Morat

I use them (when we remember to pack/charge etc) because it's nice to be able to chat to my wife while one of us is off the boat and it keeps our young son amused during long and boring (to him) lock flights. I'm not sure how a walkie talke makes it easier to walk to the next lock and turn it, surely that would happen anyway with or without the radio? In any event, grabbing locks and wasting water is definitely the mark of a small minded *(*(*£$ and the sort of person you'd want to cill themselves in their rush to save 30s of leisure time.

Wow, erm. Without wishing to criticise the previous incarnation - that really is a transformation!!

Without wishing to start another cyclists vs boaters flamewar... does anyone have any experience of the Regents Canal and the towpath conditions? There seems to be some friction http://road.cc/content/news/158682-petition-asks-google-maps-stop-routing-cyclists-along-busy-regents-canal-towpath

Not only you... But at least you don't get the "Bloody Hireboaters" abuse on top!

A life jacket with a built in harness is a good investment. I've fished my dog out from under the boat before and it was a real shock. Had she been wearing her jacket she wouldn't have sunk deep enough to become trapped. Basset hounds have very little reserve buoyancy but at least they're easy to grab due to all the loose skin. Getting a grip on something like a staffy or bull terrier is much harder.

Yes, Foxton locks - very eery to see them in that state. Last time I was there it was a hot sunny day and there were hundreds (if not thousands) of gongoozlers pushing gates and scoffing ice cream. It's like a glimpse into another world where there was no canal restoration.

"Hold my beer and watch this"

Really it's about Cycling and Trains (two subjects dear to CWF members hearts ) but if you look at 10.57 there's some canal content too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPkT0paGEnQ edit: makes more sense with the link

When we get legal definitions for "Whizzing" and "Breakneck Speed" we can take this post seriously. Until then, it's just emotive language.

Does this mean that if I play my cards right I could be stuck within walking distance of The Folly for weeks? OH noes! I shall fetch my diary

Surely you just light a match?

Of course you could convert a petrol engine to LPG, and there's plenty of that on the cut..... You'd need to be very sure of your BSS requirements.

Or the eight cyclists killed in London this year, mainly by tipper trucks. No one has a monopoly on victimhood

Here's an interesting post I just noticed on a cycling forum... https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=91777.0

IANAL, but my understanding is that the tow paths are not public rights of way and therefore the access given to cyclists is permissive. This would leave CaRT responsible for the safety of those using the towpath. Am I right? In any event, as a narrowboater and lycra wearing cyclist I think the rule on the towpath should be "Cyclists give way to pedestrians". There's absolutely no glory to be had in speeding down a towpath, they're flat as a pancake and no challenge to either mountain bikers or wannabe time trialists. They're there for pootling!

I wonder if he can swim?

1. Solar panel on the roof - it would only have to be small, A smartphone runs on milliamps and would be overpowered for this application. 2. They log the location on a periodic basis and upload the file at the next opportunity. If you go off-air for 3 weeks your file could be forwarded for review and the last know location taken into account. If you go off air in Central London for 3 weeks, you're probably stuck in a tunnel If it's the rural reaches of the South Oxford - well, who really cares? But you might get a visit.... 3. A combined solar panel/antenna (something the size of an open paperback) on the roof, near a mushroom vent. Even smaller box (smartphone sized) on the end of a cable which would join the two. In the absence of a mushroom vent, a 4mm drill bit and cable glands may be required. In time, boatbuilders will come up with a more elegant solution. 4. Beat them with lengths of rubber hose, of course! 5. Not really - it would be easy to interrogate the data for any tags moving in close proximity, exceeding 4mph, or leaving the canal network. This would make it quite hard to move a tag around the system unless you're prepared to carry it while walking or cycling slowly. If two boats are moving breasted up, they'll be flagged but at least CART will have a location to program into their Predator drones for the pre-strike recce

Absolutely. Unless you're travelling to London the train is pretty much pointless.

It's about "spending our way out of recession". There are other more deserving projects. I'd rather we installed proper fibre networks for video conferencing and taxed the hell out of corporate travel.

I think the internet has really revolutionised the car spares industry (amongst others of course). I've just fitted a catalyst and backbox to my Jeep. They arrived at the mighty cost of £130, next day, inc VAT. As a bonus, they actually fitted and have a 3 year warranty. A few short years ago, a rattling cat would provoke a mighty round of tooth sucking and a huge bill!

While I do understand that the AB ratings need to add up for BSS, I'd recommend getting a water mist extinguisher (perhaps instead of one of your A extinguishers) and using it first. They work on any fire type apart from metal fires (magnesium, lithium and the like) extremely quickly and leave very little mess. We use them at work in a building with very high conservation requirements where you don't want to be dusting powder or foam off oil paintings. You can use them on chip pans, engine rooms, electrical fires and the standard wood/paper/fabric fires. They're also cheap to refill because the charge is simply water (and I think CO2 propellant). http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/water-mist-extinguishers

All I'd say is that CCTV is no magic shield. It has to be top quality or it's pretty much useless. You might get a reasonable picture when standing in front of the camera in broad daylight but once the "perp" is hiding his face, staying in shadow and moving fast - you need excellent equipment to stand a chance of producing anything worth having in court.