dixi188

My 57ft. boat has a Barrus Shire 45. Max revs in gear is 2100 so it may over propped. When it was built the then owner had the prop changed to a coarser one as he said it needed too many revs to go at normal speed. Tick over is 800 rpm, Narrow/shallow canal I use about 1200 to 1300 rpm and 1400 on the deeper and wider canals. I have been flat out on the Thames going upstream on a wide straight bit above Reading. After about a minute I had three bow waves and was putting up quite a wash at the bank so I slowed down. I don't know how fast we were going, but I would guess about 7 or 8 knots. (Naughty) The Barrus manual says something like "Run the engine at full speed under load for 15 minutes every 25 hours to avoid build up of carbon"! Where can I do this? It's a bit like my Volvo car. That needs a good thrash to clean the soot filter every once in a while.

I assume the reason a few people leave the fenders down is to try to stop the blacking on the rubbing strip from being scratched, If you don't want your boat scratched, leave it in the marina! It's called a rubbing strip for a reason. I was delayed on the Napton flight in early August due a wedged boat. Lock 10 I think.

Last week I had someone ask the time. I replied "August"! (I don't wear a watch and there isn't a clock visible from the aft deck).

My view has always been "If you don't want to scratch the paint, don't leave the marina".

Fenders are for mooring only. Saw a boat stuck on Napton flight a few weeks ago when his small fenders jammed when leaving a lock. He had to cut them away.

Going down Napton last week, I got held up by someone who got stuck coming out of lock 10 or 11. They had left their quite small fenders out and jammed part way out of the lower gates. Couldn't go forwards or backwards. Ended up cutting the fenders away and rolling them out. It was a standard modern narrow boat so I guess 6ft 10 ins wide.

Had to drop the anchor on the Severn, somewhere below Worcester, a couple of years ago when the engine on the hire boat overheated. I was the assumed "expert" as I have my own boat. Another crew member threw the anchor into the water while I attended to the engine. After a while I noticed we were moving downstream. He had dropped the anchor until it touched the bottom and tied the warp off at that length so the anchor couldn't bite. Fortunately the river was low and after about 30 mins we were on our way again. An anchor has to lay on the bottom and if it has a good few meters of chain laid down as well it should hold. I guess the real need is if you are being swept towards a weir.

A few years ago I was held up at Bedwyn due to the big stone that one of the lock gates attaches to coming loose. The CaRT guys worked all day to fix it and then it had to be left 24 hrs for the concrete to go off before it could be used. Maybe tomorrow.

Ah! Now I understand, had me foxed for a while. Inflammable Material? On a plane? Yes lots. up to 62.900 ltrs of jet fuel on the last aircraft I was Flight Engineer on. We used to carry a lot of "Dangerous Goods" that was prohibited on passenger aircraft. Radio Active isotopes for X-ray machines and cancer treatment was one of the most common items. Max 200 Rems. (load it down the back).

Yep. SLF (Self loading freight) I worked in aviation for 50 years and much preferred my 20+ years with cargo aircraft when I didn't have to deal with passengers.

A couple of years ago I was tootling at idle between locks on the Hatton flight so as not to disturb an angler. He called out for me to give it some revs to stir things up a bit. I usually slow down and stick to the centre of the cut on plain canal sections, but passing a competition can be a interesting as the rods are lifted at the last moment and dropped back in right behind me. Some say I should maintain normal speed. Also, aren't these long carbon rods cheating, as I thought part of the skill in fishing was casting to the perfect spot, not just dropping the hook in.

My sister and brother in law had a new build trad layout in the '90s. Nice boat but the steerer was isolated from the others on board and they had a buzzer for the steerer to communicate. 1 buzz for tea, two buzzes for coffee, three buzzes for lock coming up, etc. When we bought our boat 6 years ago we went for a reverse layout, cruiser stern as it is much more sociable. Also when I go off on my own, I can nip inside and make a brew or grab a coat quite easily. Just put it into neutral when there are no hazards or other boats coming and pop down the steps. Our engine (Barrus Shire 45) is very quiet, in fact people come past and ask us if we're electric and you hardly notice it when inside. Yes there is no forward view from the cabin, but we do have a cratch that can be used when not full of stuff (aka shed). If you are thinking about buying your first boat, then the advice I got from the man at Nottingham boats was very good. He said ,"I don't want to build you a new boat until you have owned a second hand boat for a couple of years, and found out what you really want in your boat" We bought second hand and are keeping it, as it is just what we wanted. Just my thoughts, hope this helps. Richard.

Seems to be on at least once a year.

We went to Coventry in September and found no space to moor due to the number of Valley Cruises boats there. We moored on the water point the first night then moved in the morning when another boat left. So for me, less hire boats would make it more likely I will return. The city has lots to offer. Sorry for the people who have lost their jobs though.

This has probably been covered elsewhere, but somebody told me CaRT paid £60,000 for the design of the new logo. I think the "Bridge and Swan" was perfect.