Malarky

Things are getting a bit Unliceced boats are there for us all, what you do with them is up to you. Most people would like the bonus of a licenced boat to enjoy their boat as theirs. When a boat is licenced how many of your rights do you sign away to the B.W.B. The biggest freedom is knowing how to look out for the wildlife, and knowing how to maintain/build your boat safely and healthily. The best thing you can do is work that out, travel, and pass it on to the next generation.(Maybee some unlicenced boats need a hand with compliency).

That kind of secure rent is why the area I am in is now dilapidated, and they'l fight you for permanent moorings. This is also a step up on processing to council housing in the area , even takeing priority over local people. The excuse given fto bulldoze of our livelyhoods, and remove our visitors moorings, was it's an "Operation" and"Money talks"! And the higher end of the Scam market(anyone with half a brain'll ...) isn't getting a hit because of all the required f**k ups. So it's more like money whispering in a f**k up factory, and there seems to be no shortage of staff!

In my area B.W.B. changed our visitors moorings into Agenda 21, and Residentual, and promised the Aliens these, who were having meetings about how to have a community on the canal. We already are a community, so didn't need meetings, infact B.W.B. asked me to organise meetings for my area, but on discussion the same conclusion was met. We looked into the criterea of Agenda 21 and realised it was to protect communities exactly like ours, and assumeing we could just share our moorings, and did not object, as haveing spent twenty years preparing variuos projects had reached the point of "many hands make light work". Indeed I went to one of the Aliens meetings with annother boater to see the score, and all we saw is people given several pages of writing being talked at. Whenever they asked a question, the reply was a request to turn to the next page; resulting in a room full of fairly young people , doing exactly that. It turned out that in order to have this community they needed all our moorings, and the person organising these meetings needed my land and house. So what happens to the previous people: We are now plagued with slander theft and vandalism, personally I also get attacked regularly! As a result of our all being forced out of the area, Two people are dead, and one couple have had their seven children put into care. I spend half my working life on call to mentally ill people, and their children, who used to visit the various projects. Actually I have spent my life saveings scince all this and have everyting I earn stolen or smashed up. Some of these people are on benefits. Personally I know nothing of the system, but It looks like I'll either starve, "sue the b******ds", or find out!

" to remove the bolts the ciggies fit into and squirt 6 pulls on a oil can of lubricating oil." "with decompression lever to start" + well charged Batt. You can get heater plugs to fit this engine, as an alternative to the bolts. Fly wheel Kick start?

A thought... Really it's like gardening; except you watch things decay rather than grow; and the weather especially humidity has a lot to say for itself, and needs to be respected to get the perfect "crop". I think this minimmal rusting can be used as a device to roughen the surface to allow the paint to stick, and can be made fairly inactive by applying formic acid, and/or can encourage the use of sandpaper rather than a brush to clear the area before painting. Rust itself can be used in paint to draw the process into the paint rather than allong the surface of the metal under the paint in a pattern not dissimilar to living rot tendrils.

So far I have cut the rotten wood out of the sides and put fillets of oak in place, soaked first to accetain size, then corked planks with oakham and strips of wood where apropriate, and replaced the sheering. This resulted in finding that,apart from permanently pumping out, the boat was rotting from the inside out, and the owner could not pay(I'm an enthusiast and just couldn't see it rot away)! So I've done this with the boat in the water, and only had, say a couple of sq.in. of holes break through on the waterline, external side of the planking, as opposed to about two or sq. feet internally. 4 years on everything is fine and no further decay, and of course she floats with very little pumping out. The caulking externally is in a dredfull state and it all needs sorting, indeed, when the threats from B.W.B. stop I will restore this boat. The point I'm makeing is; bearing In mind my findings visa vis the side planks, what about the elm bottom planks? Internally they apear to be fine!

If a wooden boat hasn't been taken out of the water for 20yrs, is there any reason to take it out, scrape all the weed and mussles of the bottom,(regular wild life garden under there!) or are they in fact protecting it?

Errrr Which bit? The stern.

"Looks" like a Walton?

So why the registration at the L.R. by B.W.B. (and in my area, continual harrasment of people on previously unregistered land, and subsequent sale, constructing even worse harrasment from purchasors and interested parties?).

May I suggest that now all is how it should be, you wipe the engine all over with a rag making sure you clean out any difficult to get at bits, say wrap the rag round a stick. Be carefull to find all the wires in order not to knock them off connectors while cleaning. Maybee you'll need a bit of white spirit or even diesel on a rag to clean the wires and see any colours. Have a look at the ignition area to suss where some of them go, hopefully the colours will direct you on this. Then you've got some idea of how everything should be, and found any loose connections that may re-occur one day, so you can easily get in there and twiddle. Then buy a set of spanners and hey-presto your a mechanic!

Could be poor earth connection to alternators, I once had this glimmering ignition light sindrome; I forgot to connect the main earth wire for the engine, that happened to bolt to the alternator bracket!

BWB have recently claimed some of the towpath in Oxford as theirs; stuck a red li(n)e round it at the Land Registry. In my opinion this is wrong and I believed the land registry was set up to stop this kind of behaviour. It also seems that forestry is susseptable to the same "game" at this time in history; the L.R. seems to be giving people the right to forestry land with this red line, when in effect they have only purchased the right to grow and maintain the trees, thus keeping prices inflated to a similar degree as to when the tree planting grants were at their heyday in the 70's. Soon we won't actually have a country if people don't wise up. :(BWB have recently claimed some of the towpath in Oxford as theirs; stuck a red li(n)e round it at the Land Registry. In my opinion this is wrong and I believed the land registry was set up to stop this kind of behaviour. It also seems that forestry is susseptable to the same "game" at this time in history; the L.R. seems to be giving people the right to forestry land with this red line, when in effect they have only purchased the right to grow and maintain the trees, thus keeping prices inflated to a similar degree as to when the tree planting grants were at their heyday in the 70's. Soon we won't actually have a country if people don't wise up.

I have poor anger management as a result of years of breathing in Toluline and Xylene from some varnish and glues, used to open air yard, then moved to a large shed, and kept the bad habit of not useing a mask, also needed better masks than I thought anyway(basicly a gas mask set up). I put the anger problem down to life's trials, (as I think most people would understand). But this stuff really does cause neuro-degeneration! Anyone else know of any dangers to be aware of?

These boards are specially made, in black check and very expensive; just thought The size may have helped with searching the internet. Well I just tried myself and it did'nt! Although I checked with annother supplier just now and can get the hexgrip board, but only in brown and size....4x8. So it can be transported flat! Tho personally, I usualy supply this as a fitted back deck.

Unfortunately the board I get arrives in 4000 x 1900mm sheets! I used to get it from The Oxford Canal Boat Company nr. Bicester.

Maybee you've got; the burner on a peddestool(difficult to get heat to go down), a lot of windows that (ar'nt doudle glazed) and poor curtains insulation wise, your roof vents fully open, and gaps round the doors and hatches, and whatever standard insulation is, is'nt adequate. Oh well yearly cold spell soon; then it'll be over till next winter, so a great opportunity to work out how to to adapt the boat to be more economical to heat. Bestttttt offf luckkkkk wittth ittttt!

Professionally speeking; this is a "grey area"!

Get it blasted and sprayed in same deal, save haveing to hire more equipment and beat the weather.

A sedimentor will help trap water, and can be access to drain it off as diesel floats on water. Most diesels had these years ago, but I'm not sure of modern practice. The canal water will keep most boat diesel warm enough in winter as it is above freezing below the ice, also with all the people living in boats these days the canal is warmer in winter than it used to be, due to heat loss through hulls.

Plastic pipes seem fine, and the push fit unions even work, designed to pop apart if the pipes freeze so not just some modern gimmick! One of the great things about canal boats is that design wise you don't have tight building regs. so much more room for experimentation and individual quirks. Decide the sizes of your accomodation areas(rooms) first, and check this to fit the sizes of seating, beds etc. along with relitive positions of vents, windows, doors and engine/steering gubbins. Then suss where you want rads, lights, sockets, shelves and so forth. Make access points for maintenance when you know where things are going. Then re-design the whole thing to juggle it all together, insulating as much as possible to stop condensation.Then ask your clarifier. I wonder weather you will be able to hear your "clarifier" properly tho when your engine is running!

All seems sensible for low impact energy conversion wise; plus windings last the test of time, exept for the brushes. But an engine for each boat might be a bit of a polava to be "green". Can enough power come from water movement in locks, nearby wiers, wind, and solar panels, to power wires allong the canal similar to electric trams for take off points? Would it even be practical?

I don't aim to antagonise B.W.B. or make things even more difficult, and so wish to seek advice primarily. But I can say the area is called Wolvercote-leys north of Oxford, should anyone wish to see for themselves, or indeed know it. I agree that "the courts are the place where it is possible for the voice of the individual to have the same weight" and ideally seek a canal orientated solicitor, as "we, the public, decide they should through the instruments of state provided for such things". I also wonder if anyone else has experienced this sort of treatment by B.W.B. and lost their livelyhood as a consequence.

Bazza2 can't explain exactly, I think if I could it would'nt have come to this; but heres a bit of background... Have access to property and land adjacent to canal, also visitors moorings-creating; accomodation, vedg.patches, storage, tool exchange, recreational areas for adults and children, place for mooring and fixing boats, tethering space for horses, and nearby parking for vehicles allong with vehicular access. Not to mention the experience of looking after a wildlife coridoor,SSSI and Conservation Area. All claimed by B.W.B. who previously only had "permissory access" allong the tow path.Resulting in the continued persecution of the population in the area for the purpose of providing permanent moorings, so much for improving things; the area is now delapidated and gated. With people who now pay B.W.B. and a local smallholder to be there, as the replacement.