Sea Dog

It's not the fenders - they sink like solid rubber stones - it's the cheapo polypropylene rope they come with. Anchored to the bottom by the fender, the poly rope positions itself like a stalactite awaiting a victim. It's the canal equivalent of a sea mine.

Yes, and also that smells are particulate!

Please add DAMHIK to this post before the thread goes horribly off topic!

Another happy user of Envirograf and stove rope at the stove collar here. Got the idea here too!

Looks like there's an issue with the top gate on the top lock which might mean imminent closure for repair. If you're hoping to transit check your stoppage notices.

What colour is the sky in a world where someone can buy a boat needing extensive work and then have that work done by 'tradesmen' and it work out less expensive than buying in commensurate condition in the first place?

Well yes, you might have a point there. However, despite my setting a good example by not having one myself, I still see both kids and adults on them in every urban area around the BCN. Of course, it's not exactly discouraging their use when the law says it's perfectly legal to sell them (only to folk intending to use them on private land obviously)!

Or even just drain it down and refill it with fresh chlorinated water from a water point. Sometimes water that's been hanging around a while just needs replacing.

My mooring neighbour is in his 70s and has one, intended to help him get between locks. Of course, CRT have now banned these from the towpath so that's put an end to his idea whilst any scrote without a boat will continue unaffected by something CRT can't possibly enforce on anyone but boaters. Fast E- bikes, e-scooters, electric trail bikes, electric unicycles, you name it - we have to put up with anyone who chooses to ride them illegally on towpaths but are the only ones who could be identified if we had one ourselves.

Most folk manage just fine with single glazed windows - cosyness comes from the stove and often means opening the windows! The bigger issue is condensation and usually that on the glass drains through drainage holes, but that on the frames doesn't and can cause problems. You can now get frames with a thermal break, but new frames would be a whole other level!

I contemplated adding those, but if I'd included everything folk get all steamed up about I'd still be typing!

These posts were all about what was happening in 2014 - I think you'll find everything's fine nowadays - before canoes it was fishermen and we've moved on to cyclists now. Just joshin' - welcome to the forum. It's mostly narrowboat centric, but I hope you find some helpful stuff.

It would be easy for the less scrupulous to collaborate and identify lots of areas that are rarely or never checked. That said, many/most of these are probably already known - we've all seen boats which haven't moved since just before the Coronation (God rest King George V's soul).

How can a thread entitled "Think I might be in trouble" go for 14 pages? When I ask that question, my wife leaves me in no doubt within seconds!

Take a look at www.piperowners.co.uk for some info on Piper boats. Dot Piper, wife of David, mum of Simon, still answers questions there.

Most of us think of a 3" pipe gulping turds at high pressure - I know I did. However, as I rather reluctantly found out from a friend who had his own kit, a macerator pump out can be a steady gently flow of brown water through a ¾“ pipe with no evidence of solids whatsoever. Less of an issue than a cassette full of brown trout, I'd suggest

Perhaps it was during a routine check to ensure cyclists are riding with care and consideration when using canal towpaths?

Sorry I apologised twice...

We had 5 years in Droitwich Spa Marina until about 5 years ago. Nick and his team were excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Reasonable walk into Droitwich, easy drive to Worcester. The river issue at DSM is the Salwarpe if you choose to go down the Droitwich canal to join the Severn as it can decrease the already low headroom in the M5 culvert. Once you've done that once or twice, you'd probably choose to go down the B&W to Worcester (we popped to Worcester quite a lot) where you can join the Severn with appropriate river level planning. We never had a problem on either route. The nicest section of the Severn (imho) is between Worcester and Stourport, which is about half a day taking you to the rather lovely Staffs & Worcs. Alternatively, you can go up the B&W via the Tardebigge flight either on to Birmingham or down the North Stratford, which is never a problem other than during winter maintenance. Those options could get dull after a while I suppose, but the OP appears to be choosing a base for a while then moving on so not really an issue here.

I guess that'll be me labelled then! Just pointing out that it's far easier to adjust a sign to either encourage or bamboozle than it is to achieve the figures in the first place. Some of the posts above suggest there's a fair bit of greenwashing going on rather than actual recycling. Holding councils to account is a tool in the toolbox of ensuring genuine action.

Not least because how would you be able to reach to get an appropriate angle on your head and stern lines? Without this, you'd spend your days shouting "slow down!" at every passing boat.

If you are still "looking at" buying a boat and already have beam related concerns about where you can cruise, why don't you look at ones which don't place such restrictions upon you?