jim and pat dalton

As we get closer to this dream (mothballed all the firework mortars and firing equipment yesterday) In order to get from Stafford where he boat is to the middle fens where we are going to live for six months. We will have to negotiate the river Nene. we have never done a handling course and have only ever been out on the GU. So I sat here wondering how to keep the boat under control on a lively river. especially when slowing down to enter a lock or stop without losing flow over the rudder (I assume thats what happens when going downstream) and therfore losing steering. how much of a skill is it? should I do a helms mans course on a river? if so where is the best (as in worst flow) to do it. If not what techniques do I need to be aware of to survive on a river trip esp down stream all opinions appreciated Cheers

Well done! hopefully we are only a few weeks away from doing the same Jim

Thanks for the replies and the good extra advice from Alan, very useful I shall be at the survey on Friday as I also want to learn everything I can about the vessel whilst the surveyor is there and can explain it to me. so anything I can look/listen out for is good I did wonder about 10mm base plate in 1988 and the broker assures me it is. we shall see on Friday Jim

Having a 1988 Mike Heywood boat surveyed on Friday that I am buying through a broker. It seems that the boat has been well looked after and in excellent condition, which is what attracted us to her and we appreciate the insurance thing! So what should I expect of the hull after all this time the advert says plating specification 10/6/4. which if true I figure must be good for a 1988 build. What is a reasonable thickness or pitting (is pitting ever acceptable?) to expect from a 10mm hull after all these years? would be grateful for pragmatic viewpoints Cheers jim

Well we made up our minds not to rush in and buy quickly. But.............. We stepped aboard Bayleys Meadow built by Mike Heywood 1988 today and she is in pristine condition if slighly dated interior. But she felt just absolutely right, so with a bit of negotiation, we have put a deposit on her. We didn't mean to do it, but its done and we are both excited and scared!!! Need to arrange survey pronto!

wow! Sorry if some are having trouble selling houses For our part we came down 30K from estate agents est. But we intended to discount 15k anyway so hence 15K short of comfort target But cash saves me mortgage tax and fuel, so its worth the hit as I can make it back soon enough. Today we have been looking at boats at Braunsten, two possibles are there. We are going to Kingwinsford tomorrow and haywards boats, so we shall see. The difficulty is know much to offer below a price to get a process starting ???? Plus I'm a keen pianist and need to get some kind of quality device on board :-/ ~The realisation of rationing clothes and other stuff really came home today. scared and excited :-))

Finally after two years of procrastination and reluctant DIY we put our house on the market 4 weeks ago and we have agreed a price with a no chain cash buyer. we are 15k short of target but a bird in the bush etc, and I will make it up in no time. Assuming the world does not come to an end. We shall be moving out of our house and into a "narrowboat" Gawd, better get a move on and buy one then!!! looking circa £50k max jim and pat

Finally (having decided to become Bargees two years ago) we have put our house on the market when last Saturday morning the man from the agency came round to valuate and we will be vacant posession. Had our first viewing this afternoon. Hopefully we will have about 100k in our pockets when its all done and dusted, wont spend it all on a boat but now looking tentively at the 60ft market. Heart pumping and fingers crossed. Jim and Pat

Always thought that one of these on a narrow boat would be fab esp when combined with a bow thruster :-0 http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=slv8-stage6&va=kitchen+rudder Has anyone ever used one? Jim

Try three.co.uk "The One Plan" OK its not £10 per month and It costs £25 per month (no contract obligations either) for my i-phone fixed rate for 2000 uk voice mins 5000 texts 4000min 3 to 3 And more impotantly ALL YOU CAN EAT DATA. Athough we are not currently on a boat, I do travel around a lot and use the data option all the time esp for 4OD and BBC Iplayer. They really don't have a problem with tethering to a phone and you really don't have to worry about data usage and you get your phone stuff too. I'm very happy with it, very impressive service. Jim

too much hairspay imo!!! nice interior photos of boat, cassette or pump out I wonder?

Spotted this on ebay and had to post it here. Actually looks a really nice little boat http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/9ft-1-8-scale-semi-trad-narrowboat-/140677651948?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20c10a9dec

Its on the Aire Calder I'm completely puzzled by this story? Sorry not trying to be mean just trying to understand the events I Google earthed it, am I looking in the right place? Ive found the right pub by the bridge thats for sure How can a location like this have a 15ft wave and waves to 10 feet with Goole and its lock nearby and lots of houses in the village and sharp bends in the other direction. How could a 15ft wave and other high waves be contained by the canal without reports of houses being swamped and the nearby river and fields being breached? Surely national news!!!! They wouldn't be on the river if they were trying to get to the marina on the canal. Yet they quoted the "river bank" I feel very sorry for this couple and hope they can be back on the water ASAP with everthing resolved and they are luck to be alive. I just cant get my head around this event btw passed by there at about midnight before hand (nice ish evening relative to rest of UK) They had come from Thorne, were they on the river then? or can anyone explain how we get regular waves of 10ft and more on a very ordinary canal, I'm very interested in the full story http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/boating/stoppage/detail/6079/Rawcliffe+Bridge+near+Goole Jim

What a spiffing idea, bet it could be done above the waterline too!!

You mad some excellent points in that post, very useful. In a previous post where I quoted from a web site, they were offering alternates to Dry Powder. To answer your question about comparing with cleaning down after using a proper extinguisher. If you mean by "proper" the dry powder required in the regs, then have done it twice. Once in 1987 at Donington Park on a windle sidecar outfit where the owner got over ambitious with his fuel mix and once at Sywell aerodrome in 1993 when an operator over primed his aircraft at the start and no-one was around to spot the burning fuel. Both times clearing up really wasn't needed as after a thorough clean both machines suffered corrosion enoungh to render them write offs. And that is my only issue with dry powder really. If CO2 is not useful, (I will accept that of course) then Id rather have a better prstical alternative. But not dry powder, leave that for compliance to regs. Jim

So would dry powder (which btw releases Co2 to kill the fire) then be a safe option in boat or indeed any other gas type extinguisher? the 2nd para of this site says not suitable for enclosed spaces: http://www.fireextinguisherguide.co.uk/types-of-fire-extinguishers/dry-powder-extinguishers/ I wonder if the truth is that there is no extiguishersystem perfect for boats so dry powder was chosen by a comittee, who saw no further than putting out a fire (why not) But at least with CO2 you can get rid of a fire surely and get out or open something or is the drill just to sit there and die? your not going to suffocate for the moments it takes. As a young man working nights in a small office we woke up many a dozing worker by goosing him with a blast from a Co2 extinguisher!! So sorry, I'm really not trying to poke a stick in the wheel or sound like an expert, but it seems to me that just because its red and goes whoosh and has a certificate, doesn't mean your saved or your boat is, does it? When we get our boat, we will of course comply with rules and regs, but I will not let off dry powder unless I have to, Ive seen the reality of it wrecking your pride and joy in motor racing and especially aviation and there is no return from corrosion once you've done the deed. Oddly been doing a lot of fire stuff today as in my present job I have 7 water extinguishers on site one in each container by regulation (passed my inspection this morning) As I said to the inspector, If theres a fire, the best drill for safety is to get out of here!! and not let the fire brigade in. He agreed

Does the BSS scheme say you have to use it? or just have it on board? at the end of the day, if your well alight and its going to be a catostrophic disaster who cares what it is if it saves life. but I would rather not create more damage with powder when a blanket or CO2 could be used always a worryer I just though I had better check the practicality of the suitability of dry powder (outside of regulations) Safety-marine.co.uk. says this When NOT to Use a Dry Powder Fire Extinguisher! The most common type of fire extinguisher found on a boat is the dry powder model. This is a useful 'all-round' fire extinguisher suitable for the situations identified by fire classifications A, B and C. (For an explanation of these classifications, see Fire Classifications & Fire Extinguishers.) However, when you discharge a dry powder extinguisher it leaves a fine layer of powder, - much of which can turn into a sticky mess when it touches flames or hot metal. The substance found in most dry powder fire extinguishers usually consists of either ammonium phosphate, potassium bicarbonate or sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as bicarbonate of soda or baking powder!) Unfortunately, ammonium phosphate can react with any moisture present to form phosphoric acid, which is highly corrosive and can easily seep into the smallest cracks in equipment, as well as remove paint. Left in place, the powder will draw moisture from the air and a common example of this acid corrosion will be chrome being replaced with rust. More seriously, should the powder get taken into the air intakes, it could quite easily ruin the engine. So even though you managed to tackle an engine fire quickly by discharging an extinguisher through the little hole in your engine bay cover, you may have caused more damage to your engine than the fire itself, simply because of your choice of fire extinguisher. Fire industry professionals will always advise you to avoid using a dry powder fire extinguisher in an engine space - but if you have no choice, then it is critical that you shut the engines down first. A Worrying Situation! This is a worrying situation because there are literally thousands of boats on the water with nothing more than dry powder fire extinguishers on board. And even more concerning, is that there are hundreds of boats out there whose owners have installed small automatic engine fire extinguishers, bought from their local chandlery, that contain normal ABC dry powder - under the impression that this will reduce the risk of serious damage should an engine fire occur. Unfortunately, leisure boat owners are rarely aware of this issue, and the staff in many general chandlers may not have the specialist technical knowledge to advise boat owners appropriately. With your engine bay blackened with smoke and your 'Yanmar' or 'Volvo' refusing to start, imagine your horror when your insurer informs you that by using a dry powder fire extinguisher you failed to ensure that your fire fighting equipment was 'suitable for its intended use' and was not 'used in an appropriate manner'? Does this sound like a tall tale from the yacht club bar? Well it has already happened. And with clean, non-hazardous and cost-effective alternatives readily available - there is no reason to expect that insurers will continue to pay out for expensive engine fire claims, when for few hundred pounds an owner could have easily installed a fully approved, totally clean and incredibly effective alternative to dry powder. What to Remember: •Boat owners should be aware of the suitability of different types of fire extinguisher for different fire situations •Dry powder fire extinguishers should NEVER be discharged into an engine bay unless the engine is switched off •Boat owners should consider installing a correctly-sized automatic engine fire extinguisher that either contains FM200 an alternative Halon replacement. With fire being the single greatest cause of vessels being lost or seriously damaged, all boat owners should be aware of their responsibilities for ensuring that suitable fire fighting equipment is provided on the vessel. Even if that requirement is simply to fulfil the terms of an insurance policy. For the same reasons, I would add, I wouldn't use it where the TV is or kitchen equipment or laptop, etc etc I think they are also referring to FE36 as an alternative (haven't a clue what that is frankly)

Frankly wouldn't use powder anywhere near a metal boat full of wires and appliances, very corrosive; you stop the fire and ruin the boat. ammonium phosphate.....Hydroscopic and not nice Jim

Errr excatly how old are you??? sorry for being rude Jim

We find head torches uncomfortable to wear. esp as we wear them for many hours whilst doing firework displays and other stuff I can't stand to have that elastic band squeezing my skull. So we ended up using these. Its much more comfortable and they were ace when we took our holiday on the cut last january http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=cap+light

Indeed they do, which is why when you find a drowned one in the bath or your beer, you can revive it by covering it in salt. After about 15mins the thing will happily fly or crawl off, probably back into your beer! Jim

Why mess about, pop down to duxford and http://www.catalina.org.uk/buy-a-catalina-share Jim

Big up for the Fein Multi from us. by far the best sander we have ever used and its cutting ability is excellent to as is its scraping. No horrible vibration bouncing the paper of an edge just smooth and effective reliable and robust. Jim and Pat