manxmike

Sadly it's not just narrow boats, here on the Isle of Man (no canals!) we seem to be plagued with cyclists with LED lights aimed at oncoming cars. I simply go back to main beam and watch them wobble into the hedge. When they complain I ask them to aim their lights a bit better, their response is usually "at least you can see me", when I respond, "yes, it makes you a better target for me", they usually shut up.

I came across a hire boat from Anglo Welsh on the Llangollen a couple of weeks ago who decided it was a grand idea to open every paddle they could find - all at the same time. I suggested they might just want to open the bottom paddles as they were hoping to descend, an idea echoed by an employee of a different marina who was returning a boat. The "crew" of the offending boat got quite annoyed, saying "I know" repeatedly - a bit odd since they evidently didn't know. Thankfully I was going in the opposite direction so they didn't cause me any further problems. They had been instructed on the use of locks by Anglo Welsh, but that had been the previous day and they had obviously got short term memory problems, or simply didn't bother listening. A few years previously I came across a stag party, 10am and two blokes were starting to open all paddles. It transpired they were the two most sober of the party, they were not the ones who had been instructed in lock operation, and I spent half an hour running them through the procedure. Again they were going in the opposite direction to me!

To be fair I wasn't complaining (much) I was commenting on the fact that hire boats seem to be listening when advised by the hire base. Slight change of direction but I am delighted that everyone is still so friendly and helpful. I have a theory that all high powered business men and women should be forced to spend at least a week on the canals to calm them down.

Given that I haven't been on the canals for over five years I think "constantly" is a bit ott. If you have never experienced boats going past at speed, causing your boat to rock then I can only wonder how you moor up. Boats travelling too fast, causing breaking wakes have been a fact of life since the canals were created. There were boats towed by galloping horses in the 18th century - they were known as packet boats and were equipped with cutters to sever the tow lines of slower boats that got in the way. I wonder if they caused other boats to rock and roll. Long may you continue to live in a world of peace and tranquility.

Gosh, I would never have known that going with or against the flow of water would alter the speed! My problem is the wake a speeding boat creates, that's what is causing the boats to bounce. For some reason, after 60 odd years using the canal system I do have a vague idea how to moor securely. So far I have towed one boat off a mudbank, helped a young couple get themselves unstuck, enjoyed the beautiful scenery and had a wonderful time. There will always be thoughtless people - comes with the territory, but I generally just think "prat" and go back to my beer.

Currently I'm moored on the Llangollen and the only boats actually slowing down past a series of moored boats are hire boats. The privately owned boats seem to be determined to go water skiing and I have watched some of them actually open the throttle more as they pass at what seems too high a speed anyway. When I owned my own boat I used to slow down, now hiring I still slow down, obviously I am making a big mistake. When I see any of the boats that have hurtled past I will try to pass them at 6 mph at about two inches distance, bet I get shouted at !

Not just crap, but heavily overpriced crap. Sellers market?

Been there, done that. I even tried telling her that she was steering in a circle and she had to point at the edge of the circumference - that met with blank looks and some interesting words. Much safer to keep her away from the steering. Interestingly in the supermarket today I came across a surprisingly large number of women suffering from the same syndrome - total inability to control their trollies and a total inability to observe other shoppers. Why would you suddenly swerve sideways across the aisle, leave your trolly blocking the entire passage and walk away?

We're taking a hire boat on the Llangollen Canal in late April to mid May (2022) and I wondered if anyone had an idea just how busy that canal is at the moment. We deliberately chose that time as hopefully there will be less holiday traffic (schools still in session) and we can take our time at locks and lift bridges. I will almost certainly be single handing as my wife's disability means she will no longer be able to assist with most locks etc, and her dyslexia means she has great difficulty steering with a tiller, if she wants to go right, she pushes the tiller to the right - whoops! I have no qualms about single handing, having done it for years when we owned our own boat, however advancing years mean I am no longer as sprightly as once I was, hence the comment about taking time. I am so looking forward to getting back on the canals after a five year gap. As a small extra I have a folding tiller arm which I had on my boat. I came across it in my garage when looking for something else. I am looking for about £40 for it and would be happy to bring it across from the Isle of Man when we come to Chirk to be collected from the Black Prince Marina there, on Saturday 30th April. Let me know if interested - 07624 414747

As an addendum to my original post in 2015 - I eventually had the rudder straightened I had to lift the boat out of the water - bolts were still tight and it looked very much like the couple who borrowed it had reversed into a stone embankment at some speed. It cost £500 to get the job done. Moral of the story is never loan your boat to "friends". After much toing and froing they admitted they "might" have hit something when reversing but were not prepared to pay anything towards the repair. Strangely I don't see them any more.

I rather think my experiences with pitting and hull thickness are very similar to those of @KeepingUp. I put mine down to a combination of an ill advised trip through Chester to Ellesmere Port, a section of the canal redolent with MIC and mooring between two live-aboards permanently plugged into the mains which created an electrical induction field. I'm sure the experts will be along to disagree, but the end result was over a period of about two years the hull went from (mostly) 8mm to under 3mm in places with significant pitting elsewhere.

To be fair, all the boats I have looked at over the years very few (in fact I can't remember any) had all the paperwork and in some cases, any paperwork at all. I have never been chased down the towpath by HMRC waving bits of paper at me shouting, "come back and pay this VAT at once you naughty person". As long as the seller can show they actually own the boat they are selling, or are acting as agents for the owner, I sincerely doubt there would be any come-back.

Anyone any idea if the OP has managed to get back to the boat yet? TBH it sounds remarkably like the guy (or gal) who serviced the engine failed to start the thing after the service was done, let alone suggest fuel be added or talk the OP through starting procedures and the use of the various pull / push things Lister engines seem to have in abundance. My personal preference would be to contact the service person, after paying x amount I would think the OP deserves some sort of advice and guidance from someone who has charged them for a job that doesn't seem to have been finished (or possibly even done at all). The advice offered has been excellent, but given that he is a newbie with no knowledge of engines is a bit over-detailed in places. Fingers crossed he gets it sorted.

Some excellent replies, thanks to all. As I thought, it's basically a no go, having said which I am surprised that Mr Dyson hasn't invented a hair dryer that needs no electricity, works off the movement of the planets and can also be used to clean your teeth, trim your toenails and dispose of members of extinction rebellion when they chain themselves to lock gates or glue themselves to slip roads on the M25. Nanu nanu schazbot!