IanD

Both of which is exactly what I've said, many times -- nobody *needs* one, but there are occasions when they're very useful... 😉

Remember the "three boaters" sketch? If you can't, read this thread for living proof... 😉

I'm perfectly aware of older boats and their limitations and restrictions -- try spending time on one powered by a Bolinder if you want to add a whole new level of inconvenience and difficulty. What annoys me is the "holier than thou" attitude, that "old-timey" boaters are somehow automatically superior in skills and knowledge to those who choose to not go down this path -- see any discussion about engines, steering, bow thrusters, electrics, toilets, cookers -- and who just can't resist having little "real boaters wouldn't do that, only noddy boaters" dig, see this thread for example. No one type of boater is inherently better than another -- I've come across boaters on trad boats who are obnoxious, ignorant and incompetent, and ones on modern boats who are friendly, knowledgeable and competent -- even hire boaters... 😉 Rather like CWDF, really... 🙂

Is that a new forum record for largest number of repeated posts? 😉

To paraphrase : "real boaters don't have/need weedhatches"... 😉 (or bow thrusters, or decent electrics, or central heating, or...) Oh yes, I forgot: "real boaters don't get things caught round the prop like noddy boaters do" Sometimes the flaunting of inbuilt old-timer superiority is rather obnoxious... 😞

If that's what you prefer doing, feel free. I'd like to see you do that with some of the stuff I've pulled out -- or to be more exact, cut out -- through the weed hatch, like a keep net... 😉 Those with weed hatches use them to clear the prop. Those who don't use a boathook from the bank, while claiming this is better ("real boaters don't need no *steeeenking* weed hatches"). There's a striking similarity here with "real boater" attitudes to bow thrusters, or anything else that the ODGs didn't have and did just fine without... 😉

Causing people's deaths through carelessness or stupidity rightfully carries a lower tariff than doing it deliberately, because there's no intent to kill/injure the victims. It was only as high as 10 years because of "gross negligence manslaughter", which is worse than plain old manslaughter -- which is what people are found guilty of when they've killed someone accidentally but are not otherwise to blame. That's how our legal system works, it's all down to the intentions of the accused. Would you rather it worked some other way?

Well they work for me, I can feel a damn sight more after a minute or so than with bare hands. Maybe I'm more sensitive than you are... 😉

Now *those* are proper cobs, looking at the filling amount... 🙂 And lots of sliced onion. Not convinced about salad though, that's a bit "poncey Southerner" isn't it? 😉

I'd say thickly sliced and fried in bacon fat until the outside is crisp (but the inside is moist) is better than boiled...

Heavy-duty reinforced arm-length rubber gloves keep your hands/arms dry and warmer than dunking them into cold water.

Philistine... 😉 Brown sauce or nowt.

Branston are our favourite too -- and even with the sugar content (<5g/100g counts as "low sugar", so I'm not sure where your "18 teaspoons" came from -- half a large tin is 10g which is 4 teaspoons...), beans on toast is a relatively healthy quick'n'easy meal. On Lidl tools, I'll post this again... 😉

Lidl chocolate (the "premium" types) is also excellent, better flavour than the more well-known competitors. Oh yes, their blood oranges are also superior, much more flavour and less bland and sweet. Needless to say, both the above are also cheaper as well as better... 😉