BilgePump

It was Guy from Portland Basin (Ashton) and am on upper Macc. Probably a bit far for him for your boat on the lower but just a comment on the price in recent years.

I paid £200 I think in June '23 for the last one on the Macc. Fixed charge regardless of size of boat so a little GRP with no gas or electric doesn't have that many things to check. 'Not applicable' for most sections and test itself doesn't take long. Everything requiring checking (except petrol storage) is within reach of the bunk, which is good because you can't stand up to walk around! Not complaining though as it makes no difference to his travelling time, submission or fixed BSS cost and VAT in the grand scheme of things and costs CaRT related. Plus, he's a decent chap and been a good boaty contact over the years. Thankfully, other boat's on waters not requiring BSS so don't have the expense there.

That takes me back 30ish years. Got rather drunk on that boat on a few occasions.

Yep, didn't do the link in that boat. Was sailing out of Preston, up the Douglas and back. Bilge keeler so was able to take the ground in the Douglas. I was purely thinking about pushing against the actual tide without thinking about the time window and the need for some speed doing the link. In that case I would think that progress will be too slow with just 8hp. Something maybe around 25hp and use the 8hp as auxiliary?

Used to sail around there in a 20' yacht with 8hp 2 stroke Yamaha on the back. Displacement about a ton, so similar to the Norman. Other boats would head off into the distance but was possible to make headway and get round Asland lamp. Engine was working hard and a displacement hull vs. the planing hull of the Norman so not direct comparison. Would probably want more hp, in the 20hp+ range, on a 20' motorcruiser on the estuary/link but a healthy and reliable 8hp should allow progress, albeit slowly. (disclaimer: if you end up going backwards, these are only my thoughts, so don't blame me!) A good anchor and rode is essential, plus plenty of fuel, as the outboard will drink it like a wino in a free bar when pushing against the tide. Without sails, in an ideal world, I'd also want an auxiliary engine. There's no chance of drifting to the side and dragging down a towpath if the engine fails.

^^^ As she said Hoping he's okay and just downtiming from the forum. Never met IRL and politics not the same but an appreciated, friendly, knowledgeable and funny member here. Even if he has become a landubber.

Thanks for reporting back. Coming in at under £50 with fees for the outboard and basic ladder is a decent price for the buyer without being a complete steal.

Isn't the moral that we're all a bit lazy. We could print out and laminate docs easily once issued. That was what I used to do but got slack about it over time. This year everything is still just a number in a system on the cloud and an email that may or may not be accessible.

Probably not essential for pootling along the Shroppie.

I was just about to mention that a few years ago I had the same issue with a 3rd party online policy with Nav and Gen. Current policy wasn't showing (payment had been made months before). Older, inactive ones for same and other boats were there but one of the new ones wasn't.

I think a few owners threw them overboard without any anchor chain, just out of sheer frustration.

Guide of £100-150 seems a bit high unless it's in fantastic condition. It looks to be in good condition but nothing amazing. I picked up a long shaft with clutch Seagull 18 months ago for £50 in similar nick at a vintage fair/autojumble. Honest running Seagulls seem to go in the £50-£100 mark on ebay.

Good thinking. Yes, makes a lot of sense.

In the past I've found the towpath mooring by the country park just before Portland basin and Ashton to be pleasant and safe enough for a night (probably wouldn't want to leave a boat unattended for a week). That means you can jump onto Ashton canal next morning. Never moored on the Ashton itself so will leave suggestions about that to the more knowledgeable. If you're goosed by the end of Marple locks, the Lower Peak canal between them and Woodley has nice enough areas if you don't want to go much further than them, the aqueduct and tunnel on the same day.

At about 0.5hp each, I wonder how many of them (and tons of batteries) the OP would need for river work. I've got one but it can struggle moving/controlling a 600kg tupperware if there's any wind or flow.

Like @agg221 our old NB had 12v/240v inverter electrics but if I was there on my own it would hardly ever be used. Water came out of cans in galley and bathroom, small gimballed non-pressurised paraffin lamps on the bulkheads in the same left going through the night, bigger gimballed lamp in saloon and one up at the bow used in the evening. Heat from wood stove so no pump going to the gas boiler pump for radiators. Fridge was 12v or gas but I always left it off and survived without. Sockets and inverter would only be used to step 12v down to 5v for USB devices or up to 240v AC for bigger stuff like tools. The paraffin lamps were great and were kept when the boat was sold but my current GRP midgets are way too small to used them in safely. No fixed electrics at all so it's LED headtorches and lanterns all the way.

Was watching 'Charade' featuring her and Cary Grant the other night. Definitely too classy a lady for the likes of me.