cuthound

But why do CRT boaters need access to facities 24/7? It can be too difficult to coincide your elsan emptying with the marina's opening hours. Yes, looks like it could be a good time to invest in shovels and manhole keys. 🤣

This makes sense when there is no contract with CRT because the marina's costs are directly linked with the frequency these facities need emptying. They would expect CRT to pay for the anticipated increased usage, us a profit margin. Again, unless CRT paid the new owners of the ex BWML marina's for everyone to use the facities, it is only to be expected that they would restrict facilities to there own customers or charge handsomely for them.

Seems to work at Fazeley, where CRT closed their offices and adjacent water point, elsan and rubbish disposal and entered a contract with Fazeley Mills Marina to provide these facitirs "free" to.CRT boaters. They are not 24/7, but why would they need to be? Very few boaters use CRT facilities in the dead of night.

Why would any boatyard or marina decide not to offer their facilities to CRT if they are paid to do so? They have made a significant investment in providing the facilities in the first place and by entering a contract with CRT means it will enjoy a greater rate of return. The only times I have known marinas and boatyards restrict access to facilities are where they have a hire fleet and restrict access on turnaround days. Can you provide examples where third parties have unilaterally decided to no longer provide facitirs such as water and elsan disposal to those that are not their own moorers?

I'd settle for the same licence fee and more maintenance, but I think CRT will spin the survey results to increase licence fees whilst making savings to their facilities budget. 😥

As I said earlier, I suspect there will be a drive to close CRT facilities and pay boatyards and marinas to allow CRT customers to use theirs free of charge. This makes sense where it costs CRT more to maintain its own facilities than to pay a third party and should eliminate vandalism and non-boater abuse.

Putting key numeric pad locks on facilities and only advising licensed boaters of the entry code (and changing the code frequency) will go some way to prevent non-boaters, reinforced by CCTV.

Wow a flueless solid fuel stove. Great idea, saves cutting a hole in the deckhead of the boat... 😅

I'm still using a tee shirt I bougth from Nauticalia way back in 1992. https://www.nauticalia.com/ It has the naval flags signifying "wreck". It is a little faded but otherwise undamaged and I wear it at least once a week. I don't know if there current range are of such quality (I doubt it) but it has proved excellent value.

My narrowboat has a washable (in clean diesel) WASP filter to remove water and larger particles from the fuel before it reaches the engines disposable filter. It also has a drain point on the fuel tank. Perhaps your shell and engine installation are less than optimum, as is often the case with cheaper shells and boat builders?

I wonder if he made narrowboats for the Vikings as well... 🤣

Yes he's definitely talking b@ll@x. My first experience of the canals was in 1973. We hired a camping boat from UCC at Braunston and took a canoe along. We had to buy a licence for the canoe, so licences have been in place for at least 49 years.

I had my leather furniture reupholstered and recovered for this very reason. Cost about the same as new furniture from one of the big furniture warehouses, but hopefully should outlast me.

Indeed, @RichM could undertake a trial at the bar of his local pub to see if he gets on with the standing position for several hours before making a commitment. 🤣🍻

That is why I qualified my post in my first sentence to make it clear I was referring to lead acid batteries.

Or just add a tin of Andrews Liver Salts (can you still get them?) everyone and then. 🤣

Debatable with charging losses to lead acid batteries and voltage conversions. LifePo batteries have a much higher charging efficiency. The main benefit is near silent cruising. The main dis-benefit is having to replace the batteries every few years (or more frequently if the owner doesn't look after them properly, which may well cost more than the fiel saved by not having a diesel propulsion engine.

Possibly, also around that time the average boat length began to increase from 35-45 foot to 50-60 foot which may also have played a part.

Yes, the numbers have increased year on year but none have overstayed. Occasionally I get asked to keep an eye on one for the owner, which I am happy to do unless I want to go boating myself.

My last last but one post on this old thread of mine shows what a correctly running Old Dutch should look like at various regulator settings. Note that because of the short chimneys used on narrowboats, you cannot get it to run with a predominately blue flame at the higher regulator settings, due to not enough draught to pull in enough air.

Surely with the vast increase in liveaboards it is 'all about staying there for 14 days" rather than "getting there"... 🤣