droshky

Ah well. Thanks for the tips guys but just got towed into Debdale Wharf with a seized Lister SR2. Soar cruise will have to wait

Cut it up and wait to dry, now why didn’t we think of that? When we bought nb Mollie, we removed the pump out tank and I can assure you that “ pump out” is not to be taken completely literally. So we had a (White) half full plastic tank. We sloshed it around and tipped it out as best we could but even a high pressure hose couldn’t do much round all those baffles. So off we sloshed to the dump, with the holes blocked with newspaper “secured” with gaffer tape. The helpful Eastern European guy working there asked what it was made of (plastic, mate but it’s NOT EMPTY) and directed us to the appropriate skip. I took one armful of stuff up the ladder and while my back was turned, ol’ Pavel, who hadn’t quite got my drift, slung it over his shoulder, newspaper to ear....Nooooo! Amazingly, the temporary plug held, he hurled it into the plastics skip and we swiftly left. i don’t recommend this method of disposal, bad for the nerves!

That’s good, I guessed they might be ok, reassuring. However, suppose the river level rises when we’re not there. How quickly would we need to get there, and how would we know? Aha, just read the other posts, thanks Matty again, and others....thinking!

We might be up there on the Soar in 10 days or so. We’d plan to moor somewhere North of Leicester, perhaps Birstall area if that was ok. Then go home, come back as usual 2 weeks later. Any regular issues with security, either from hooligans or river level drama?

Yes we were on the arm last week and went 3 times thru that bridge. Got thru with a bit of sweat twice, third time mrs D was on a zoom call and I just couldn’t hack it, luckily a passer by came and put her shoulder to it. I’m not, as the young people say, hench, but pretty fit and despite having got thru twice solo, this time the far end seemed to jam on its base. Be prepared! It is very a lovely stretch though, when you get there

We live in London but the boat doesn’t

We use the dried coir bricks. They are cheap, take a tiny amount of storage space, half a brick expands in water to form a dry mass which we chuck into the empty box. Stir and occasionally glance in, empty as necessary. One day soon we’ll go on a long tour and will continually be on board and thus able to use the contents as intended on the garden...tho maybe not on the veg??

No not really. We start by putting in just enough to reach the &&&& stirring device. Then it’s months before the box is near full, bearing in mind we don’t live on board. At which point it all goes down the CRT service point sometimes pretty well rotted and in any case never clogging. Gonna happen this weekend as it happens, come and watch!

Elsan!

It’s not all the time, I guess once a year or so. So it once then easy like many things

For us it’s not so much the flies. Aerosol, rolledup newspaper or squash and wash, there’s only so many of em. No, it’s that when we’ve been away in warm weather, the little sods get into the fan on our Airhead which eventually jams. The aroma is then no longer expelled and you need to dismantle the fan to clean em out of it. if this happens, take careful note of which way the fan goes back together. Or you end up making a bad situation worse!

Thank you very much. After some research I did finally dig up some of that info, but more importantly, youve confirmed it from the horses mouth!

Whats the situation at Foxton, anybody? We were hoping to go up to the services there or at Mkt Harborough. Will we have to turn back to Crick or Welford?

We like it. Although we’re keen gardiners in a small way, we’ve not managed to compost our, erm, product sufficiently. Problem being, we don’t live aboard or cruise for extended periods. So we just leave our no 2s in the rear compartment until nearly full then find a quiet facility to empty into. It’s pretty inoffensive but naturally not everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s only 2 or 3 times a year, we’re CC but on board a week or 10 days at a time max. If it’s been warm and 2 weeks since anyone on board, the first stir or two raises a whiff, but otherwise virtually no smell. Wee bucket is no problem, just don’t forget about it every day or two. Compared to finding pump out or tip in during what’s often a short visit, it suits us. Everyone to their own

We live in one of those house things, and when it gets chilly, we moor up and go home for the winter. For the rest of the year we normally potter about the canal system, returning home for a fortnight or so and then back again. We have been informed that due to the boats location relative to our house, it is wise for us to overnight on board during our imminent move, rather than return home after a hard days locking and tunnelling. And presumably (were not going to double check!!!) during any subsequent fortnightly moves. So thats what were gonna do. A bit obscure I know, Id prefer not to identify any officials involved. But I think theres a clear and sensible message here.

We’re interested in this too. Heading off next week (all going well!!??) up the Leicester Arm so not hitting the Soar for a few weeks, depending....(we don’t live on board). All going well, we’ll time it perfectly for a tour round the reopened Space Museum and welcoming hostelries of this fine City, home in different ways to Richard III, Vichai Shriva...., Gary Lineker etc etc and then take on the Soar with our underpowered heavy bottomed nb Mollie. So can we expect an easy ride, as long as there’s not too much or too little rain?

I dont normally go much for this kind of thing, but Ive really enjoyed this thread, thanks chaps

Thanks Matty, very helpful. I would have expected to make normal type progress in such a well served area, Crick and so on. But it’s reassuring (which is the thing for us) to hear that there are indeed plenty of options once we get going. Its just biting the bullet in these times, and with, erm, a little nervousness on board, shall we say. I’m certainly hoping we can get through the first locks ok, but gonna wait till at least Monday to try. Once we’re off we should drop into some sort of routine, hoping that the kids can come up soon, hoping for lots of things! thanks all

Yes understood. However, will we be able to go anywhere? From Braunston we’d like to head for Leicester. Will the locks and tunnel right in front be passable from day 1? If not, then what do we do? We’ve been cc’ing for years but these are strange times. Yes, we’ve been lucky to be where we are (I hope, who knows??). So we just want to bide our time till the situation clears a little. I’ve asked crt and will post if I hear from them. keep well all

For some of us this needs a little more detail. We are ccers but don’t live on board. We are moored on a 48 hr town mooring. When we last boated, it was of course March, and signs clearly stated that it was 14 day mooring till end of March. Our reading is that the notice clearly says 14 days, which is just as well as our planned route soon hits some locks which may be restricted and then Foxton which I believe is closed. Do we need to confirm with crt or can we just wait till we’re confident that the system is more or less open, perhaps early June?

Careful if you take a stroll on the extraordinary Whixhall Moss. Couple of years ago around this time and during a dry spell, we did so. Mrs D was like me wearing sandals. This made it easy for the sleepy, hidden but bad tempered adder she stood on to get his own back. Scary, anaphylactic shock reaction, but thanks to the amazing Shrewsbury ambulance all was well. Wear boots

You could put it in a coconut

Comparably, our little patch of allotments has a sign on the locked gate stipulating using gloves and sanitiser. CRT claim that there’s similar on locks, which would seem to cover this, and is certainly good practice for the foreseeable. We ain’t gonna be finding out any time soon, though I hope the rules do begin to ease for the keenest. Keep well all, and be kind, Dave

Ok winter mooring first. Otherton is pretty handy for motorway, or bus or train from Stafford. Shops and pubs in the village (15 mins walk) which is bisected by the horrendous main road. Midland Chandlers have a big branch just along the canal, 10 mins by car. And in breaks from wintry weather, you can chug up and down the cut, plenty of locks! The marina itself is a bit, em, functional, which may not be a problem for you and wasn’t much for us. Boatyard wise, we had mixed experience there, you could say. We bought our boat while she was up on piles there awaiting replating. I say we bought, but actually Phil (following discussions) paid the owner himself, did a full replate and sold on to us, thus taking a risk and a profit, so fair enough. We continue to enjoy cruising the canals, having the expected issues with an old boat, some of which we trace back to work done at Otherton I had heard that they were under new ownership, anyone know is that so?

Hi. An actual copy, eh? We are coming into Brum for our first tour of the canals, hoping to moor in the Uni area on Tuesday night. I wonder if I could cycle over to you (if you're at home base!) and make a copy at some local establishment? Cheeky, I know. Dave