magnetman

I think there were service blocks at Brentford plus of course one can put the solids on the fire if it is running hot. It is a bit of a dodgy assumption with this sort of thing. Was someone watching them every moment of the day and night to ensure they were not taking the suitcase to the elsan point? Sounds like a bad place to be.

One hopes the power cable is unplugged before leaving. Also that is an incredibly short and presumably decorative tiller bar. Is it a shell casing? Doesn't look quite right to be a real one.

About a quarter past two usually but sometimes a little earlier.

I want a robot dog. Also have for a long time had a dream of having a pet ball. around 250mm it would roll around with me all the time and do exactly what I say. Internal geared motors unless we can invent biological life forms for this.

Discussed previously I can't remember it that well but I don't think POYLE was the TCO boat picutred above by @Ray T I'm sure it was called POYLE but as this is also a place name (Near Slough?) it may not have been the actual name of the boat. I think it was though.

There was another wooden narrow boat used to be around Leighton Buzzard called POYLE. I think that one might have been S8'd as well. This was about 20 yars ago and wooden narrow boats are known to not last all that long if not very well maintained or expensively rebuilt.

I must admit this is rather what I assumed given the stated information but one must not be led by assumption. Knowledge is a better guide for these sorts of things. It is an interesting situation and potentially a model for others to follow if it turns out to be an acceptable behaviour.

This is true. When we don't understand the math it is Pythagor'em..

It would be interesting to see how much nuisance a random passer by would have to cause in order that the boat person acquired a restraining order against them. It takes all sorts but I think messing with the locals could lead to significant negative outcomes. Arrr the boats still floating ? Of course it is entirely possible the locals think of the geyser as some sort of amicable "character" rather than someone who has threatened to harm waterways management staff.

Hook line and sinker.

Ah. OK. I did wonder if it was a wooden boat. Makes more sense and less sinister now !

Obviously as it gets lighter the sun will generate more power into the battery but we are just coming out of the dark phase if the year. More solar doesn't mean you need bigger battery if your usage is low. I think the OP probably needs a bigger solar panel and possibly also a smaller battery.

What? I said " If the trap uses more power than you can get from the solar then its a losing battle whatever you do. " This is a basic fact. If energy out of a battery is more than energy in then you have a flat battery. If you can cause this to be "not necessarily" so then I'll be an early investor in your scheme as we will be very very rich. I was of course referring to daily in/out as can be seen in the first sentence.

How much power does the moth trap use on a daily basis? I would be tempted to bin the lead batteries and put a single small lithium battery on there. If the trap uses more power than you can get from the solar then its a losing battle whatever you do. I don't know how long you have been using solar panels but I've had them on my boats for 28 yars and even the more recent high wattage ones do remarkably little in winter months. Maybe you need a bigger solar panel. As someone mentioned above your dead battery does seem to coincide with the time of the year when solar was at its worst.

Does anyone account for any historic boats that the CRT choose to cut up rather than sell? Value of boat is an interesting thing. Who is it doing the valuation? Tony Dunkley on the other side is convinced the CRT are behaving outside of their legal remit with S8/S13 boat removals and there is a slightly unpleasant smell about this if boats are being scrapped rather than sold on.

Yes I remember that. The odd and ugly narrow boat with an unusually large outboard motor.

Do you mind saying which boat it was. You described it as historic which must have piqued a few peoples interest.

It makes no difference where someone lives. If there is anyone, anywhere on the canals who is a nuisance and unlicensed the system should be able to deal with them and the boats. It is not acceptable for someone to be threatening waterways staff to the extent they have to get a restraining order. This should not be tolerated. Canals and towpaths are publicly accessible land. People have a right not to feel intimidated when using public amenities.

A pertinent question must be how and when is the battery charged? Presumably this is a remote operating unit otherwise why not connect it to mains via a transformer.

Victron AGM are very good quality. I have a little 7ah 12v block which has lasted ages. Have been through other similar looking batteries and they don't last long at all. More expensive but the Victron gear definitely is up there in terms of quality.

I think a moth trap would probably benefit from a small LiFePO4 battery.

I bet there was more money and influence on the banks of the Thames than most other rivers given its geographical location. The Thames valley is well known for the money thing. Yars ago there were stately homes and large estates all along the River. Some of them no longer exist but when they did you can be sure their owners had influence and interests. This was of course before privatisation of public utilities. Not sure if the Nene valley was so popular with the landed gentry.

I believe some of the TC bigwigs were also riparian owners which would give them a personal interest in the state of the River as it was down the end of the garden. On a slightly pedantic note the EA did not actually take over control of the River from Thames Water. For a short time the River was managed by the National Rivers Authority before the EA got it. I think privatisation of water utilities has a lot to answer for in all this. Priority is shareholder dividends and not the status of the water. The fines are too small.

I've always found it odd that it is allowed in the small East Anglia rivers but not the Thames. Maybe yars ago there was a different class of riparian owner on the River who had more influence around the effluent. Of course the laws around it would have been put in decades before the EA were formed. Presumably there was something like a Nene conservancy at some stage like the Thames conservancy.

Also the OP specifically referred to using the BS scheme to ban through-hull lavatory fittings so it was always going to be a discussion about non tidal waterways. @MartynG did point out that some of the tidal Trent is CRT managed. Are there any other tidal bits where one would need a BS ticket? I suppose there must be some here and there.