Captain Pegg
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Posts posted by Captain Pegg
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Fails on the minimum wage criteria?
I didn't say how many pounds and I am not getting into a discussion on the miles thanks!
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In theory there are the boat listing pages on the HNBC site, although it is fairly hit and miss if a particular boat is covered, or how up to date any information is.
That's fine for extant boats but the AM Models site has information of interest regarding extinct boats that I am not aware exists elsewhere online.
JP
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Great idea. Obviously on a £/mile basis. ?Maybe we could have adopt a cc'er
Regards kris
JP
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While I wouldn't argue against the general consensus of the forum that Rugby Boats and ABNB are the higher end brokerages I would still counsel the OP that they should concentrate on finding the right boat for them and on making sure they do all they can to ensure that all goes well. To my mind that is largely done by engaging professionals, letting them do their job and taking heed of their advice. Any brokerage is still a professional seller and in my mind preferable to buying from a private seller on Apollo Duck.
I did plenty of research on these pages as a guest but still found that the reality was more than a little different from what might have been reasonably expected. I ended up buying from a brokerage that gets very little mention on these pages - Ashwood Marina - but everything I experienced there was professional and balanced the requirements of seller and buyer very well.
On the subject of haggling, before I made a successful purchase I was gazumped at a different brokerage on a boat on which I had an offer of 95% of purchase price accepted. The eventual purchaser appeared suddenly and offered the asking price because they wanted the boat.
That was upsetting - not least because I had secured the finance and made sure I could meet my end of the deal the previous day - but it demonstrated to me that you should concentrate on what you think the boat is worth to you and not what offer you think you can get accepted.
Regarding the boat I did buy I had viewed boats I was genuinely interested in of £5k less and of £5k and £10k more in terms of asking price and was able to make a judgment it was realistically priced. It was also apparent the owner was a very conscientious fellow.
You will find good advice on here but you still need to do things that are right as far as you are concerned.
JP
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Junior,Question is: How long will be get in Brum?
Sorry for jumping back to the previous discussion - I missed that there were two parts to this thread.
To answer the above question I think it would be possible to have one full day at least in Birmingham but it would need some hard days because of the amount of locks. There would also be a couple of easier days of cruising.
If you did start at Droitwich Marina then overnight stops could feasibly be Droitwich, Worcester (via Severn), Stoke Pound visitor moorings (opposite Queens Head pub at bottom of Tardebigge flight), Birmingham x2, Tardebigge, Hanbury Junction.
Jon
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Isn't this topic turning into a bit of a race.
The OP posed the question "could it be done in a year?" hence the attempt to answer that question. I would agree it wouldn't necessarily be the most advantageous way even if possible but everyone has their own preferences and constraints on how they do things.
JP
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1650 hours is only 5 hours a day, with one day a week off. Sounds very doable if you could do it full time.
My thinking was that because it would have to be done in a pre-determined pattern the winter stoppages would make it difficult to utilise the winter months. I am sure a feasible plan could be devised for April to October inclusive in broadly 8 hour days and with contingency for a day or two off each month for servicing the boat, the odd inevitable repair, minor stoppages and a bit of flexibility for tidal sections.
The problem then comes that it would require all the rivers to be in navigable condition within a relatively small window when you would need to be navigating them. I think it would take a bit of luck for that to happen without pushing the plan backward into the winter stoppage season and getting stuck.
JP
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Thinking about having a hire boat hilday next year with the mrs (who won't holiday on Halsall due to the lack of a shower and cramped cross bed) plus 2 friends from Germany.
I'll confess i know nothing about hire boats or holidays so excuse my silly questions.
The priority for me is that we go to an area that is off my patch and that i am unlikely to get the chance to take Halsall to in the future. This rules out the whole of the North West except the Llangollen. I also don't really want to be doing long days and quite fancy doing 5 or 6 hour days and then doing things away from the boat for the rest of the day.
My idea is the Droitwich Ring plus another couple of days doing an out and back extension. Is Birmingham city centre achievable in a long day from the nearest point of the Droitwich ring? From what I've read online the DR seems doable in 2 or 3 days so an extemsion into Birmingham might help us use up the rest of the week and maybe even allow 2 days of sightseeing in the city centre.
Can anyone recommend a hire company on the Droitwich ring or BCN? I'd prefer not to use one of the big boys and give my money to a smaller company so long as the boat is nice with a good spec.
Anyone got any alternative ideas? We would be 4 x 30 somethings and woukd like to do some interesting things on the route away from the boat. That rules out stately homes, cathedral's and museums. My reason for thinking about the extension into Birmingham from the DR is the Sea Life Centre, Cadburys world and the BCLM as well as new handbags for the women from the Bull Ring.
Cheers.
Saltway Narrowboat Hire is small hire company based at Droitwich Marina which is below the three locks at Hanbury Junction on the Droitwich Junction Canal. They are pretty new and have three boats for next season which I think is one more than last year so it seems they must be doing OK. The boats are different from the normal spec of hire boats and at least one of them has a multi-fuel stove. I had a little look when they exhibited at the St Richard's Festival in Droitwich last year. Of course all the big players are on the Worcs & Birmingham.
In support of what others have said about Hanbury Junction to Birmingham I would allow a minimum of 12 hours but it has a lot to do with how much lock work you want to do in a day. If you leave Droitwich Marina and head for Brum there are 45 locks in the first six miles or so. You shouldn't have any problem doing the Droitwich ring and Brum in a weeks hire though. I did the ring and up to Stoke Wharf in a three night weekend hire with a similar sized inexperienced crew the autumn before last. We did decent length days but it was dark by half six and we made sure that lunchtimes involved a decent stop at a pub.
JP
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I am just reassured that experienced boaters have trouble with this. I never found it too difficult with various hire boats over the years but in the five days I spent bringing Vulpes home I found it a struggle. I can get the bow or stern in but not both. Being only 35' long there were a couple of occasions when I nearly ended up facing the opposite way entirely. Being a deeper draughted boat with a bigger prop I now have some clues as to why. I figured I just needed practice but it seems maybe it's more than that.
JP
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Could it be done in a year off?
In theory yes it could; in practice I suspect it would be difficult bordering on impossible.
I put it together in CanalPlan as a series of itineraries based around cruising the waterways covered by the Nicholson's guides in sequence in such a way that it could be done as a continuous journey. I then added Northampton to Cambridge and Bedford and back which isn't covered by Nicholson. I didn't include the Witham navigable drains or Middle Levels other than necessary for the above journey.
The total time using the default settings was 237 days or 1650 hours. That seems in keeping with the actual experience of the TNC.
I would guess the practicalities of doing that in one year with the limitations of tidal sections, river navigations and stoppages plus the difficulties of keeping boat and crew serviced would be too much.
JP
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One of the boats at Bittell is the GU Large Woolwich motor Beaulieu with an undercloth conversion that was recently up for sale but I note isn't listed on Apollo Duck anymore. Haven't read of it being sold elsewhere on the forum. It was on it's home mooring when I passed a couple of weeks ago.
JP
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Since I'm a regular in terms of mooring somewhere near Alvechurch when ascending or descending Tardebigge, where exactly is Bissett? It rings no bells with me, Google doesn't know and it's not in Nicholson's.
My guess would be it's a mistake and refers to the linear moorings at Bittell Reservoir.
JP
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Yes, but you've got one with an all-star cast, or pedigree, or wotever.
Without knowing all the history of the boat that was available to me I doubt I would have bought something of that vintage.
Glad you got to homebase safely and in one piece
Have a Good Christmas and Good Boating with Vulpes
Thank you Graham. Will spend the rest of winter finding out how all the systems work in detail and go on the odd local cruise. Then further afield at Easter all being well.
Have a Merry Xmas yourself.
Jon
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Vulpes has now arrived in Droitwich and is safely moored at 'home'. Here's a couple of pictures of the crew enjoying the Tardeigge flight on a wet and windy December day.
JP
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I was buying at the low end of the market. If you measure such things by money that is ?You don't go for any tat, do you?
Can't wait to get back to the boat tomorrow. A long day of no locks through Brum and down the Worcester & Birmingham. Sod the wind and rain.
JP
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Nah, there's always someone clueless buying a boat for the first time and thinking it'll never happen to them.
...you called?
I did indeed join this club and very nearly left it within the space of 48 hours last weekend. Stepped off the boat at Black Delph onto a wet coping that sloped back toward the canal and as I was crossing the gap the one foot I had in contact with the ground slipped back toward the water. Thankfully I had just enough momentum to land on the bank with the other foot before I fell in.
JP
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I have always considered my foot to be a part of me. Remember, I am putting forward the continuum model, not the binary classification
Richard
I thought maybe you were deliberately ignoring that 1agos may have been using booty in its slang form.
Jon
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So that's two booty close calls then is it?
I think RLWP was being a little disingenuous!
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...who built her?
Originally built in 1968 by Denis Cooper at Canal Transport Services with a wooden cabin. The cabin was rebuilt in the 1990s to the exact same shape by the most recent owner at Norton Canes Boatbuilders and is structurally timber with a steel skin by Graham Edgson.
...beautifully signwritten too.
...by Dave Moore.
JP
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I think I have sorted this photo uploading business so as requested here are a couple of photos.
JP
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It seems you are correct Alan as I was able to send a PM after two posts.
Jon
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We had a great trip in spite of the weather. Didn't see another boat moving during 13 hours of cruising. Friday was beautiful - photos below (hopefully).
Edit to say they were there but all at different orientations so will have another go and see if I can workout why. Posting from iPad which I don't think helps.
JP
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Everything went OK. No major dramas. The boat is now safely moored until next weekend and I am back at home.
The wind didn't get up until later in the day yesterday but it was blowing pretty hard by the time I moored up at Withymoor just before 1630.
Engine, stove and water heater all working fine.
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Thanks for further encouragement and advice
Make sure you have a goodly-sized bottle of Bollinger '88 with you, and some nice glasses!
The first trip will be fuelled by tea as it involves cars at both ends but that did make me think I could charge a hip flask for the cold, wet and windy weather forecast for Saturday. And Saturday will end very close to the Old Swan in Netherton providing I can handle the boat well enough. I did manage a two hour trial without making a total a@%e of it.
JP
AM Models Website
in History & Heritage
Posted
Thanks Pete. Useful reference point but unfortunately doesn't include the specific information on the boat of interest to me that is (was?) contained in the AM Models listings.
Jon