Neil TNC

Our local 'Spoons was doing a roaring trade tast Tuesdaynight...Us and the old crinklies (perhaps that should be us old crinklies) drank the pub dry of IPA @99p. Everyone was drinking like there was no tomorrow...perhaps that was true

Oh dear!....the WWW was toying with buying this, before the last owner traded it in to Whilton. We went to see it at Wilton when she was looking for tortoises (don't ask) I better not let her know you bought it. I never fathomed out if the genernator thingy worked...does it? There are also two bits of the butty Juno floating around, I think the stern-now-bow end bit is still in Harefield?

I downgraded to a Shannon Registration (FREE!) I think a lot of boaters are doing the same as you...especially if the cr@p weather we had last summer, repeats again, meaning you can't even move on the Thames (well not without getting a set of Red Board cards)

OH NO!...not the old max length narrowboat to cruise all the "British" (and Irish!) Waterways Horse Chestnut. I will have to dissagree with ABNB. We easily took a 45 ft NB through Brandon Lock on the Little Ouse. I measured the extra length available and concluded that a 48ft narrowboat would go through this lock. Oh..and if you bother you can get more than "a short way" passed Brandon (Santon Downham Bridge) The other short lock, (no longer available) is Welches Dam Lock from the 40 Foot down to the Old Bedford. Folklore decrees that this (40ft Fen Lighter) lock can be navigated by a 54ft Narrowboat, which is why John Shotbolt (who along with Peterborough IWA was responsible for this lock re-opening, so should know) made his boats this length. 58ft 6ins length is a good length for a narrowboat, as long as you watch that Rams Head You can prise a 60ft narrowboat everywhere else. Other than that it may as well be full length.

I like to hear what the engine is doing (as you get warning of depth of water/things round prop), so did not opt for a hostital silencer. Earnest is a "very" semi trad ie it has outer doors. Semi-trads are meant to be the noisiest (for the steerer) style of narrowboat, as the engine noise is "funneled" up into the rear cock pit. I also used the Midland Chandlers panels and fitted them to the bulkhead, under the side lockers, rear deck, under the rear deck flap and under the engine cover deck boards. On Earnest these are two sections of Hexigrip ply. I also fitted a foamy-neoprene rubber seal, to seal the gap between the two boards. The panels were fitted first under the boards, which made the biggest difference, then I added the others until the engine noise was just to my liking, ie not obtrusive, but loud enough to hear problems. Be warned the Midland Chandlers panels do NOT stay self adhesive for long and can be a problem if they fall down on the engine, while it is on. I have now re-stuck all mine down with Evo-stick, (thin film applied to both surfaces, then wait untill tacky).

Indeed. If you want to contact me off list: neil at tuesdaynightclub.co.uk I have the firm, but I have not discussed routes with them, as due to the "credit crunch" I have not the faintest Idea what boat I will be going to France in, or what routes would be cheapest for someone with Sterling...ideally NOT Earnest. I would like to do the Brittany canals/rivers but would not take a narrowboat in the English Channel (well not mine!) I can live in hope that someone will eventualy sell me a Sagar for under 100K.

Maybe you had fine swims... Earnest is a Rusty Dustbin with a slipper stern and I have been able on a couple of occasions to use all the power. I was rather glad of it coming back up the Barrow last August At the time I was specing Earnest with a Travelpower the majority of builders suggested a BV1903 knowing what we wanted to do, the exception being Evans and Sons. I know Beta now will supply a B38 /BV1505 with a Travelpower, but was this always the case?

Apart from Frank "loosing" Earnest for a day at Dublin Docks it all went like clockwork....oh well it all worked out well, Irish style. Graham Thomas gave us a free night at the Riversdale guest house. After P&S weighed Earnest at 18.5 tons, we got away with a cheaper crane at the Ballinamore end, especially as Graham hi-jacked Locaboat's excellent wharf. I will always do my trail boating like this...especially after the jack-knife incident that put Mrs TNC off trailboating in her Wildernii.

It needs a Beta 1903 (43) if you want a good thrash on tidal waters.

Yes, the Ulster Canal (3.6m wide locks) will rebuilt to the gauge of the Shannon-Erne Waterway (24m x 4.5m) and have the same smart-card electro-hydraulic operation*. This will require a rebuild of the lock chambers (some will be by passed to preserve a bit of heritage) and the removing of bridge towpaths. The tunnel in Monaghan is really a long bridge, under a road junction. It was built cut and cover. One end is presently blocked, with a tyre depot built on it. * Don't laff, this actually works very well. http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Ireland_...ag/Pict5782.jpg (You can see the card slot at the bottom)

I also used Frank! As you probably heard Frank died of terminal Leukemia not long after he took Eranest over. At the time it was much cheaper to pay in Euro's and have an ROI firm take boats over to Ireland. We shall be using a transport firm from NI, when Earnest leaves Ireland (which could be Cork to Roscoff, if we don't get a barge by then!)

Yes, you can tell by the name and style of lettering.

Alan at Belmont Double gets in a panic if even one boat is about It is at Monaghan on the abandoned Ulster Canal. This is due for a rebuild (I say a rebuild, because it will be re-constructed to the larger Shannon-Erne Waterway gauge). In the present climate I can see this being delay for a good few years. This an important link in the Irish Canal System, because it will connect the Shannon/Erne system up to Lough Neagh and give another route to the sea, through the open (but litle used) Lower Bann Navigation.

One and a half statements Shirley? We had 11 weeks there last year and It rained *sometime* during the daylight hours for at least 10 of those weeks. The pubs are great, but ice cold Guinness is not. Like some of the locals, I now insist on bottled Guinness at room temperature. I have been in "the" tunnel!

And a website http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Panama/Panama.html

Ah!..."Miles Away International" We spent 9 weeks, exploring the lot! From Limerick to Belleek to Dublin to Carrick-On-Suir, including all the main backwaters / ports / harbours / jettys. We are waiting for the Royal to open (shut at both ends at the moment, should be *officially* open throughout April 2010.) Well....in reality... I agree with your statement. There are so many backwaters and tributaries that can be explored in a small boat that you can spend years. Brian Goggin manages to slow us down and keeps showing us new things to explore. The Shannon is such an incredible moody river, with a huge flood plain (that often does, but barely affects boating). For this reason habitation is sparse on the banks, leaving to boat through your own private world. I think we have a first with getting an "English Barge" (as a lot of the locals call a Narrowboat / Narrow Boat ) up the Rinn River, beyond Rinn Marina and the N4 Bridge. I had heard of a rally of boats that got up to Lough Rinn, but I had not realised that the boats consisted of inflatables and canoes and they walked some of the way. What worries me is that the Irish "Canals" (Grand, Barrow Line and Barrow) are very well maintained, but see VERY little use...infact less use that a decade ago. How long in this new economic climate can this go on? Imagine boating on a canal for three days and not seeing another boat...let alone one moving? There is now only one hirebase on the Grand/Barrow Line/ Barrow, Barrowline at Vicarstown and they only have around 8 boats. To be honest I can't see the Royal being a big sucess, unless some well maintained steel hire boats locate to it. There is presently ONE hireboat on the Royal and Waterways Ireland do not seem to be promoting any viable hire firm to go there. English boaters are made very welcome and a narrowboat is quite happy on the big loughs as long as you watch the weather. Shirley more English boaters should bring their boats over? OK, so the transport is not cheap, but even with the way Sterling is at the moment, FREE Shannon or Erne resistration and Shannon locks at 1.5 Euro, will not break the bank. Grand/Barrow/Royal lock pass and mooring permit is 88 Euro a year. Opps..this is turning into a minirant

I think that should be marooned many flashes ago

My own experience is: Earnest's PRM 150 has done over 9,000 locks / 6000 hours...so you gauge how many times it has been in and out of gear. (and at the moment it is not leaking oil - selector arm seal recently replaced) Beatty's Hurth did just under 6000 locks in our ownership, then promptly terminally failed From choice with a barge, I would have a PRM 500, which has a pto built in. Ian Clarke did a lot of research when he put a 5 cylinder Kutota Nanni in his wooden motor-sailer. The general consensus, even amongst the cruiser owners was to have a PRM. He got it right with the gearbox (PRM 260), but NOT the 5 cylinder Nanni. Graham Thomas at Riversdale Barge in Ireland always has PRM's on his hire and private build wide beam narrowboats and barges (mostly Beta's). He has has one PRM 160 go...but you should have seen the state of the prop, after some hirers wrecked the whole drive train/engine mounts.

Hurmph!...that must have been the sunny day when were were not in Ireland (11 weeks, where it seemed to rain every day.) The WWWW (Mrs TNC) was flashed at once on the Llangollen ....but that was many moons a ago. ISTR that there was an occasion of a topless lady steering a working boat, (with pictures floating about) back somethime in the late 1990's?

Mrs TNC has just found out that the Pamama Canal widening has been put on hold....so she will have to put up with her narrowboat

Gawd!...it is more expensive than Snap-On :-)

Why?...have they been tring to wreck Limehouse Lock again? ;-) <BOING>

We saw GUCCC Bath up the top when we were last there.

I would have thought Martin would have turned up! As others have said you can contact him through his Pennine Waterways website. http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/ (Martin like people to contact him through his "unspamy" link) The TNC HNC passages are at: http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Tour_03/Tour03_5.html http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Tour_03/Tour03_29.html We are now based on the Shannon-Erne at Riversdale Barge / Ballinamore, more due to the fact that I wanted Earnest in a reasonably priced marina, where it would be looked after, rather than abandoning it for months on end on the Grand Canal (which you can as long as you have your 80 Euro mooring and locking permit.) As I prefer to boat south we registered Earnest with the Shannon (free). Are you in the new development beside the river?...what do you think of Keenan's, now they have their big extension? We are fairly well known by the Shannon lockies. Liam at Tarmonbarry keeps saying he is going to buy a wide-beam narrowboat...my answer is always wait a bit longer, untill the price (in Euros) is even cheaper. I am not looking forward to the weakness of Sterling when I next go back, we found provisioning / eating out was expensive before Sterling started it's collapse. TNC last nite was at our local 'Spoons...from being empty just after Xmas, it was now packed, loads of crinklies were eating their ham and eggs for £2-99 and by the evenings end they were out of Green King IPA @ 99p/pint. Perhaps we can meet up if our paths cross at Tarmonbarry...I expect you would not mind cadging a trip on the Royal, when the Shannon end opens up (prob not until April 2010)