jollyroger

When you get to Cromwell Lock moor up then have a word with the Lockie, he will give you all the advice you need, take it seriously as he knows the river. Re a VHF radio, not essential but if you do not have one, a Mobile phone is. If you are a bit apprehensive you can always travel with another boat.

I agree especially as you were on a river

You ARE doing the right thing, my wife is half way through a 24 mth chemo treatment. She has to go back to Sheffield every 3 wks for 4 to 5 days, she uses the train so we have been cruising between railway stations, its not that bad. Since May we have been to Banbury, Warwick, Alvechurch, Stratford, Leamington Spa and now I am near Sutton Stop so I can meet her in Coventry tomorrow. Advance booking on line, on average she pays about £10 single, for some reason 2 singles work out cheaper than a return, much better than staying at home.

I think Kev has got it wrong, I was charged £10 at Saltisford including Blue, and they gave it a good rinse.

We came down them about 2 weeks ago and we found it hard work(we are in our 50's) going up I think would be harder. More important though I think is to do the River section first, as a good downpour can put the river on a Red warning, which means you would have to moor up until the level went down.

On Tuesday as we were leaving Tewkesbury on the River Avon I lost drive (turned out to be drive plate bolts sheared) I was drifting mid river, a boater off a Dutch Barge threw me a rope, while we were doing this the runabout from Tewkesbury Marina pulled up to see what was wrong I explained to him that I had lost drive and he offered to tow me to the Visitors moorings at the Marina. Once there he showed me the amenities and asked if I would be O/K. We were there for 2 days while the repair was done. Before leaving I went to see how much the mooring fees were, they said "No charge, we don't charge if you break down" I say "Thanks, very nice people "

Get the Lockies advice first as it is a difficult entry, she will give you all the advice you need, and be waiting to guide you in on arrival.

Also what wasn't mentioned was that before coloured electricity you could only get black & white TV

We stayed in the Basin in Coventry last year, it is only a few minutes from the city centre. We did 't have any problems at all.

I also carry one rope to use as a spring, find it very useful when mooring in bad weather

If it went Pop you will probably find that a component has gone. the first problem is finding out Why, the second is identifying it, the third is replacing it (Inverters can be quite complex) and lastly and most important, doing it safely as high voltages are present, my advice is to bin it

I use T Mobile, £15 month, 3Gb Limit, I would recommend it

My advice for Leicester is to get through it in daylight, and don't leave your boat unattended until you are well clear

If you make sure your bilge pump is working you will be able to get rid of the water before you sink

The problem is not if an engine will run on Bio, But what damage it could do to Injectors, Fuel pumps, seals Etc, as most have been designed for diesel oil not Bio.