Chris T

? Well, hubby investigated the pipe from the tank and whilst it wasn't rusted, it was blocked with aforementioned crud. Poked it clear whilst reenacting the boy with his finger in the dyke (not that sort) and it's now sorted. For now anyway until it gunks up again. Thanks for comments.

Hi, thanks for the replies. The pump wasn't really running on empty at all, we only realised it was low because of the colour of the water coming through and the flow has only changed since we refilled. The flow is low from the bathroom taps and the toilet flush too. The water pump seemed to be running fine when I had the pump outlet off. The pump is also running on once the taps have been switched off which is what made me think it was an air lock. How do I back flush??

Hello all. We normally keep the integral water tank well topped up but think it recently got very low and the water coming out of the taps wasn't clear. Filled up at the next opportunity but since then the water pump running has been louder than usual and the water isn't running from the taps as well as it should, not quite a trickle, but not running properly. The hot water is still hot and cold still cold. Water pump filter is clear. Is this likely to be an air lock? If so, how do we clear it? Thank you for any suggestions

Hope you don't mind me jumping on your thread, but I'm also looking for recommendations for a new cratch and cover. We are based on the upper Macc. So far tried coversandcanopies at Nantwich and Bethsaida, neither of whom cover that area and Kinver, who haven't got back to us yet. Any other suggestions welcome. Thank you

Doh! I do know that, honest.

Hello, it's a Becton B5MUG 4.5kW. I only know that the flue is at least 4 years old as that's how long we've had the boat. The stove isn't used that often as we don't live on board so no idea if it will be seized (probably!).

Hello, I'm looking for someone to fit a new collar which has cracked where the flue meets the stove top. Had someone look at it who said it could be replaced in one of two ways, but they have never got back to me. Can anyone suggest someone who could do this, we are in the upper Macc? In view of the CO2 risks I'd rather leave this to someone who knows what they are doing. Thanks for any suggestions.

I asked how many boats were due, so that we'd know we could move up to the start of the queue. He said he didn't know, which made me wish I hadn't mentioned our booking as we may have been on our way if I'd kept quiet. As it happens no more boats turned up, and after 2 coming through Southbound, off home he went. I asked why they'd changed it to a booking system as it seemed to work fine before, the answer was 'because of covid'....... He didn't shall we say speak highly of the system, and said many people do turn up without bookings. Surely they wouldn't make you wait for the required 48 hours notice period? The signs on the locks don't give you that length of time to book ahead if that was the first you knew of it. Anyway, it's a nice spot and nice weather, just frustrating to have to wait 20 hours for no apparent reason. And he wasn't a volunteer.

Well, we arrived at the Southern end today at 12.30pm hopeful of going through, as one boat had just gone in and the lock keeper said more were due to arrive for the 1pm passage. He said we could go straight in until he found out that our booking was for the next morning and then said we couldn't. I asked why, as it didn't seem to make any difference if we were slotting in between other boats, he said it messes up their booking system and they aren't letting anyone go in early any more.

That's good to know, thanks. Did you email them or just turn up?

For anyone else who is wondering, I emailed CRT today for a slot for our outgoing journey, requesting a slot as early morning as possible and received a reply within the hour, with an 8am slot. I'm less keen on pinning ourselves down to a time for the return passage but will have to do this next. It would be useful to know if they will allow changes if you end up getting there early and they have spaces.

Thanks everyone for replies. I'll give it a try and see what slot we get now that we know Bosley locks will be open every day. We hadn't fancied the thought of being tied to specific days and times on 4 days out of our week hol so had considered heading down Heartbreak Hill instead. Hubby is relieved.

Hmmm thanks for that, still not clear what kind of a slot you get.

Could anyone who has booked a passage also confirm what kind of a 'slot' you are given? Or is it just a passage for that day? We normally do a long day to get close to the North end of the tunnel ready for the first passage the next morning, but the restriction on Bosley Locks make it difficult to know what time we will be able to get there. Thanks

Thank you for taking the time to post.

Thanks, much appreciated

We received this email too but aren't able to attend due to work. Wondered if anyone else on the forum would be going and would be kind enough to report back? We are currently envisaging another Summer tootling between Bugsworth and Macclesfield but would love to hear differently. Thank you.

Agreed, although along the road, it's a nice walk. It takes me about half an hour from bridge 15 to Waitrose. Unfortunately the bus only runs until 5pm ish but a taxi back is a similar price to 2 bus tickets if you have heavy shopping.

If you moor near to bridges 18 or 15 you can get the little bus into Poynton (391 / 392 bus I think) where there is an Aldi, a small Morrisons and a Waitrose along with several smaller shops and some good places to eat and drink. We think it's a nice place to spend a couple of hours.

Thanks both for the additional comments. Today's update, we bought a cordless drill and made a hole in the floorboards under the bed big enough to use a drill pump. We extracted several more buckets of water from there, which again looks clean and doesn't smell but seems an awful lot of water to result from rain / condensation. We've got to the point where the drill can't extract any more (realising that we will need to keep checking this as the water moves about). Will keep the vent covered and plastic over the rear portholes for good measure and are taking her to Bollington Wharf when we get up there for them to take a look. I'll need another holiday after all this....

So, an update on our water leak After a few days of warm weather and things left open to dry out, we had found no new water and it was drying out nicely. After an hour of rain tonight, more water appeared under the bed, along the cabin sides. When it stopped raining, I poured some water from a watering can around the rear windows, vents and hatch and the mushroom vent. Pretty much immediately after the last of these, water appeared inside. So mushroom vent seems to be the culprit. For tonight it has a plastic bowl weighted down on top of it. We will need to investigate further in the daytime / dry. I'm not sure how easy a temporary / permanent fix this is? Or whether we will need to get someone to look at it while we are out on our travels.

It's ironic that we previously had a wooden top and just accepted that things would be quite 'boaty', but now we seem to expect much less to go wrong. Thanks for all the comments. Floor is now drying out thanks to the warm weather and nappies although does still smell a bit musty. The carpet dried nicely on the roof up until the point it blew off and ended up in the canal ☹️. Will be cutting a hole in the floorboards under the bed when we get hold of some suitable tools and will check it regularly (currently checking around hourly..... ). Fixing the small water pump leak is also on the priority list although we can't see anywhere for any leaked water to go, it just sits there being damp at present. The well deck does drain straight out but we are now being careful not to let it overflow in case there is a gap that water can get into. If not that, it must be condensation / rain into window frames / vents built up over time and no doubt added to during the recent downpours so I guess we need to keep a close eye when it next rains. Fingers crossed..... Thanks again for replying.

The morning after recent prolonged heavy rain, we noticed a damp patch on the carpet near to the steps up to the rear deck, which started to spread as we moved about. Further investigation revealed several inches of water in the 'box' under the steps (where we have never looked before) which seemed to very quickly result in soaking wet carpets at the back of the boat. The bit under the steps has been emptied with a scoop and sponge into a bucket, amounting to around 100 litres. Underneath the bed and cupboards at the stern end are still damp but gradually drying out now that the carpet has been lifted and the weather has improved. It is however starting to smell a bit musty. Although we have never lifted the steps before in the couple of years we have had the boat, we did find a torch hanging under there which suggests the previous owner used to do so. There are also dark patches on the wood at floor level that indicate previous damp but no musty smell has been detected before. Under the bed has definitely been dry until this incident. We can't see any evidence of leaking pipes and the floor and under the cupboards at the bow end are dry. The water pump has a slight leak but is under the well deck and the water doesn't seem to go anywhere. No evidence of leaking around the sinks / shower etc. The bilge pump in the engine bay came on several times during the rainy night but there was no excessive water down there. So, lots of questions going round in my head during the sleepless nights. Is it possible that amount of water could result from rain getting in somehow and / or condensation? If so, would this sit on top of the floorboards as it appears to have been doing, particularly in the corners, or do we need to be investigating underneath the floorboards (if water would have to go there first and seep upwards)? If so, how? On our last boat any water from the uncovered well deck (this one is covered) flowed the length of the boat and into the engine bilge where it could be emptied. There doesn't seem to be any way through from the cabin into the engine bilge on this boat. We wondered if the heavy rain was a coincidence and water could somehow have been taken in when filling up the tank as there is no overflow so when full, the water just spills over and perhaps if the inlet isn't properly sealed it gets into the cabin? It's a 2015 Liverpool boat if that helps / hinders. And the water we bailed out was quite clean, so don't think it's canal water. With thunderstorms forecast for the coming week, I'm very nervous about a repeat of this and if that happens, how we will ever prevent it and keep the boat dry. We don't have access to mains power so can't use a dehumidifier / wet vac etc. Any suggestions very welcome please. Thank you.

Arm now open.

Ha ha! We need them in this weather, have the fire going now . They are now attacking the tree with a chainsaw. The dingy has just been dragged past on the towpath, the outboard having run out of petrol....