Leaderboard

Not sure what your point is? I was captaining that run back from Braunston and to be honest do not recall us failing to negotiate a bridge hole on the Northern Oxford, but any bridge hole you get through without any damage would seem to count as a success. This was a training run for new members, so things were not always as slick as we might like. We are a volunteer organisation and put a lot of effort into presenting the boats as smartly as we can, in terms of both presentation and handling. You are obviously a very experienced and capable boater, so perhaps you would contact the Trust? We are always pleased to learn from the experts who have shared the benefit of their experience with us over the years.

Back in the 50s/60s, when pleasure boaters were a rarety, the most you could expect from a boatman unless you knew them well was a slight inclination of the head. We referred to it as a 'boatman's nod', but it was pretty much the same you'd get while walking in rural areas. The waving and cheering that now goes on seems to us more like a rather self-satisfied "look at me - I'm on a boat", and I find it rather embarrassing if a guest on our boat does it.

Interesting you mention the "right"side of the canal. As a former historic boater, the correct side is in the deeper water on the outside of the bend, which doesn't always correspond to the convention of passing on the right. However, having deeper water underneath you, from this position you are able to move to the correct passing side in most cases. Coming round the shallow inside of a bend is a recipe for disaster as, at any moment, you can skid across the cut in a straight line.

You passed me near Dunchurch- we met at a bend just as I was coming through the bridge. No dramas- you were (unlike a good percentage of private, hire and historic boats I met on bends) actually on the right side of the canal and well positioned. Think you had about 6 crew in total- all of which smiled, waved or exchanged greetings as we passed. I did think at the time this was how it should be done having passed too many miserable scowly faces en route as I dodged them.. 🙂

Made a new cratch this year. It's made out of 18mm marine plywood without any joints.

It’s not unusual 😂🤩😂 ha someone had to start!

I had never been to the Braunston show until this year as we have been on the continent for 18 years and then the plague. I’m not a fan of shiny paintwork but do like polished brass. Met some old friends and made some new ones and people who are serious about maintaining the boats even if they are not”working boats” . I tried to make a joke to the friends of Raymond’s crew by saying they were in the wrong place ie on the corner by the bridge but it fell flat as they said this is our place. Great atmosphere between the crews and I for one thoroughly enjoyed it.

Just converted the document above to a PDF, let's see if the forum accepts it. The Jointless Cratch Board.pdf

Sorry, but my computer didn't like the last quote and wouldn't let me alter or finish it. I meant to say that the L&LCS members who look after Kennet, although they get some pleasure from the work, do it more for the general public and to promote the history of the canal. Kennet and Mersey are the only unconverted short boats on the canal, and Kennet is the only one to which the public have access. Last Sunday we had over 450 visitors on board over the day at Skipton, and though it can be a pleasure chatting to them, it is also time consuming. Heritage is one of the many factors which ensure that our canals stay open, and educating the public is an important aspect of encouraging government to keep funding the system. A few more volunteers would be a help in achieving this aim by educating the public to the benefits and heritage of our canals.

Yes, and without any real joints. However, the file is too large to post on the forum because it contains images. If you of anyone would like a copy (.DOC format) either PM me your email address or just email. Email address in signature

Self cleaning, it's a skin stripper.....and black ro boot, fancy trying to hold on if the sun ever comes out!!

Well, go to the midpoint along the length, with the boat alongside a very low piece of towpath. Someone lies down and hooks the tag on a steel tape under the wear lip on the baseplate, while someone else measures to the gunnel. Then take off (say) 10mm for the baseplate and 6mm for the walkway plate.

Used to be a comment in the sellin business that nothin sells before an election...........so next week may be different.

Here's the drawing for our cratch. All the joints were dowelled. Douglas fir was used but parts have started to rot. If doing it again I would use Accoya which is a modified softwood https://www.accoya.com I now specify it on buildings because of its long life. To increase the height inside the cratch I fitted a beam to the cabin front, you can see this in the photographs. A weather bar was fitted on the foot of the cratch to shed rainwater. Cratch.pdf

Today I had a serious professional welder fill in the deepest pits on the old girl, I brought a boat surveyor to tell me would it be plausible and he said it would. Actually there was not many 2mm deep, but we did them all, I'm not grinding the weld off (he did long runs over 3 or 4 at a time) overplating would have cost a small fortune, so this may help others with pitting, this old girl was built in 1979, so not bad considering.

yes, very much the preferred option in our case. My knowledge and expertise in the area of narrowboat shells is about as close to non-existent as you can get, so my opinion about which shell to use doesn't really deserve to carry any weight 🤣. Of course if you do have knowledge in that area, you may well want a particular shell builder to be used. What I do know is how big I want the boat to be, what layout it will have, the details around fit and finish, and those kinds of things. I'm happy for the builder to take responsibility for ensuring that I get all those things. It seems like builders use particular shell builders because they have a relationship with them and confidence that the shell will be delivered to the right spec and standard. Seems to make perfect sense to me. If all those things line up, the result is a continuing good reputation and happy customers all round.