haggis

it's in the title! Woodpecker, CRT No 106432 haggis

I can't really understand the problem. It is that you wanted to buy a share in a boat which had weeks X Y and Z allocated to it this year and BCBM then made week Y non available by allocating it to someone else? If that is the case, how "active" were you with your intention to purchase? Had money been paid or had documents been signed? Just trying to understand the problem haggis

One thing which may be helpful to syndicates thinking of going it alone. If/when you get work done by a boatyard or similar, be very specific about what you want to be done. Boatyards are so helpful that if they see something needing doing unless you have asked/instructed them to always check with a specific owner before doing anything, they will often just go ahead and do it. You find this out when you get the bill! Also, get written estimates for big jobs. We learned our lesson on this one when we got someone to repaint the boat several years ago. I, and probably other owners, assumed that it would be properly sanded and prepped before being repainted but what actually happened was that it was sanded by hand and a lot of the existing rust etc was just panted over. OK the boat looked good after the repaint but it wasn't long before the rust started to show through. However, we had learned our lesson and the last repaint was properly done. This showed up various bits where remedial action was called for (it was an old boat which had never been properly painted since she was built, after all) and the boatyard phoned with a description of the problem, what needed doing, in their opinion and a cost. The other owners were quickly consulted by email and the yard had a reply with hours whether to do anything or not. This put us firmly in control of the job and we were all very pleased with the result. Had we not "laid down the "rules" with the yard beforehand, it might have been a different story! haggis

Because we have shared Copperkins for over 20 years (she is an old tub but we all love her), we all know one another fairly well and we seem to work well together. We don't always agree but have never so far had cross words or fallen out. We started out with 12 owners, the standard OwnerShips set up but as owners left, we decided that the existing owners would buy the shares and we would not have any new owners! This has resulted in the size of shares varying from 4 to 10 weeks a year and in fact, it is not unknown for two lots of owners to be on board at the same time. For example, when we did the Ribble Link, Iain was the only owner who felt confident of doing the trip so other owners joined us at Tarleton , cruised the Lancaster with us and left when we got back to Tarleton. Great fun. On the financial side, we don't have a bank account or pot of money for the boat but each owner pays for things as required (for example one owner pays for licence and insurance, another pays for mooring etc) , and periodically our logistic wizard sends us all a spreadsheet showing who has paid what and if necessary, we transfer funds by BACS between ourselves so that our expenditure matches the size of our share. It all works well for us as there is no way we could properly maintain a boat in England when we live in Scotland. haggis

We have self managed Copperkins for several years (long before OS went belly up) and it works well for us but there are only 5 families involved. We do our own booking chart, servicing, most maintenance. We meet once a year to enjoy one anothers company and make desisions about where we will move to. However, being creatures of habit, we don't tend to move very often! We have a gold membership of RCR. If you want more info about how we run things, send a PM or ask on here. haggis

I have ordered replacements from Midland Chandlers and they said (in a phone call) that they have locknuts on them) We hoped to get away with just putting on new mushrooms but it looks like the roof fittings will need to be replaced too. haggis

Thanks, Jerra, we are looking at a way of making the new mushrooms secure and that is one method being considered. New mushrooms on order. haggis

I seem to remember something like that too. I think if the mushrooms are part of the ventilation calculation, they have to be unable to be closed. Makes sense. We will certainly be looking at methods of making them theft proof when we get new ones. haggis

I think super glue has been mentioned but not sure where it would be applied. Iain finally got the new fuel pump fitted and the broken fuel pipe replaced today then the battery was too flat to start the engine :-). He came home for something to eat and returned to the boat muttering about getting it going if it is the last thing he does :-) He is not home yet! haggis

I doubt if these would be taken by another boater as there are very few boats up here and not many with mushroom vents. They were nice and shiney too, having been polished for the canal Festival which the boat didn't get to as it broke down :-( . I think it was probably fishermen(or boys) who often fish where the boat is moored ( a Scottish Canals yard) and we know they sit on the roof of the boat to fish. We don't mind that and I think they probably started twiddling with a vent, discovered it came off and took them all off. My money says they were then thrown in the canal but short of dredging, there is no way to find out. haggis

We are not having much luck with our local canal society trip boat, Bluebell. It broke down on the way to run trips at the Edinburgh Canal Festival on Saturday and Iain is in the process of replacing the fuel pump - not proving easy as at some time in the past, a wrong threaded pipe has been used. However, he went down to the boat today to work on it and found that all the mushroom vents have been stolen, presumably for scrap. I've phoned round all the local scrappies but no one has offered them for sale - yet! Talk about kicking you when you are down :-( haggis

Enjoy your trip on the Lowland canals! Although the distances make it look as if a trip to both Glasgow and Edinburgh in a week is feasible, the fact that Scottish canals do the locks and bridges for you means that you have to cruise to their timetable and this may affect how far you can go. Having said that, friends of our hired form Falkirk, went to Edinburgh then back down the Wheel to Glasgow then on to Bowling before going back to Falkirk. In a week! They did long days when they weren't constrained by locking times etc. If you go to Edinburgh first, you can moor at Linlithgow the first night then it is possible to get to Edinburgh the next night. Return to Linlithgow the next night, down the Wheel and head towards Glasgow the next night (mooring at Auchinstarry or at lock 16 below the Wheel?) then on to Glasgow the next day. Return to Auchinstarry then back to the Wheel. It is all possible but you need to speak to Scottish canals bookings to see if you can get bookings at the times you need them. On the other hand, you could have a leisurely trip to Edinburgh and enjoy the scenery! haggis

The reason for having to have SCs permission before you put a boat in the water is so that it can be checked for the presence of nasties like mussels etc. We don't have these up here and we don't really want them :-) . I have heard of a boat having to be kept on hard standing in Grangemouth till the SC staff were satisfied that all the little blighters had been removed. I think the owners hired strong pressure washers and spent a day or so cleaning their hull haggis

I have a battery operated insect killer and it is great! It is like a small tennis raquet and you press a button and swipe. Great for midges too. When you get a hit it makes a very satisfying zapp noise :-) It was bought in Poundstrtecher (or similar) for about £5 and it is now in it's third year on the same battery haggis

I have been arguing for years (since the Lowland Canals reopened) for boater operation of locks, bridges etc but with very little success. The hire boat operators up here seem to have a much stronger voice and they don't want hirers to be given the chance of sinking a boat (the locks have gate but no side paddles). Also, when BW Scotland put in any moorings they seemed to be under the impression that they had to be pontoons with water and electricity available. It has taken years to convince them that most boaters would like the opportunity to moor wild if they could determine where the towpath stopped and the canal started - the BWS ecologist didn't want the towpath edge cut as it was needed for wild life!! The fact that the wild life have all the offside bank and that boaters couldn't get to the edge and off their boats in an emergency didn't seem valid arguments. Then Scottish Canals (the new BW Scotland) decided that boats might be nice so they put lots of money into creating residential moorings, all complete with a nicely painted hut to keep belongings in. In the last year, we are seeing evidence of more basic visitor moorings being provided so I live in hope that SC see value in having moving boats on their canals. Re the weed cutters. We need them all!!! Because there are so few moving boats, the weeds get a chance to grow, both from the bottom of the canal and the towpath edge and in the summer, all the cutters are in use almost every day. Re the sea lock at Grangemouth. When the Millennium Link bid was prepared, I think it included an extension to the canal and a link to the River Carron similar to what has just been created (with the Kelpies) but that bid failed on the grounds of cost and a lot of things had to be dropped before the bid was accepted. The present sea lock was a compromise and although there is not a big window of opportunity to use it, I don't think it is as short as 20 minutes a tide although a lot depends on the dimensions of the boat as the height of Kerse Road Bridge is also a limiting factor to some boats. I live in hope that one day the Lowland canals will give us the freedom to use the canals that we enjoy south of the border. Haggis

I love that walk up the feeder too! All the little bridges and tunnels are built of the same beautiful stone as the ones on the canal. Magical, but I am perhaps a wee bit biased :-) haggis

The "marina" at Causewayend was actually a transhipment basin (between boats and trains) and it would make an ideal marina but I think there is (or was) a problem getting road access and power. We often moor there overnight. BW Scotland were of the opinion that they had to provide water (and usually power) at all moorings so it is a bit difficult not to moor at a water point :-). The canal is so quiet that this doesn't really present a problem. haggis

Sorry to hear that Scottish Canals (not a trust in Scotland) are not being helpful but I think they have the monopoly on moorings. There was a marina in Kirkintilloch but I am fairly sure it has been taken over by SC. There are a few housing developments which include a few mooring spaces but not sure if any of them are open yet. The one at Ratho is probably the nearest completion. There are no boatyards or private marinas on the Lowland canals. Sorry not to be more helpful but Scottish Canals in Glasgow are the folk to speak to. haggis

The way to deal with that is to ask nicely and sympathetcally if they have used their last poo bag and to offer them one of mine (I always seem to have them in my pockets even when I have no dogs with me). I haven't had anyone refuse my offer and I take a bit of enjoyment seeing a dog owner picking up when they had no intention of doing it. haggis

Can I just say how much I have enjoyed this thread. Many thanks to all the competitors who showed their friendly rivalry in the nicest possible way and well done to you all for doing the challenge and keeping the rest of us entertained for months. If this thread has inspired others to take part in the future it will have helped the BCN, one of my favourite areas of canals. Haggis