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Always sad to see a sight like this. I sincerely hope that nobody was hurt but we should all use this as a reminder how important it is to ensure our boats are as safe as possible. Have you got a smoke alarm and when did you last test it? Do you have two exits from your boat that are available for you to use and the routes to them are not cluttered? If nothing else if someone reads this and thinking about having an escape plan saves their life then that is forum etiquette enough for the post to stay as far as I am concerned.

I'm no paint expert, but that is not my experience at all. My engine space was rusty beyond belief so I vactan'd it, then 2 primer, (not actually necessary with Vactan?*), 2 undercoat and 2 topcoat. All seems fine after at least one Autumn/Winter, (maybe 2?). How does the vactan get "washed off" the steel work when it is covered with several layers of paint? * When did you speak to Vactan? The website still tells us that it is as good as a primer, and can be undercoated directly, rather than primer first. They also recommend it for "your garden gate", which is hardly likely to be inaccessible? Did they tell you something different when you spoke to them? One could wonder when they will get round to revising their web site? Third paragraph down..... http://performance-chemicals.net/vactan/

Yes hire boat licence fees are a lot more than leisure licence fees. But it is not just CRT who benefit, it is a number of canalside businesses too. Whilst the holidaying hire boater is enjoying a slap up meal in the canalside pub, and paying handsomely for it, the curmudgeonly private owner is sitting in their boat illuminated by a single bare white led light eating from a tin of beans heated on their stove, grumpily chuntering over all the annoying other boats he has encountered who did things slightly differently from the way he would have done it and cursing them for it. Desperate to be having the time of his life but failing miserably.

You're welcome. I'm surprised you need it. Posts that don't contravene the rules need leaving alone, and posts that contravene the rules need deleting. Pretty basic error to be doing the opposite. But I know you're just yanking our chains with all this and enjoying it, so I'll leave you for now to get on with it.

It must have been the year mrsmelly was out of the country!

Totally agree. All this deleting of post speculating about the cause of death "in case a relative reads them" is a first class example of virtue signalling and getting offended on behalf of someone else. Pointless and silly. If a relative of the deceased visits and objects that would be a reason to delete stuff, but so far that hasn't happened. Or has it, Team Mod?

Well I have to say that if they are trying to sell Mollie, this isn't a very inspiring first image:

Ever wondered where baby TreeMonkeys come from....

This thread is quite interesting as I've blocked CH following previous abusive postings,so I only get his stuff when more sensible people tell him he's talking rubbish. Doesn't look as if I have any need to change my settings so far.

Our very first experience on a narrowboat was from Kate Boats at Warwick, First locks were Hatton flight and we were terrified. A lovely chap alone on his boat was waiting at the bottom for help the next day but said he'd take us up as long as we did the donkey work - his advice on so many things has been invaluable over the years. We didn't find any problems with peoples attitudes to a hire boat, maybe we were just lucky. We now always appreciate hirers as being the life blood of the canals and always help and are friendly when we come across them.

It may be a little longer. The nearest neutron star is the evocatively named RX J1856.5-3754. It is 400 light years away, so according to CanalPlanAC, this will take: speed of light 186000 (miles/sec) * 60 seconds in a minute * 60 minutes in an hour * 24 hours in a day * 365.25 days in a year * 400 light years away * 2 there and back / 3mph = 1.565x1015 hours travel time at typical narrowboat speeds. Fortunately, there are no locks in space. Which will take 223,608,137,100,000 days at seven hours a day. Check with CaRT for any stoppages that may increase your journey time. Make sure that your diesel and water tanks are full and your pump out/cassettes are empty before setting out as fuel retailers, water points and sani stations are few and far between. Stock up with coal to keep the cabin warm in interstellar space. Ignore the boat safety scheme and seal up the high and low level air vents before leaving the Earths atmosphere.Your space suit will end up smelling of diesel like all your other boating clothes. Jen😀

The bit that worries me is that 25kg tool bag swinging about on 10ft of rope below him. That would totally unbalance me.

I stopped before I nearly did it - let's hope we are never tempted and our similar measures stand us in good stead!

As I understand the eligability to vote as a volunteer, first you must be a registered C&RT volunteer. I think this implies that if you go to my trust page on the C&RT website, that you have a link to my volunteering. This is the route by which one can claim your expenses, and inspect your training records, amongst other things. You also need to have been logged having given some hours work to the trust in the last 12 months as an individual, however hours given working for Council, Partnerships and Advisory groups do not count, for some reason. Also groups like task forces where the hours are logged against the task force not the individual, also cause exclusion. Council has been attempting to come up with a workable solution to this particular problem, but its not as easy as it sounds, due to the Ad-hoc nature of task groups. If you think you have had hours recorded as an invividual in the last 12 months and have not recieved a vote its probably worth an email to [email protected]

We encountered no problems (30" draught). We moored on the left after turning left on the way in. There was no weed either. She was out for a while. Two other cats sauntered along, we don't know if there was a standoff or not. There was no cat fight. Tilly prefers proper countryside though.

You wouldn't believe how hard they are 'hammered in' (using a 28lb hammer). No it doesn't crack the fibreglass - fibreglass is tough stuff. My hull is 1" thick (2"+ around the keel) and weighs 10 tonnes exactly - probably heavier than a 36 foot NB with ballast. I have never yet seen one fall over - I guess the marinas don't want to get a reputation or an insurance history of letting boats fall over.

Every time I go to a lumpy water boatyard and see how the boats are propped up I wince....beer barrels & dodgy props look to be the norm...I know the boats are fibreglass but I still think the boat would win if it fell on you!!

Well, yes, but it's the unknown unknowns you really have to watch out for.

Perhaps it was he who fitted my batteries on Saturday - if so, he didn't look at all like his picture. This muppet stuff must be overstated.

This one?

It could be various apps continuously syncing in the background. Does this help? https://chromeunboxed.com/how-to-avoid-destroying-your-data-cap-when-tethering-to-a-chromebook/

MMmmm maybe i could be finished with this one i started this weekend, ill crack on and get in touch see what they think.

So does the OP want to come back and reiterate what he said as it seems to have been well & truly debunked?

Three that I do know personally: https://hnbc.org.uk/crt-election-2020

You made £16.67 more than you expected. St Lucia here you come, lol!!

It's the water that is dangerous https://www.fishersci.com/shop/msdsproxy?storeId=10652&productName=23751628

And presumably you didn’t drink it out of the bottle either...

We were there in September 2019. Five dry and sunny days. SWMBO got me with my hands in pockets in the ticket hall and later the roof line from the ferry.

You do know that Vactan is considered safe for potable water as per their website ?? That’s without overcoating. edited to add quote from website “Vactan has been tested and certified as fit for use for the carriage of grain and use in potable water systems. It may also be used in sensitive foodstuff areas.“

Quite. It's pointless trying to argue detailed points with idiots who CBA to read the thread. But to labour one of the points, it was implied earlier that the right to self-certify for RCD means one can just sign the declaration forms without actually ensuring the boat physically complies. This is fraud, not compliance with RCD!

That's not quite what you said in your OP and Daily Mail style headline

You sound like you know the crack fella, and been told all the good and bad of you project and still ok with it. even after all the negatives you have. So crack on and join me in the nut house of the boating world, best boat house you will ever find Do a blog though on here not many about nowadays but for the three i see, i dont think any NB`s Good luck

I posted that about a week or two ago under a similar title.

I think that's just standard ambulance speak. Still regarded as a patient even if no treatment given, and even if no 'patient' is found when we arrive on scene. Condolences to his family and friends.

Having only just stumbled on this topic I can assure you that the thread makes very little sense at all. It’s apparent that someone must have posted something inappropriate and that several posters are all wound up about it but with the seubsequent fragmentation and edits it’s just a mess now. Regardless, my condolences to his family.

Most of the advice on this forum is by people that have no idea what they're talking about but just feel the need to comment, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Careful Alan, you will get accused of being negative as I have been. Its sad that with all the information available on here and elsewhere that there are still the potential boaters who are unaware that living on a boat in a decent way is never going to be cheap. I rent out flats in the north of Lancashire that are far cheaper than living on any boat, never mind the folk who want to live in London areas.

They last me between 3 months and 4 years and anywhere in between. What I have found over the years is that if I dont have a spare they stop working ten miles from the nearest road, at night, in the rain on a weekend. I always keep a spare.