Scholar Gypsy

The ship lock is about 200 by 7 metres, fall of let us say 2 m (often less). The reach to Molesey is 5 miles, 8000 m and the average width is say 50 m. So filling the lock would take 7 mm out of the reach above.

Went past Brentford yesterday (Limehouse - Woolwich - Teddington see photos). C&RT have installed two new signs, on either side of the entrance to Brentford Creek. One is visible to boats coming upstream, one to those coming downstream from Teddington. Just look out for the familiar design & logo - if you want to read the words, you will probably need the binoculars. Sorry, forgot to take a photo/

Thanks very much. This is frustrating - the main effect of the addition of this safety device seems to be to increase the risk of a leak in the high pressure part of the system. This should not be dangerous (the gas will vent overboard) but it could be expensive and/or lead to culinary disaster.

I bought a Gas fuse recently (featured in Waterways World). It is a small device that fits between the gas bottle (red gas - propane) and the existing regulator, and enables you to pressure test the system when you want to. It also shuts off the gas if there is a major leak elsewhere in the system. It is on the left in this photo, the regulator is on the right. I have had some difficulty getting the gasfuse to seal properly onto the bottle. Has anyone seen a male fitting like this in the UK, with an O ring? Some internet searches of Australian websites (this device is fitted to hundreds of thousands of caravans etc over there) suggest an O-ring is quite normal, but we have always had metal to metal connectors. I believe my main gas system is fine (very simple, and recently tested for BSS). I have also written to the UK distributors. Until I am confident the fitting is the right one, I have taken it out of operation. Many thanks

I think I am one of the people Leo No2 may have in mind. I am crewing as part of a convoy (only two boats!) this Sunday, if the wind is sensible. Once you've got your mind around the various guidance notes (and the excellent site that Leo No2 built) do get in touch, and I will see if I can help.

Good luck! If you have time, do try the Middle Level and the Ouse...

The three fingered one works well for me, conected to a socket set, although with larger diameter filters the clearance with the dipstick tube is a bit tight.

To cheer everyone up, I would recommend the documentary on the building of Crossrail. Big toys for boys, as one of the participants says. This week's episode was about tunnelling under the Royal Docks, and under the Thames at Woolwich. Lots of shots of boats on the Thames, and boats going to and from the boat show (January 2013 I think) but no narrowboats, unfortunately. On iplayer here.

I bought my Gold licence from C&RT; and then emailed the CamCon to ask for a form. It came in a couple of days, I sent it back, the licence arrived a few days after that.

I have a gold licence, and paid £45 extra for an annual CamCon licence, which (from memory) allows me to spend 30 days on their bit of the river. I do expect to get good value from it - probably 7 or 8 trips over the year, including winter trips along the Backs.

Sorry to miss you - I was either polishing the engine room floor, or tightening the fan belt. I went to Wicken Fen for lunch today - glorious! Edited to add: Weed levels seemed to be reducing quite a bit, at any rate on the Ely Ouse. (pics)

There is some policing - the CamCon licence on our boat was checked recently at Clayhithe Bridge.

Oops, I should read more carefully. The origin of the Lincolnshire is rather prosaic (surprising given eg the age of the cathedral): History The Lincolnshire flag was chosen in a popular vote organised by BBC Radio Lincolnshire along with Lincolnshire Life magazine. The winning entry, designed by Lincolnshire born Michelle Andrews was selected from a shortlist of six designs. The flag was launched on October 2005.

Notice from CRT today: Update on 22/07/2014: Following additional control measures and ongoing monitoring we are now in a position to allow unrestricted use of Lock 10. Therefore Napton Locks are now fully open without restriction. We will however continually review the situation and should the need arise we may need to reintroduce a restriction pending the permanent repairs this winter. We would like to ask that all boats take particular care in this area to avoid impact with the approach walls.

This reminds of the ante-natal class that I went to on my own in 1990 - my wife couldn't make that week - and the subject was breast feeding. It was all going quite well, until I asked if any sterilization was needed. I was told that pouring boiling water over said organ was not a good idea. I decided not to ask any more questions.

I've bought several County flags from this site. Description of Norfolk's is as follows: History The flag of the County of Norfolk shows the Arms of the Duke of Norfolk. The arms were granted in 1904. The lower part of the shield has the arms attributed to Ranulf de Guader, first Earl of Norfolk (1071-1075). The chief has Royal charges and were added by express wish of King Edward VII at the time of the grant

I got mine at the Pembrokeshire County show a few years ago, but I am sure there are other sources ... For some reason someone gave us a similar sized EU flag, but I don't fly that very often.

Dear Dai & Graham Is this flag big enough? (HMS OCEAN,Greenwich, May 2012) (Thames Barrier, May 2012)

For anyone thinking of using Bow Creek on this date: http://www.pla.co.uk/assets/m39-bowcreekclosedtonavigation.pdf

Here is the article from the Evening Standard. I've not yet managed to find a website setting out the developer's plans in more detail ...

I am sure I remember reading an article in the Evening Standard yesterday about the redevelopment (and reopening to navigation) of this canal as part of a housing development. I couldn't find this on the ES website, but I did find this

Or an alternative would be to use a double pole switch at A, with one pole connected to the relay and one to the bulb,

Thanks. That is I think another argument for letting boats go through the lock, rather than trying to wind by the lock - or reversing out to the main channel, which is what I did on Saturday ....

I suspect not many will wish to read this posting ... I was hoping to go to Wicken Fen (a few miles south of Ely) at the weekend, but was defeated by the lock at Upware (from the River Cam to Reach Lode). I think what happens there is: Normally the level in the lode is a few inches above the river level So the lock (which has electrically powered guillotines at both ends) is normally set to let the water run out from the lode. It does this by having both gates open (a bit). In those circs the lock is available for use, if you have the right key. So you shut one gate fully, and then open the other one ... ... and it resets itself 15 mins after someone uses the lock (with appropriate sirens and flashing lights to warn you against entering the lock!) But if the river is above the lode then the lock is not available for use, it automatically puts itself into locked mode. The control panels are disabled for boater use .. ... and the pumping station alongside the lock operates from time to time, pumping water from the Lode up into the River Cam, from whence it finds its way to Denver Sluice and the sea So what I find perplexing is why the lock is not available for use at these times. I can't believe the flow from the pumps is that exciting - certainly compared to normal flows from paddles/slackers etc on locks with a decent fall. And the inlet and outlets are well protected from boats wandering off course. I would be interested to know if anyone has investigated this setup with the Environment Agency in the past, to see if there is scope for a less restrictive operating procedure. (At least I didn't get trapped in the Lode - there are 20-30 boats on permanent moorings inside). PS I can see that if the level in the Cam got a couple of feet above normal then the headroom in the lock (which like many in the Fens has a road bridge across the middle) could get rather tight, but in those circs it would probably be unwise to go boating on the river anyway.

Holme Fen. about a mile north of the turning point. see photos & other links here http://nbsg.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/upware-to-braunston-august-2011/. and here I'm off to Wicken Fen again at the weekend.