IanD

A 10kg Kobra (or similar) is more effective (according to tests) and *much* easier to handle...

And regulations have moved on in the last 50 years, which is why there are far fewer deaths and injuries at work. Your " 'elf'n'safety is a PITA" nowadays is somebody else's "my husband was killed/injured in an accident at work" from back then... 😉

But would that actually work? Yes there are miles and miles of canals out there in the sticks with no boats moored, but unlike you that's not where most people want to moor -- they want to moor near towns and schools and work and facilities, and many of these popular areas are already full of boats... So if people don't want to moor in the empty areas, isn't the only way to get more revenue to charge more for those who want to moor in the popular areas? That's how supply and demand works -- and if putting the cost up doesn't start to drive some people away, you haven't put it up by enough... Be careful what you wish for -- if CART really did take measures to maximise revenue from boaters, canal life would become a *lot* more expensive and the poorest would be driven out of the towns they want to live in and off the canals... 😞

Obviously, but nevertheless here is where we are. So given that unfortunate fact -- not enough money and a big maintenance backlog -- what would the CART-bashers suggest could be done to fix it as opposed to what CART are doing today? Please don't suggest "going back to the way it used to be done" when this is completely impractical both legally and financially... 😉

As well as equipment, with Three in particular it's down to how many other people are trying to use the network at the same time as you are, a common problem especially at peak times -- and in this case your equipment will do little to help... 😉

I'm assuming the huge pound that Great Haywood is on is unlikely to drop in level, even if the locks up through or above Stoke are closed...

Actually that's not always true; like with cars, if faster trains means they have to be spaced much further apart, going faster can *reduce* capacity... 😉

Given the Vodafone/Three merger and how it might change things in the near future, I'd have thought you might be better not committing to EE for two years just yet -- maybe use 1pmobile (on EE) for a bit and see how things pan out? https://www.opensignal.com/2024/03/26/vodafone-and-3-set-to-create-uks-leading-mobile-coverage-network-post-merger

Well that's more than a teeny bit annoying, given that we were planning to set off on 11 August and maybe go up the Maccy/Peak Forest again... 😞 Only two directions now available from Great Haywood then. Wonder if that'll still be the case in a month's time?

Yes it does. How can this be fixed then?

Or one with a mast right next to it... 😉

And that isn't currently CART, even though the amount involved is peanuts compared to other stuff they spaff up the wall... 😞

No operator is the best option everywhere, because all the networks have variable coverage. All the surveys like Opensignal show that EE has the best consistency across the country, especially 4G in rural areas -- but that doesn't mean they're the best where you are... 😉 https://www.opensignal.com/reports/2024/09/uk/mobile-network-experience (hence the usual advice to people -- always try cheap SIMs on each network *where you are* to see which is best). However it's looking possible that after the Vodafone/Three merger they may overtake EE as the best "network for boaters"... 😉 https://www.opensignal.com/2024/03/26/vodafone-and-3-set-to-create-uks-leading-mobile-coverage-network-post-merger

Perhaps you should do some then? 😉 A very large part of HS2 costs are nothing to do with the speed, they're to do with trying to build a new railway through a densely-populated countryside full of rich landowners and NIMBYs in a country with tight planning restrictions and slow approval process -- which is what has lead to a lot of the expense like the long tunnels. Yes opting for a bit lower top speed would have saved some money, but not a big part of the budget -- which has massively over-run due to incompetence on the part of the government who (didn't) specify it properly or nail the contractors down, plus contractors who have hopped on the "cost-plus" gravy-train. Ironically the super-high top speed isn't even really needed given the size of the UK and the distance between stops, and dropping it would have made development a bit quicker and cheaper -- but not brought the cost down to anywhere near French levels, who have the advantage of empty countryside and a planning system that makes things happen -- partly by generously compensation home-owners to keep the NIMBYs happy! -- and actual experience in building lots of high-speed lines cost-effectively, exactly like we don't have in the UK... 😞

Actually this has been true for years for Three, because they have always offered (and still do!) much cheaper "unlimited" data packages than anyone else, so most of the big data users flock there and this causes network congestion. EE are and always have been a lot more expensive for such packages, so far fewer people do this because they're not willing to pay 2x-3x the price for a decent "unlimited" service. In addition they have the best network coverage across the country especially in rural areas, Three are good (but overloaded!) in towns and cities. None of this has changed for years or is likely to change in the near future, it's a basic difference in market/customer/network policies between the two companies.

What volunteers can do with or without training is limited by "elf'n'safety", and rightly so -- they certainly can't do thing like replacing gates or paddles. Without the money, no amount of better management or willing dirty hands is going to fix the canals, as anyone who has ever been involved in a business in a similar position will be well aware... 😞

No stoppages (yet!), and that's a good length for the OPs Mon-Fri hire if they want to spend about 6 hours per day travelling (21.5 hours total according to Canalplan). But of course they can turn round whenever they want... 🙂

Or even 1" -- any amount is enough... 😉 (but remember the stern lifts a bit and the water around it drops as you go astern, so 2" when static is probably about right)

(1) Yes, it would be more effective for CART to do more proactive maintenance/repairs instead of spending more and more on emergency repairs and suffering more closures. Unfortunately this needs more money, because once there's a big maintenance backlog -- which there is due to years of underfunding, it's likely to be several hundred million pounds by now -- the emergencies suck up more and more money. So things like planned gate/paddle replacements get delayed, which makes more of them fail, which sucks up more money for emergencies... 😞 No amount of "more effective management" is going to fix this, and neither are the tiny savings often suggested (fewer blue signs, lower executive pay), because the gap between CART income and what is needed to even maintain the (bad!) status quo and stop further deterioration is probably something like £50M a year -- and to eliminate the backlog get back to properly maintained canals in a reasonable time, probably at least £100M per year, maybe even £150M to do this in 5 years or so instead of 10. (2) And these are in real terms -- instead of which the DEFRA grant is effectively falling in real terms instead of rising with inflation, making things worse every year... 😞 (3) Would that be because if you rely a lot on "free" volunteers and have many fewer ageing wooden lock gates and paddles, maintenance is magically much cheaper?

However adding the extra weight also makes the boat sink as a whole. I looked into this when we were trying to get the ballasting correct; adding 400kg (400l of water) to the bow pulled the bow down by 2" and raised the stern by 1". So long as the uxter plate stays underwater and the boat is not nose-down, stopping and steering shouldn't be degraded-- in fact if the boat is ballasted level instead of nose-up you should find it swims better, especially when water levels are low.

Even if the marina has a fiber link to the network (I have 500Mbps at home) this soon gets eaten up if shared between lots of boaters trying to access the Internet, especially for streaming. I get 5G -- usually at >100Mbps -- at Great Haywood on EE (4x4 MIMO router with external antenna), even at peak times this doesn't drop below 50Mbps. But then there is an EE mast right next door... 😉

If you want to connect with a friend from Dudley and get up that far on the canal, there are two pubs that are especially worth a visit -- The Old Swan (Ma Pardoe's) in Netherton, and The Vine (Bull and Bladder) in Brierly Hill. I'm sure they'll know both of them... 😉

1976 is where I got the idea from... 😉