Lady M

Because the chimney draws the fumes & smoke up and away. House chimneys are much longer than boat chimneys.

I'm sure the initial bookable spaces were £10/night. The higher fees are a bit too much. It would make more sense to have a higher fee for the first night, then the £10 for subsequent ones up to a maximum of, say, 7 nights - or as they say these days 7 days.

And adjacent land based businesses who benefit from canal based visitors.

Even water can leave unwelcome splash marks on your neighbour's cabinsides. Best for neighbour relations to take the boat out if you wish to make a mess.

It is a bit unclear to me whether you are asking about washing the ropes or the roof of the boat. Perhaps you mean both as doing one without the other may not give the best result. I recommend Phil Speight boat wash for the roof (and the rest of the cabin). I have heard some people put their ropes in the washing machine in a pillowcase. Or you may find that when the rope is dry you can shake or beat the mud out of it as dust (well away from the boat, obviously).

Chicken wire will tend to be more effective when there is snow or ice.

I found a requirement that the exhaust pipe must be supported.

I suggest you ask your BSS examiner as part of booking the appointment. You may get away with a warning notice.

Perhaps not on a narrowboat.

It isn't an A bath as there is only one seat. (I have seen A baths on boats of a similar age so it could easily have been.)

My boat has a shower bath. I like the inbuilt seat feature finding it useful for foot washing. It is also a useful place to store washing items when the shower is not being used.

As the majority of hire boats are subsequently sold on for private use, it must make sense to build them to RCR standards rather than have to get a PCA prior to selling on.

There is a level at which VAT on red diesel changes from 5% to 20%; I think it is 2,000 litres.

This seems sensible to me and might simply be achieved by setting the VAT rate at 5%.

Time for a survey?

We hired an electric boat on the Mon & Brec. To us, one disadvantage was the need to moor overnight at an electric point. However, it was a long time ago and more modern electrical management systems may mean this is not necessary every night.

Please try it as a trad first, you may find you like it.

How lovely to read about a bit of boating.

I am under the impression that CRT do not permit wide beam boats to be moored on the N Oxford Canal so the cranage booking at Dunchurch Pools should have included a temporary berth. Perhaps the boat mover got there early but I am a bit surprised they overlooked the mooring restriction.

It's also easy to use all the batteries together (or even just domestic) for engine starting in an emergency.

You could hire two 4 berth boats to accommodate your group.

I have used Hammerite Rust Beater in similar circumstances, also as a treatment/primer for any small patches not just pre-winter protection. Yes you want to get back to bare metal before application.

Some of the boats on the GU are a lot wider than those on the Llangollen.

Well, I think your expectations of marina safety are very reasonable and I am surprised by all the negative responses.

We have been advised not to retain old fire extinguishers to avoid any failed attempts to use them.