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An update for everyone. It works! Although it’s not a job I will do again in a hurry. It was a nightmare to take apart - a fair few bolts snapped and the angle grinder was needed a fair bit to cut through old bolts and washers. Using a stud remover I was able to take most of them out and I have moved onto the boat and reassembled. No issues with listing - it’s only 400kg so not a crazy amount. The back boiler in the one I bought was leaking - but it is integral to the Rayburn so I have cut a hole in it and inserted a much smaller back boiler which is more suited to boat use anyway. Overall I am very pleased (and very worn out!) I replaced the old insulation with rockwool and have put new fire tiles on everything. Thanks again for the help.

I have not met her, but right from her first posts I got the impression that she knows best - or thinks she does. When asking the forum about narrow boating and relating her previous experience, I well remember that when I tried to explain that a narrowboat in shallow water coming when trying to come alongside behaves very differently to a yacht that probably has a round bilge, a keel and is in deeper water. I tried to explain how when reversing close to the side, prop thrust throws water between the swim and bank, which tends to push the stern away from the bank. Apparently she knew all about that, so I gave up. Much the same when an experienced member, working in the field, tried to advise on her kitchen refit, or the rudder drama. Then there were the battery problems with batteries located in unusual positions with non-typical wiring. Just my impression of her, so I tend not to respond so much.

I tried to assist her some time back with regards to her flat in Scotland. She was unpleasant to deal with and quite insulting so I am not surprised that anyone working for her decides to down tools and jump ship.

My husband submits several large invoices a year and similarly has never issued or been asked for a receipt, but that is not the problem here as I understand it. I don't think anyone would be threatening to damage the reputation or try and cause a small business issues with HMRC/VAT over a lack of receipts! I agree that we will probably never know the full details of Lady G's dealing with her tradesmen, nor do we need to. However she chooses to make it the forum's business and if she can be guided to less acrimonious and stressful outcomes - for all concerned - surely that is a good thing? Sometimes it is hard to stand back and see another point of view and as a solo mature boater (who might at times feel slightly vulnerable?) it must be helpful to get other perspectives, or else she wouldn't air her issues in this way. Edited to add: I have been following the forum for a good few years now and briefly met with Lady G a few years ago when she was in Lincoln. She was great company and I think she is admirable for what she manages to do her own - not without a little drama here and there admittedly, but I have much respect for her.

I've reread the thread but am a bit confused. @LadyG have you clearly confirmed with the contractor that you no longer want him to finish the "next job", after he completed the "main job"? You were informed (presumably - unless of course you heard through a third party) that there was an issue with ill health so it seems fair to accept a delay in proceedings. If it is a case of you changing your mind then it seems entirely reasonable to me that he retains the couple of hundred pounds for being messed around. He may have turned down other work to be with you and is therefore faced with an unexpected gap in his diary. The fact that he has taken delivery, stored and may have already stated work on the materials you provided for the next job implies that he has actually begun the "next job". A couple of hundred pounds is at most only a day's work so I think he is justified in retaining your upfront payment. It seems reasonable to ask for the return of the materials but I expect he is not feeling particularly happy with how he has been treated. What precisely are your materials he has? As you say, he and his wife are trying to run a small business - not easy in today's economic climate. It sounds like they have done a satisfactory job for you to date and it is a great shame that relations have soured.

And here is the reason he got hung up, from Rich on Roach who was moored below him.... Further info on the boat that sank in Gregory's top lock. He is now tied up below the lock and drying out. He had gutted the boat prior to a refit (so not much damage inside) but is now trying to get the engine working. A local said it had caught up on a sunken motorbike, but then we stopped to buy coal from Rich on fuel boat Roach who had been moored below when it happened. He said it had been overplated and the chine was now much wider than it should have been, so his boat was effectively over 7' wide. Gregory's top is apparently the narrowest lock on the W&B so he got stuck. He went home to sleep till CRT came back in the morning, but as Rich explained, the canal weirs through these locks (ie no bywash) so his boat was functioning as a gate ... till the water came over the stern and into the boat. He looked quite cheerful though down his engine hole!

Most of the bodges removed, I had a week off in the campervan last week so slowed down a bit. Both helms now work, instruments are all working as well. Split charging in and working, the old system removed and 3 x 300 amp on off switches installed one for the bow thruster which wasn't fused either! The rudder indicator installed but faulty, waiting for a reply from the seller. The raw water pump works great so does the Webasto. Water leaks sorted as well, we are going to try it out this weekend weather permitting

I find myself wondering it that's why they sold the boat.... to finally get rid of that old half-full gas cylinder!

Thank you all for your advices! Because I don't have wet vac available at hand at the moment, I tried fishing it out and it was a success! I know it might sound like a bad idea as many of you warned me of the even worse consequences if I also dropped the hook in there. But I tested until I was confident that the attachment is strong enough but still thank you for all the heads-ups. Regards, Panya

I'd not want to lose steering in the event of propulsion failure. Being able to direct the vessel to the side with no power is handy.

Make it into one of these. £200 A pop💷💷💷👍

The same kit we bought last month elsewhere online is cheaper than their sales prices

What a c@nt! Glad he's been done.

Coming soon to this channel, the Hotchkiss Hydraulic Propeller and the Hunt for Torfrida....watch this space. Or more likely, a new one.

It may seriously restrict the flow of water into the tank. Thinking about it didnt we have a posting like that last week, the tank was empty but they couldnt fill it

It was you who seeded the idea on a thread about getting wood and the fact there are lots of outlets near canals . I am using them at home so stacked in the garage

I'll PM my bank details if you like, then you can "accidentally" pay some money in (can be an arbitrary amount), then let us know how you get on clawing it back without me sending it back to you. Money where your mouth is???

And later Today at Hawne Basin 😃

Emerging from top of a lock gates with lots of debris collected there you need to get speed up in the lock and coast through in neutral until clear of it using the rudder for some way often, and weed and debris elswhere too especially on rivers with a current running, unless you want a busted prop, dislodged rudder or lots of weed box visits to clear the prop unless you like all that then power through it all. I'll stick with my large plate rudder.

These are what I use, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204536075277? If you need higher current then https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314819408103? Been working well for years.

I think we have a member here who dabbles in brassfoundry. Made a batch of bronze windlasses a few years ago IIRC. Was it @Bee perhaps?

You could also try Bridport Foundry and the folk in Madeley (madeleybrass castings.co.u) that do the BCNS explorer plaques. Procast Nottingham (www.procast-shop.com) have also been known to do one-offs as well as their narrowboat brassware.. N

Have never made fun of her. Tried to help her on a number of occasions with stuff that I actually do for a living. Met with rudeness and arrogance so not my loss. I’ll enjoy her nonsense nonetheless.

That is not strictly true. She does listen and has been helped by many kind souls on here, both virtually and in person. You could try to see her as more than just a figure of fun.

On this day 2021 Kiveton to Turner Wood, Chesterfield Canal On this day 2016 Largs

When you pay someone in business you can ask for a receipt, certainly, and if appropriate these could be used to substantiate payments you've made in the personal accounts you present to HMRC. A 'statement of affairs' should show all the relevant transactions, but the figures shown there cannot be technically regarded as 'receipts' and used in the same way - they won't show any of the same detail. I don't think you'll get very far trying to convince HMRC that this company is acting dishonestly.

From 23 Oct 2023 and thanks for the Waverley references - reminded me to book a trip this year: settled on 2Jul2024 from Glasgow to Loch Fyne and towards Ardrishaig

The mount threaded end looks like 1" 14TPI but length of thread not obvious, the tube end would need to be measured accurately, perhaps OD - (2*wall thickness), and the length to be inserted would need to be chosen. Aluminium would seem to be appropriate?? PM me if you decide you want one as I am more certain to see it than a forum post.

If this is an integral tank then at some stage you will need to get in there and repaint it. At this time you will find that plastic cap and maybe a couple of other things, hosepipe fittings and the like. This is normal and don't worry about it. Frogs and fish etc are slightly more concerning.

My thoughts exactly. It's doing no harm. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Trouble, trouble and toil, trouble, toil and tears. An ongoing saga of a boat person. Serialised on a forum near you.

When we once got a rope locked round a bollard in a rising staircase lock (thanks to bad advice from a CART worker) we came perilously close to sinking -- yes with hindsight the obvious thing to do was to shut the paddles but nobody was near them, we were both trying to free off the rope assuming that this would work (because it normally does), and luckily said worker ran over and cut the rope with his saw (they were doing some woodwork on the tail bridge). It's easy to criticise afterwards, not so easy at the time especially if this has never happened to you before. For an example of forewarned being forearmed, a few years ago we went up the Diggle flight not long after a boat had sunk there after grounding on the top cill when exiting the lock and the leaky gates emptying the lock below it, but I knew about this (from CWDF postings...) and was watching out for it, so when it we touched the top cill I knew there was no point trying to get the boat out and the best option was to immediately go hard astern and pull back into the lock, which we did. I'm pretty sure if I hadn't known what was happening and what to do we could have sunk there like the earlier boat did... 😞 It doesn't look like there was any bad decision which lead to the boat under discussion getting jammed in the first place, that was just bad luck and a submerged obstruction in the canal. But the sinking can't have been due to a quick wrong decision forced on them in an emergency, it was the following day after lots of time trying (unsuccessfully) to free it -- surely they must have done *something* wrong to end up with the boat underwater after a day still afloat but jammed? This isn't just schadenfreude or idle speculation, it can be really useful knowing why a boat sank just in case you're ever unfortunate enough to end up in the same position -- see my Diggle comment above.

Yes - I assisted a boater with PIP and they got the full mooring cost, the boat licence cost and the insurance cost paid for. Everything that could be related to a 'house'. They would not pay for the BSS as it had no 'house' equivalent. I think your outcome will depend on your location - rural councils seem to pay out better than urban ones.