larryjc

Sorry, not being obuse but when do you book? You say 'you need to book with Wigan' what does this mean? I know you need to book in advance with CRT but surely when is up to you (as long as you do it sufficiently in advance).

http://vid228.photobucket.com/albums/ee310/larryjc/DSCN0287_zpslq6ga294.mp4 SWMBO wouldn't even come out of the hatch.

Would be interested in the panels views on this. My last boat had an Adverc which cycled the charge voltage between 14 and 14.4 volts off the alternator. It worked fine. I left the boat in a marina for several months and left the shore charger on to keep the batteries topped up. So when I took her down the canal to get her lifted and blacked the batteries had been on permanent charge for quite some time and were as full as batteries can be. I had a NASA BM2 in sight of the steering position and was surprised to see the voltage at 14.8 which then rose to 14.9 with no cycling going on. Luckily the trip was only a short one. Before I returned her, I made sure that the batteries had been discharged about 15% and the charging was back to its normal voltage. Subsequently, I never left the boat on charge, just turned the main breakers off - they were AGM batteries and lost very little charge like this. I've seen something similar on the boat I am buying with 14.8 volts coming off the engine alternator (no Adverc) but the boat has 500w of solar and the batteries are hardly ever discharged significantly (the current owners are very frugal). So is it possilble that alternator charging completely topped up batteries can eventually lead to the alternator staring to over volt??

I think that means doing, dare I say it a 'River' - especially early Spring. We did the Thames the other year on yellows and it was bloody marginal getting through some of the narrow bridges (full power and barely moving). Also the Kennet was pretty scarey coming down current and trying to get around left hand bends. Leaving in April means there is a good chance of rain etc. How 'flowy' is the Ouse? Sorry - what does 'book with Wigan' mean? Surely you don't have to book to go down the Wigan flight? or do you mean book once down the flight?

Yes, I have two solar panel arrays that will need removing before I can do Standedge. However, we intend to explore the whole northern network over the next few years so there's plenty of time to work out how to get them off for the tunnel. Pretty sure our plan will be to do the L&L into Liverpool and then when we head in to Manchester, hopefully the Bridgewater will be open by then.

I see Tim and Prue are being repeated tonight - on the L&L so gonna have to watch that.

Ahah gotya

The stoppage is at Leigh on the Bridgewater (bridge 56) so I can come down the Wigan flight and turn right to Liverpool, its if I want then go back to the Macc that I have to wait until after 24 May.

I think I saw this somewhere else on this forum but have a look at Easytether. I will be using it with my android phone and an unlimited data plan: http://www.mobile-stream.com/easytether/android.html

We're 57 foot and the boat did the Rochdale a few years back so no issues with length. Don't mind locks at all, its just that if you look at the map the Rochdale looks to be almost one continous lock. Also I wanted a good 3 month cruise and therefore the L&L was a longer way round. I'll see what the Bridgewater stoppage is like before we set off and make a decision.

Thanks for that. I guess I'll keep an eye on the Bridgewater stoppage - they've changed the date 3 times in recent months. I must say that Liverpool looks really nice and being reasonably early in the year I suspect booking in shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Some sage advice please. We have just re-entered Narnia - sorry the world of the waterways. Our new boat is currently on the Air and Caulder near Leeds. Our plan of cunningness was to take it to the Macclesfield and Lyme View marina. That will be our base for future adventures, as we know it well. My original idea was to start off in early April and head up the L&L, and thence down the Bridgewater to go south about Manchester. No rush - we were looking at about 3 months. However those dastardly owners of the Bridgewater have shut the main link until 24 May, which by my estimation could screw us up just a tad. I can't get through Standedge so that leaves the Rochdale as an alternative, but its 82 locks in 50 miles, ie almost one every half a mile. Don't particularly mind locks, we've done Caen, Hatton etc my question is can you stop reasonably often? Or are there sections where you really need to press on. Basically we're lazy sods and don't like to motor for too long if we don't have to. Alternatively we might pootle into Liverpool to extend the journey - same question really - the good book by Saint Nicholson mentions not mooring in non designated areas etc but is it really an issue and also mentions 'booking passage' to Salthouse dock but nothing more - are there time restrictions etc? Thanks in advance.

That looks like a copy of a ROCNA which I've used a lot on yachts. Very good holding but watch it if you have to drop it in a hurry as they dig in very effectively and you will need a very good strong point on the boat.

I'll have to take those dimensions with me when I start looking at boats in a week or two - thanks.

Thanks - I spoke to someone who came through there a couple of years ago and he said if you went throught the tunnel in a sixty footer you would then have to turn around and come back. Seems he was wrong. I did find a link when searching the forum showing how to squeeze a 60 footer through the locks you mention. I like a challenge!

Thats really useful and explodes a couple of myths then. If I increase my Apollo Duck searches to 60 ft I get a lot more to choose from. Thanks

Spring 2014 and my right hip fell apart and rather than keep our boat and not use it for a year we sold it - boo hoo. Now all better and ready for another one - hoorah!! We've a reasonable budget and intend to keep our new baby on the Macc probably at Poynton. We managed 1200 miles and over 1000 locks in the last boat so plenty yet to do. I know that to do all the canals we need 57'6" or less but having left all our books on the last boat I can't remember which ones are the problem. I particularly want to do Standedge and the Huddersfield narrow but can't remember which other ones are an issue. Before any shouts at me to search the forum - I did but only found an article about the Huddersfield broad. Also does the length take into account bow and stern fenders? Or do they have to come off for some of the shorter locks? Oh and if anyone has a 57 footer with good electrics/washing machine/trad or semi they don't want....................................................................

Well been there done that now and really nice it was., We have CB radios so SWMBO went ahead and cleared us through the narrows not that we met anyone there. However I'm not surprised that boats got jammed in the aqueduct. As we came through the bridge hole at Trevor there was a boat in the Aqueduct so I pulled over to wait. The trip boat then emerged from the Trevor arm and started motoring as if to pass me. I asked his intentions and he said he was waiting for the other boat to clear but for me to go ahead first. However, the sod just kept coming and forced me over to one side as he pushed past stating 'its clear why did you wait'. Was it b****cks. If I had tried to maintain my position I would either have hit the exiting boat and/or jammed in the entrance with the trip boat. I know they are commercial and have an itinerary to keep up but that was totally unnecessary. I kept my cool - sort of - but I think most of his passengers knew my feelings!

Now on the LLLLLLLLangollen and yes it seems very nice and not to crowded - yet, but so is the Oxford and the Stratford and the Shroppie and the Macc and just about all of them.

We're starting the LL on Monday and will aim to get to the end on Sunday as advised - my Nicholsons is a tad old - do you have to ring ahead to get a mooring in the LLmarina or is it pot luck?

Just come down the Macc from Poynton to Kidsgrove. Last year we went up that way in August and parts were a nightmare with overgrown towpath and off side, particularly the section from Congleton to the Bosley locks and several sections before Macclesfield. We were talking about large saplings growing out of the ARMCO and massive overhanging trees on both sides. At one stage SWMBO had to go up front with a radio to act as a lookout on the bends. From the extent of the growth it must have been like this for some years. Some stretches were single boat width at best. Not now - all the towpaths have been cleared and nearly all the non towpath obstructions removed. What a transformation. I spoke to the lock keeper at Bosley and said it was all down to volunteers over the winter - all I can say is well done to whoever it was. I wonder how much of the network had been treated this well over the winter...............................

Be careful with stuff on the stern - I only have a pushbike and mount it at 45 degrees so its much narrower than the boat but because you often leave the lock at an angle its still very easy to snag it. I only have it held on with a bungy so it can be pulled off in the worst case (and a longer line to recover it) I'm not sure I would want to risk it with a motorbike. We are probably going down Bosley on Tuesday, we'll look out for you.

On my boat the warning noise that comes on when the ignition is turned on is the low oil pressure warning. It stops when oil pressure rises - I've owned several yachts and boats over the years and they are like this.

Not sure I would do it that way exactly. We pootle for about 3-4 hours most days and by that time I'm normally pushing in less than 5 amps at 14.4v so the job is done. My solar then keeps up with demand (unless Wimbledon is on then SWMBO uses the TV a lot!!) until it gets dark. I guess it all depends on your battery capacity, your daily AH usage, what you consider fully charged, oh and the size of your solar array. The trick of course is to ensure that over a period of time you don't run the batteries down too much or if you do then you will need an occasional blitz. We tend to stay in one place on Sundays (near a pub) and so run the genny to give a good top up if needed. I suggest the best way for you is to try it over a period and work out what you need.

Just a quick plug for the NASA as well. It shows amps in and out as well as total AH although I find that hard to set accurately. But as I drive along I can see my voltage and the amps flowing in. Once there is less than 5 A going in at 14.4 v I'm happy. I can then use the voltage to see my SOC - which I do first thing in the morning as we turn everything off at night so the batteries have had a good no load period to settle. I've got a seemples graph of SOC against volts. The NASA really needs to know the capacity of your battery bank to give an accurate SOC reading, which of course changes over time and with temperature. However you can play a trick and over a period of days change the AH total of you battery bank and then cross relate the battery voltages against the SOC reading. Once you have agreement you then have a good idea of how knackered your batteries really are!! I may be wrong but I don't think the smartgauge can do more than tell you the SOC based on voltage so if you've lost half your capacity you won't know it except that your lights start to go dim earlier than expected.