OldGoat

More of a dung deal to my mind

Our dump through Loo always got smelly within a week although not very full. Tried yeast tried "Thames bubbler" - air bed inflator down the rinse pipe - very smelly so could only do it on long reaches Neither gave any lasting effect. Then we discovered ODORLOS. Never looked back. No pong; lasts until the tank is nearly full. It does help if you stir up the solids occasionaly with a stick.....

As a resident Thames boater.... Overnight moorings are not tricky - but do tend to get a bit full in hbigh season. If mooring on Christ Chrch meadow (near the college boathouses) do find a ring set into the bank wall at one end or other - folks do get cast off in the middle of the night. Better to moor just above Osney lock where the locals are moe friendly. Also quicker to walk into the City which you MUST VISIT. Allow at least half a day. Use the streets that run parallel to the "main drags" - much more pleasant. Locks are easy to operate - Do READ the instructions if unmanned. Some of the locks are quite deep and you ARE REQUIRED (for really sensible safety reasons) to put a line up at both ends of the boat. Use a long centre line to chuck up to the lockie / assistant to catch and hold you in while yo put your lines fore and aft. Do NOT get stroppy about 2 lines - just do it. All locks have internal stairs (civilised) to get you up topside so operating the lock on self service is not to terrible. Many lockies are narrowboat friendly because "we" often navigate better than the locals Download a copy of the BMF guide clicky here Or the older but more concise EA guide clicky here If you do the ring "downstream" from the Oxford you'll find the locks easier to work as you'll be entering them at the top ! - so you can fix your own ropes before you descend. The River flow will also speed your journey - give you more time to explore....

Be careful; once you start you'll not be able to stop - there's a huge amount available especially onesz with details on specific canals Try those by Anthony Burton.

It's a fiendish plot by the dying embers fo BW to extract as much money from you as they can. Of course it's an unfair pecuniary advantage that you should be able to use a card for which you have paid less than the current rate

I thought ALL Gardners smoked... Part of their charm I was once allowed to "drive" the Chiken Farmer's 4LW and was neatly choked to death. That was of course, before it got on the plane (runs for cover)

I wondered when anyone would spot that...... IMHO I don't think it really matters provided that you design it in:- Anything that uses power regularly is 24Volt. Fridge, Inverters Big one for hoover, little sinewave one for HiFi TV etc lighting. Radios (24 to 12 converter - not really needed) So what's left? Fresh water pump Bilge pump shower pump Nav lights Horn Tunnel lights Marine band radio Now, these are only used intermittently so I guess any real inbalance is small. 'suppose if I was really worried, I'd have spread the 12V devices either side of the tap As it happens - so I'm sorry it doesn't help you - I don't have lead acid batteries. Mine are something else that don't mind being overcharged, run flat, left at any state of charge, so if there was any inbalance one set is overcharged slightly while the other set catches up. The whole system is 1,000 amp hours at 12V so a little inbalance wouldn't make any difference anyway. I still think a centre tap with conventional batteries works without any issues if you either balance the loads or the inbalance is small in consumption terms.

Galvanic corrosion is more of a problem in salt water than in fresh - 'cos you need some "salts" to complete the circuit or physical contact metal to metal. Hence it's not a huge issue on the canals and even less on non tidal rivers.

My boat is 24V. A 24V inverter made more sense than a 12V equivalent. I also don't like the idea of paralleing too many battery banks - so doubling the supply voltage made better sense to me. 24V alternators give more power for a given frame size than 12V - I have 2 x 24V Delco bus alternators (good old eBay) rated at 70amps each, the equivalent 12v unit would be 100 amps. Modern electronic devices "don't like high currents" but can cope with higher voltages, so a 24V inverter is likely to be more reliable than its 12V brother. On the down side I( find it's difficult or more expensive to) source 24V water pumps (bilge / fresh water / shower) so I have dual voltage supplies running throughout the boat and a 12V tap in the battery system. Problems solved. Best of both worlds.

I thought Geoprojects had closed in 2010. OK Amazon has a very few in stock and they're 'Old' I still use my first edition Waterways World guides when navigating ("driving") as they are simple, show me bridge numbers and where the locks are. The relevant voilume is on the top of the hatch in a plastic bag so I can should "lock ahead" to The Management below. I'd suggest for a first trip using the canalplan strip maps, bolstered up by the BW maps for a bit of geographic info Both free so when you want more info you can but the dreaded Nicholsons' or Pearson's guide (my preference) - when you know what type of info you need.

There are very few casual moorings at locks and these are normally limited to a couple of days at maximim - especially in high season.

Thanks for the support - I was going to ignore the uncharitable remarks seeing that they puported to come from the uttermost part of the Commonwealth, where folks are not known for their politeness. The real point of my comments were that folks might miss some salient details if they don't do some searching first or even later - which is a shame because there were a lot of details in other posts.

Given the amount of rain we've had recently and that the Thames has been on Red Boards - that does not only mean "strong flows" but is triggered by the fact that all weirs are drawn fully. The result is that EA no longer have control of river levels. As was seen on this forum a NB was left in a precarious position above Wallingford - tipped over at quite an angle. So seeing that it's a wet summer and no end to the wetness I'd suggest that leaving a boat unattended for any length of time is NOT a good idea.

ABSOLUTELY - the approach to the city can be a bit grot, but not for long. The centre is spick and span lots to do:- Jewellry quarter / museum Black country musuem all soorts of foods concert hall Cadburys (?) - nice carillion in Bournville There have been several threads on these Fora this year, could I encourage the OP to have a look / do a search???? A general question - rather than me and others mithering on about folks researching threads first is it perhaps that browsing around with two fingers (ie Ipads, Iphones etc) makes it inconvenient / impractical to browse in depth?? Not wishing to attack anyone - just wondering about current practices. It gets boring having to repeat and repeat and repeat....

Would probably fit an EA licence - don't bung it away, somebody'll buy it Ebayit

Not prepared to say absolutely - 'cos I'm not on the boat and the instructions also, BUT IIRC it fits (slides) into the bottom of the grill area. However, I've no idea what it's supposed to be for; guessinbg it may be so you could slide a dish / frying pan in to do some browning. It gives and extra 1/2" height....

Umm - if the 48 hour moorings are on the canal - then EA Red boards don't have any effect. If you mean the moorings upstream of Osney lock on the River then the 48 rule may be suspended - you can always negotiate with the lockie (assuming you have an EA licence / Gold) BTW the river seems to be quietening down : http://riverconditions.environment-agency.gov.uk/ looks like a "lump of water" goinmg down rather that a continuous stream if you get my meaning

The city council run guided tours of the colleges -NOT THE commercial bus tour variety. Guided by retired professors and thne like you get to see parts not normally open to the public. Real chinese restaurant SoJo un Hythe Bridge street (crosses the end of the canal cut - nearly opposite a Chinese supermarket). Mongolian wok - load a bowl with meat and veg, spices etc. cooked while you wait all for six quid ish.

Sometimes a sideways thought may be helpful:- Think how many Springer boats are still in service - lots These were low cost and many I have seen look on their last legs - but they have been in that state for years (some are in good condition - even excellent condition) Springers were made of 3mm steel - and second hand steel to boot. Your boat is twice the thickness and the only comment you have received is "some surface pitting" Don't panic, the hull will probably "see you out" Some pitting is normal - that's why 6mm steel is / was used

I've always wondered - has anyone considered a half way house - Polished brass speedwheel connected to a teleflex cable control. Sticky out brass thingy up for neutral, 1.4 turn left or right for full reverse / forward. Retains the traditional appearance with modern practicality......

Hmmm - I was beginning to wonder, then I saw this. In the first instance it's a bonkers request on the grounds of "? why do it" ; practicality and thirdly design. Given daft questions it's not surprising that answers go adrift. I don't know whether solutions I have proposed are considered Carp by others, so I'll stop offering them - just in case.

IIRC it suggests you use a spring to help you turn, more diatils I can't remember. However as most/many narrowboaters don't know what a Spring is (whoops), I woudn't bother. There is a slight current from Sheepwash as there is a weir just below Hythe Bridge Street. Unless the Thames is on "Red Boards" it's not an issue. Use it to help you swing. As to licencing EA are doing what amounts to Buy One and Get One Free - so you get two days boating, making the charge a bit more reasonable. If you do come on to the River, then the moorings below Osney Bridge and the lock are very nice and surprisingly quiet. May I reccommend SoJo Chinese restaurant in Hythe Bridge Street for authentic Chinese cooking inexpensive as recommended by Giles Coren no less. Lunch for £6

The easiest way to my mind is a TV / monitor (LG make a good range) and a laptop wioth dongle. The TV- satellite or Freeview capable give the TV function the laptop gives DVD and internet capability. Also a laptop is more flexible to do other things. HOWEVER, IMO internet TV is a waste of time on a dongle because the connection speed will be poor via a dongle. Folks need to "get real" when on a boat power supply and external communications hardly ever relate to what you can get in a city /town where most folks live.

Yes (being a Royalist I watched ALL of BBC), but looking at Sky News it was a lot better than the BEEB - theres an hour plus on Sky News NOW 19:30 etc. Freudian slip - I'm sure the IWA would like to be "the Authority", perhaps they will when CART collapses..... Nah (although Raymond did know a lot about the Thames - wasn't L'Orage there somewhere (his old boat)). On such an occasion We needed Richard Dimbleby or either of his two sons.

Agree - that's the way I normally come into a lock layby on the Thames; just scale it up a bit.... I have no bow thrusters either. Nicely done, however!