Scholar Gypsy

I agree with all the above - and in addition would commend the Winson Green loop. There's a pleasant park just east of the prison, slightly shallow moorings but a bit of trial & error is well worth it.

Well you could, but this would I think be easier to get right (and just as important to remember what you have done when you come to replace the batteries). Next task, I suspect, is to find a large weight to put on the other side of the boat to get the trim right!

What oil pressure do you get when the engine is cold? If 20, that does sound rather low.

Sorry, I have reread the existing posting. I don't think there is any need to adjust the wiring on your current batteries - the bottom half of this diagram. You just need to add the four new batteries, the top half of the diagram, in the new location, and then connect them in parallel with the existing battery set.

Dear Ditchcrawler How much water to fill a lock (or how much is released into the lower pound to empty it)? Consider a lock as a rectangular box of volume V1 + V2, where V1 is the volume of water in the lock when it is empty, with no boat, and the gates are shut, and V2 is the volume of water added to fill the lock to the upper level, when there is no boat in the lock - so V1+V2 is the total water in the lock when filled. Now imagine the lock is empty, and a boat of displacement V3 cubic meters (so of mass roughly V3 tonnes) goes into the lock, When the lock is empty and the gates shut there will be water of volume V1-V3. When the lock is filled the amount of water in it is V1+V2-V3. Therefore the amount of water let in by the top paddles etc is (V1+V2-V3) - (V1-V3) = V2. QED. This does of course ignore the fact that the water level in a pound will be affected by filling and emptying locks, or by a boat being craned into or out of the pound - both second order effects, unless the locks are very close and wih no side ponds etc.

I agree the sums don't really add up - i.e. comparing the drops at Aynho and Somerton. And there is of course no bywash weir at Anyho. There might be a small sluice to pass water from the river into the canal, separate from the lock, but I've never been able to find it! That pound is also topped up by a couple of small streams at Souldern, which may make up the difference?

Steelaway Sorry, your diagram is dangerously wrong - you have connected the positive and negative terminals of all the batteries together, so you would get a short and a loud bang. I think this is what the OP was after. (sorry I can't work out how to embed pictures yet ...).

Does this help. I think version 2 would be better, though there is not a lot of difference.

enough to go three times round the shaft, in three separate rings.

There are issues with VHF reception with a handheld west of about Chelsea, where London VTS will not always be able to hear you. An alternative is a "portable fixed" set - here's a photo of my latest project. The radio was about £50 on ebay, the aerial (magnetic mount) about £40 and the external speaker the same. There's also a charging point for the handheld set, and for the mobile phone. Tea mug holder to be added shortly...

In general I agree, but I would like to say I was accosted by a very pleasant chugger at Little Venice Cavalcade last weekend. He asked if I had heard of CRT, I said I was a member, and he moved on.....

How does the pump behave? In trickle mode does it run for a few seconds, then stop, then start etc etc? [i quite often myself taking a tap to bits to clean out gunk and/or replace the washer.]

I think the moorings just downstream of Maidenhead Railway Bridge ("north" bank) are free, and a good bank. I agree with comments above about moorings in Cliveden Reach - magical!

Just spotted a more detailed news release from the RNLI: http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages/London-lifeboat-crew-launched-to-boats-pinned-to-mooring-barge-by-strong-tide.aspx

I would recommend Ellesmere, by the lakes just east of the tunnel. Photo here. Moor early in the afternoon - only ten mins walk from the town. For quiet moorings: * the Prees branch, on the way to the marina, and * the straight section to the NW of the junction between the branch and the main line. Last time I was there I moored the stern of the boat in Wales, and the bows in England.

Sorry to be pedantic: 1.2 miles from the Wharf. 1.6 miles from the top lock (next to the New Inn, which I see from another posting is just about to reopen!!)

One other thought: there's an express coach/bus service from Coventry to Heathrow, takes about two hours. A slightly longer taxi ride from Braunston. http://coach.nationalexpress.com Rugby is, I would say, less of a tourist attraction than Leicester, unless you want to see the birthplace of the game of Rugby football....

I would suggest going further south, it seems a pity to spend so little time on the summit section, which is gloriously remote. Although Leicester is a fine city, it would not be my favourite canal holiday destination. You could easily get to Braunston / Napton / Rugby during the week, or down the Grand Union mainline to Stoke Bruerne. [There is a good bus service from Braunston (to Banbury then train to Reading for a bus to Heathrow), and Crick is an easy taxi ride to Rugby Station. And you could get to Rugby by Tuesday evening, where you can moor 5 mins from the station. That also gets you more tunnels - but then starting from MH you cannot avoid them.] Good luck!

Or you can put the +ve connection onto the correct terminal on the ignition (sic) keyswitch, so that the voltmeter is on when the engine is running.

It should be safe to use a 240V switch to control a lower voltage, provided it can handle the current that you are switching on & off.

If I am single-handed then I would normally wear a auto-inflating lifejacket, particularly when coming into locks, mooring etc. They are light and don't get in the way and after a while you forget you are wearing one. The main difference between canals and rivers is that if you do fall in while mooring on a river: it can be much harder to get to the bank there are less likely to be passing walkers to help.

RNLI leaflet here

I believe they were on their way to the River Medway.

Waterscape says: Stoppage: Middle Lock 05 Mar 2013 - 26 Apr 2013Associated Regional Office: London Waterways Lock gate repairs (Enquiries: 03030 404040)

Newbold on the North Oxford is a nice trip - only three locks.