pete.i

Absolutely correct. He also doesn't suggest a mode of action. I realise that ultimately it is the responsibilty of C&RT or EA but this problem needs a co-ordinated approach by everyone concerned including boaters.

Not an expert on webasto but there definetly shouldn't be water coming out of the valve on the expansion vessel.

Who cares, another free advert for a worthwhile cause.

Brecon and Monmouth Canal has a boat trip. You don't get much more isolated than the Brecon and Monmouth. https://www.dragonfly-cruises.co.uk/brecon-canal-public-boat-trips.php

A couple of things are for certain. The capacity in batteries just isn't there at the moment therefore the range is abysmal. The infrastructure isn't there to warrant the, massive, extra cost of electric power compared to convential propulsion means. The, massive, extra cost of purchasing an electric vehicle, be it a car or a boat, is absolutely prohibitive unless you have a load of disposable money. You will never convince the electric enthusiasts of any of the arguments. It would be HUGELY unlikely that any of them would say that they were wrong, a bit like the compost bog arguments. Eventually we will all go electric because that is what various governments want. Eventually either the infrastructure will be there along with the efficiency of electric vehicles or some other technology will have taken over, which is what I think will happen. I'm sticking with petrol for the time being and it is highly unlikely that I will change my mind before I peg it. I do not have a boat any more and I'm not likely to have another one so, for me, electric or diesel boat is a moot point. But as for cars I will not have an EV or a hybrid until I am forced to. My daughter's partner, who is disabled, has had to have an MG EV as mobility only supplies EVs now apparently. this MG is claimed to be one of the best for mileage on a full charge. That claim is 300 miles. This is a manufacturer's claim and in actuallity it will be significantly less.

I've had two narrow boats in my life. the first one had a single skin flue and, as said the heat from the flue does augment the fire heat. I did clad the bottom with a perforated plate because I had children on board and my fire was next to the door steps so for an unthinking person and kids tend to be of that ilk, it would have been reasonably easy to put a hand on the flue. I also put a grid made from an old oven shelf on top of my stove. My second boat had a twin walled flue for the same reason as before but I installed that. It was significantly cooler on board. I think the diagram that lewisericeric is referring to is for houses that do have mandatory regulations in place. Boats are advisory at the moment BUT it is a good idea to follow MOST of the advice in that diagram especially the distances from combustable objects. I used that diagram when I installed my stove on my boat.

Load of rubbish being talked here. Of course an outboard is useful. It's all very well saying you can pole yourself to the side or drift but what if you ten miles or more from a marina base. Are you going to bow haul your boat that far. I bow hauled mine, which I no longer have, a mile or so and it was knackering. Also what about if you are on a river and heading for that wier? If you have the facility then, in some circumstances, an out board could be a veritable life saver. And Hondas reliable LOL that's a laugh.

If nobody did "waste-of-time stuff like this" you wouldn't have any canals to sail your boat on. But then most blinkered people don't realise the significance of the-waste-of-time stuff that people who care do.

Bit of a silly idea if you want my advise but whatever floats your boat. Don't forget if you do use Jenolite which the manufacturers say will adhere well to bare steel but not to itself then every time you need to reapply you will have to take the whole lot back to bare steel. In my experience no clear coat, and no I haven't tried it on a boat, seems to stay clear for very long. Vehicle Clearcote might be the way to go but I think that is baked on to cars.

Thetford do not want you to contact them. I found that outwhen I tried a couple of years ago to get some bits for a thetford bog I had. What comes up if I put those details in is this. I think you have to contact one of their sellers. Even the two first posters in this thread have given different numbers.

it depends on which part of Google you read but the figures bandied about are between 15,000 and the NBTA's estimate of 50,000 people living on boats. In March last year there were 35,000 people with boat licences and around 38,000 boats. Obviously these figures are acknowledged to change as people take to the water to offset high housing costs etc. Again these are just figures that I have puilled off the web and I, most certainly, have not verified any of them

I don't have a boat anymore so what happens with the canals does not affect me particularly. Having said that I am still involved with canals as an educational volunteer so I would not like to see the canals being destroyed by a lack of maintenance or for any other reason. what MtB says is absolutely true and I saw that coming a long time ago. I believe that CRT would love to get rid of boats on their canals and, in my opinion, the only thing stopping them doing just that at the moment is the fact that there are 35000 or so people living on the canals. Oky that figure may be wrong and I certainly haven't fact checked it BUT however many people there are actually living on the canals in boats it is far too many to just kick them all off and, again in my opinion, that is the only saving grace the canals have at this point in time.

An even simpler answer, I take it you are in education, anyway whatever subjects you suggest. In my opinion nothing is more important than saving lives of children and adults. It isn't nonsense and we do talk about cold shock and it's consequences.

At the moment we only do KS1 and 2 along with the younger uniformed groups. As for schools not having the time the time should be made for such an important subject in my opinion. It doesn't have to be done by CRT, Coast Guard, RNLI or Fire and Rescue service although they all do it very well. Bottom line is that it will save lives and even if that is only one then it is well worth it. It is free or at least the CRT presentations are, I don't know about the others. As I said I sit on the Welsh Water Safety group and the lack of take up in schools is a recurring theme. That group consists of RNLI, Coast Guard, Fire Service and other interested parties. We haven't started doing any presentations in secondary schools although I am told that CRT will be starting them at some time and having dealt with both age groups for a good part of my life I have to admit that primary are a far easier group to get the message over to and that really is the age where water safety knowledge should be started in my opinion. The biggest problem I have found is that it can be a scary subject. I suppose there is an element of fright needed to make the message sink in but you do have to be very very careful with young children especially in this day and age.

I am an education volunteer for the Canal and River Trust. I have recently moved to Wales to a part where we have no canals. This is the fourth drowning of a young adult this year. I try to specialise in water safety although we do other things as well. I sit on the Welsh Water Safety Main Group which consists of representatives of the emergency services and other interested groups including the Canal and River Trust. A large concern of these groups is the apparent lack of interest of schools in taking up the offers of FREE water safety presentations. CRT, and I would think the other services put out. CRT send flyers to as many schools as they can informing them of our educational offers and publicising CRT educational web sites. I know that the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and the Fire and Rescue services do as well. I have done two presentations in my area since we moved here last year. I am doing one presentation tomorrow for a school in Swansea who have asked for a water safety presentation before the children go on summer holidays. I do realise that schools do have a curriculum that they have to follow but I believe that water safety is so important that it should be taught in schools. Not neccessarily by CRT or the emergency services but we do provide that facility and that doesn't seem to be very well taken up by schools or uniform groups such as Beavers, Cubs etc.

The price of fuel should be going down now. Rishi thingy knocked 5p off the tax, okay it wasn't much but it was never reflected at the pumps. The price of crude is going down but petrol and diesel stays high at the pumps. I call scammers!

Thing is why is there that much rust. As said it's probably nothing to worry about although I am no expert. But if it's condensation that is causing it then that will have to be minimised and if it's a leak, either external or from the domestic water supply that will have to be detected and sorted. One of my boats had rust below the flooring but nothing like that and that boat had been built in the early eighties. The rust on my boat was caused by condensation that had got under the broken flag stones ballast.

Personally I would walk and look for something else. I did that twice when I was shown an overpalted couple of boats.

Narrowboats never were pretty. A tin box welded on to a steel hull. Usually painted in garish colours with painted pictures of flowers and fairy tale castles and various kitchen utensils hanging on the sides or sitting on the roof. As for the engines!!!

Just read this and whilst I am not really interested in boatborn bogs any more it was an interesting read as to why "composting" bogs do not work, at least for 1.5 years which means that you have to carry the contents of your "composting" bog around with you for 1.5 years in a separate container until it actually composts. I also get the impression that 1.5 years is a best situation time. I'm so glad that I crap down a hole and it disappears down a pipe for someone else to deal with. https://www.livesmallridefree.com/blog/why-your-composting-toilet-doesnt-actually-compost-poop

About time.

Correct. The vast majority of it is just a mess, including that shown in the picture above and that banksy rubbish. I think that councils have just given up the expensive task of cleaning it up and said just get on with it. We will endeavour to change the minds of the haters by calling it art.

👍 Just pretty much par for the course with some of the contributers to this forum.

I certainly hope they are growing a set of teeth. Considering that if it wasn't for the IWA we, probably, would not have the canals, bad as they are, in this day and age, the IWA certainly lost a lot of their influence and relativity. I was a member for a year or so but when I realised the the IWA wasn't going anywhere I dropped my membership. When I have tried to put this to people who are still members it tends to elicit a tirade of abuse, or at least it did on at least one occasion for me. The IWA have nothing tangible in the ten years or so that I was a boat owner for the canals as far as I could see. And if they have then they have kept very very quiet about it.