TheBiscuits

If you saw the patio off the front she might fit Joking aside, a 60 footer would give you access to the C&H and the Hudd Broad as well as the L&L from Leeds to Tarleton. You'd just need somewhere to store the offcut and it's contents. I believe there are some places very near you that encourage "Kindness" maybe they have a shed. Or just borrow Jim's boat!

"Because it's there" was good enough for Edmund Hillary on Everest... Crooke is an easy run from Wigan, I've often done Wigan Top to Crooke in a single day's journey. Admittedly the time I had a leisurely lunchtime pint at Wigan Central meant I was mooring by torchlight! I reckon it's sour grapes because Vox won't fit up the flight. 😁

Depends what you want to do really. An early start down Wigan gets you to the junction at lunchtime-ish. Heading towards Leigh gives access to Pennington Flash country park then Plank Lane lift bridge if you want a less usual canal feature. Dropping one more lock towards Liverpool is a good mooring opposite the Dry Dock giving easy access to Wigan town centre. A much better selection of pubs and shops if that's your thing. Continuing towards Liverpool you'd realistically only go as far as Appley Bridge, or maybe Parbold if you want to do longer days. Burscough is nice but it's a long day from Wigan, especially after doing the flight first! Mooring at Wigan would allow you to visit Burscough and Parbold by train easily enough. If you're short on time for any reason, Haigh Hall country park is a mile and a half from Wigan Top Lock and might be worth a visit. That could save you a day if necessary - go down the flight, moor by the dry dock overnight and then go back up the following day. Where are you hiring from? I know the L&L very well so might have other suggestions for your trip.

You would have to pay any required EoG fees (if applicable) for it to be a valid mooring contract, but if you were to moor for more than 6 months you can claim a refund of the surcharge. From the licencing portal login page: (My bold) Evidence of home mooring requirements from 1st April 2024 (please see our FAQ page for more information) New or existing continuous cruiser No confirmation is required. New customer with a home mooring You will need to provide the details of your mooring contract, which must cover the period of your licence. If your boat does not have a Trust index number, you will need to register prior to being able to purchase a licence. There is a charge of £20 which will be refunded if you licence within 28 days of us accepting the evidence you have provided for your mooring. Existing customer remaining on the same home mooring You do not need to provide the details of your mooring contract when you licence, however, we may ask you for details during your licence period. Existing customer moving to a new home mooring You will need to provide the details of your mooring contract, Changing from continuous cruiser to home mooring You will need to provide the details of your mooring contract, which must be for six months or more. If you pay for a monthly mooring, you can retrospectively claim a refund on the continuous cruiser surcharge if you can show six consecutive monthly mooring agreements/payments. In this case your status will remain as ‘continuous cruiser’ and you will receive a pro rata refund of paid surcharge from the date you notify the Trust of the change providing you have provided the necessary evidence.

Get? Keep! 😁

The Wigan team started using adjustable aluminium ones a few years ago (2021). I was moored close to where they were testing them the first time they tried it out. Three bits of box section, one as a main sleeve and two fractionally smaller ones slid inside each end of the main section. Bolts to hold the lengths in position. A sheet of plastic held on by the top "plank" to reduce water flow. Seems to work well, and can quickly be adjusted to length for other locations. Also doesn't float, so they were less pleased about getting them out again! Picture taken at Wigan dry dock when the gates were causing problems. If I'd thought about it I'd have got more of the technical detail on the photo, but it's a bit late now!

Do what the neckerchief brigade do and claim working boats have priority. One tried it on me once on the Cheshire locks and I said "Fantastic" and pinched the lock from him. When he started spluttering I smiled sweetly and pointed out my Roving Trader's licence. "Mine's a working boat licence, yours is a standard pleasure boat licence. You said working boats have priority." He didn't help me with the lock!

Wouldn't touch it with a bargepole! 😁

You are assuming that most of the stealth boats bother applying for a licence ... can't really see them uploading a photo if they're not.

There's a three storey widebeam on the Warwickshire Avon ...

Help increase the use of fossil fuels? 😁

It's not the opting out of the rat race that's the issue, it's the refusal (from some) to show any consideration or courtesy to other boaters that grates. If I'm doing a fortnight at a popular visitor mooring I usually use pins just past the jetty or rings, allowing others to easily use the VM. Not so much in winter, but that's reasonable in my book as there's far fewer users to share with.

Very true, but that was exactly my point upthread. There's no such thing as "continuous cruising" except in the imagination of then BW and now CRT staff and anyone taken in by it. I feel that makes it odd to complain that people aren't doing the completely made up thing that doesn't exist ...

You've made a typo ... www.nit-pickers-r-us.com

Orange crayons are the tastiest. Apparently. Slightly more seriously, I own a "boat without a home mooring." (1995 British Waterways act) "Continuous Cruiser" is a BW made up term that seems to have massive traction amongst certain segments of the (home mooring) boating community. It doesn't exist except in Sally Ash's fevered imagination, and she's not there anymore. I once had exactly this conversation with a former chair of the IWA who ended up agreeing with me. Nice bloke, which is my standard definition of chaps who agree with me. 😁 Nearly all the disputes regarding CCers are about those who don't follow the trivial rules - and I can guarantee you that those of us who do comply are much angrier about those who don't than most owners of "boats with a home mooring." As a thought exercise for the frothing at the mouth brigade, if I have two boats - one with a marina mooring and one without any home mooring - am I a "CCer" or not? It's purely about the licence declaration for the boat, not the owner.

I was considering saying you weren't that tall to start with, but Alan beat me to it!

Shame that, because somewhere between too wide and too narrow would have been just right if it's a tapered pole. Are we related? It's the sort of thing I do far too often!