Tacet

That section is headed "Is a boat part of a dwelling" rather than "Examples of when a boat becomes a separate domestic hereditament' Rating is rather dull - so I try to avoid it as much as possible but, as a valuer, do get dragged in occasionally. At its most pure, and it has been meddled with by various governments to suit the policies of the day, it is an annual tax on the occupation of land, according to its value. When Poll Tax was introduced, domestic rating was abandoned (but not business rates) and when Poll Tax was dropped, it was replace with Council Tax, Essentially Council Tax and Business rates are conceptually similar - but CT is assessed on capital value "bands" and business rates of rental value in £ per annum. Insofar as these are both points on which a rate/%/flat charge levied, there isn't much difference. Both are (usually) collected by the local authority - but how the collected sums are retained or passed to other governmental bodies varies. The Valuation Office (a government agency) is required to maintain Rating Lists in which pretty much every property (land) is listed, one way or another. There are few types that are not assessed - but not many. Each herediatment item has an entry; it is an archaic word mainly reserved for rating although our north-of-the-border friends use it more widely. As a property (i.e. land) tax, there cannot be an assessment for, say, a boat or caravan if not annexed to land - even though they might be commonly used as a dwelling, either part of full time. When it comes to assessing the value of land - in order to calculate the amount of tax - then this includes what is annexed to the land. Most obviously, a house will usually increase the value of the land. But when it comes to boats and caravans, it becomes more difficult to know whether they are annexed or not. Two moorings, each of which will be assessed for (say) Council Tax, could have identical boats at any point in time - but one of which is only staying for one night and the other never moves. The one with the boat annexed to it with have a higher banding. Naturally, it becomes a bit subjective as to how-annexed-is-annexed - hence the guidance. It also seems a but odd that you can have a Council tax assessed mooring, but no boat is present. But it is not that different from a house remaining a house, even though there may be no-one living in it. The composite hereditament is something else. When, following the abandonment of the Poll Tax, there emerged a domestic and a non-domestic property list, it became necessary to put property into one or another. But, for example, a pub where the living accommodation shares a kitchen with the commercial side, it was necessary to ensure the kitchen was split. It's a bit of a bodge, but it is said to be a "composite" property and valued accordingly. Moving back to boats, a leisure marina will be be assessed for business rates. But if a few moorings become domestic (regardless of whether individual boats are annexed, or not) - they will either separately or collectively be assessed for Council Tax - and removed from Business Rates. If the mooring(s) are very largely independent of the other facilities - then no problem. But more typically they will share the leisure facilities such a car park, maybe pontoons, services etc - so the moorings become "composite" . So in a marina it might well be possible to have a mixture of composite (sharing the leisure facilities), non-composite (not sharing the leisure facilities) and business rated (leisure) moorings. Whilst on the subject, VO can sometimes be persuaded that, say, a pontoon is the hereditament as the various, residential boats shuffle around it. The banding will be higher - but the Council Tax for the highest band is only three times that of the lowest band there can be a significant saving overall. And planning permission is not essential to being assessed to these taxes. It might well be a factor in being spotted - and possibly in deciding whether you have created a new hereditament and at what value - but no PP does not automatically mean not property tax. I said it was dull.

A boat (or chattel) cannot exist as a separate hereditament . But if it is sufficiently annexed to a hereditament (e.g, a mooring), it can form part of that hereditament for the purposes of assessing its Council Tax band or rateable value. It is made a little more confusing by, in practice, a mooring being partly identifiable by the sometimes presence of boat(s) tied to it, But if the boats are sufficiently transient, then they will not form part of the mooring when it com,e to placing a value.

Great film. A shot of Gardiner's department store at its eponymous Corner too. Why was the tow cast off when the horse was on the bridge just past Hampstead Road? Was the barge going to pass under the towpath bridge and into the warehousing?

Your maths is probably fine, but you may be looking at this the wrong way. The centimetre you mention could be a linear one - i.e. it is perhaps easier to consider how much longer the two straight lengths leading to the alternator, need to be rather than think in terms than an increase in diameter around a pulley. On this basis, it can't be more than 2cm but it depends on the angles between the water pump, crankshaft and alternator pulleys and their respective diameters. But if the new belt you already have, is the same size as the one it replaces, it ought to fit by using more brute force and ignorance.

So a shortage of signs, then? A friendly old chap told me that the re-opening of the canal was the best thing ever to happen in Stalybridge. The unkind might say that was perfectly plausible having regard to the town as a whole, but his comment made an impression on me.

(Unless there is a contractual arrangement), the party that whose negligence caused the damage is likely to be held liable. But if it was not reasonably apparent to a surveyor/crane operator/slipway chap exercising the usual care and skill that the boat would collapse when lifted/slipped, then it is hard lines on the owner or perhaps any buyer who is contractually committed. The surveyor etc was not negligent.

Looks like just you and me, Bizzard. I too would use "barrel" for a screw-jointed pipe (i.e iron/steel) but not for copper or plastic. I had no idea of the history behind the use; there must have been a lot of joints though.

My father-in-law refers to BSP as "iron" as in a 3/4 iron fitting or whatever. Obviously this dates from when iron (or steel) pipe was in common use, but the usage persists even now we are more frequently referring to brass to brass. I have picked up the habit too. Is this a regional expression - or is it widespread?

Can you push the soffit up - and thus return the roof to a better shape? Maybe a timber prop off the floor with something to spread the point loads. If you can shed the water off the roof it will help greatly. Whilst the dip remains, it will be susceptible to leaks. MTBs tarp will work better if it is packed up over the dip - and sufficiently sized to ensure that the water runs away at its edges rather than back underneath.

Mostly, they do. Gates and paddles at both ends - and a tendency to rise and fall. That the boat steerer has a real say in the operation of a lock is clearly reasonable. But it is less reasonable where the steerer is dawdling along - causing long delays due to inefficient working. I appreciate one person's dawdling is another person's safe working, but if you're holding people up and not willing to accept help (or loose the second boat by), it is less reasonable. We followed a pair of boats up the Shroppie last week and whilst they had the road, at every lock we were catching them before they had even entered the chamber. With a crew of maybe 10-12, there was often not a windlass in sight, and if there was a windlass, it was nowhere near a paddle at the right time. To be fair, there was no objection voiced to being assisted.

And who is in charge of the pound, whilst your boat is passing through?

The paddles seem to drop faster (or at all) in warmer weather; maybe the grease is less viscous. But even when a paddle appears to be falling rapidly - as evidenced by a spinning pinion/windlass square, it is not that quick when you look at the relatively low rate of descent of the indicator rod. Even allowing for these being big sluices, with the paddles rising/falling a bit further than most locks, the rate of descent of a gravity dropping paddle could well be less than a controlled winding down a more typical rack-and-pinion (only) ground paddle.

Private Mooring would amuse me

14. Flow from gate paddles into welldeck overwhelming scuppers

I've cruised a fair way above Brandon Lock. But as it was 45 years ago, it is a rather hazy recollection apart from my parents taking a joint, unplanned into the river. I appreciate the lock has been built/rebuilt since, but I don't recall it at all.

It wasn't the foliage - it was insufficient depth to swing the stern in an arc even with the bows in the bank. It was solved by shafting the bow round. It didn't take too long But maybe we weren't in the best spot. The channel was narrow and weedy too - but, you just keep on. http://lh6.ggpht.com/-N3uP6mUy9SM/UcoHt-z8FhI/AAAAAAAAM5M/xcc-Gj51M8g/s1600-h/P1090987%255B3%255D.jpg

Of the three Lodes, Reach was the most awkward to turn a 57ft boat when we were there in June 2013. It was possible with some manual effort - but it was tight.

It may have been something to do with the Dock and Limehouse Cut being in common ownership between 1854 and 1864. This link may help http://www.leeandstort.co.uk/Limehouse_Lock.htm When the redevelopment of the Dock was under discussion, an early scheme showed berths moored beneath flats - with only limited headroom. It seems the designers had not appreciated that the water level rose on spring tides which would have been interesting for both boat owners and flat dwellers alike.

I have found a couple of photographs of the Thames Lock serving Limehouse Cut being filled in - presumably shortly after the short link to Regents Canal Dock had been reinstated. The houses on the western side remain to this day, albeit with some unsympathetic alterations. The buildings on the eastern side have been replaced - and the lock chamber now remodelled to hold water again - albeit only as a feature. Can anyone say they have been through this lock?

The Midland Chandler's version, for which you provide a link, is something different. It is a more conventional fender in the style of a tyre. It has a hole to one edge for dangling from a rope. It might not float horizontally - or at all.

And, despite how confident you are there will be no flow, it's best to ensure that the water is not hot. If it is hot (and it does flow) you can easily have a burnt or painful thumb whilst it is holding back the torrent until you work out what to do next.