Pentargon

Gotta say this Ponting guy knows how to wind you geezers up til your pips are squeaking. Only CaRT could know if a boat was unlicenced, unless some of you can explain otherwise. Non-display does NOT signify not licenced as witness the following: I have an extant River and Canal licence and recently asked CaRT about taking out a Gold as i'm heading towards the Thames/Isis. CaRT told me I'd have to send in BOTH currently-displayed licences with my application so they could arrange for appropriate refunds etc. and the process might take 'a few weeks'. I pointed out that I would then have to cruise with no valid licence showing until tthe gold turned up AND I actually collected from my postal address and brought it to the boat. CaRT said "that's ok. our people can check your boat number and find out from us whether you are licenced". Luckily I'm in the South Oxford at the mo. but I'm going to hang fire in case Ponting is heading this way.

Although most of the information handed down in this thread is not 'erroneous' a lot of it seems to be opinion rather than fact. I am a crew volunteer with Canalability in Harlow. Note: not mate, not skipper, crew. I completed a 2day CCC course which showed me all they expected me to know. the level of the course was about same as RYA day skipper. I also was expected to and did 10 River Practice Days on four different boats. Up to 68' long and 12'6" in the beam. I was assessed during these RPDs on ability to helm the boat safely, wind them, reverse long distances, moor up, operate locks. Before going out on my 1st real assignment I was obliged to do in house training on how to deal with disabled passengers, be CRBd, and other niceties. I am now into my 1st season and still will not be considered for 1st mate duties. I might mention that separately I own my own narrow-boat and have 58yrs recreational experience mostly under canvas and hold RYA yachtmaster 'qualifications'. Every skipper in canalability is not only CCCMd but is also a boat owner with considerable experience. (EG one skipper also skippers the steam NB "President".) I get the distinct impression that on this thread/topic I am the only contributor with actual experience of actual voluntary staffing of "trust" boats. In fairness I must finish by saying that two of the Canalability fleet are hired out to 'private' users and I have no idea what goes on in that side. I also have no experience at all of any other trust.

LEDs draw current in milliamps. 1amp would run about 100 LEDs (that is single LEDs) Flourescent strips generally have about 10 LEDs. But what the Boat safety Tester might say is another thing entirely. LINK: http://www.gizmology.net/LEDs.htm

In my book, falling in means it takes two days to get your clothes dry and two months getting the stink of canal out of them. PS i've had two such immersions the first caused by stupidity and t'other by deisel on the soles of my shoes. (which might also be termed stupidity but shucks I still have L plates.

The advice given so far is reasonable but there are all sorts of references to cable dimensions. Be careful with numbers and get decimal places in the right place, which Tony Pope has NOT demonstrateably done in the link. Eg 25 sq mms means a cross sectional area somewhat more than a standard pencil. 25mm sq would be one square inch in old money. 2.5 mm diameter wire is very different from 2.5mm cross section.

Hang around Hillmorton for a few days and you can have all you can afford. I don't do either drugs or judgements but I have great senses (of hearing, smelling, seeing and keeping my mouth shut). Why should t'cut be any different from a landside village?

My SR2 exhaust has a 'silencer'! Yards and yards of glassfibre 'tape' wrapped around t'pipe'n'pot all the way from the manifold to the hull. Great place to dry wet socks, towels and damp lumpwood.

Jim I'm sure you are for real, but the post has to be one of the most self-satisfied DiY first-aiders comments I've seen in a while. For extra safety when you tie up, you should ensure your mooring ropes have preventers to stop rats climbing aboard, because they could be carrying the plague. Anytime I bleed I just let it drip awhile to clean the cut. Then shake it to get rid of excess blood and let it congeal in the air. We are made to self fix. But if it was pumping I'd stick my thumb over it (after sucking said thumb). Happy days at home on the road and int'cut. LOL BTW, proper sailors never handle ropes with bare hands. Me, I wear welder's gloves in dry cause I have a leather fetish. Wet weather I wear tanker driver's.

Tesco Wellingborough on the banks of the Nene gave me two hash browns, two black puddings, two fired eggs easy over, two rashers of bacon and a pot of tea for £1.50 a week ago. That might be a Midlantic breakfast but it was proper boatman's fare. It's a new promotion which MAY be countrywide, I passed on the fried bread which always makes me fart. I HATE Tesco but if they wanna give it away I want to be in the queue. BTW, someone up=river complained that hash browns are Merricun. They're not. They're Irish, but the NAME there is prátai brúscar or at least that was my granny's name for them. EDIT 24/0740: In the interests of accuracy! just found the actual receipt. The breakfast was £1.50. But the pot was of tea was an extra 90p. Still £2.40 is about the price of a sarnie in Subway/Greggs.

Keep the boat if you reckon she is totally sorted. By all means find a boat-minder. there are no legal problems any more than say getting someone to mind your car and drive it or rent your house for a year and live in it. A canalboat is actually less likely to be damaged than a car and a minder would not only cover the moorings and running costs but if you are really lucky would keep it clean and tidy. There are genuine peeps out there who can't make up their minds whether they should buy a boat and go on t'cut. You could do a non-commercial deal where they take the boat as a 'taster' for an indeterminate time. You could give them a verbal option to purchase or an "entry to negotiations to purchase" which would leave you in a position to hold or keep later. A year ago I would have jumped at a possibility to do that. This is NOT the time to be selling a canalboat. The market is seriously bottomed and it will get worse before it gets better. keeping the boat gives you a home to return to!

I'm taking the opportunity of using this old thread to re-open discussion. What can anyone tell me about the Air Head Environmental toilet in actual use on a boat for more than one sailing season? especially like to know whether anyone on t'cut actually uses one? just need user feedback before dipatching large wongas.

I don't think you have an SR2. Pentargon has an SR2 and there are decompression levers associated with the the 'rocker covers' My engine plate is marked SR226M. What does yours say? Edit! OOPs you may have decompression levers which are linked together by a thin bar, which is very strange on a 2cyl.SR. Comments Mr.Bizzard, Sir?

If it was an old pipe I'd 'consider' changing it, but the brightness indicates it is quite new. (I've owned Pentargon only 3mts. and have come in from centuries on tidal) It's quite a short length 15" and as I said is somewhat 'curved' enroute. I was talking to Access hoses in Rugby and he said flexible hosing is the latest flavour for examiners. Harmonics is not applicable in this pipe. For that the pipe has to be very straight and very rigid, but I do appreciate your comments and am listening for others. I'm new to t'cut but have already experiencing professional rip-offs and incompetence in other areas.

not sure if it's naughty to 'latch on' to an existing thread with an ever-so-slightly off topic enquiry? But when i see the exocets I'll duck. Pentargon is a 36' Springer with an SR2 firmly bolted so it is almost solid. The fuel pipes from the port side tank to the lift pump are 3/8" copper. They have no vibration coils but are slightly curved. My safety cert is coming up for renewal. Inspector says he'd prefer flexible hoses. Now I'm one of those strange people who only fixes things if they're broke. Would I be pushing my luck if I asked the inspector to demonstrate how my existing pipes could fracture or to explain to me in simple one sylabble words why he wants me to fit flexible hosing?

Hope this is not off topic but http://www.sleeman-hawken.co.uk/suppliers/lister-petter/engine-production-dates.html gives production dates for ALL Listers. All SR1/2/3s were 1967 to 1976. If an original Lucas starter is fitted one would expect it to be dated within those years. Lucas was always deadly accurate with dating. My 1973 Springer has a 1973 SR226M engine but I've not had the starter out yet to identify it. Thanks to all though for a lot of good info in this thread.

Backing up all that has been said, I can't hear my trannie, (which is permanently on in the galley) from outside! Even when walking down the gunwales with the windows open. At first I was puzzled about this until I realised that Pentargon is a steel tub with maybe 2" of rockwool insulation held in in by 1/2" marine ply and carpet covering the ply in most places. It's one great sound-proof shed.

It is now Sat.18thFeb. and I'm going to attempt to get Pentargon from Hillmorton top lock to Gongoozlers for breakfast. I have Avril's number in my mobile, so when I see Braunston Spire in transit with the blue house I'll have a mile to run. How long will the 7mls take against the wind later. Maybe it'll be a Sunday breakfast but WTF.

I have used Damart Thermolactyl fingerless gloves for moderate cold for 30 years. For extra protection I use ordinary welders gloves which cost about £3 a pair at boot sales etc. I was on the cut for my maiden voyage 27thJan thru 2ndFeb. and the combination was perfect for my needs.

Welcome to the forum. I have an SR2 engine in my narrowboat too. What length is your boat? Has she a name? There were different makers of boats in Market Harborough from the early 60's. Springers were the most common Harboro boats but nothing about her looks Springer. The mixture of facebook pictures makes it hard to figure what is new and what is old and it is the OLD stuff that will identify her. Maybe you could put comments on the boat pictures?

I totally agree with you, Sir and I don't care how stupid I look in my crew saver. if I fall in t'cut unconscious it will turn me head up and I won't ingest canal water. Weil's disease can kill and does. Weil's killed one of Sir Steve Redgrave's rowing buddies. Part of this discussion was covering self-inflaters self-inflating. There's a whole procedure for checking out your jacket but almost no-one on canals knows it because they haven't been exposed to the training. A properly arranged self-inflater has to submerged in water to go off while being worn. They should never be stowed wet, but again how would someone know that without been shown or told? Go in peace and when we meet we can point to our jackets and smile at the innocence of youth.

I've read closely all the responses and I am none the wiser. As an aside to the advice coming down: I see a repeating trend that suggests Gazboatman: "we plan on getting a permanent mooring" Leni: "before we moved to winter moorings. (What happens to us at the end of March is a 'wait-and-see'.)" Sheriff: ."I dont have a home mooring.never had a ticket" Is it the case that if you [can show] you have a home port (is that the same as a 'permanent mooring?) you don't get any hassle from BW attendants?