Raybo

I have a gas fridge, and it uses no leccy at all!

Of course, he will be potentially saving a lot of money on rent that may cover those "running costs". I'm not saying £10k is enough, but there is a distinction between the capital outlay to purchase the boat and the regular outlay. Ray.

I thought I spotted an Eberspacher in the photo of the calorifier.

Nigel, Isn't it possible that the "Provocative and inflammatory posts" originated from other posters on the thread? My recollection of your posts is that they are detailed and considered, rather than inflammatory. I understand you would want clarity on where the boundary between tolerable and intolerable lies to avoid posting under a sword of damocles, but would be surprised if your own posts were too close to the line and would hope you could continue to post on CWDF.

It looks like a decent, well equipped boat for the money, so I wouldn't dismiss it based on the blacking gap. As Paul G says you should also try to uncover the rest of the hull maintenance history. A 5 year gap in the blacking doesn't neccearily mean the boat is turning into a colander. Many boats seem to go 4 years between blacking; its not best practise but I don't think its unusual. The boat looks a little tired, possibly due to little recent use. This is shown in the photos, suggesting they are being honest in its presentation, and is also reflected in the price. If you are reasonably close I would certainly go to have a look, and maybe arrange to see another 2 or 3 boats in the area on the same day to get a feel for what the competition is like. Ray. Edit for typos.

I use Wilkinsons Exterior Metal Black paint. It is water-based, but forms a good seal against corrosion. It paints on really easily and gives a nice finish (Matt or Satin available). It may not be as robust as some paints when coming into contact with locksides etc. but is really easy to touch up and is pretty cheap.

Furness Vales is closer to Manchester than Whaley Bridge (which is on your list of acceptable locations). Its just 1 train stop further out than New Mills.

Our first hire was from a single-boat operation. The boat was moored in Mercia Marina, and it all appeared above board in terms of the relationship between owner and marina. We were picked up from the local station, but I believe it was an option to park a car there. This was about 6 or 7 years ago, so things may have changed.

It must be difficult to steer whilst doing the Mobot! Surely a one handed wave would be safer. Nice car btw!

And a civil servant who can't spell Macclesfield (Maccalsfield) or Peak Forest (Forrest). Pretty embarrassing really for an officially released document. Also, there don't appear to be any winding holes on the Upper Peak Forest - shome mishtake shurely.

I think they are crushing that one because of how ugly it is.

Signed. I also grew up in St. Helens (tough, for a Wigan lad!). I don't remember much mention of it at school. I remember fishing at the hotties, is that part of it?

No - that boat, which seemed to float-free and sink along the Macc and Upper Peak Forest for a few years has now been refloated and is being refurbished by a new owner. When we passed the sunken boat opposite Swizzels over the weekend it did look like preparatory work for re-floating had started. A real tragedy, as the owner spent a lot of time last year working on it.

I always make a point of saying "Are you doing a widdle?" to our dog when she has a wee, to make it a bit clearer to passersby. "Be Quick" as a command to the dog when she does a number 2, also re-inforces when it is a good place to do it. Our dogs have always tried to find somewhere off the main path do poos.

The application here is a raised section of canal on top of a retaining revetment wall. Embankment may have been the wrong term to use. Maybe that is why they have chosen to use it here. It must be a lot quicker than traditional methods which could be taken several days. I'll have another look at the weekend .

There is a stoppage on the Upper Peak Forest, dude to a leak in GDW embankment beta New Mills and Furness Vale.CRT Contractors are using an interesting injection technology for repair it. I hold the picture works.The CRT chaps I spoke to thought this was a pretty new approach. Interstellar? B00dy phione. Its not that new-tech! I meant interesting!

There is no way that Dean's journey as described above can be described as bridge hopping. I think you need to look at a map.

I believe the DoT code of conduct for cyclists regarding cycle paths states "if you want to cycle quickly, say in excess of 18mph/30 kph, then you should be riding on the road"

I'm not sure I recognise the picture being painted of Marple here. I visit Marple reasonably regularly (including last week, and yesterday either side of a cruise on the west side of the Huddersfield), and have never experienced problems mooring at the Marple end of the Macc. I would count the number of regulars as more like 4 than 8. The biggest issue for mooring at Marple is the amount of bankside stone that is now at the bottom of the canal on the Peak Forest VMs. There doesn't seem to be any effort to address that either.

Back to the appropriate song titles... What about Cripple Creek Ferry (Neil Young) Kind of appropriate given recent threads on canalside vegetation : Hey, hey Cripple Creek ferry Butting through the overhanging trees Make way for the Cripple Creek ferry The waters going down it's a mighty tight squeeze

It is marked on the maps as a winding hole. It is 'orribly silted up though;I got quite stuck there last year, partly due to the boat moored opposite it has to be said!

Good point - useless for solar!