Tacet

For the domestically inclined, put one's hand to block the vacuum cleaner hose and you'll hear the revs rise.

It seems rather unlikely that CRT can only prosecute under bye-laws. This would mean, for example, that a supplier of sub-specification lock-gates could not be the subject of a civil action. Or it would have no remedy against its tenants for non-payment of rent.

It looks to be low geared - but is the profile of the teeth such that at a constant rpm of the pinion, the rack has a non-constant linear speed? Not sure what that is called (non-invloute?) but it gives a delightful, historical feel and sound, even if it is mechanically imperfect. The type of paddle gear where the pinion has only a few teeth and, in order to achieve an adequate depth of engagement at all time is paired with an out-of-phase neighbour, is good too. The rack waggles wildly from side-to-side as the paddle is drawn. To walk across a lock gate and then place your foot in the centre of a well-worn stone on the lockside, as testimony to generations who have gone before in the same routine, is one of my favourite canal experiences.

In the BWB "straight-blue-line" guide to the Llangollen Canal, an ad for Anglo-Welsh Canal Cruisers of The Wharf, Trevor, Denbighshire states that it is a subsidiary of Haborough Marine Limited. In another ad, Harborough Marine of Canal Basin, Market Harborough is offering "Midland" class traditional wooden narrow-boats for pleasure, hire or cargo-carrying" in lengths from 32'-72' from £736. But other than it is post 1963 and pre-decimalisation, there is no indication of the publication date. A 1972 Canals Book has Canal Cruising of Stone offering for hire what looks to be a steel-hulled boat, Shropshire Union Cruisers having for sale Cutlass class boats (steel hull, grp top), Beeston Pleasure Craft with steel hulls , Lapworth Narrowbooats in Timber and Steel p to 70', Willow Wren "hulls in steel with sturdy cabins in traditional materials", Rugby Boatbuilders with 1/4" bottom, 3/16 sides and 3/8 exterior(!) ply cabin and varous others in lciding Dartline, Braunston Boatd and Concoform which are part-steel, at least. So by 1972, steel hulls were widely established.

Are the curtains drawn?

I've completed the system (to my satisfaction at least). It took us about two and a half years and we a fair proportion, perhaps the majority twice, out of choice. I continued working, albeit at a lesser intensity and had to visit various places and attend meetings as a result, as well as visit relatives etc. Neither did we plan the route, other than towards the end. If you are not content to miss even small parts, the issue is various types of blockages and stoppages which you may have to return at a later date to clear up. We recorded about 2700 engine hours and, at a guess, maybe 1800 hours would be about right if you were organised and, perhaps, not fussed about a few odds and ends if they were unavailable when you were passing. So roughly, a working year. Obviously it depends on how many hours a day you are wiling to put in, but be aware the winter stoppages are a serious impediment and won't be known sufficiently in advance to plan. So, I reckon two summers and one winter ought to see pretty much all at a reasonably active but not ridiculousness pace.

2% of 550Ah is 11Ah - which helps you a bit.

Someone needs to tell Archimedes.

Some alarms are sensitive to high 'concentrations' of inverted commas.

Next time you put stakes into the bank (on an uninterrupted length), consider how precisely you like to place them. Say + or - 1m. Add the tolerances for each end together, double it and you have the first approximation of an answer. It gets more complicated if there are obstructions or gaps to take account. In the theoretical world, assuming you wished to minimise the number of rings, you could have varying intervals to allow you to find the sweet spot for your boat. I.e. you place the blunt end in the preferred position where the rings are 5 or 10 m apart and that means the sharp end lands where the rings are, say 1m apart. Different length boats, differing personal tolerances and only a few available spaces all mess up the theory.

Two strings would be pretty good. But it wouldn't confirm that the the maximum departure from a vertical plane is not at differing heights on each side. And there would be an appreciable sag over the length of a boat, which would rather confuse measuring a boat with other than vertical sides over the depth of the sag. If you want it to a mm (which will be challenging) you would need to some form of 3D modelling.

Well, it rather depends on what you're doing. Your system of setting out may result in the brickwork being straight and even the four corners being correct, relative to each other. But my side of things the more common problem lies in the structure being somewhere other than where it should be. Sometimes, quite differently. And even when I started in an allied side of the profession, my colleagues were having to allow for the curvature of the earth using not much more than a pencil and paper. But for measuring the length, a straight piece of hard bank and a plank either end of the boat, square to it main axis would be pretty good. For width, find a reasonably straight and parallel lock chamber (check with a laser?) and measure the gap. Perhaps push a length of timber in the gap to find out what's remaining.

For the really fussy, measurement with a Total Station would be a good method; it's a sort-of theodolite that also takes laser measurements. The advantage would be, providing sufficient points are taken, is that it would identify banana boats and irregularities in the vertical plain. So you could identify, for example, the minimum distance between two vertical walls required to pass the boat. Which is one interpretation of the maximum width of a boat Practical problems would lie in ensuring the boat was very well tied up and not bobbing around whilst the exercise was undertaken. And measuring all the locks and narrows.

If no-one repeated anything, the forum would die.

Won't there be a gas jet - probably of brass and located just before the burner? If so, I'd be checking that it is clear.

I reckon that's about it. The rail can and should be set further from the roof edge than in the first picture for safety and ease. It also slightly reduces the airdraft at the edge of the coachroof - which helps in arched bridges and tunnels. It will increase the maximum airdraft but that is usually the lesser of the problem. The box section looks nicer, generally.

Newbury is about 6 hours and Kintbury about 10 hours from Aldermaston.

I may not have properly understood you suspicion, but in a simple situation of a flight or staircase, over usage the rise of each one will tend towards the mean. By a simple situation, I mean upper and lower pounds are maintained at fixed levels, each lock has the same surface area, vertical sides and water is not introduced or drawn-off anywhere in the middle. Therefore, and broadly speaking, a low pound will tend to correct itself as boats pass through; they bring extra water from above and send down less than usual.

Many hour counters including some Barrus, display to 1/10th of an hour, so you might want to take a another look. 43,000 hours is the boating equivalent to a million miles or more in a car; possible - but very exceptional

Well, I can't be sure which one your guy knows - but the one I mention is immediately above the road bridge. It's just a slipway - no crane or anything fancy. A 100m or so further upstream is Lechlade Marina which may have alternative slippage facilities - but I don't think it has anything grand and it would be a bit odd if there were two, similar simple slipways in such close proximity. I don't know who controls the one I have in mind; I suppose it could be the Marina but they are well-seperated. When we used to slip a boat in-and-out regularly, it was preferable to check-out the facility before arriving with the boat. The steepness and depth of water over the toe (and any drop-off) varied considerably - but if you a boat transporter presumably he knows the locations or makes enquiries According to this site http://thames.me.uk/s02240.htm there is a (Lechlade) Marina slip - but its not clear just where it is. It is also showing one at the Trout Inn and other locations. We prefer the upper Thames to its more gentrified lower reaches - but each to their own.