Mike Todd

According to the lockie (paid not volunteer) it is now the second lock up that is the pinch point now that the bottom one has been attended to. (IIRC!)

The normal type of fenders on a narrowboat are unlikely to protect the paint, it would only be the black anyway. Cruising with them down is not recommended and can cause problems in certain locks. They do have their role - when moored they generally can help avoid being kept awake by constant banging against the edge.

But the official dimension form Norton Junction to Foxton is 6' 11" (2.12m) so attempting to go from Norton to that marina is not compliant with the T&C's . . .

But technically at least, CaRT's official max beam for Preston Brook to Croxton is 9ft (2.74m) - see https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/32433-waterway-dimensions.pdf?v=606a43 Given that the T&C limit boats to the published dimensions, surely such usage is not permissible for boats greater than 9ft? Obviously, CaRT can give special permission to modify the T&C's for specific situations but . . .

The Ribble Link is very definitely Tidal - if you forget that then you'll be in trouble!

We did similar on moving. Colour did not suit new decor and, in any case, the covering was a tad jaded. Recovering was not cheap but I do find it hard to find a suite that is comfortable - I need a good neck/head rest. Incidentally, when visiting the Lancaster Canal a week or so back we were amused to discover the factory where the re-covering is done!

I would be sympathetic to your proposal if all boaters ere leisure boaters but I do still try to take into account the needs of those who live permanently aboard many of whom may not have the resources to install a new shower and to heat it.

Can you see dangerous particulates?

Actually, both up and down it was more a matter of "You are in luck, we will be doing the locks for you" - but we don't mind so long as they do it right!

Soft? Lento or largo = slow (pianoforte = soft and loud, not readily achieved on a harpsichord)

Not necessarily a bad idea, although the volunteer may not have known so: that pound is especially short, not much more than a boat length and boats passing need to be on the ball to synchronise their actions. Also the pounds drop in level very quickly and anything over shallow draft is likely to scrape the cill. If you come down out of the top lock you either have to try and hover in the small off side space or wait over the cill with the level dropping. I would rather be in a lock and discover the issue as I tentatively made my way out, with time to reverse if necessary, than find myself stuck with the stern stuck as the bow drops - the only wat then is to waste water running bit down from the top. That said, I did have a minor issue with the 'instructions' issued by one volunteer on a set of wide locks. When I mentioned it I was told that they have a 'script' which they must follow - it is not simply an inexperienced volunteer making it up. They are not given the leeway to change it.

Not only wrong on the obvious ground (ie the water has to be let out anyway) but could be wrong for less obvious reasons: before Poolstock went manned/booked only, there was a notice asking boaters to use both top paddles otherwise the leakage at the other end would mean the lock never making as level and the junction pound being drained yet again. In the case you describe, if the top gate leaks a lot then the use of only one bottom paddle to empty would mean much greater water consumption as the leakage in the extra time also has to be emptied away.

Is it cleaner to use or just cleaner to produce?

Surely from that end Bridge 1 at the junction is the defining limit? The issue seems to be spreading: we have just been on the top end of the Trent and Mersey where there are several marinas. At least two of them have wide boats moored there. There is little that some of them can do as at one end there is Dutton Stop Lock, now effectively narrow (9 feet?), and at the other end the aqueduct just before Middlewich which was rebuilt as narrow - no room for argument about that one! One wide boat was on a seemingly on-line mooring (a pontoon part of the marina but adjacent to the navigable channel) It certainly will not be going very far. The vegetation management in that area also allows reeds to flourish and quite often at this time of the year only a narrow channel exists - NBs have to treat the section as one way and a WB would have to push the reeds back. I await hearing that a WB owner is demanding that the vegetation be cut back to allow them to pass as they are licensed on that canal.

I heard a single hander at Hurleston do just this yesterday - the volunteer was quite busy especially having had to cope with a potentially serious incident. I was impressed by the way in which the boater said it and the way in which the volunteer responded.