trane

In their first post the OP stated that "someone" has examined the engine and at their request the OP purchased some parts. This engineer/mechanic/boater then never returned. Assuming that that someone have some knowledge of marine engines if we knew what parts were requested we may get some idea what they believed the problem is.

Rhode Heath if you want a pub. Church Lawton (by the Church) if you want a quieter mooring. Some good footpaths if you have a dog/enjoy a walk

When I bought my own boat the first thing I invested in was a hinged tiller arm. It has become second nature to lift the arm whenever I go into reverse, whether I intend a long reverse or just bringing the boat to a stop in a lock/lock landing/mooring. I can then step on/off without catching the arm, and the tiller cannot catch the lock wall when in a lock and I am up working the paddles. I had hired for many years and had found the rigid tiller to be a nuisance and potentially dangerous.

I moored under trees during the recent heatwave and stayed there for a few days, running my engine for an hour to an hour and a half a day. There was a house on the non towpath side across and along from me. On the saturday I became aware of a noise and on looking out saw the resident of the house was throwing stones at my boat. He told me to move my boat. Being annoyed but not angry I tried to talk to him, explaining the unusual circumstances regarding the heat and need for shade as to the reason I was where I was but said householder went from telling me to move to threatening to torch my boat. If i ever left my boat just see what happened, as an unknown person would likely put my windows in-there would be no witnesses. I had to this point kept my temper, just explaining I had every right to moor where I was and i did not want to move, but at this point i suggested that if an unknown person damaged my boat they were just likely to start breaking windows of houses next, as unknown vandals do, and his house seemed to have a lot of windows. At this he walked off telling me to move my boat and not come back. I initially intended to stay where i was but decided that I was on the cut for an easy life so I reported what had happened to the Police and moved on. 18 years on the cut and he was by far the most objectionable waste of space I have ever met. I was moored just north of bridge 86 on the Trent and Mersey in a spot I have moored in several times before. The Police visited said householder. He claimed he had been nice but I had not been reasonable. Advice given all parties.

This notice supersedes previous notices for the Caldon and Trent and Mersey canals. Despite some recent rainfall, there has been no significant impact on our reservoir holdings that supply the Trent & Mersey and Caldon Canals as this has been absorbed into an already dry landscape. In order to protect our infrastructure and the wildlife that inhabit these waterways, we will be implementing closures on the lock flights below: Trent & Mersey Canal Lock 41 to Lock 71 will remain closed Passage through Lock 40 to Lock 36 and Harecastle Tunnel will remain possible between 8.00am and 12.00pm daily until last passage on Sunday 7 August Lock 40 to Lock 29 will then close to navigation from 8.00 am on Monday 8 August Caldon Canal Hazelhurst Locks to Froghall will remain closed Lock 9, Top Lock at Stockton Brook to Lock 1, Bedford Street, Etruria will be closed from 8.00 am Monday 8 August Whilst these closures will prevent use of the lock flights, cruising between the locks and through Harecastle Tunnel (pre booked passages only between 8.00am and 12.00pm daily) will remain available. The local team have been in contact with customers affected by the closure to assist them off the Cheshire Flight (locks 41 – 71). If you have not been contacted and are waiting to leave the flight, please contact our North West team on 0303 0404 040 as soon as possible. We’re continuing conversations with customers affected on the Caldon Canal and the Trent & Mersey from Stoke to Stone (lock 29 to 40). If you have not been contacted and would like assistance in leaving this section, please contact our West Midlands team on 0303 040 4040 or enquiries.westmidlands@canalrivertrust.org.uk as soon as possible. It is not clear how long the restrictions will be in place. We appreciate this is disappointing news for our customers and we hope that by providing notice of these closures, it will help our customers plan their upcoming journeys or move to alternative locations to avoid the impact of the closures on their cruising plans. To conserve as much water as possible whilst these closures are in place, the lock flights will be padlocked closed and secured against operation with the gates ‘ashed up’ to reduce leakage. Implementing these closures now means that we can conserve water, allowing the reservoirs to start to refill should we have significant rainfall. Although the Trent & Mersey Canal will remain open north of Great Haywood junction, we are encouraging boaters to minimise travel towards Stone, and consider other available routes, to help conserve water in the area. We apologise for the inconvenience this will undoubtedly cause our boating customers and boating businesses. Our teams will continue to monitor our reservoir holdings and surface water feeders and we will provide updates on the water position throughout the closed period.

I think that there are different sole patterns and while "megagrip" is a specific compound the boot manufacturer can use it's own pattern. I've checked my shoes which are flat and have relatively big lugs that are siped. The lugs are not straight. They seem to put a lot of rubber in contact with the ground. Looking online the trail running shoes seem to have a different sole pattern to the hiking shoes.

They are the best I have found for the wet, having to cope with gunnels, roof and lock side. Siped soles are best for wet smooth metal but lose their advantage once you step on and off the boat. At the end of the day there is no perfect sole, but some are considerably worse than others

This is a subject I took a great interest in a few years ago after very nearly falling into an emptying lock when I slipped on the lock side. No matter how careful you are (and when I'm on my own I like to think I am careful) but the combination of rain and moss on the stone caught me out. I have ended up with different shoes for different conditions. I bought a pair of waterproof hiking type shoes that had the soles marked as "sticky rubber". They have no midsole and no discernible heel and were the most uncomfortable shoe for long dog walks I ever had--but the lack of rigidity on the sole means they put a lot of sole in contact with the deck and the soft rubber compound grips to the steel. Never had a problem in the dry or damp and most importantly I have confidence in them. I believe they were designed for scrambling on rocks/light rock climbing. Merrell don't make them anymore but a sports shop should be able to provide an alternative. In the wet it was a bit harder. I tried the traditional siped sole boat shoe--these had thin grooves cut into a flat sole and are probably fine if you never leave the boat but on a muddy towpath the grooves filled with grit and mud and became slick. Standard hiking boots were lethal--plenty of grip in the mud but too slippery in the wet. I struggled to find a good shoe/boot for the wet and muddy towpath until I read an article regarding Vibram soles. Apparently they make many different soles but the majority of customers want shoes that last so have a hard rubber compound that are slippery in the wet. I looked for a softer compound and ended up buying a Merrell zion waterproof hiking shoe with a Vibram Megagrip sole. The lugs on the sole don't seem to hold the mud as others do. They have a flat sole and have the best grip of any shoe I can find. I noticed the difference when pushing on a lock beam in the wet and my feet didn't slip from under me. Obviously you can still slip if you aren't careful but they are the best I have found. Not the cheapest(and there may be cheaper alternatives available) but I got them in a sale and haven't regretted the expense. It's like tyres on a car--you resent the expense until you aquaplane on a motorway. Next time you buy better tyres.

The only problem areas I can think of are well up towards Wolverhampton so may be a bit outside your remit. There is a corner above Gailey, past the Industrial estate, through a bridge, winding hole offside and then a sharp left hand bend (sorry, maps are on the boat). A few years ago the trees after this bend were cut back up to but not including the foliage on the tree right on the bend. It seemed strange at the time and has only got worse as the tree continued to grow as the line of sight is poor. The only other issue I've had is at a sewage outlet where the fishermen gather. It's past Coven, between the road bridge and the M54. Immediately after the bridge the canal is "topped up" with all that's good from the Sewage works, which attracts the fish and the fishermen. The offside is overgrown, line of sight heading north is poor as the canal bends after the bridge, and the outflow pushes your boat towards the offside and into the trees, particularly if you are going slowly for those fishing. You don't want to meet a boat there and if you do you need to put on power to offset the current from the sewage works while avoiding the trees and maintaining your position while the approaching boat passes through the bridge. Cue a number of upset fishermen but they were a grumpy lot to begin with. they certainly where after I'd passed. I can't think of any other issues as long as you are sensible and hang back if you see a problem ahead.

JD Boat services at Gailey on the staff and worcester service Eberspachers if you're in the area

If you want to look at what the legislation says regarding step 2 I've attached a link. It runs to 96 pages but the section relevant to you for tomorrow is on page 57- Step 2 area--Closure of holiday accommodation 12.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (2) to (5), a person responsible for carrying on a business consisting of the provision of holiday accommodation situated in the Step 2 area, whether in a hotel, hostel, bed and breakfast accommodation, holiday apartment, home, cottage or bungalow, campsite, caravan park or boarding house, canal boat or any other vessel must cease to carry on that business......................(5) Holiday accommodation referred to in sub-paragraph (1) may continue to be provided if that accommodation is provided— (a) in a campsite or caravan park, provided that the only shared facilities used by guests at the campsite or caravan park are washing facilities, toilets, water points and waste disposal points, or (b) in separate and self-contained premises. (6) Premises are separate and self-contained for the purposes of this paragraph only if— (a) they are provided for persons who are — (i) members of the same household, or (ii) members of two households which are linked households in relation to each other, and (b) none of the following are shared with the members of any other household— (i) kitchens, (ii) sleeping areas, (iii) bathrooms, or (iv) indoor communal areas. The legislation for step 3 can be found further down https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/364/pdfs/uksi_20210364_en.pdf

When you get to the tunnel make sure that you identify yourself to the tunnel keeper and attend any safety briefing. I turned up once and was at the back of a long queue.I was told I would have to wait for the next passage as they were letting 8 [I think] through at a time. I went to the safety briefing anyway and as the boats started to move I pulled forward intending to get water [I was heading north and there's a water point at the south entrance]. However, the tunnel keeper stopped the share boat ahead of me and wouldn't let them through as they hadn't been to the safety briefing and I was waved through in their place. Lucky for me, not so much for the other boat.

That would probably see me out if I went down that route. The alternative would be to add some Ankorsol which I used in the heating system last year. The antifreeze will be okay for this year and i'll see how things are next year. I've given up planning much farther ahead as fate has a habit of setting unexpected obstacles.

My use of the expression "broken down" regarding the effectiveness of the inhibitor was clumsy-I meant it in the sense of it ceasing to be effective. What you are saying regarding the life of the inhibitor being calculated on days running the engine with temp excursions up to 100c is interesting but doesn't seem to be recognised as far as I can see. I appreciate inorganic chemistry is not your speciality but I would suspect, as you suggest, that whatever chemical reaction occurs involving the active ingredient in the inhibitor to prevent rust forming would be more effective as the temperature rises and the inhibitor would be used up faster as the temperature rises. Anyway, it was a question that I had mulled over down the years and it took this period of enforced lockdown for me to air it. That passed the time until I can walk the dog

Thinking about it there is such a variety of coolant systems on boats that the manufacturers recommended lifespan is very much a rough guide. Perhaps it would be accurate for cars [a ford fiesta is a Ford fiesta] whereas two 57 foot narrowboats, even with the same engine, could have completely different skin tanks. I tend to err on the side of caution regarding oil/fuel filter changes anyway and will do the same with the coolant