haggis

I am confused! Is the problem with duplicate posts on the forum on the same subject or when you reply to a post you have to clear your editor so that you don't say the same thing twice I am easily confused 😀

Are you limited to a week at a time on board? With most shares you have a two week and a one week time onboard and this would allow you to go further afield. It depends too on where the boat is based as many marinas offer several different cruising routes. However, don't dismiss being based at the same place for several years. The boat we had a share in for many years was based at the same yard (it still is, I believe) and I don't think any of the owners got bored with cruising the same bits of canal several times. I know there are some shared boats which don't have a base but move around with lots of car shuffling going on between owners.

On the Lowland canals, all the locks have fancy locking devices which involves the use of a key (not a BW key) and a special windlass. You book passage through a lock (or flight) by phoning and you are given a time when you have to be at the lock to be worked through. Scottish Canals have sourced out the locking to Community Boating organisations. All the locks are in flights and a team of volunteers work you through the whole flight - none of this only working near toilet and tea making facilities as happens down south. For example working a boat between the Wheel and the Kelpies (about 5 miles) is done by the same team - they all have bikes! People who moor on the Lowland canals can apparently be trained and approved to operate locks and lift and bascule bridges but I don't know how many are actually trained 🙂

A boat has just gone past ( trad stern) with the male standing in the hatches and the female who was driving standing right on the back beside the swans neck ( both feet on the raised bit). It was a private boat and you would think they would know better. Obviously not members on here 😀

Although this terrible accident happened a few years ago it is a timely reminder to be careful where you stand when steering a boat

I know a little about volunteer drivers as one of my brothers was driven to a distance hospital every week for treatment and one of my neighbours used to do it. I think it is more for regular hospital trips rather than emergencies though. Thanks for the suggestion. Had I felt it was an emergency I would have called for an ambulance but we decided it could wait till morning. We Used Uber both ways and I was pleasantly surprised when the taxi arrived in about 5 minutes.

Oh, Tony,, you have made us blush 😀. Sorry to hear that you too have been hit by gout which I am beginning to think is a male canal boaters illness ! Glad to hear that you are on the mend and take care. I agree with your comments about Iain. He has looked after me brilliantly the last two years when my health was a bit iffy and i made a good choice all those years ago when I married him. 😀 Hope we meet up again on our travels although you seem to have been doing a bit of exploring

Thank you, Junior . It is great to know that help is available should we have an emergency. In my worrying I thought that asking for help on here would find folk willing to help in some way. You won't remember but we met many years ago when you were on the coal boat attending an event in Stone. I think you had just got a dog at the time. I wholeheartedly agree that it is good to discuss these things and I have learned a lot from what has been said on this thread. So many on here have or have had gout that I wonder if it is a canal related illness l😄

Ah, sorry, I understand now. I had forgotten about the dry bit below the full caisson. I was very involved on the Scottish canal scheme during the submissions for millenniums funding and for years there were regular (twice yearly?) meetings with Scottish Canals and I remember Jim Stirling ( the CEO ,) telling us of the latest plans to join the canals. Jim was an engineer and I know that some great minds were involved in finding a solution. Replacing the flight of locks was never an option as they had been built on.

That is what is concerning me, that it is not gout but an infection. we are going home sooner than planned just in case

I don't understand " the bottom basin is dry like Anderton ". If the bottom basin is dry, how does the boat emerge from the caisson ?. If you meant the bottom caisson is dry, at the lift, it's not. The bottom caisson ( when a boat is going down ) is full of water, and sometimes boat No idea if they thought of using water filled beaks but I know that many years were spent discussing how the two canals could be joined before they came up with the wheel as it is today. It is very energy efficient using very little electricity.

No, the beaks never touch the water. The level of water above and below the wheel is automatically controlled and the bottom basin never floods. When a boat goes into a wheel caisson there is always a delay before the caisson is closed. During this time adjustments are made to the water levels and the gate only closes when everything is level

Thank you Ken for some good advice. I know my car insurance or breakdown cover used to include repatriation of the car and I'll check that it still does. My midnight plan included asking on here for help as I have seen how helpful members are to one another. Iains foot is still red and swollen this morning but we will get the pills later today when we get to Lymm .

I didn't realise that so many folk on here have or had gout,! I am sure Iain will be reassured :-) to save his paw, I did a lot of driving today - in the rain. thank you everyone for making this an interesting thread.

We didn't think the situation warranted calling 999 and decided to wait till the morning and get a taxi. Iain is one of those "odd" males who never complains :-) I fully intend to improve my fitness and be able to drive my car and the boat again but at the moment I get out of puff.

Yes it is colchimax. This being Sunday we didn't think we would get a pharmacy open but we will be in Lymm in the morning and will get the pills there. Although the doctor said it was gout I am not so sure as iain says that the duvet didn't hurt during the night and his foot is not really sore.. he will get a blood test at our own docs in a few weeks. Unfortunately the NHS records don't cross borders and the doc couldn't see the record of the previous incident.

I haven't slept much since I saw Iains very red and swollen foot last night and remembered that the last time he had similar he was given antibiotics and told to go to hospital immediately if the redness spread. that started me trying to workout what wouk happen if he had to go into hospital or wasn't able to drive the boat or car. . The situation was that the boat ( with dog ) was at Worsley, the car was at park farm,we live in Scotland and i currently am not driving the car or boat much ( I am waiting for a pace maker ). How on earth was I going to get boat to marina and get car, dog and us home.? It mada me realise that we should have plans,! However, things are not as bad as I feared as we got a taxi to Salford hospital and after sitting for a couple of hours the doctor said she thought it was gout and gave iain a prescription for pills. He is currently driving the boat. What would other boaters do in similar circumstances ?

The lock into the Carton cut at the Kelpies is still used depending on the tide and the size of the boat to get under Kerse road bridge. If the new lock is used it is more labour intensive as a bridge has to be swung as well as the lock operated. When the Wheel was being built it became a tourist attraction and people used to park on the other side of the Forth and Clyde canal as that was the best way to see the progress. It used to be a regular outing for us. I think the Wheel was considered a future tourist attraction right at the planning stage. Otherwise there would have been no visitor centre. Glad you liked our Kelpies and I agree that they are magnificent. When we were considered a name for the boat we hoped to purchase , it had to be KELPIE. As well as the name it has a vinyl of the upward looking horses head ( done from one of Iains photos )

We were serenaded last night by whoever was playing in the arena. Didn't set off till after lunch and are moored in Worsley - haven't stopped here for several years. We are heading back tomorrow as Iain has a swollen painful foot which he has apparently had for a few days. It looks nasty but he says he doesn't need medical attention. I am not so sure.

Good grief, I didn't realise it was as bad as that. I didn't recognise the brokers name and assumed it was local to the area. There isn't even a for sale sign on the boat.

I agree it is very poorly marketed. It was just knowing Phil and Margaret that made me look for an advert

I agree Scottish Canals can be a bit frustrating and disjointed at times 😄. I have heard of boats being put into the Clyde then into the canal via Bowling sea lock so presumably they don't have a hot pressure wash. Pierre ( he is French but has lived in Scotland for many years ) , is a marine engineer and he took over Steve Kelvins yard a few years ago. An excellent chap and he will be able to tell you whether he has had to pressure wash put on at his yard. A lot of boats come up from England now and I have no idea whether they are pressure washed or not. I suspect not but don't take that as Gospel. I did a search on Google and came up with details of Pierre. Another means of getting an answer is to contact the Lowland Canals Association. A group run by boaters for boaters so they should know what is going on. .Good luck

A latish start after visiting the butcher, the baker but not the candle maker and tootled up to castlefield where we found a mooring in the YC arm. However there are signs of lots of activity in the arena and we have a six foot high green mesh fence along side us. Lots of widebeams on the Bridgewater which makes sense as it is a wide canal. Why are most of them painted black? Just my opinion but some colour can make them look.more attractive. From here they have the whole of the northern waterways to play in as well as the Ship Canal and it was good to see several of them moving.

Yes, you do have to have your boat pressure washed before it goes into a Scottish canal and this is to prevent and English nasties getting into our canals 😄. I think the yard in Grangemouth does it. I think it is owned by Pierre Potel and Scottish Canals will be able to give you his contact details. It used to be Steve Kelvins yard. Apparently if mussels are found the boat had to sit out of the water for a couple of weeks till they are gone 😄. If the pressure washing is still in force it means that the boaters introduction to Scottish canals is on the tidal rivers Forth and Carron