Daio

Could it be "Do I look like I give a f***"? No? Don't know then. Enjoy your boat and don't moor longer than allowed by the BW and houseowner signs!

Keep the hot tap open and the Hoover on! You're one of them Excise Men, aren't you. Sneaky, that.

Fitting a modest inverter would give you lots more versatility. I've just bought a cheapo vac, £30 online. It's a proper cylinder (well, more egg shaped) jobbie with pipes and many useful attachments, such as are used for sucking boy scouts through horses hooves, but about half the size of a normal one so easy to store and it only draws 800w, but slurps like a slurpy thing on St Slurpy's Day. Bagless too. Don't like those rechargeable hand-held things, had 2, both went duff in months. I do enjoy vacuuming!

Scope here for an e-boat, the sort that turns the engine off at traffic lights er, locks, then restarts as soon as you waggle your 'elum, if you'll pardon the expression. I'd say that that sort of use, while waiting/in locks etc must come under the category of being under way. However, while you're under way, you are heating your water and charging your domestic batteries, but most of the fuel is going into turning the prop, so maybe a 60/40 split there is quite a generous concession by Excise Men. I don't keep complete records but do pencil in on the receipt what the split is and put it in the log too (now that's a self-serving statement if ever I saw one) and generally guess as to what use this particular fill will be put to. As we spend a good few weekends on or near (within 400 yards) the marina but run the engine for a couple of hours daily for water/lecky, I give that 10/90. If I know that, say, half of the fill of say 100 litres will involve cruising, then 35/65 is the way to go. I reckon I can justify that, especially as I record the engine hours daily - all in pencil, of course!

I'm re-reading some of my books, eg David Blagrove, Tom Foxon. I'm keen to try out some of the techniques explained therein, such as thumblining a bottom gate open and strapping into a downhill lock. The OH has given me a 19 day pass in September so I should have a chance to try "advanced" things on my own while the cut's a bit quieter. I.e fewer people around to see me make a complete tit of myself (not that huge audiences have put me off before!). One thing that does concern me is that these techniques were obviously used with full-size boats. For example, strapping with a loaded butty or motor means having 30-odd tons to heave the gate shut and their length would mean they would be less likely to have the gate "better" them as it were, even if they were empty. Strapping a modern 12 ton 46' boat must be a different proposition, or is it? I have visions of the boat stopping dead with the gate still open or the boat being thrown hard against the side of the chamber as the angle between the gate post and the dolly changes. Also, is the infrastructure up to this sort of use these days? Perhaps the gates aren't made to stand up any more to what BW might now consider to be abuse? As for thumblining, I can imagine the odd handrail crashing onto the well-deck, given the way they flap about these days. Incidentally, I have noticed recently a number of rising boats pushing bottom gates open. I thought that was a complete no-no, as it wears a gap in the mitre. If I do it VERY slowly, will I get shouted at? Any thoughts or experiences gratefully received. Dai.

What's the lime greem boat rule?

Hear him, hear him. All down to mutual respect, innit.

I don't know the Mayalls so it's not right to be overly expressive of my sympathies, though I do have them, but war is nasty and I have great respect for our armed forces. I think the Wootton Basset memorial gatherings are very moving. NiceNarrowboat might well be on to something. One can't expect a smallish commercial concern to be generous very often but maybe as a part of something else, with appropriate support or as a focal point for the activities of volunteers, perhaps. I'd be interested.

Agreed. I have more than one King Dick tool and have put them under enormous pressure, doing things with them that made a Snap-On snap off. They recovered quickly and were ready for more abuse.

Rightly. OH, who has had many professional dealings with families who are, shall we say, known to the authorities, can tell you many stories connecting abuse of animals to domestic violence and child abuse. Cruelty is a way of exercising power and these sad, bullying types with no self-esteem lose no opportunities to use it. Yes yes, using violence against them is all wrong etc but giving him a bloody good hard crack on the temple with a geared windlass would have much merit, in my lawless but moral world.

That's a man's name. How about Zena?

I see they sell a book on boatbuilding by A.Brix, which would describe nicely the buoyancy qualities of any boat I'd build. I like the French Machete in the gardening tools section. "Call that a knife?"

Thanks. I'll accept all of that except the bit about drag reduction. This is a Defender we're talking about! And not a fancy Station Wagon with engine trays either. Open the bonnet, inspect your feet.

That is a really nice piece of work. Your next commission could be a Venus Flytrap.