frangar

If you want to be close enough to a workplace/school etc without having a home mooring then even if you are complying with the letter of the rules it's certainly not in the spirit. I'm not made of money either but as I want to have a home base I pay for a marina mooring...l could save £2k a year and bridge hop but I prefer to stay legal in both letter and spirit.....I'm sorry if you came on here expecting peace and love all round and everyone to say what a spiffing idea you had but even the most basic of research might have told you that somewhere such as Bristol wasn't going to work. Cheers Gareth

That's what we did!...seems like they don't have any dedicated boaters bins.....at least we weren't missing something! Cheers Gareth

There seems to be a lack of rubbish disposal points on the bridgewater unless anyone else knows otherwise? Cheers Gareth

Well I disagree....made our passage much easier and safer. I really think more people should have it rather than less...it makes knowing what's going on around you much easier. If you know the river like you make out you do then you should be encouraging a safer passage....not suggesting what you can get away with as a bare minimum. Cheers Gareth

Really?.....how would they have known down to a few hundred feet?....do they have a port radar in each lock hut? What's the aversion you have to VHF?....I'm sure you just like to court controversy....I really don't see how just having a mobile phone would make your passage easier unless you know the personal numbers of all the skippers on the Trent...Ouse...Severn...etc Cheers Gareth

The OP really sounds like they are after cheap accomodation rather than wanting to live on a boat for the love of the waterways..sadly something which seems to becoming more and more prevalent. The number of people we met whilst out and about this summer who had just brought a boat and were taking it to London or similar without the foggiest idea of simple things like lock operation, mooring or basic boat maintainence was very sad and depressing. We also noted that the number of bridge hoppers was on the increase....and before anyone says "a How do you know they were bridge hoppers if you were just passing?" trust me after 20 odd years of boating and living afloat they are not hard to spot. As I and many others have said.....if you want to stay in one spot then you need a mooring...quite simple really! Cheers Gareth

Well it was our first time on the Trent and funnily enough thanks to having charts and a working pair of mark one eyeballs we were quite confident where we were at all times....also at no point were names used that didn't appear on said charts. The lockies did know that Inland Navigator was moving but as they didn't know our speed or Inland Navigators then they didn't know where we would meet. I'm really glad you are not responsible for my safety....however with advice like you are giving out you may put others into danger. Cheers Gareth

One off or not....surely some of the point of having a VHF is to know what might be round the next bend....it's rare for a narrowboat to sink on a big river but you will be glad of a lifejacket when it does......"One off" events quite often happen before a serious accident. Taking simple and relatively cheap precautions such as a VHF, life jacket, anchor etc helps reduce the risk. The attitude of some people on here who resent spending a small amount of money and a little time doing something like a VHF course really beggars belief. As has been said this mindset together with the lack of common sense that prevails today will see even more legislation and restrictions placed on us. Cheers Gareth

To all those saying " no commercial traffic on the upper Trent" we met this just below newark lock earlier this year... I agree with NC et al. If you want to play on big rivers then get a VHF and know how to use it. I really can't understand what's gained by not having one. Cheers Gareth

Well I was locked out for all of yesterday (hurrah I hear you say,...).....anyway after restarting my wifi pointer and all attached devices it appears all ok this moring.....I can go back to looking at all my porn! ( oh and posting on here!) Cheers Gareth

How many narrowboats are there in Canada.......??? Think that might not be the right company! Cheers Gareth

I do hope you are including yourself in "a few others"!! Cheers Gareth

Real Creosote is still available from this chap http://www.creosotesales.co.uk Used him last year...very helpful and quick delivery. Cheers Gareth

If he was such a well known mechanic it would have been nice to hear his side as well....it's annoying not knowing the full details. Cheers Gareth

I've met some great people when I have offered help and tows..:..sadly though it seems to becoming less common to help other boaters out....as I was towing one boat a couple of years ago several other boaters expressed suprise I was helping a complete stranger...quite sad really....I work on the principal that you should always offer help as you never know when you might need some in return. Cheers Gareth PS if I had seen this earlier I would have happily diverted and dropped down buckby but I'm now up on the leicester summit...sorry!!

Scary!....never underestimate the power of a river! Cheers Gareth

When we went out from selby it was on a spring.....those bridges went past rather quickly!!....not somewhere I would want to have anything wrong with the boat....we were glad we had a steel hull too....debris doesn't really describe the tree trunks and 8x4 sheets of wood you are likely to come across! Cheers Gareth

Well I also sent an email to the hire company concerned first thing this morning.....as I said earlier I will post here when I get a reply...so it's not an ineffectual rant especially as others might see read the rant and think twice before running their engine at all hours.....oh and if you think what I said was a full on rant then I'm afraid you are mistaken....if I was really peed off then more than their keys would have been getting wet! Indeed...have a green thing! Cheers Gareth

Trust me if it had been a private boat I would have ranted more and named them on here! I am more than happy to help any boater. Cheers Gareth

It was a 9.6m tide today so I bet it was running quite well...if they lost power or had something round the prop and then found the bridge pier...OUCH! Glad everyone is ok though. Cheers Gareth

But it doesn't have a toll does it?....surely in which case it's selby road bridge....as the guides say!...it might be called the toll bridge locally....but that doesn't help if you are using a guide book!! Anyway....does anyone have any more details about the incident? Cheers Gareth

Ahhhh...I was thinking of Aldwark toll bridge.....knew there was one up there somwhere!....which one is Selby toll bridge then?...it doesn't appear in my Nicolsons.... Cheers Gareth