will remain the same, but there may be some minor differences. We will confirm on completion.

1975. Boat Enquiries Ltd - Conifer Class - 'Larch'. What we actually got was 'Talpa', an ex-BCN dayboat, 50', with a 22 hp 2 x cyl. Petter McLaren diesel out of 'Hydra' a BW Woolwich built 40' tug. Wow. Not the most comfortable 4 - berth, with the main accommodation at the fore-end, and two pipe cots backing on to the engine room. But for canal credibility this boat was a winner. The engine was superb and if one inadvertently left one of the cylinders suppressed, the remaining one tonk, tonked away quite happily. A joy, this boat. Sometimes these interesting substitutions happened. We saw this boat for sale some years ago and with a bit of luck she is still going. This was the first time we had used a booking agency. For the first time, a very wide diversity of boats to choose from and really useful. £140 for two weeks in October. 1977. I have got the years out of order but never mind. Boat Enquiries. Romulus class. 'Romulus'. This was a pleasant steel narrowboat, the shell built by one of the well known builders but I cannot remember which. Nothing particularly special about it, but a good quality reliable and trouble free hire boat. £140 for two weeks at the end of the season. 1978. 'Merlin'. A 36' steel Springer with a Perkins 4/99 diesel. Not hired this time, but swapped. Two weeks on the boat for two weeks on our Devon farm. Based at Longwood Boat Club on the BCN Rushall Branch, it allowed us to explore the BCN. Not trouble free, the Perkins engine had overheating problems which caused us some concern in uncertain areas of Birmingham, but eventually we were able to extract a smooth round wooden pellet from the cooling system after which all was well until the ignition switch fell off while negotiating a tricky part of the navigation. But Birmingham then was not as it is now. The public was kept off the waterways by high fencing, to avoid, we understood, children falling in and drowning. But it made it difficult to get out. One day, for various reasons we had done a longish journey of over fifty locks - no great difficulty because the BCN locks worked like silk - and arrived back in Gas Street. We had to climb a fence to get out to find food, but there was nowhere. Nothing at all. So we went to bed hungry. Deeply fascinating in those days, fleets of 30 or more day boats with attendant tugs, 'Caggy' the tug the only moving boat we saw in two weeks. And nobody about. There we are. Not a hire boat, but nevertheless these swaps were then current. So ways of getting on the canals other than hiring were available. A very jolly boat, Merlin. I like Springers. That is it. A good variety of boats were available in the 1970s. But after that, too many sheep to look after so boating for us was put on hold.

And wide and sometimes horribly difficult locks, at least on the West side. Not good for a newbie, even though the summit and East sections are glorious... 😉 South Oxford -- great idea, easy narrow locks, lovely countryside, some nice towns/villages/pubs... 🙂

You started the ad hominem attack, but of course when you do it, it doesn’t count. In your head. As I said at the outset, under normal circumstances the stray found current would not be problematic for heating/damage/fire risk. However in the event of a poor or bad connection it could be significant. And of course you would only be one human error away from disaster - someone decides to disconnect the battery negative and then you are left with the thin wires and PCB tracks to pass the entire system current. It is fundamentally bad design to create that sort of alternative current path gotcha. Same applies to alternative current paths created eg by a radio aerial earth connected to hull. It is probably not going to be an issue due to the differing current path resistances, but it could be under unusual circumstances. And while I think of it, I had similar thoughts on the CANBUS interface. In the end I had 2 pads on the PCB, CANBUS ground and system ground. Because CANBUS is a differential system I decided that most likely it would not be necessary to connect the 2 grounds together and this has shown to be correct, so another alternative current path was eliminated. A good design engineer thinks about these things and tries to eliminate these sort of issues that lie only just below the surface of a correctly functioning and correctly operated system.

As far as Calcutt in concerned, yes, just ONE wide lock where the yard staff assist those who need it up the wide lock, and then down again on return. In any case, I did not say no to anything. I just said that for a first time wide locks might not be such a good idea.

River Wey is very nice. Local which is helpful. Its a relaxing waterway not too busy with pubs, countryside, main town (Guildford), visitor attractions and a pleasant feel. A great holiday waterway for a short break. Have a look at these https://ontheweynarrowboathire.co.uk

And what happens when all this happens on a bend? Is their a bent bernoulli bypass theorem, or bent bernoulli bang?

That’s not what was said. The point was that if you hire from Calcutt or Napton you are “going south on that canal”. That canal in this case being the south Oxford. For the OPs requirements I think the options given by Tony were very sound.

I think that you would do a lot worse than the South Oxford Canal. College cruisers form Oxford or Oxfordshire narrowboats from Lower Heyford. A bit longer car journey and going south on that canal you have Calcutt Boats and Napton Narrowboats at/near to Napton/Southam.

Heavens, just imagine. If one were to engage in "affairs of the heart" on the boat it could be a nightmare. Especially with me being so handsome and charming and everything. And constantly getting pestered by lady boaters vying for my attention and wanting sexual favours. Well I do declare. The poor B2B would be on and off all night. Victron better get their act together or there'll be a warranty claim on their hands.

There is good mooring above Tardebigge locks at the wharf, and then a run through the tunnel to take the boat back next morning, so I would say that is not a reason to decide you have to go anti-clock.

I don't know about so the science bit I love it when I (the boaty) do the "boat dance" 🎉

The main problem with this, and anything the water companies are doing, is TRUST, and there is none. They are dumping sewage hand over fist daily, weekly, without a care for the environment or waterways users. They are purely a vassal for profit making and dividend sharing, taking debt to pay shareholder bonuses but expecting customers to foot the bill for any improvements they have to make when toothless OFWAT say they need to improve things. This corrupt government is at this very moment putting into place legislation protecting shareholders from any water company going bust, or privatisation....and doing nothing about sewage dumping.

I have researched this in the past, and there was quite a bit of commercial traffic on the Avon between Christchurch and Salisbury up to about 1730. It was navigable by 25 ton barges. There were believed to be 10 navigation cuts made and three locks dating from the early 1700's. Only one or two of these cuts are visible today. Essentially, as the navigation was abandoned in 1730 it's doubtful these locks would still be in operation in the early 1900's. After 1730 the course of the river was altered by man made water meadows, but small pleasure boats continued operating along it's length up to at least 1907. There was even an annual regatta in Fordingbridge that ran from 1889 to 1928. After 1907 fishing rights and landowners stopped boats operating in the lower part of the river at Ringwood. Today much of the river is 'reserved' by fishing clubs, however the original 1664 act of navigation has never been repealed. So in theory you are allowed to navigate it. Occasionally a local kayaker/canoeist will paddle it's length. A number of portages are required due to weirs, and usually much abuse is received by local landowners and fishermen with threats to call the police etc!