David Schweizer

Yes we had to do the same, and after some initial blips it works fine most of the time, but my daughter who lives only three miles away , and receives signals from the same transmitter cannot get ITV3 and BBC4. There also seems to be a lot of equipment out there which is of poor quality, I have just bought a Humax PVR, and the signal quality through that is signinficantly than our almost new Freeview TV. In fact the TV reception was initially so poor when compared with the old cheapo Currys and Argos setup, that we had to replace the cables supplied with it to get anything decent.

Repair and maintenance of anything very old, albeit a boat, vehicle or building, will inevitable involve the replacement of parts. Surely it is the integrity with which those replacements are undertaken, rather than the extent to which they have been replaced.

Any Local Income Tax could be constructed to ensure that the circumstances and financial responsibilities of any individual are assessed befere determiniong the rate and level of taxation. Yes there would still be those who sought to defraud the sysytem, but there will always be those who think that the rules do not apply to them.

People seem to be missing the principle of Council Tax completely. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the notion of "how much do I get for what I pay?" It is a locally levied tax based upon an, albeit flawed, assessment of how much you can afford, in order to cover the cost of providing services required by the local area. There will always be very few people in living in houses or boats who will benifit from the whole raft of services available at any one time, just as there will always be some people who appear to need more than the average level of services. it is called shared responsibility, and is the basis of a civilized caring society. I agree with Moomin Papa that the present system is deeply flawed, and any Government with half a concience would scrap Local Council Tax and authiorise the charging of a Local Income Tax. But of course that would be deeply unpopular with the affluent classes,, who would lobby strenuously against any such change.

That's why I said "half way down"

There is a lot of scaremongering information being circulated here about The Caen Hill Locks. They are a flight of locks and nothing more. I have done them numerous times, usually single handed, and they are no harder than any other long flight. I have checked my log records and the average time it takes me to do the flight efficiently from Devizes Wharf to Foxhangers is four and a half hours. You need to get yourself organized setting locks ahead of you as you go along. It is also often quicker on your own, unless the other boat can be as efficient as you. One word of warning, if you do pair up, don't leave side fenders down in the locks. You WILL get stuck half way down the main flight.

Really? Are you prepared to run the risk of a criminal prosecution for fraud if found out? Tax evasion is an imprisonable offence. Now that is simple!

Having studied some Geology and Palaeontology, I am less than convinced about the extent of man's influence on the present trend towards warming when compared with naturally occuring change. However, I am convinced that man is making a major contribution towards Global Pollution, which is causing all manner of Medical and Ecological problems, and I believe that targetting Pollution, which everyone can conceptualise, rather than "warming" would register far more easily with the General Public. I am a firm believer in starting a debate where people are, rather than where others think they shuould be, and concentrating on pollution may be a more accessible avenue to persue, especially as the consequence of reducing pollution would have an significant impact on warming if it is being caused by man's behaviour.

Thanks for the advice Gentlemen. I think I will have another chat with Roger Farrington next year and try and sort out some sort of resolution based on yiour suggestions.

Thanks for the good wishes, I continue to be heartened by people's kind concerns. With regards to the plating, it is the 6mm hull sides which have the small areas of pitting not the 10mm base plate, which is still in remarkably good condition, would the same advice apply? The worst pit means that the side has been reduced to just over 3.5 mm, but weren't some early steel boat sides not that much thicker when new? ( he asked optimisticly) It would certainly be a lot easier to get to the sides to undertake some filling or even patching, and it would be comparatively easy to gain access to the sides and remove some interior panels without destroying the interior. I did have two redundant waste outlets plated (level) some years ago and there was no problem. The interior insulation is Rock wool so presumably less prone to combustion. I am certain that the young lady decorating the boat at the Nursery stated that it had been built by you, but she must have got it wrong, it is certainly a very attractive vessel. Simon's brother Rex, who I believe also works with you had a hand in the original fitout of my boat when he worked for Balliol - small world. The hull was of course fabrictaed by Rogher Farrington and Dave Thomas, and is a very heavy and solid affair.

The report is insufficiently detailed, but my own observations are that areas on both sides are comapratively small - a couple of feet on each side just below the water line. As they are at opposite ends of the boat, I am convinced the corrosion is a consequence of galvanic corrosion, having being moored either way round against a single steel post for the first twelve years of the boat's life, with 240 v power on site. I spoke to Roger Farrington at the time who went through the alternatives, but we did not reach any conclusion as he did not think it was serious enough to worry about yet. The other problem is that the surveyor was clearly so frightened of being sued (again!), he erred on the side of cautiion with all his recommendations, so anything he wrote has to be taken with a pinch of salt. I had an uphill battle with him to correct several errors in his report due to stating worst case scenario, rarther than reality. I only learnt of his reputaion within the trade afterwards, and would never use him again. He even tried to recommend a company to shotblast and epoxy my hull for several thousand pounds, I was not impressed. Unfortunately my regular surveyor was not available because the Dry dock changed their dates! but we all learn. Sorry to hear about your let down, it must be very annoying when it is your livelyhood. Believe me, If it was my boat, I would be there the day before and have the cash/cheque ready for you before I departed.

And Laura Carter.

Being in the position where some overplating on my 25 year old Braunston Canal Services Narrowboat may be required within the next five years, I would be interested in your view. Two smallish areas of pitting were found during the last survey, with a number pits ranging from 1.5 to 1.8 mm, and one of 2.3mm. There were further far smaller pits along the hull, but most of the hull had only superficial corrosion. Given your overplating predictions, would it be worth having the worst pits spot filled for the time being and wait until deterioration to worsen else where, or would you recommend overplating within the next few years? As a matter of interest, we conducted our own vernier probe tests two years after the survey and there had been no further degredation. As an aside, one on your boats is currently resting on blocks in a Nursery Car Park near us in Wiltshire. Whenever we visit I spend more time oggling the boat than looking at plants. It was completely painted and decorated in Cowburn and Coupar livery earlier this year and looks beautiful. Envy is not one of my characteristics, but looking at that boat gets me near!!

Do you really intend to sound that pompous or are you just unaware of the realities of long distance boating? Everyone that I know can tell at least one story where they have broken down despite meticulous maintenance, and have found themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere. Most jobs can be fixed if you keep a well stocked box of spares and have the correct tools, so we can change and alternator (twice!) replace the water pump and repair the broken one. Belts and filters are no problem, but how many people would expect to carry a spare starter motor when the one already on the engine is less than six months old? which happened to us. Then there is the inevitable tyre or something worse round the prop, which requires Herculean effort, plus powerful cutters to remove (yes I have those on board as well!) but all this stuff take up a lot of room, and if you are that well prepared then p[erhaps you statement is justified, but if not then you have been lucky or you don't move very far. A serious breakdown will happen one day, believe me.

I think you will find that the vintage tractor boys have been doing it for years.

There is a PRV and an NRV on our system, but no room for an accumluator. There is a flexible piple from the PRV into a collection container, which I empty every couple of days. Been like that for donkey's years, and only relies upon memory to work. One day I intend to plumb the pipe into the shower, but other more urgent jobs seem to take priority.

Fair enough. it just sounded as if you were.

You need to read my post again together with my edit, which was added whilst you were posting, we are not disagreeing. There are no cans in our cupboard which contain either salt or sugar, the only additives are either natural juice or water. I agree that canned tomatoes do not taste anything like fresh tomatoes, but as we only use them for cooking they end up tasting the same, and as fresh Kidney beans have to be cooked for several hours before they can be eaten, there is little point in wasting energy doing what the canners do befor canning.

Are you sure about that statement? Surely it is packaged and chilled foods which can contain large amounts of additives which need to be checked before purchasing. Canned fruits and vegetables are naturally preserved, and contain no preservatives or artificial ingredients. Canned products are preservative-free because the canning process eliminates enzymes which causes the food to go off. The canning process itself preserves the food's natural nutrients, sealing in the freshness, flavor as well as the natural juices. In the canning process no preservatives are needed. Salt and sugar are often added to "improve" the flavour, but these days both salt and sugar free alternatives are easily available. Having said that, home made from fresh ingredients is always best, but sometimes when cruising one has to get what one can find in local shops, and good fresh fruit and veg will keep for several days in a cool locker for several days. we use a small forward cupboard which is below the water line and it seems to work quite well. Keeps the beer and wine quite cool as well!! Edited to add:- The only canned veg we would normally use are Tinned Tomatoes, and Red Kidney beans, We would never use any tinned green veg or potatoes as they will store quite happily in a cool locker, Most tinned fruits are Ok, but we always try to use fresh fruit or as an alternative, dried wherever possible. We also freeze or preserve quite a lot of hedgerow and orchard fruit, Jan's Apple chutney is much sought after by friends and family.

We are sharing a lot of experiences here, I used to captain the K&A trip boat at Bradford on Avon, a deep 70ft 1970 Haccock and Lane. We always liked it when the WI or MU hired her and were able to put all the "big" ladies at the front to ballast her down, she swam beautifully round the two 90 degree bends at Avoncliffe loaded up like that. Mind you 40 Young Farmers was another good ballast alternative.

For what it is worth Carl. I have also always known it to be called a Back cabin not a Boatman's cabin. And I have also always know it as the Crumb drawer, after all that's whare they always ended up!!