paulf

I have a 57ft trad using a 37hp Beta marine with travelpower . This year we went up the avon in Bath after heavy rain , about half a mile against the current, to get back onto the K&A . The lockie reckoned the river was doing seven mph . I personally dont think it was but I bow to his superior knowledge [ he`s been there eighteen years] the engine handled it comfortably so why anyone would need anything bigger is beyond me . Regards Paul

Ive had a BT for 2 or more yrs now . It came with the boat . I use it very rarely . Probably not even once a trip {week} . With hindsight I wouldnt fit one if I were building a new boat . In the begining , having the bt was a `confidence` boost , but since I feel I can handle the boat very well now , unless the wind intervenes I just dont use it. Regards Paul

Alan has summed it up well , this lot are relatively benign . I moor on the K&A and pass through many times . Communication is the key , they are quite nice lads . Regrds Paul

Thanks Gary, for the info . I ended up with one of these , He has some more for sale if anyones interested Regards Paul http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ssPageName=WDVW

I dont get this airlock thing , is it a water tank or pressurised cylinder ? regards Paul

Sorry if I confused you all , We saw a catalogue of errors on the K&A over Easter mainly Hire boats . I dont like to point the finger at hire boats as some of them are infinitely more experienced than myself . But we did watch boats at alverchurch. One pulled out with the instructor on board did the fifty yards to the bridge hole instructor jumps off lesson over . We then followed them until they met a boat coming the other way at the wrong time and ended up wrong side of the canal and in the bankside bramble bush . We did chuckle , been there done that I thought . Then various other incidents culminating in another boat `hung up` on a cill on the devizes flight with the 2 crews just stood watching the poor guy .Everyone at a loss as to what to do . My point is I could imagine the inexperienced tackling top gate paddles and ending up sunk quite easily . When I look back , I was fortunate that the first lock I ever encountered had top gate paddles . At the time I had never worked a lock or knew how . Luckily , A bw chap was coming the opposite way and I asked him . He took the time to show us what to do . sorry for any confusion . Regards Paul

Im sorry to hear its not up to scratch Sparky , I did ring them a year or so ago about a mooring for my 60ft , think it was an awful lot of money there . regrds Paul

Theres some on the GU south , top of the Hanwell flight if I remember correctly . I didnt use them we werent in a rush . After watching hire boaters getting hung up on cills on the caen hill flight and such like last week, I think gate paddles could be very dodgy for the inexperienced boater . regards Paul

If anyones interested I have a different system to those mentioned above . We have 2 alternators . One is a 240v mastervolt 3.5kva which supplies 240v to the galley and sockets but also charges the domestic batteries via a 3 stage mastervolt charger . I thought this a bit odd at first ,but I have no need for a battery mangement system as the charger will charge the batteries `right up`. The second alternator supplies 12v 65a and charges the engine start battery and the bowthruster batteries via a split charge relay. The system seems to work ok but ideally we could do with a larger charger as ours is 12v/25a and it needs a good few hours to charge `right up`. A friend of mine charges his bowthruster batteries via a dedicated charger which alleviates a long run of thick cable I believe . Regards Paul

Hi all , Thanks for the helpful comments l . I do actually live in a mobile home John . In fact , I have never been on mains gas at all. We have got through several cookers over the years and never had ffd`s on the hobs. Always oven and grill but never hob. I recently fitted a big expensive range jobby here last year when I replaced the kitchen again and that hasnt got ffd`s on the hob . Incidentally , I need a `house size` cooker as there is a space left on the boat between the kitchen units at 620mm . After more searching I found a pub catering suppliers website which had one with ffd`s . £1000 though . Thanks for Midland chandlers suggestion unfortunately Im K&A and there are no decent chandlers up the eastern end . Ive tried Walton marine on the Thames , he has several in his catalogue and will ring me back monday . and I might try ringing Stoves direct as they appear to be in Reading and are v.local. I`d rather deal with a comet /curry tesco setup though , for the delivery after sales etc . Thanks all. Regards Paul

Hi all , Im glad I read these posts as Im in the market for a cooker atm . I think we `ve had enough of the little camping cooker we use . When we bought the boat it had no cooker at all, so now is the time I think to buy one. Now , ive been looking for the last few hours or so ..trawling through the many cooker sites in this country and tbh I can find nowt. I see here that the Stoves 500dit is ffd but i cant find any of the cooker retailers listing it , its probably chandlery only item. I can find cookers which are listed as having ffd`s but only on oven and grill . Presumably the hob needs them too . Am I going bonkers ? Ive looked at the Baumatic website and many others, could anyone list any other models please ? Ive seen the little marine cookers on the calor website but would like a 60cm wide `house appliance` size ,type . Thanks in anticipation. Regards Paul

sorry Mark , my cw is a bit rusty, is says yes thanks ? regards Paul

If you havent booked for tomorrow already ,it may be too late. I think from memory 2pm ? cut off . You are correct ,a ranger has to come and unlock the gates and check your BSS and insurance documents. It takes 2 days to reach the long pound `up top` as you have to work 28 locks to get there and they only allow you to do this over 2 days. Farnborough rd bridge was the other low bridge if my memory serves me correctly ,were they not 5ft 11ins clearance ? Any how , dont forget to take your tiller pin out. regards Paul

K=-.- btw . If u want decent range comms nowadays , and incidentaly VHF isnt just line of sight despite what the books tell you. I would recommend taking an M3 licence which allows the use of all but 10metre amateur bands . If u wish to communicate with lockie or harbour then u need the proper vhf radio which you have bought. If you just wish to communicate with anyone else for communications pleasure then M3 licence is a few evenings tuition with a multi-choice exam at the end. [my 13 yr old passed it]. I do speak to the odd boat on 2metres now and again. Regards Paul

My tank hasnt got a drain off and the boat was built after 98 , plus its just passed its first BSS. After reading that article about condensation in tanks written by an american surveyor whose name eludes me [ excellent article too ] I came to the conclusion condensation isnt an issue . Ive had a water in tank problem for a couple of years now . I just drain off the accumalator ? every couple of days . I find that fuelset doesnt allow the water to mix with the diesel and be burnt by the engine and if I dont drain it off manually ,the engine will splutter and the white smoke will appear . If you are concerned about the level of water in the tank , you can use water finding paste to test the depth of it. I was always taught that if you have water in your tank its more than likely the case someone has put it there. I dont drain my cars diesel system nor my vans and have never had water problems with either of them in the last 6 yrs. I drained my boats tank last summer completely and im sure if Id filled up at Esso or BP ever since [not possible of course] the problem woudlnt have surfaced again. Regards Paul

We recently made the trip from My home mooring in Newbury to Bath over Easter. {9 day round trip} . From Newbury to Wooton rivers ,with the exception of three or four locks , there were three paddles working on every lock. BW had removed a spindle on every lock and sent them away to be modified . I think the work was supposed to be finished before Easter , but I understand there was a problem with the mod. Anyway , I know we are never in a rush on the cut as we are very fortunate to own are own boat but it was a pain . Incidentaly , When we arrived at Caen hill, their locks had been fitted with the modified spindles and reduction boxes. I believe I counted sixty odd turns to raise and lower the paddles . I think the idea was to make life easier but I found it bloody knackering . Anybody else used these ? regards Paul

Dont bother with Devizes pump out either , that was out of order too when I passed it last Friday Regards Paul

I can vouch for the unpredictability of the river Avon , I descended the Bath locks onto the Avon on Tues 29th, river was calm ,When we awoke Wed morn after a rainy night, the river had risen over 2ft and was ,according to the lockie, doing 6 to 7 mph. we did manage to get off after the level had fallen enough to allow us back under the low bridge. Incidentaly , the lockie hadnt witnessed such a quick rise before , he had been lock keeper there for 18 yrs. I learned a lot that trip. Regards Paul

I used to hunt with the mink hounds many years ago , they are rife . To give you some idea , I fish the Kennet river opposite Shefield Lock , If u look down just before reaching the lock , travelling west to east , you can see the weir below which goes into River Kennet then rejoins below Garston lock {turf sided lock next one down } The farmer that owns the land there puts down 1 trap and catches 20 odd a year . I fish there throughout the season [opposite the bank the trap is on } and may see three or four. I suppose you can treat them like rats ` where there`s one there`s more ` . As mentioned earlier , they have no predators except us and are prepared to take on a cygnet , they can hunt in and out of water . In short , anywhere theres water , lake river and canal u might see one .

Thanks for that , Ive mailed them and am awaiting reply . Would you let me know how you get on with Wilson covers please Richard Regards Paul

Have you got any of those nice tunnel lights left John ? If so , how much please sir ? Regards Paul