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Surprised this one hasn't been mentioned yet.
 
BBC News - Barge to be moved within days, council says
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly1yvw5l0wo

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn7x7y08dgdo.amp
 
Will the boat safety be updated?
 
Will this effect hire boats who sometimes have drunken holidays makers. Especially the day hires.

Hi my shower tray seems to have been leaking for many years. 
Will I need to lift the ballast out and treat the hull or do I just wait for it to dry out on its own/with a space heater? 
Any help is appreciated 
Thankyou 

I reckon there's a stoppage inbound at Middlewich if anyone's around there...
 
HGV in the canal...
 

As has been mentioned in another thread the next BCN 24 Hour Marathon Challenge will take place on the 24th and 25th May 2025.
 
The finish line will be at Withymoor Island where a warm welcome and excellent hospitality will be extended to the competitors judging by the excellent job the Trust did for the 2022 event.
 
For 2025 there will be bonus factors introduced for boats of greater than 2' draught - and further enhanced for those above 3' - and also for boats of greater than than the 6' 10" modern standard width.
 
All previous entrants have been mailed with details and entry forms are now available. Price of entry is £25 including one commemorative plaque and additional plaques are available at £10 each.
 
The organiser can be contacted at [email protected]
 

9.50, am  wed 7th may today FERNANDO STOLEN.
LL20
cat was in basket on towpath. 
Please help.
He is not longer on towpath.
This is a black cat with white tuxedo ie tiny bib and paws.
He has a very big tummy
He is 5kg.
Could someone put this on Facebook please

Just a quick (but desperate) introduction to a problem that has me baffled and needing help. I have one of those rare things,- a centre cockpit Sea Otter 32ft. The issue comes about because of the use of hydraulic drive and hydraulic steering mechanics occupying the space needed to remove the weed hatch and cavitation plate assembly from the hole... as in, I can't! The steering arm and opperating ram make it impossible to remove the hatch 'baffles' to gain acces to the prop and 'entanglements'.  Does anyone have anythoughts on how the assembly could be modified to make removal possible... I've had nothing from the Sea Otter owners group. We are based on the Llangollen canal, notoriously shallow and weedy so with the likelyhood of some plastic and the odd rope floating unseen, we are worried about keeping going through these potential issues and how we would clear the prop when the inevitable happens.

Does anyone know who can clean a diesel tank,  L405te 

I'm having the kitchen refitted on our boat and have been asked to choose an LPG built in oven/grill. Our fitter says we could choose a normal domestic model if preferred but having done an online search LPG items seem to be rarer than hens teeth!
Can anyone advise on where I can find an LPG built in oven/grill other than the few options I found at Midland Chandlers?
Thanks.

11 months,
what’s yours?  
 

Hello, I want to install a 5 step filtration system so I can use canal water on my narrowboat. What type of tradesperson could do this for me? Do I need to source all the equipment and they will install it for me? Does it need to be done in a marina? I live in London. Thank you!

I have a question about benefits while being a live aboard boater with a residential mooring.
I am aware that you can claim for mooring fees, help with the licence fees and even third party insurance, however, I would like to know if you can get help with Blacking fees, in particular the cost of craning the boat out of the water so that it can be blacked?
Anyone got any experience with this? Positive or negative I would just like to know.
Cheers.

Hello boaty friends!
 
A short 5 months after our last holiday we booked our return! We will be in Droitwich next week on the newly refit Arthur Owl. Cafwin Cruises has refit him as a hybrid!
 
Like last year, our plan of doing the Avon ring has been dashed by uncontrollable events. Last year it was silted locks on the Avon, this year it is the demise of the Tardebigge flight. 
 
No reason to fret! We are going to venture up to the Trent & Mersey and back. I thought about a side trip to the Black County museum but I think instead we will just leisurely cruise up and down the Staff & Worc. On the way back down the Severn, if time permits, we may go down to Diglis and up the Worcester & Brum back to Droitwich.
 
There is a new post here about pubs on the Staff & Worc. I found it very informative! Anymore suggestions? If we spend a day in Worcester, what are some “must sees” and great food options?
 
Are there any places one would recommend avoiding along our route? We will need a laundry day on the north end of our journey. And recommendations for that?
 
Thanks in advance!

April was ace!
May’s looking good too.
 
If it carries on in to the summer which are the usual canals that cop it bad for water shortage?
 
As a starter the Ashby Canal comes to mind here in the Midlands.
 
And down South the Oxford Canal,
 
Up North there’s too many to mention in an opening thread,
 
If the good weather carries on too long, I have it in mind to stick close to Wolverhampton and Birmingham,
and not venture too far this summer,
Has there ever been a shortage around the BCN? I guess so, which bits are likely to suffer?
 
But hey it could just as easily rain for two months straight 🤷‍♀️

Hi, I'm looking for some advice on the options I have to heat the water (showers/sinks, not raditators). I've been a live-a-board for three years, mostly in a marina. When I have cruised I've made the most of the engine heated hot water on the days we've moved, and on the days we haven't, just made do with either the remaining tepid water or boiled water on the hob for washing up etc.
 
Now I'm starting to CC, I'm looking into some different options. The boat has an immersion heater and calorifier which I run directly from the shoreline when in the marina. I don't have a gas water heater.
 
I'm looking for the simplest solution. I know I could fit a gas heater but with the layout of the boat and where the pipes (both water and gas) run it would be a bit of a pain to fit. I've looked into a solar dump, but have no idea of where to start with fitting that when usually the immersion heater is powered directly off the shoreline - I wouldn't want to lose that option.
 
Would the simplest solution be to run the immersion off a generator? I've also seen these - https://www.whisperpower.com/diesel-generators which seem to be able to be permanently fitted in an engine bay. Although they look expensive and maybe overkill?
 
Also, I've heard mixed opinions on whether it's a good idea to run the engine on idle to heat the water. It's an 2004 Isuzu engine, if that makes any difference.
 
Any thoughts you have would be appreciated! 

I am looking to have a wide body boat built can anyone recommend a builder. 

Just been reading @Plutos excellent book on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. I've always known this as the longest built by a single company. However Pluto points out that the L&LCco only built 116 of the 127 miles as the length from Wigan Top Lock to Johnsons Hill was built by the Lancaster Canal. 
 
For a moment the crown wobbled, but I'm fairly certain that the second longest is well short of 116 miles - I think it's either the Grand Junction or the Trent and Mersey, but both are sub 100 miles... 
 
But then, the pedantic alter ego kicked in - The L&L isn't a continuous 116 miles, and the break isn't particularly near either end so one of the others wins that award. If if the L&L is allowed top spot with a main line broken by another canal, should branches be included in the "longest by one company"? And if so who wins then? I think the Caldon and Uttoxeter add around 30 miles to the T&M...
 
Anyone wish to add to the pedantic rambling above?
 
(Suitable foil to my shortest canal thread... 😁) 

So it is that time again and the boat is coming out in a couple of months for blacking. It will be Bituminous Paint that is put on. However I have been looking at different options and wondered if anyone had tried anything other than the "standard" marine blacking paints and what results they've had?
 
So far I've found one's by Bird Brand, Johnstone's, Palatine, Cromar and Black Jack.
 
These are mostly half the price of the likes of International Intertuf etc. Is this because the latter are specifically designed for marine/narrowboats, or is it because the latter are marketed for marine/narrowboats?
 
I have tried to search through the forums, but haven't been able to find any such discussion since approx 2015.

Hello! 
 
Forum has been massively useful so far and haven't had to post much, just searching previous posts. Thank you to everyone. 
 
My current situation is a replacement LPG cage, as pics show, where the ventilation runs from the cage to off the boat, it has rusted away leaving a considerable hole exposed to the bilge of water and potentially LPG. 
 
The good news is no gas has been used since ownership of the boat and everything was disconnected prior to purchasing. 
 
I've closed both the holes whilst cage is out by a secure pipe from upper to lower to avoid risk of water coming in for now. 
 
I can't seem to find a similar cage so my question is where to find one?
 
What material can be used to pass BSS examination ? 
 
Thank you all for taking time to read. 
 
✌️
 
 

As title. I thought it was an A127 but I'm not so sure now. 
 
After a long lay-up over winter it no longer charges. Warning light doesn't illuminate despite 12v on one terminal and 0v on the other. Weird. Every crimp connector I touched fell apart so not having a crimp set on this boat I bailed out and came home to get one. Back tomorrow to re-make the terminals properly but not yet sure how to proceed with diagnosis as I don't think it is an A127 after all.... but what is it? It looks familiar! 
 
Thanks...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Boat licensing proposals are to be discussed on Radio 4’s Broadcasting House tomorrow (Sunday) from 9.0am
Saw Richard Parry being interviewed for the programme by Paddy O’ Connel yesterday

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/boating-news-and-views/the-boaters-update/boaters-update-25-april-2025#investing-in-boaters-facilities
 
CRT investing for boaters?
 
the link might just go to the bit about elsans and such like but they’re also on about fixing paddles!!
ALL paddles!!
and doing preventative maintenance!
 
is there something in this pint I’m drinking?
can’t be true?
wrong end of April for a joke

This should be under New to Boating! Or Idiots corner!
We have a bank of 4 lead acid batteries for domestic use. They are 2 years old. The inverter is a Victron 12/3000/120 and wired in is a Smartgauge meter. We are normally moored at a marina attached to a shoreline and the Smartgauge showed the charge to be 100% even with the shoreline removed.
The boat required blacking and so it was lifted out of the water for 8 days. It was not connected to a shoreline during this time. When it returned to the mooring someone failed to push the shoreline connector fully in and so we were without mains for a further 2 days. 9 or 10 days without power. Naively, we did not turn off the Victron during this time (mistake) and there was a router powered up on the 240ac boat supply. 
When we returned to the boat after 10 days but before we plugged in the shoreline properly, the charge had fallen down to 7%. Now that we have shoreline power, the charge on the batteries is firmly stuck at 70% and won't go any higher.
I understand that lead acid batteries do not like being discharged below 30% and so wonder whether we have ruined the batteries? Constructive comments please would be most welcome.
 
If I need new batteries, any recommendations on a like for like basis? I may still stick with the same ones to avoid the problem of the battery terminals being in the wrong place. Last time I fitted the replacement batteries I had to stretch the cabling as the terminals were not "standard". This is an exercise I do not wish to repeat!!

Does anyone still go to Crick?
Prices for mooring and camping pitches seem to get higher every year. 
And this year there's some award event on the Friday for which tickets are an additional £25!
Why would anyone pay extra to watch people get an award for being "Best In Show?"
 
Personally I don't see anything improving just the organisers screwing the public (and boaters) for every last £ possible.
 
Thoughts?

Hi. I will shortly be selling my narrowboat. In your experience, what are the pros and cons of selling through a brokerage, or privately?
Brokers' fees seem high, but i don't know how easy it might be to sell privately. I will be getting her valued when I have got her ready. I'm looking in the region of £60000 sale price.
Any advice, info, will be gratefully received. Thank you.