Neil TNC

My money is on the next lock up, Newton Top No23, GU Leics Line, Taken from Lock No24 Picture taken a couple of weeks ago. It would appear that the rear extension to the lock cottage is recent.

I have already bought one of these for my new build: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4908854 Bush AG56TB 50cm Twin Cavity Gas Cooker - Black 490/8854 - £219. 50cm wide, 60cm deep, 90cm high. It DOES come with lpg jets and is an easy conversion. ffd's on all burners. Twin cavity, NO GLASS LID, NO FAN and easy conversion from 240vac ignition to 12vdc. using this; https://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/ignition-conversion-kit-12v-series-9-hob-gc-154 I also converted lamp in main cavity to 12v, with a high temp bulb I had floating about (these now seem hard to get) Over hanging back corners, mean it will be easy to bolt down. Bench tested at home. Seems quite well built, better than the New World on the barge.

Just imagine the fun we are going to have in Ireland, where 8 miles of the Shannon-Erne waterway is the border and even the locals would be hard put to find the border in the Upper Erne. Spot the "UK"/EU border (one of the Upper Erne "loops")

I had the same trouble, when you get to a certain age things like this really bug you. For years I remembered a ghostly tv series with weird credits - abandoned night scene of funfair in full swing, with no one present. Someone on a random group told me what it was!

The only series I remember somewhat like you describe is: http://cult-tv-lounge.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-gold-robbers.html

The first image shows the end a couple of weeks ago. It there is a water point to that side (extreme left of image) then I would not attempt to get to it. The mooring the other side had at least one supermarket trolley. This is why we (To Mrs TNC's disappointment) did not stop for lunch. The other image shows the view from the end.

It was certainly very navigable a few weeks ago. Any weed up to HLY had been trashed, mostly by their fat hire boat. OK up to around St Mary's Road Bridge No9. From here to the end (easy wind) there was a lot of blanket weed mixed with a little plastic, just do this on tick-over. No idea if the water tap is still there, we did no stop. One of our fastest passages, only two trips down the weed hatch!

Our own fine craft (soon to be retired from the fleet) comes about as close to your wish list in a go everywhere length. Rear double bunk cabin with single dinette/hip bath/fixed double/double dinette/240v from inverter or Travelpower/Miele washer-dryer/self pump-out macerator toilet/large water, diesel, calorifier and waste holding tanks/ample storage/ 440Ah domestic battery bank/diesel and solid fuel heating http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/earnest/index.html Recent upgrades include a Trojan domestic battery bank/Merlin SmartBank, Smartguage/ Victron inverter/charger and a Villager Puffin Mk2 stove. Earnest has recently had a lot of work done on it - alternators/rudder/rudder bearings/cutlass stern tube bearing/gearbox/bow thruster brushes/drive plate/fenders/cratch cover/rear cover/blacking/anodes/hull plates thickness survey.

I have not seen this for a while, it is really looking quite neat. I suppose we will pass it on out way back up the GU to Teletubby-Ashby-land.

Nah...he has got a lifeboat!

..or get a kink in their flexi discharge hose??

I find this one a bit waring

Mmmmm...Mrs TNC is impressed!

Cowley, GU Pub (behind the lock house) is the Malt Shovel

I would get more people in, like Nick Evans (ex PLA VTS / Harbourmaster), who has been employed to sort out the London tidal / bookable Locks farce...and maybe some other things...

Our barge 600mm Belling is the same, but with power available on that we keep the inverter on all the time. I wanted a 500mm wide cooker for the new NB, with Mrs TNC's 4 hour days I wanted to stay all 12v, so we don't have to have the inverter on all the time. It seems that most of the 600mm wide ones have a cooling fan, whereas the 500mm ones do not. I have already bought the cooker for the new NB, as it was on offer for £179 (£219 at the moment) Argos Bush AG56TB https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4908854 No fan, DOES comes with LPG jets (easy to fit apart from main oven). Build quality seems OK, apart from knobs, which are a bit flimsy Easy conversion to 12v ignition with igniter from Midland Swindlers (seemed to be the cheapest place!) https://www.midlandchandlers.co.uk/products/ignition-conversion-kit-12v-series-9-hob-gc-154 This unit has enough connections for all the burners. I still had a couple of 12v high temp lamps floating about, so converted oven light. The top overhangs at the back, so it will be easy to drill some holes to fix it in.

On one of our MSC passages in NB Earnest (Intertuff 16 single pack) we ended up with hardly any blacking at the waterline. With the barge in Ireland (Hempel Hempadur 45143 2 pack epoxy) we have even managed a bit of light ice breaking, with out effecting the coating at the waterline. Impervious to the often oily conditions in our marina.

As I said we want a single walled flue, so we can use old style collar and our existing twin wall SS chimneys. We do not want stainless steel inside, flimsy collar or to add another grand to the build cost. In our proposed layout, once the flue is free of the insulated back of the dinette, it is centrally placed, in free air until the ceiling. This is the only problem area and will be overcome. Installation will be a doddle.

I have had this all out with Andrew at Woodworks who will be the boatbuilder of our new NB and his surveyor, who will be signing off the RCD and BSS (yes we have specified both from new). We don't want a twin walled flue - even just through the roof. We want a standard old style collar, so we can use our existing pair of SS twin walled chimneys. The stove will be centrally placed behind the tiled / insulated back of the side dinette. At the end of the day he said it will all come down to adhering to the stove manufacturers installation instructions, which in the case of the flue the distance from any combustible material must be 3 x the diameter of the flue. In the case of the 4 inch flue to be used with our proposed approved stove - Villager Puffin mk2 =12". In our case the only problem area will be exit through the roof. Furnace board will replace the spray foam around the inside of the collar, in a 3" wide ring, then "old standard" ring of Masterboard replacing roof lining. We are still discussing the width of the Masterboard, as we don't want this too unsightly. At the end of the day we might have to: a) - Have a rather unsightly wide ring of Masterboard around the flue, replacing the ceiling or b) - "fit the stove ourselves" "after boat handed over" or c) - Sign a disclaimer to the extent that if the boat catches fire due to the roof lining catching fire, it is down to us Obviously other builders / surveyors may have a different view. We all know this is overkill. Most of the times we run our existing Puffin mk2 you can touch the top of the flue!

If the grit is very angular it could be shot blast grit. Graham at Riversdale in Ireland uses this for non slip. It also has the advantage (or disadvantage) of normally being black.

£235!!!....I better polish up the 35 year old one on NB Earnest. Personally I find the functionality of our barge kettle superior - Wesco classic Large bottom area, heats up in a jiffy, precision fitting lid and as for whistle, the piercing Germanic note means you soon turn off the gas.

Back some 20 years ago, when our boat was new I always used T-Cut. It took no effort at all to get shiny brass.

You are certainly right about anodes lasting longer with two pack. After 8 years in the water my barge in Ireland, the anodes are like new (yes, I did go sub aqua in the freezing clear waters of a Shannon tributary....BBBRRRRR!)