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This forum has never treated the 'canal' in the forum name as a limitation on what can be discussed. All of us (or at least almost all of us) have boated sections of river as well as canal, and I see no problem whatsoever in this thread featuring the pictures of those boaters who spend more of their boating time on rivers and larger waterways. And if they make the occasional forays out onto coastal waters, and visit harbours, inlets and coastal rivers that most of us will never take our own boats to, that only adds to the forum in my opinion.

Well, I hope Peter don’t get put off posting. It’s also been good to have a thread where there’s usually little said, certainly no squabbling, just pictures to look at.

Seemed plain enough to me. No need to be rude. PS "cant" and "can't" are different words. Please write correctly.

@nigel carton also moves boats. I always find it a bit sad that someone has bought a boat, presumably to go boating on, yet they can't find the time to move the boat to their new home mooring. Especially as we are about to have a four day weekend which would be enough for most of the trip. And no reason not to leave the boat moored to the towpath for a week or two if the trip can't be completed in one go.

And there was me thinking I'd be able to help a fellow forum member sort of their spreadsheet problems... 😅😂

App, a thing that runs on a mobile phone or pad, I thought you had one of each DM, direct message as not enough posts to send one, I thought you were once a mod, sorry Forum moderator, so I thought you may have needed to know that. Info, Information software dev develops computer software BTW, By the Way.

It ain’t broke as far as I can see, so it doesn’t need fixing. Incidentally almost all of the first page of the thread revolved around a picture of a catamaran in Croatia taken a few years before the thread started and the OP replied to this positively . It was started a few days before lockdown so it’s no surprise it ended up with past years canal pictures and has carried on. Theres one thing for sure, BoatinglifeupNorth isn’t supplying much of a tonic on this thread.

No never did any canals

In case it is of interest I have dug out from my files two articles specifically relating to Hotchkiss Cones and canal narrowboats. These reports in the Motor Boat magazine would have been prepared by Donald Hotchkiss himself - he had been a sub editor there. The dates are 1935 and 1936, at the peak of Cone sales. There was a report in the Trade Notes section of the same magazine in 1956 which reads thus: ' Installation of two Type 30/12 W reversing units is taking place at Braunston, Rugby, in a 72 -ft by 7-ft towing barge, with two Coventry Victor 9-11 hp Diesel engines. By fitting the engines over the cone propellers, it has been possible to reduce the normal length of engine room by several feet, thus increasing the cargo capacity of the barge.' Unfortunately there is no illustration. There is a photo of a butty which appeared in the Leicester Mercury in 1955. But this does not I think refer to a Hotchkiss installation. It seems to me to be a Gill Jet system. 'Princess' was taken over by Barlows 1957, I understand.

Although probably supplied by Kuranda, the stove in question is likely a Wallas 87D stove. I had one in a previous boat and I loved it. Very economical and clean as it uses a sealed flame with it's own flue. The oven is much better than a gas oven as it's fan assisted and works just like an electric oven in a house. The hob also works just like an electric ceramic cooker. I used to run the oven as a heater as it was so economical on diesel! I never had any trouble with it although I was not living aboard. The down sides are the hob isn't as quick to heat up as a gas hob, and it does require 12v to operate. IIRC it draws about 8 amps when starting but once it's running it draws only 1 amp or so. They cost an absolute fortune so if your friend decided to sell it and go to gas they'd probably get a couple of grand for it! In summary, definitely not a no no.

I find it interesting to see how canal locations have changed over the years and Peters photos often show this. I take my hat off to him for taking the time and trouble to post. As has been said before you don't have to look at the topic as it obviously upsets you, going by how often you have said much the same thing. Interesting that there hasn't been much support for your view. 🙂

On this day in 2023 High Green Bridge No 14 Brewood SU On Monday 18Mar2024 Farmers Bridge B+F Some wise words, for once, from C&RT Yesterday in 2023 Acton Moat Bridge No 92 S&W

Thanks for the mentions @matty40s and @MtB. I’m currently recovering from eye surgery so may not be able to help in the timescales but I have PMed @Liz E with a few pointers of what she should be looking for in terms of price and insurance. A couple of my customers at the back end of last year told me they’d had quotes from elsewhere that were broadly double what I charged them. And my rates are comparable with a couple of other boat movers I know.

"...not old photos of 10 years ago" Oh dear, I'll try harder with the 50+ years ago photos then. On this day in 1971 Curdworth locks B+F. Jumping off before lockladders earlier in the day at Tolson's Footbridge B+F - Steve climbed from the front of the boat on to the bridge, then over the bridge and returned to the boat further back. Which all goes to prove that fewer people wear jackets to go canalling these days ...

There has been a particularly bad batch of Excel produced recently, which has caused many problems. Jules Fuels and Ryan have refused to order any until a new batch is produced. If you have old stock, treasure it, mine was bought last June and is excellent.

Paul J, Captain Pegg , Nigel Carton and another Paul(Noddyboater) are all known to me as professional, fully insured boat movers on the forum. No, I no longer manage to fit any in between paint jobs.

rabbit stew for dinner? 🙂 Hope your day improved

If you search a website called Canalworld.net you'll find ...

Completely agree. I've been boating for 51 years, and had shares in boats from around the same time as @PeterScott. Hence many of his photos resonate with me as I recognise the locations and the boats. I will echo.what others have said, if some people don't like liking at the photos taken by @PeterScott then why look at this thread?

If the filter is hard to get at you could fit the conversion to a spin on can filter, it involves changing just the cast filter head bolted to the block. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155706489240? or cheaper https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225774168333?

Sorry, having a bad day.

Tracy D'Arth, Thanks for the reply, I left it until the following morning, discovered the mistake I had made and fitted the correct O ring, replaced the oil turned it by hand a turn or two, and then cranked it over, it complained a little while on the starter. Mr Starter was not very happy for a few seconds, there was some brief squealing while the oil ran up, as soon as the oil hit the bores it took off and fired up and ran without any knocking or other identifiable evil noises. There was a little blue smoke for about 10/20 seconds then nothing. I can't tell what revs I was at because the rev counter didnt/doesnt work (hope i've fixed that problem now) I have an oil pressure gauge and on a touch of throttle it holds at 35 PSI. I tootled round to the fuel bert at a slow tick over with no adverse signs of anything amiss which gave me the hope that "I had gotten away with it". As in everything in life, there is always the doom merchant and this guy the other day got me worried that I may have done some serious damage that is going to come back and bite me on the stern when I least expect it. Tony, You have helped me in the past with a water pump issue and if you say so, I think I will breath easier, you being the Master and all. Thanks John. K Perhaps I should have done that when I replaced the oil, if my paranoia gets bad enough, I will stick my head down the bilges and do that (you would not believe how tight the engine space is on my boat) MtB I have heard this expression before "picked up a bearing" I honestly do not know what is meant by it, Im thinking you are describing an end shell welding itself to the crank shaft but Im only guessing. Given the somewhat gentle way the engine stopped and the subsequent stiffness and squealing from the piston rings before the oil pressure got up, Im thinking and hoping that it was a piston sticking and not something lower down. I also hope that the absence of any discernible knocking from the engine does mean the Grindy Metal Gods were smiling on me that day and I did in fact "get away with it". John. K Again. Sadly the nearest she would ever get to being blue water is if I spilt some paint in the dock while refreshing her hull. She is a 24ft shoal drafted bilge keel Motor sailer and whilst I thank you for you input, I also envy your ability to "took the Gardner out of my boat and replaced it with a Detroit ,simply because the Gardner was too old", I do not have that option. Thanks anyway. I accept that I must almost inevitably have done some damage to the liners and/or rings. Engines are supposed to run with that slippery stuff keeping those metaly grindy pieces apart but I am hoping that because the engine is of the FBH generation, it will forgive the ignominy of my abuse and begrudgingly accept we all make mistakes. As it is 54 years old and I have just turned 70, Im hoping that it will show a little respect for its elders and continue to give me many more years of faithful service before we both finally swim off to Davy Jones's locker.

You have to book during the winter season

I'm interested in this app too, although I've not actually posted enough to be able to DM you. Mainly just been reading the site for information. Can you DM me for my info? I'm a software dev too btw if i can help out.

Not sure he is looking for a holiday on something that is brown and comes out of Cowes backwards ...

As Ditchcrawler says these can be an historic resource. There’s nowt stopping you starting a thread, something similar happened on the where I am thread when it started turning international, I simply started an international thread, I quite admire Peter’s stamina for keeping on posting, and I think his pictures are perhaps an important record for the future voting for stuff we’ll end up with the twee sentimental sickening photos like ‘Boats at dawn, with frost on the cabin tops and whisps of smoke from chimneys’ or ‘View over the Marina at Sunset’ or ‘Relfections in a Bridge Hole’ or….’Squirell Eating His Nuts’. But hey if that’s what folks want let ‘em have it, on another thread, 🤷‍♀️

Actually it would be a fantastic resource that could be looked back on when things change, Just think if there were photos of say Birmingham there from just 20 years ago and in another 5 years it will look different again.

Perhaps you could post some pictures of your boating today?

Well, i like it. Only been boating for nine years so it's nice to see how places i've been looked before i saw them for the first time. Thread drift is an inevitable fact of forums, unless moderated with an iron fist, and surely no-one wants that?

If the starter in question is one of these, then the common (very common) fault is burned solenoid contacts. New ones are cheap. Access by removing the 3 screws on the back of the solenoid.

Me too. I like working locks, and I like sitting on the boat while someone else works them. I like going along, too, which is something fewer and fewer boaters seem to enjoy.

It was health and mobility problems that made us decide not to have another dog. I have a number of operations planned next year so still hope that maybe in the future we can. In the meantime we're sponsoring puppies for Guidedogs for the Blind - they're our surrogate dogs 🐶

There were apparently two steering positions from what can be gleaned, ahead of the engine where there was a seat and two portholes, but also aft where the deck was open until someone fitted a canvas cover as shown. The steerer in the first two pictures is Arthur Goddard. The third one features Phil Garrett. An extract from the report on the craft from an original supplied by Pam Vernon-Jones (E C Jones daughter) ""The boats were not popular with the older more traditional boatmen as they were difficult to handle and steer due to the design at the of the stern keeping water away from the rudder and they were a breakaway form the old narrow boats. The younger boatman thought they were very good and performed well. A design modification to increase the rudder area was made but it was then more difficult to pass through short locks and the boats were heavier to steer. The Anne and Lee were built to a prototype design of a new canal boat that could have changed canal carrying had the circumstances been more favourable at the time. These craft were designed with a transferable cabin so no time was wasted loading or discharging of cargo; the cabin was transferred to another boat already loaded with her cargo. The cabin had four lifting rings so it could be transferred using a standard dockyard crane."" The Lee and Anne had a Harbourmaster 4 cylinder diesel outboard engine with a Voith reversible propeller for steering. The engine was mounted at the stern end and this could also be transferred from one boat to another. These boats were more manoeuvrable as the propeller always gave its thrust in the direction of travel, but the boats were slow to stop. Beryl was the butty to Anne and Ray was the butty to Lee. They were tested for 4 months carrying lime juice from Brentford to Boxmoor, then to carry a load of aluminium ingots from Regents Canal Dock to Birmingham, on the return journey carrying coal to Nash Mills. The trip to Birmingham took 6 days, 2 days longer than usual and the boats never seemed to have been brought into general service on a big scale. The River Class boats were used to transport cement from Rugby Cement works to Stockton and they were used for short journeys rather than long ones. The dimensions were Length 70ft. Beam 7ft. Draught 3ft. 26½ tons.