William Martin

"The ladders are not intended for navigation purposes....." Have you ever tried single-handing a deep lock without using the ladder provided? "Tiller strings take all of a second or two to apply" Another thing to remember, just something to go wrong!

While I am very keen on the semi-trad shape for all the advantages already mentioned, doing a bit of cruising over the last few weeks I can see the point of the trad stern - if anyone does come out to keep me company, they never leave the warmth of the hatch! - I am thinking of getting an extra long tiller so I can shelter and steer at the same time like just about everything on narrowboats, things evolved from hard won experience - so you need to have a damn fine reason to deviate.

What can we all learn from this - did they 'hot-wire' the engine - would keys or no keys make any difference - one boat on my marina has a padlocked chain for mooring but to me it looks like easy work for a bolt cutter - is there a way to imobilise a NB? - I uaually take my battery isolator keys away - but they are easily replaced - any thoughts?

"Yes , we love it at Teddington when a narrowboat comes in either in the early morning or evening shining its great big spotlight into our eyes ..." Howard - that was me - on the 27th - and I guess that was you reprimanding me - will try to remember to kill it in future!! by way of excuse tho - we usually only have tunnel lights which are pretty sloppy in their focus/direction - bl**dy inland boats taking on the tideway! :-) happy new year!

Rubbish - the canals were always operated 24/7 - working the locks in the dark is not 'wrong' - you just need to be a bit more careful. That is why the gates, steps and bridges were all marked out in white paint - to aid vision at night

"You mean we should all remove our engines and pull our boats with horses?" Whatever means of propulsion you want - as long as it involves travel!

A quick question - I recently noticed a boat opposite me charging its batteries by running the engine - I presume that is what it was doing because it has been there for a while and there is no mains supply there. What puzzled me was that it was left in gear - driving against the moorings and throwing a spout into the cut (if not sucking a hole in the bank) Why would it be left in gear like this?

Regular boaters will love it - Joe Public will hate it! It is too 'different' to be commercial

Going back to the start of the thread; I am so confused that I have given up on the idea of staying connected to the mains - I think I will settle for some damp furnishings in favour of a pitted hull!

I have no idea why you would want to leave the prop running when you are going nowhere - but hay! Getting back to an earlier question - I just filled my engine with API-CF oil. The user manual says use API-CC or API-CD only. Trawling internet info sites I see API-CF described as "Can be used in place of API-CD oils." Any thoughs?

A wide beam! - you could ride the bike up and down inside - while dreaming of all the canals you can never go on!

"If I wanted a liveaboard with bike storage, I think I would see a trad with a long front deck as the most practical compromise." Best suggestion yet - a tug style trad - then you get a really beautiful boat with strong resale value that still does the job. You know it makes sense!

I am curious - you say you just put a flame to the diesel oil? I thought diesel would not burn without either the compression within an engine or the intense heat provided by the pre-heated stove? Surely diesel will not light as you describe?

They are all over the country - all on the 25th - there is even one in Australia! check on: http://www.saveourwaterways.co.uk/

If it helps here is how I light mine; Pour in half a cup of meths followed by a lighted match. Wait one minute and then turn the diesel onto its lowest setting - during that minute I hold the little lever down - it is some kind of safety cut out I think and holding it releases the system and alows it to burn. Assuming the burn takes, dont touch it for half an hour before turning it up - to allow it to build up heat. Then when increasing the heat make changes in very small increments allowing it to settle without flooding