Big Bob W

Thanks all. It’s ran another 5 hours or so and still no further rise in oil level. Very strange. I don’t think it was the angle the boat was lying. The change of level seemed too much for that. I’ll keep a close eye on it, with fingers crossed!

Around 18 months ago, I had an issue with the oil level rising quite rapidly in my BMC 1.5 It was obvious diesel was getting into the oil. I replaced the lift pump and all seemed good for around 500 hrs. I recently noticed the level had risen again on the dipstick. Not as dramatic as before. Around an inch on the dipstick. The engine has only ran a couple of hours or so over the last 3 months or so. Since noticing, I have ran the engine for 3 or 4 hours and the level has not changed a bit. I’ve have today changed oil and filter and will continue to monitor closely. Is it possible the injection pump seal had “dried” with lack of use allowing a diesel leak. Running the engine again for a while sealed it again? Or am I about to have an expensive pump exchange??

Notice Alert Oxford Canal Location: Braunston junction CSF Starts At: Braunston Junction CSF Ends At: Braunston Junction CSF Thursday 12 January 2023 15:00 until further notice Type: Advice Reason: Repair Original message: The Elsan is out of order, due to several blockages. We are trying to get to the bottom of this, please bear with us. You can view this notice and its map online here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/24065/braunston-junction-csf You can find all notices at the url below: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices

Been there. Done that. Still have the scar.

I reckon if you could sit Parry down in a pub, and ply him with several pints of Pedigree, it wouldn't be long before he confesses that boaters are a complete pain in the ar** and he dearly wants rid of them to leave his canal network free for the "general" public to enjoy as a nationwide linear park. Maintaining the system as a navigable network is, in his eyes, an obstacle to achieving that. However, without a navigable system, what will this linear park be like? Much of the attraction to Joe Public is the boating activities. Just look at Foxton on a sunny August weekend. It won't be anywhere near attractive with no boats, dried up pounds and disintegrated locks. Maybe CRT should be subsidising boat owners for providing this service to the public 😉

We are with GJW: August 2021 £160.63 August 2022 £150.00

3663 were a customer of ours years back. Before that they were Booker Food Services. Could not understand the significance of 3663 as a name, until one of their directors pointed out 3663 spells out FOOD on a phone dial!

My understanding it's banned from being sold in sealed bags. Our local coal merchants still sells it in the same bags - just left unsealed. Daft.

I wonder how CRT sourced the photos? Surely no one would send them such crap intentionally.

We were hoping on heading down there tomorrow! No chance I’m guessing!

Around here, the new contractors seem to be just trimming a 2ft wide strip where the towpath users walk. The fringe from there to the canal edge is being left wild. I foresee a few more twisted ankles, or worse, from people setting stepping off into unseen holes.

A few years ago you could not make all male/all female bookings. I'm not sure when that changed, but it looks like most hire companies. permit it now. It all comes down to money. The 10 / 12 berth boats are nice little earners. Out of interest, I just checked online how much a 10 berth ABC boat would cost next weekend. £1550 for 3 nights. I wonder if the hire companies insurance covers them for the loss of a boat in circumstances like this? I mean, who in their right mind would hire out 3 boats to a stag do and not expect trouble?

Possibly, they are the ones who are annoying you!

In an ideal world, I would agree. But I would not be happy paying out another £4k a year to the current CRT organisation just to see them install further stupid signage, smooth towpaths for cyclists, inflated management salaries etc. If there was a guarantee that increased license revenue would actually go towards the infrastructure, fair enough. But I have no confidence whatsoever that is what would happen.

I have never understood why this is a BSS requirement. If you put water in the diesel tank in error, you';ll have problems, but not a safety thing is it?

Unbelievable!

Stoke Bruerne top lock this weekend.

We recently moved to GJW for insurance. Their requirement for fully comprehensive, on our 1985 boat, is survey within the last 10 years.

Has anyone ever actually received a towed recovery from RCR?

What do you expect? Cyclists and joggers don't use pontoons.

This is something that annoys me with insurance renewals. When I get a renewal, I generally shop around for better deals. If I get one, I take it. Current insurer then tries to match/better the deal. I never take it out of principle - they should have offered it in the first place. Incidentally, I moved the boat insurance from Towergate to GJW this year. Same price, but GJW accept a survey up to 10 years old, whereas Towergate wanted a full out of water survey as my last was 5 years ago.

We visited the USCG 36500 at Orleans, Cape Cod a couple of years ago. A superb restoration.

In CRT's mindset, a busted paddle is not an issue. The other paddles are spares aren't they?

If the license fee was to increase substantially, do you think there would be any improvement to the canal infrastructure? I doubt it. There will be more revenue available for CRT to continue with towpath improvements for cyclists, more hideous blue signage and more overpaid daft management roles created.