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Left Wednesday, loaded Thursday morning and arrived back at Ocean Lock, Goole for 18.45. A strong spring tide meant that we saw 10.9 knots opposite Swineshead and for most of the return trip we were above 10 knots – and that wasn't running at full power. The trip is taking about 2hrs 50 mins each way with these decent tides. AC aggregates are already asking for 1000 tons a week at Leeds. We loaded 400 tons in Albert Dock yesterday just to be on the safe side as the depth on the A&C needs testing before 500 ton loads become the norm. This sea-dredged sand appears bulkier that the previous material from Besthorpe, taking up more room in the hold, but it is very dry at the moment. Going up the canal Monday, as you say, leaving 08.00 and tying up above Lemonroyd for the night ready for a wee bit of a shindig upon arrival in Leeds for 10.00 on Tuesday morning. After that it should be business as usual: 8 hours up the canal loaded; 6 hours to return to Goole unloaded. It's hoped that Goole – Hull – Goole can be completed on one complete tide cycle leaving on a falling tide and returning on the incoming tide. If this works in practice then the efficiency and fuel saving will be brilliant. Farndale H (Branford Barge Owners) and Fusedale H (Humber Barges) will be sharing the work in the first instance. Branford Barge Owners have Humber Renown and Fossdale H in reserve should the the tonnage become unmanageable for two vessels.

Team, My wife and I have just spent 3-solid weeks, 2,250 miles, 14-nights in the motorhome and a number of long car journeys in our attempt to find the perfect boat. Fortunately for us now the deal has been signed, deposit down, surveyor arranged and the boat lift is booked and in the diary.... ............and what a really shitty experience it has been in terms of dealing with a number of these brokerages - I can say with some conviction that 70% have been about as effective as a chocolate fire guard around a burning coal fire. I'll begin by saying that our best broker visit by far was with ABNB at Crick but other than that we've had a tough old time with some of the others. Here are just a few of our recent experiences (no names mentioned though). 1. (Broker-1): We travel to one broker that had (and still has) c.20-25 boats for sale on its internet site and on arrival they tell us that all bar one is sold..........but they keep the adverts 'live' in an attempt to attract new punters. 2. The same broker to the one above thought he was doing us a favour by answering the phone and gracing us with his time. (Sales tactics = how small to make the customer look and feel). 3. (2nd Broker): On arrival at another broker site we were greeted with "what's your budget" with not even a 'Hi' or good morning. We arrived when he was dealing with another customer and where the budget question was asled in her immediate presence - My wife and I were quite embarrassed to say the least. 4. (3rd Broker): We phone one evening to arrange a viewing of a boat which was being advertised on the brokers web page. We then travel 3-hours the next morning to view said boat only to be told that it had been sold 4-weeks previous. Guess what, I was fuming at this point! 5. (4th Broker): We missed out on one boat at this particular brockerage by only a few minutes but I left my details behind 'just in case' the buyers pulled out. This was our third visit to this Brockerage so I was silly enough to think that he and I were on good terms. Well, as it turned out, the new purchasers withdrew their purchase offer after only hours of first submitting it and, to my astonishment the dealer never got back to me to offer us the boat. Shocking!! 6. (Broker-5): Now these guys were very special indeed and did a 'speculative sale' on a boat that, as it turned out, was never really for sale in the first instance. My wife and I even submitted a very healthy offer on said boat but the broker was unable to convince the owner to release his boat after they had sold the deal to me. It's probably due to the fact that he wanted to live on it next year when he returned to the UK - you can't fault a dealer for trying though, eh! 7. (Broker-6): This brockerage was selling a boat that was owned by one of the directors and, as it transpired during our visit, it was found to list heavily to one side. We then discovered that the Brockerage boss had simply dumped the boat in a spare mooring for 4-years while it gathered moss and had to be subsequently 'pumped out' before it sank. 8. (Broker-7): On this particular brokers web page it states "All boats should have a survey" but in our chat with said broker he was adamant that a certain boat didn't really need a survey as the old one was only 2-years old. 9. (Same broker as Serial-3): We phone about a boat, then travel 2-hours to get there, only to be told by the guy who took our phone call that they weren't selling it as it had paint problems and was potentially going back to the factory for a warranty claim. Chaps, I could go on and on but I've lost the will to write more. That all being said, I can honestly see why some newbie purchasers give up at the second or third hurdle as these so-called brockerages will test the patience of a saint. In the meantime please accept my deepest apologies for such a long opening post. Best Wishes to all, Andrew

They both ended up in my workshop. Best preserved engines I ever saw. They sat for 55 years in the same heated facility, meticulously maintaned. One has 560 and the other 580 hours on the meter, and they start and run like new engines. I got them with clear engine oil, fresh radiator fluid, clean airfilters, and almost like they came from the factory only last month. The dieselpumps are still covered in their factory wax coating, and pristine and shiny under it. Only flaw I can find with them is that one of the generators regulate the output at a somewhat higher voltage than nominal, 250V instead of 230. Probably due to a dried up condenser or something in the 55 year old regulator. They also came with a couple of sturdy ASEA 3 phase transformers to 400V of the same vintage, but without control/instrument cabinets. As they used to be part of the UPS system for DECCA Navigators Skagerak-chain of radio beacons, and had the controls integrated in the main cabinets. They were the emergency back up for Violet Slave Årjang, to be precise. I’m going to build new cabinets and dieseltanks for them, preserve them, and keep them in my collection until I get an offer I can’t refuse. Or get old enough to find out that it’s time to downsize. They’re a joy in that state, plain and simple. Museum quality items.

My country has been stolen by a bunch of fascists

All wrong so far. It's actually to stop numpties with wide beams escaping out of the marina when moored in stupid locations like the North Oxford etc.

Hi all My first post on this forum. I don't have a canal boat but enjoy walking along canals and sometimes chatting to boaters / helping them lock. On Monday night 14/9 I found a satellite dish in its case (open) on the towpath and want to try to reunite it with its owner. It's from Travel Sat and I called Martin the owner of this business via the mobile no shown, thinking he might be able to look up the person he sold it to via the serial no BUT these dishes don't have them and he's sold about 1000! Martin was very helpful in talking me through checking and assembling this thing via WhatsApp video and we have ascertained that it's all present and correct apart from a missing screw (1 of 4) on the mounting bracket and a minor broken lug on the bracket - neither of which stop it from working, just need to be more gentle when tightening the knurled wheel acc to Martin. If you think this might be yours, contact me to tell me where you lost it. There are also some accessories in the box with it which acc to Martin aren't standard but are extra. What are these? Mark

Maybe they need that separate, through-hull, air intake no-one else has ever thought of? I'll get my coat...

Sorry its been a while, but I now have a boat Exhire - good conversation with surveyor and doughts put to bed or sorted. Brillient and testing journey from Coventry canal to Yorkshire Calder & Hebble. Started to make it "ours", the real captain! she does know how to "change things inside" Thank you all for your advice, I have loads of questions I will bore you with later

As a broker I can assure you that none of the above was me .. I certainly do not not treat any Possible client like that sti I have standards . Treat everyone as I would like to be treated we don’t always get it 100% right but a I do try

Some people do it frequently. They are called "serial off-fenders"

Delighted to see the change. It's a real phoenix from the ashes moment. Here's some pics to celebrate with:

In all fairness, that looks like my forward course.

Yeah, we have noticed! Sorry, couldn't resist.

It was likely an accident and if you have an accident, even a silly one, the emergency services and any hospital treatments are free of charge, long may it continue. Today we walked past a school bus having a bit of a fire, the driver phoned the fire brigade, I doubt he stopped to think how much it might cost him. A local shop took in all the children, I doubt they expected payment either 😀 ................Dave

I tried to get rid of an old bike, left it on the roof for ages, went around the network etc.. Nope not got nicked, so I left it on the towpath for anyone to keep. Four days later someone returned the bike to me thinking I had lost it. Next time I will padlock it, with a chain, someone is bound to nick it then.

Buying, selling and owning a boat has become 'professionalised' (if that is a real word) and the canal life has suffered for it. Boats seldom used to be sold through brokers, if you wanted a boat you looked in small ads in Exchange and Mart or somewhere. If you had a boat you fixed it yourself when it went wrong. It has become more like owning a car, people expect their boats to have some sort of forecourt value like looking in Glasses Guide and expect boatyards to repair and 'service' their boats then complain when something else goes wrong. Hand in hand with this has become cost inflation, take it or leave it attitudes and frequent disappointment when either the boat or even the canal itself breaks down. I don't suppose this will change now but as soon as you dip a toe in the world of boats you must be aware that you are mixing in the world of estate agents, second hand car dealers, various dodgy characters and the best person to trust is yourself (and a surveyor (and even he / she sometimes falls a long way short in experience and ability)

I have a theory on this. Dogs today crap roughly 3 times as much as dogs of yesteryear. This is because the moment they take a dump, their owner rushes up, pops it in a bag and keeps it. The dog thinks his owner must really love the stuff if they go to all that trouble so, in order to please his owner, he puts a lot of effort into doing extra quantities. This phenomenon results it the towpath s#it storm we're all suffering

I found this image useful and am ordering some chains now. Haggis and Nick you're both right, there isn't a lot of Armco and chances are someone actually did me a solid. The mind loves a negative bias and to jump to the worst possible conclusion. I ll keep working on that. Your responses have helped me feel a lot more positive about the whole situation. Hopefully I can use some new mooring tactic to avoid it happening in future.

Where we are moored now, 75% of the boats are perhaps going faster than I am comfortable with. Do I sling open the side hatch and yell obscenities?, do I run the length of Nightwatch to get my two-pennarth in?, no I don’t, as I can moor a boat correctly and securely.

Well .............. yes. But we don't make a big fuss about it and take 5 months thinking about painting it.

I found the same about ABNB, but bought my boat from GHBS, which went well despite my trepidation from what I had read about them on here. At the end of the day, it is better to buy the boat you really want from wherever it is on sale, rather than restrict yourself to the very few excellent brokers. Only if you are really lucky will the boat you really want will be available from the broker you really want to use.

Some rotten boater who leaves his fenders down to get ripped off in locks and you have picked the remains up on your blade. The gland packing is at the opposite end of the shaft bearing, no way it could get out at the back end. If it ever did, boy, would you know, the water would be up to your knees.

Nah, if that was the case when you got a line of boats together they would just disappear! 😂😁

On a budget is not the same as dishonest. The people who take these things are just thieving scumbags , its not like stealing food because they are starving to death.

Sunset on the Menai Straits. Heading South (into the Sun) from the "Pont Britannia" (Built By Robert Stephenson) & the old 'Menai Bridge' (built by Thomas Telford) in the far background (Fenders deployed as we are just about to lock into the Marina) A few other pictures around 'Pilots Cove' and heading back from the 'open sea' to the Menai Straits

No washing down and no sanding? That's why your emulsion didn't stick.

Henley on Thames a few years ago, some Pillocks nicked a broom of the roof, heard 'em do it too, some posh kids by the sound of the accents, One was called 'Gove' 'cos the other one was braying like a donkey chortling 'well done Govey' and 'Govey' replied 'Jolly good jape eh Boris,, Wonder what happened to the theiving little gits.

No, completely wrong. Here is a picture of how the stop planks for a new marina are usually "removed" and the marina filled. 😀