Simon (Hawksmoor)

We had a back to bare metal repaint done in 2016 at Tattenhall marina We were pleased with the job done and the sides are still in good condition. A couple of dozen spots require touch-up. But the roof is now looking the worse for wear. Hundreds of pinhole rust spots have broken through. Is it a practical option to have this ground back and repainted? I have heard that most paint-yards have over a year of backlog. Would this be true of a limited scope paintjob as I describe here? Any recommendations for paint-yards ideally within a couple of days from Great Haywood? Any feel for how much this might cost?

Unfortunately my fellow owners voted to stay at Great Haywood for a 13th successive year! I despair of ever getting out of the midlands. May have to consider selling my share and buying into another boat elsewhere. But with my luck they will immediately relocate to the midlands!

Yes I do mean the ABC Base - Anderton Marina Thanks for clarifying that.

We have narrowed our choice of home bases for next year down to two. We are looking at Overwater Marina and Anderton Marina. I am looking for customer feedback for these two marinas from shared ownership boats. Particularly their engineering and turnaround capabilities. Can anyone help us please?

Hi Peter, good suggestions (both the voting system and Gayton Marina). Thank you. Regarding remote handovers, we did manage very successfully a 3 way remote handover a few years back Owner 1 cruised from GH to Liverpool leaving his car at GH I drove to Liverpool and owner 1 drove my car back to GH where he picked up his car. I cruised to Leeds Owner 3 drove to GH, left his car there and drove my car to Leeds I drove directly home from Leeds Owner 3 cruised back to GH and picked up his car Insuring other drivers for a couple of days is usually pretty inexpensive. I tried but failed to arrange a similar journey onto the Lancaster Canal. The problem there was always the timings of the river transit One direction was easy to arrange, the return left no margin for error. Still waiting, still trying!

We had a similar experience. My wife and I walked much of the Eastern approach to the tunnel with one daughter steering and the second daughter poling off the shallows any time she veered from the exact centre!

With the AGM of our Shared Ownership boat Hawksmoor approaching, the annual trawl of possible home base marinas commences (with us inevitably staying at Great Haywood for the 13th year!). I am looking for a recommendation of a marina further East so that we might cruise the fenland waterways. Something on the Northampton Arm or the Nene perhaps? Needs to be a marina with engineering staff to carry out engine servicing and routine maintenance, and carry out running repairs as necessary during weekly/fortnightly handovers. Advantageous if they have facilities for winter maintenance (hull blacking). Any suggestions or good/bad experiences?

To me "affordable" means a house that two people on minimum wage can afford to buy. In the absence of any council housing these days.

I wonder how much of the housing will be "affordable"

Comfortable walking boots or walking shoes, in either case with a good quality 75% merino wool walking sock. The socks are the key if you are going to be 6 hours or more on your feet

Please please please RING YOUR BELL It is not rude. Ring it when you are about 20m away and then again when you are closer if the first ring was missed (as it frequently will be). Do not leave it to the last minute to ring because that will startle and upset some walkers. What I think some bikers do not appreciate is how silent an approaching bike is. The cyclist has wind in his ears and is close to his wheels so it all seems loud and obvious. But not to the walker. You are the whispering death. Two tings please. It is polite.

No need for knee-pads unless your deck is particularly high. I am 5ft 9 and was able to stand nearly all the way through even with a helmet on (that they provide)

We have an otter (or hopefully a pair) on the Basingstoke Canal.

Posting an update. Brian at Daventry Refrigeration fixed our freezer for about £100 It needed a new valve, a recharge of refrigerant and a general clean up (build up of crud around the heat exchanger) Brian looked to be in fine fettle looking fit and sun-bronzed and nowhere CLOSE to his 80 years Thanks to those who put us in contact ( @ditchcrawler, @Eldog, @CLAN1 )

You are right it is a drain on the batteries especially while getting down to temperature. But we are a shared ownership boat, And while most of us leave it turned off most of the time, some of our owners have children and it is important for them to be able to keep stocks of food. - the dreaded nuggets and chips! Meanwhile those of us who no longer have kids eat in the pub!