Alan de Enfield

Indeed in the 1971 Act there are several sections refering to houseboats - the summary could be "The authority can set any conditions it wishes and charge whatever it wants" Eg section 14 Whilst C&RT do not particularly like Houseboats they find it a useful method of getting rid of CMers, as if it is a non-navigable boat it is a Houseboat and C&RT can set any terma and conditions they wish - making it unpleasant' for the owner. I had some long discussions with Nigel Moore on this subject, and one of his thoughts was ................. NM : The whole “houseboat” issue is one which CaRT have very mixed feelings about. On the one hand they would be happy to dispense with them altogether – and have allowed them to be whittled down to 80 or less at last count I know of – because of what they see to be onerous obligations over security of tenure and the legal requirement to pass on the benefits to subsequent owners - yet they find it useful to arbitrarily re-classify any pleasure boat as a houseboat for the purpose of s.8 litigation. However absurd the result, it ties in neatly, for them, with the messy definitions within the 1971 Act, wherein houseboats are classified as [inter alia] anything that is not bona fide used for navigation. Hence, on their argument, once a boat can be said to no longer being so used, it becomes a houseboat – automatically non-compliant with the mandatory T&C’s applying to those. All a bit clever when you stop to analyse it.

My boat is a tad over 4mts and about 3" below the 'standard' bridge height. When we moved it to North Wales we needed an escort vehicle to ensure the road was clear to go around roundabouts the wrong way, etc etc. Route planning was difficiult and we needed a truck which could lower its bed down to 50mm above the road (and still be able to travel) to get under bridges. We were on C&RT waters (Newark Marina) and the licence was well over £1000 (5 years ago)

But, if there are, better to find them before you hand over the cash !

My concern would be the joining of the 3-poles into a triangle and the attachment of a car tow-ball to the apexs of the scaf-poles. They are not particulary strong in the horizontal plane and can be relatively easily be bent (by hand) because of the length.

Just for take off - the turbulence caused by the raindrops destroys the lift Yes but you are going fast enough to 'blow' the water off 1) Instructor complacency - "it'll be ok" 2) Yes wings to be wiped down before starting

Pigs rule - OK !

Once you find out 'whats what', wrap some tape around each pipe and label it. Eg: Cold In Hot out Engine in Engine out Radiators in Radiators out It's then so much simpler to problem solve. Are you sure you have a horizontal calorifier and not a vertical one 'lying down' ? This is a horizontal calorified I had in my last NB (before I marked the pipes)

I did my fire training when I was a civilian flying instructor in the RAF. We actually had to fight the fire and attempt to get 'people' out of the burning aircraft. We did this in old 'scrapped aircraft' on the airfield perimeter. Aircraft set on fire and in we went. I actually had to cut the wing and canopy off a small aircraft to get captain and copilot out in a 'real life accident' - fortunately no fire ! It had stalled on take off (wet wings) and flipped inverted. The P2 (Sue Earle) was the wife of the club treasurer Both were got out suffering bad bruisng and sprains - nothing broken.

Not just mass, but, the additional beam will mean a far higher resistance to the water flow.

No - it is still there its just that you have chosen to 'block it'.

His website is quoted at the bottom of his post.

You cannot sell a part 1 registered boat without the original documents. It always was that to get a marine mortgage the boat was required to be part 1 registered Promarine state in the T&Cs that "the boat will usually be required to be part 1 registered"

Have a read of the BSS - there are 5 full pages in the Appendix detailing what is and is not allowed for portable fire extinguishers. Exaample - only extinguishers certified by one of the folloing can be used.......................

Did you read the part about Marine Mortgage brokers 'usually' requiring MCA Part 1 registration ? Dont make assumptions - it just makes an ass out of you. I went onto the Promarine website and actually clicked the 'narrowboat' link. Did you also notice the part about requiring RCD paperwork, and as part of the 'deal' they retain all of the paperwork ORIGINALS, Builders bill of sale, subsequent bills of sale, RCD etc etc but will provide you with certified copies. The original documents will be returned to you after the last payment.

Have you actually looked at the mortgage companies requirements to get a mortgage ? when I last looked to even get started you needed ................ Before you start You’ll need: the dimensions of your boat the previous registration details of the boat (if it’s been registered before) the bill of sale (proof of ownership) the radio signal detail - including your UK radio call sign, Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number and International Maritime Organization (IMO) number the builders certificate a certificate of survey for tonnage and measurement an international tonnage certificate (ITC69) safety certificates The certificate of survey for tonnage is a very complex (expensive) operation - not a standard survey. Do a google search for ITC69. You cannot use the SSR part 3 as proof of ownership for obtaining a mortgage. The rate of interest is horrendous at 15.2% (I guess its a high risk business) meaning you pay £35,000 interest on a £40,000 10 year mortgage.

And, your decision is ?

Some does - primarily where the canal is NOT in rural areas. Rural dredgings can be dumped on C&RT land and left to drain before being used as 'fill'.