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Tunnel bands is a modern term for them. Since the 60s, I’ve always known them as counter bands. I don’t think the waterways press help in this respect, I’ve seen what I know as a stop beam referred to as a “ boatman’s beam” , likewise a cabin stool called a “ boatman’s stool”. Side doors called swan or duck hatches make me wince….

Some of us go boating because we enjoy it Tigerr. Someone deciding to do the locks for us , and boss us around at the same time, reduces that enjoyment considerably. Rog

@davidwheeler "I am sorry if these don't appeal to you, . . . . " What on Earth gives you that idea? As others have stated, these are of great interest to waterways enthusiasts, and your articles/comments and pictures have been of great interest. Sad though it may be that carrying by water has been eclipsed by development dereliction and disuse, such memories should never 'end'. In a topsy turvy world we now are living in, such things are threads of sanity.

How have I managed to boat for 60 years without knowing that ?

But since household radiators produce little of their heat output by radiation it doesn't make a lot of difference if they are polished.

December, 2023. Tollesbury salt marshes. Which, I am led to believe, is where some of the filming for Great Expectations was filmed (John Mills and escaped convict), and also some of Harry Potter.

Stop it! 😮 I'll be searching on websites for these whilst my credit card tries to go into hiding...

No, those hydraulic locks need a speshull handle as pictured.

Handle... Boat name...

From Saltisford ... several boats in front of you ... where we've moored every winter since 2004. Rog

Very definitely is, I forgot to point this out to a friend visiting 🤣

Thats not true, they just hate you 😜

Well in short Sanitary Key might become SANKEY and I am surprised that former trips up the Bradley Arm on 24 hour challenges did not recognise this structure which was part of the Sankey Works. The Glasshouse here operated at an early time and was contemporary with the the early Birmingham Canal. and before. I did suggest in a Blackcountryman article that the glass made might have been used in the Bilston enamel industry. The enamels used rectangular shapes made from copper which was decorated with the enamel. At that time there was a water powered Bilston Mill and the copper it is suggested came up the Severn and was transported to Bilston by road.

It's not just the temperature -- as you say, radiation increases *very* rapidly with temperature, which is why domestic "radiators" dissipate something like 90% of their heat by convection. It's to do with infrared emissivity (same as absorption in reverse) -- for visual light and near infra-red (short wavelengths) which is what the sun puts out, colour makes a big difference, hence the white vs. black difference on sunny balance beams. But for the far infra-red which is what low-temperature bodies like radiators emit, colour makes little difference, all painted surfaces have very similar (and high) emissivity. What is *really* bad is polished metal... https://www.thermoworks.com/emissivity-table/ Most common materials (including paint of all colours, wood, brick, concrete, fabric, ice, plaster, rubber, soil, tile, water...) are in the range 0.84-0.97, meaning they only radiate between 3% and 16% less than an ideal black body -- the differences between them are small, especially when only a small fraction of the total heat is radiated anyway (e.g. "radiators"). This is why there's only a *very* small difference in heating performance between black and white radiators (see earlier link which quoted 1%) -- and measurements back this up, it's not just some arcane physics theory with no relevance to the real world... 😉 Polished metal however is *really* bad at radiating/absorbing infrared (polished brass is 0.03, copper 0.05, chrome 0.1) so this is the worst possible finish for radiators -- even if it's trendy... 😞

We just hung the Rayburn off the railway bridge below common moor , deconverted a bit of boat and swung it in with a chain hoist. However that was in the days when boats were more diy. At one point the rayburn was hanging of the bridge mid channel when we lifted it from boat a to boat b. Did enjoy the 80s

To Answer the question BS 381C 538 - Cherry is the colour your looking for. Signal Red 537 is the oh shit we bought the wrong one! to be used as an undercoat.

We came up last Saturday in three hours twenty five ... only used one gate and paddle as it was quite icy. The locks were mostly set for us (but for leakage). No sign of volunteers, or indeed other boats. We're obviously not as old and infirm as we'd feared after five months at home ... and the breakfast in the cafe was stunning 👍🏻 Rog

There was an episide of Grand Designs a few years ago with a bloke turning a fairly sizeable boat into a giant monstrosity. Only time I've seen Kevin Thing sneer at a build, and it's never been repeated, but I remember it got evicted from its mooring, found nowhere would take it and wound up as a pile of scrap.

As you can see everyone is just going to theorise and guess and give their opinion but the only thing you can do that has any bearing whatsoever is to take the agreement you have for your mooring to a solicitor and pay them to read and confirm your position. Not clear what you’ve done already as you say you’ve had loads of legal advice but no solicitor will touch it???? So who have you had the legal advice from? If it’s a load of opinions on a forum then it’s worthless I’m afraid. If you have an agreement and it has a notice period from the marina owner, and I’d be amazed if it didn’t, then likely you need to start packing and not spend your money fighting a case you won’t win. But the first step is a visit and payment to a solicitor to ask them to advise.

Should damn well be ashamed. Everyone knows it's blunt end and pointy bit.