Sue

I am amazed at the numbers so far.. over 51% being livaboards.. wow

Thought I would give you all something to talk about.. The BW Customer Services Standards 2008/2009 I am too angry to write any more let along talk about it.. But NOW I know whey my licence is going up so much.. what a load of ... well I can't even write what I think Defra cuts? Hahahahahahaha!!! Glad to see NABO are on to it too. Edit: The pdf link file is 36kb

Thanks Chris, Actually I quite like one side of the front well without a locker.. there seems to be more room! Ikea.. Umph, well they don't deliver. I don't 'do' won't deliver! I have seen some narrowboats with this exact arrangement with a step either side of the gunnel on the front well. I do hope that someone who has one is a member.. other than that I don't mind if someone wants to make me one? /me adds it to her wish list

I need some steps. I have seen them aboard various narrowboats. They are for Ikkly people like me! You know, those steps that take you easily from the front well to the towpath.. ie a step up in the well over the top and a step down before stepping onto the towpath. Our new narrowboat has a very high bow, and no locker to be able to step onto on one side. I have been searching on google but can't find anything.. does anyone have one of these 'sling it across' thingies? I guess that someone must make them? Sue

To help with finding the dot in he sky, and from one of the link pages on my blog... Finding the dot in the sky The biggest asset us narrowboaters have is good ol’ Nicholsons Guides (A compass is handy, but not necessary). North is always at the top of the page, so when thinking about your mooring, check the book and make sure there are no trees or buildings in the line of SEish. Having moored send someone out ready to swing the dish, switch on the Tele and receiver. Press ‘Services' on the remote, then select (4) System Set Up, then (6) Signal Test. OK now you need whoever is on aerial duty to point the dish in an easterly direction…. ready to swing it very slowly to the South East ( 28.2 degrees east to be exact). If you start from a Southerly direction you will get the wrong satellite (there are a lot going around!) The Lock Indicator will say ‘not locked’ and the two bits below that will say 00 at this stage. Turn the dish a couple of inches to the South East, wait for a count of 3, then turn again, and continue doing this until… Lock Indicator – ‘OK’ Network ID – 0002 Transport Stream – 07d4 (Any other ‘Network or Transport Stream’ and you have got the wrong satellite! . In this case, switch the box off, then disconnect from the wall. Wait 30 secs and start all over again. After a few goes at doing this you will become very quick at finding it. Hope that helps.. we tend to get the set up done in about 20 seconds now.

It depends you see.. If you are ikkly people then it is difficult to get to the fronts ropes.. so you dont need a cratch cover over the side of the gunnel to step on for to get to the very front of the boat.. plus if you like to 'do rivers' the canvas can get mutilated on the high lock landing stage waiting areas which are needed for tuppaware boats. Then you might need a 'wigwam for whimps' back cover for winter.. Our boat has both. So we do have a damaged front canopy due to going on rivers.. but now we have a new boat and we have had a lip welded along the side of the gunnel this time that will take the poppers for the canopy so we can walk along the gunnel and moor along the high lock landing stages with no damage to the canvas. Our back canopy over the cruiser stern is the best thing since sliced bread. Our back canopy will be up in the winter, with the screen folded over for a full on view. We have travelled weather free for two winters under every bridge on the system except br2 on the coventry canal and the bridge at the end of the river gt ouse in Bedford.. I doubt it would go under the bridge at Nordelph on the Middle Levels, but we happened to have it down then. It will go under every single lift bridge on the Southern Oxford Canal. Here on this particular blog you can see Tim and Lisa Salt making our canopies in situ.. their workshop is on their boat.. if you want a phone number please pm me, I wont put an ad on the posting. Actually, we are just on our way there to get them to do the same for our new boat!

I was down them and up them this month with another boat alongside. We didn't breast up, but left one lock and entered another driving the boats at the same speed keeping them together. That is extremely easy as the lenghts in between are so short. We did not bang the boats once. This is handy especially if there are boats coming in the other direction.. we can then split without having to unstrap the pair. Passing is great fun, everybody has their own idea of how it should be done on Caen Hill.. and huge discussions can take place! For myself I like to let one boat leave the lock below while one boat leaves the lock above, they then swap places. Once the swap has taken place the other two boats do the same thing.. that works treat. It is so funny seeing all 4 narrowboats trying to swap places at the same time. I saw one boater once get so enranged and stressed out, that he flew out the lock, turned into one of the huge side pounds, take a tour round it doing a wheelie then flying back into the lock which had been vacated smacking the concrete trying to turn.. tut tut not the way to do it!! By the way, the only lock you cannot go two together is lock number 38 known as Jack Dalby Lock. This is still too narrow once empty to take two narrowboats side by side. The lock gates have been replaced on this one, and it was hoped that the lock itself would be widened, but English Heritage would not allow that to happen, saying that the lock must remain as it is.. Ah well.. makes life interesting!

Here are some pictures of the blocade at Pewsey on Kennet & Avon Canal. We are all still sitting here, but we had to let a couple of boats through because they just insisted!! Although we did ask them to At least the sun has come out now.. got a soaking this morning! Pics from Pewsey Sue

If you want maps of the footpaths around the areas in question, grab them now they will not be available in 10 minutes time, sorry but there might be copywrite issues on them. Click on the map to make them clearer and bigger before printing. http://www.choiceforum.co.uk/images/nene1.gif http://www.choiceforum.co.uk/images/nene2.gif

I very much doubt if they have had time to put computers and mobile phones onboard let alone had time to monitor;) The backwater is at Wollaston Lock Nickie, very obvious if you are actually there walking not so if you are boating

No that is not quite right, car parking is available at Woolaston lock but on the other side of the river.. there is a farm on that side, and that backwater where I think the boat is heading for. There is only a footpath from doddington to that lock from that side of the river. I think wollaston lock is a bit further along than on the map

http://www.choiceforum.co.uk/images/nene1.gif http://www.choiceforum.co.uk/images/nene2.gif By the way, click on the gif to make it bigger before printing it

Things are being posted so fast, someone wants maps.. I posted maps above!

I have done a couple of maps to help you out on those paths, you can see where you can walk, and I have marked Earls Barton Lock and Irthingborough, and also Wollaston Lock where I think that boat might go. I will need to remove them from the server this evening though or OS are going to do me for copywrite.. that is why I have not put them on this forum. I think this is in order though as it is for your private use ... Isn't it? http://www.choiceforum.co.uk/images/nene1.gif http://www.choiceforum.co.uk/images/nene2.gif Good luck Edit.. gif should have been 'gif not jpg sorry

Woolaston Lock backwater.. not Doddington as I previously said. There is a farm there and a load of boats on the backwater.

There is a backwater at the next lock, Doddington.. the only way to get to Doddington Lock is via a farm track, there are a lot of boats moored on that backwater Ithingborough is downstream

There are tons of little backwaters on the Nene where a boat can be hidden. The only way to find it if that is the case is to travel by boat, and I believe the Nene is shutting due to lock closures. They woudn't get as far as Thrapston by tomorrow night I doubt. Anyway going in the dard is much slower.. almost dangerous on that river too. Good luck in finding it.. as far as paths go, well the only path along the Nene is the Nene Way and for sure that does not follow the river bank for the whole stretch.

If you have hired boats, spent holidays on the canals and waterways of the British Isles... and you have enjoyed, then why not consider retiring to the place you have enjoyed. Your family will love you for giving them a place to come to for their holidays.. some locks to do, so places to vistit, and different places each year. How about a camping site for your family... make them buy tents... hey saves the space aboad! Be a continuous cruiser, that is easy.. never fear what others say... you will not be working , you will not have a car, nor job, nor commitment, so you can move just one mile a day if you feel up to it! My blog is a couple of years or more of our movements along the waterways of this country, from the south of england to Ripon in the north... we took the plunge, and there is no way we would look back.... life is absolutley superb

Here are a couple of cc'ers..... We stick to the rules too!!

Don't forget it is free to connect to the internet for an hour a day in any library

I like the tunnel lights. My son visited this week and said it was the highlight of the trip from Coventry Basin to Newbold.. Mind you, I was surprised to see them on still ... I have an awful fear of tunnels, made worse by my thoughts of meeting a wide beam boat in there. I do hope that Eugene does put some extra signage outside the tunnel portals. I think if I ever met a widebeam in one of the big tunnels, I would never go through one again. I don't know that having the port and starboard lights on would be actually seen by an approaching boat what with the high density tunnel light shone by a wide beam, but I shall remember that and just die slowly if I should spot red and green on each side of the tunnel!

Sky TV on a narrowboat is very very easy. We have had it for a long time now, I have written a tutorial on how to get the gear, and what you need, how to get it set up, how to find the 'dot' in the sky, how to get 'local channels', how to get a sky card etc etc.. hope you find it useful.. Link

Nope Maffi! And it's official now... link

Has a new Editor - Richard Fairhurst, and while he is online here at the moment, I guess we will all want to wish him the best of luck in his new job! Congrats Richard