Yorkshire Lad

With reference to my thread. Would suggest those concerned should ring the marina office at Barton Marina to confirm as apparently it is true.

Allegedly the workshop and brokerage trading as SimTech marine at Barton Turns Marina has ceased trading, apparently owing people money. Has anybody have any news on this?

Being relatively new comers to the system, (approx 4 years), I find it unbelievable in this day and age with housing shortages etc plus canal network being clogged by some boat owners (residential??) who are just trying to find a mooring to call home. i have a suggestion to all those in authority including local authorities to come down off their high horse and assist those boaters who are looking for permanent residential moorings i.e. when marinas renew their licence to trade as marinas, may I suggest before licence is granted that 10% of all berths be allocated for residential. This, I feel, would reduce some congestion on the canal system and fill some of these empty berths in these marinas with an acceptable fee. This to include all new marinas being built. I can hear the cries now from local authorities, its green belt etc etc and you can't have residential moorings. My reply to this is, the marinas are already there, it's not 'rocket science' so help the boat owners and the marina owners to get on with their lives. Win win situation. Would also suggest that these residential moorings be priced at a reasonable affordable rate.

There seems to be USB1, USB2 and now USB3.. A USB1 cable works in a faster USB2 socket but at the lower speed. USB3 is the new even faster socket. You have to get the right cable for the right socket I believe.

Anything happening? All very quiet.

I invested in a Z200 from www.zead.co.uk cost £100 but it is brilliant. I have built in wifi on the laptop and get one bar signal strength, using the Z200 I get 4 bars. The company are very helpful. May be a lot of money but I don't regret it as it really does the job. check it out.

We have blue over yellow, just to be different!!!

Would appreciate some info regarding the above suitable for steel hulls. Our narrowboat is due to come out for prop replacement. (the blacking is just a year old and not due to be re done until this time next year) also the boatyard have reserved a 4/5 hour slot for us apart from that he is fully booked. The reason for the request for info is that I would like to wire brush and dry any light scrapes that will may be on the hull sides and coat them with a suitable product giving the time scale before it goes back into the water.

Reference to BARBY MOORINGS, went past the other day, yes it's still the same as it was last year when we went by there, but has anyone heard of the new marina BARBY POOLS MARINA which is going to be between Braunston and Barby Moorings, apparently going to spend 15 million and hold 500 plus boats (read it in July issue of Towpath - page 3).

Is no news good news? Is everybody happy? What's new at Barby?

No disrespect to Danny but why doesn't he give more information about himself and the 'TV company' he works for so people involved can verify his details, bearing in mind there could be solicitors etc involved in the near future. Be warned/extremely careful. Once again good luck and hope it all pans out for the best for all involved.

Yes you are right, I meant end this post, not the thread as it would be interesting to hear other views.

Before I get on to the subject, I have been on this planet 65 years plus and I do support some of the measures being taken to save our planet. Having been a boat owner for some time and reading and speaking to people regarding the canal network and marinas etc. I am beginning to see a pattern developing whereby some of the above (not all) seem to be soul less i.e. marinas plant a few shrubs and trees, erect a solar panel on the office roof, no items to be left on the boat roof, lights out at 9pm, coal to be painted white etc, etc. I appreciate there has to rules and regulations, but the way I see it some of these marinas seem to be 'boat parks' for money orientated robots. It strikes me that years ago there used to be a sense of community spirit where more people helped one another and actually said 'good-morning' or good-night' as appropriate. Yet having said the above, I have heard of some marinas that still have this sense of community where you can sit on the bank by your boat watching the world go by with friends, have a BBQ etc. I feel I must end this thread for now and I would like to wish all fellow boaters and those marina owners/managers who have happy communities all the very best for the New Year. P.S Having written all of the above, my wife and myself are very happy on our boat and happy with our marina.

The BBC1 program 'Rip-Off Britain' has also been informed.

Where are and what are the flashes at Middlewich?

Re Health and Safety issue, a while back my son and myself visited Barby just to have a look round and see what was going on with the view to maybe mooring our boat there?? While we were there I noticed this young man was trying to weld some steel together which looked like one of the pontoons! It was obvious that he had never done this sort of work before. I have heard (allegedly) he will be welding the new pontoons together. If this is so, would it contravene Health and Safety rules etc etc? I have been given to understand that welders these days have to be coded i.e. they have to have their welds subjected to various tests once a year and if they pass they are issued with a certificate of competence to comply with current H&S legislation, especially when manufacturing and welding structural components for the general public. Any comments?