pearley

The lockie at Naburn will have let Selby know you are comeing but you then phone Selby when you are about 20 mins away - as you enter the long straight with the Abbey in front. When you get level with the block of flats just upstream of Selby Lock turn and facve upstream so you are about 30 feet from the river side. The water is a bit slacker there and you will drift back slowly. When you are level with the lock apply some power and enter the lock. It's easier if you are the first or only boat. As has been said, approach the bends with caution. Too fast and you'll either go too close to the outside of the bend or you will lean over a bit too much for comfort.

Assuming it was at Pennine Cruiosers, the price of diesel was quite high!

It's all covered here under the Winter Moorings section. https://www.bwmooringvacancies.com/tutorial/index.php No good if you have a slow internet connection. You have to make the application in 20 minutes! Regards Pete

Actually winter mooring maximum period is November to March ie 5 months, not 6. Still too expensive just for the 'right' to no move.

Phone Louise at Leeds on 0113 281 6871. She will tell you the state of the flood gates. If you leave a message she will always phone back. As has been said, Bank Dole is the worst lock. There is a floating landing stage upstream of the lock. You need to drop someone off then reverse back. Still a lot easier than it was 15 years ago when the landing stage was just a small platform. Make sure you keep to the back end of Lemonroyd when going up.

BW being sensible! Looking at the winter mooring sites for here in Yorkshire, there doesn't seem to be any logic in the way prices are set. Whilst the price for Clarence Dock might be reasonable as it has power and water to every berth although thge elsan is some walk away, why are moorings with nothing other than rings/bollards, ie, no water, no toilet, no shop, no pub, cost more than locations with full sanitary stations. I wouldn't think it is just an error, there are too many peculiarities for that. I just think BW are trying to screw as much as they can. It seems that this year you have to specify the length iof time you want the mooring. Last year you just booked the mooring and gave them a months notice when you wanted to leave. Also, this year there is a £30 admin charghe for setting up the Direct Debit unless you book 3 months or less when you have to pay the whole fee in advance. I suppose you could just book one month at a time, that would bugger up the system. Regards Pete BTW. There are elec pillars at Brentford. If you are allowed to use them that could be why it costs more though at £5 per metre extra that would be a hefty £90 a month more for me, if I wanted tio be in Brentford.

Some friends of ours who have shatres in an ex-Challenger boat have just moved from there after 3 years. They said the service they got was first class.

We were stuck at Lemonroyd outside the marina last winter. The ice on the canal never got more than about 3 inches thick. The freeze started at the very end of November, after about 10 days it thawed a little and BW took their tug 'Eric of Lincoln' up towards Leeds but gave up just by the M1 bridge. A pity as they only had another 100 yards tpo go to clear water all the way to Leeds. We had hoped to follow them as we had booked a winter mooring in Clarence Dock. The tanker barges continued to run throughout the iced up period except for a couple of weeks over Xmas/New Year. It was pretty horendous. The tanker would leave the lock pushing a huge sheet of ice in front together with us and the other couple of boats that were also stuck. Eventually the mooring ropes would be stretched taut and the ice would crack and large sheets would be pushed up on top of each other aqnd the boat would heave to and fro and side to side. No fun if you were still in bed! The earth literally moved! This year we're going to find a mooring earlier. I understand that Castleford Cut stayed free of ice. Regards Pete

I have several cases of wine behind the sofa. When the boats seems to be leaning too much to the left I know it's time for another Tesco delivery! We have a cross bed. The sometime slight list to port never bothers me in bed. I had the head end, which is on the port side, raised by 2 inches. This also helps with my reflux problem.

This link was on an auto electrical forum I suscribe to. Others might find it of interest. Regareds Pete http://www.jaycar.com.au/images_uploaded/inverter.pdf

As we cruise around the system we seem to be collecting several different types of electricity cards. We have red Rolec ones that are used in the Midlands, we have special ones for Clarence Dock that are marked in £1s rather than units, ones for Liverpool that are supposed to be special but look the same as the red Rolec ones and ones for BWML at Lemonroyd which just say Electricity. None of these worked in Doncaster, the card reader made by 'Digicard' just saying 'card error'. After talking with one of the permanent moorers it seems we needed to use the 'Facilities' card as used for the pump-out, washers, etc., You put the card in the reader and leave it in and it deducts credit from the card as you use the electricity. When you leave you press a button masrked 'END' to eject the card for later use, assuming there is anything left on it. Are there any other variations we have yet to come across?

There is also a Bridgewater S/Stn at Leigh. Easy to miss if coming from the Leigh direction. Has two sets of steel doors to go through to gain access to defeat the vandals!

We called in there back in April but it was deserted, by staff that is, not boats. Only people around were in the cafe. If you want any serrvices you have to arrange it in advance. Bloody windy!

That's still there together with the tug 'Wheldale' outside the museum at Goole. Well worth a visit. When I was there about 15 years ago I had a good nose around the last unloading hoist before being warned off by a security guard. I think you can still arrange to look at it through the museum. At present moored at Doncaster. The loading chute is still here. The book 'Railway on the Water' says the last load of smokeless fuel was loaded here. It is a great shame that the modern pans are not still running. I know the open cast St. Aidans mine was worked out but Kellingley is still producing coal. But no chance of using water again as the loading staithe has been demolished. The tugs and pans were all laid up at Hargreaves last December but all gone when we stopped there last month although looking on Google Earth at Sprotborough Lock seems to show one set moored there possibly carrying stone. Regards Pete

We are on the lower bit of the Aire & Calder. The gravel boats start early from Goole. I don't think anyone can sleep in with one of them passing!

If he is already at the top of Farmers Bridge then returning via Northern Stratford has less locks and is the prettier route.

Just to confuse things, my Victron 12/3000/120 Multiplus is a 30 amp version.

Our current method is making my son's address our postal address. He collects and filters the mail. Crap goes straight in the bin, stuff we need to know he tells us on the phone or emails, stuff we physically need he posts to a nearby convenient place. That's what we do as well. Most things are done on line now, bank, credit cards, boat insurance, etc. Still surprised about the amount of crap mail though. Asking them to desist seems to be a waste of time.

Could also be calorifier cooling down.

There are leisure moorings on the pontoons in Doncaster below the lock. They come up for auction from time to time.

Thanks for replies. Have been all way up but stuck sat Linton for last frw days due to flood. Now in York but weather forecast means won't move until Wedswhich means earliest out to Selby would be Thurs. However it looks like a 6am or 6pm locking whichj I don't really want to do. I'll give the lock keeper a call on Weds. I can work out the next few days after by adding an hour. Regards Pete

Try as I might I can't find any definite advice of the optimum time to leave Naburn lock to affect to 'easiest' entry into Selby. The guide book published by Ripon Motor Boat Club advises leaving 2 1/2 hours before high water at Selby 'so as to see Cawood and Selby at their best'. I'm not bothered about the sightseeing bit, I just want to get back without loosing too much paint. And, I assume a neap tide is best? Regards Pete

Yes, would agree. Think Castleford is bollards! I should have mentioned that from Lemonroyd down you get the dubious benefits of the tankers annd gravel barges keeping the ice broken. Regards Pete

To get back to Winter Moorings, the prices advertised don't seem to bear any relationship to the facilities available. Where Mr Smelly is moored at Woodlesford is £8.99 a metre (Why not £9.00?) for just a water tap and rubbish. A mile or so further down Lemonroyd is also £8.99 but has water, elsan, rubbish and soon a pump out. A longer walk to the shop and pub though. Going down river is Castleford, only £6.80 but full sanitary station. Next up comes Jolly Miller, absolutely no facilities and the pub is shut but they are asking £9.34. And it can't be anything to do with auction prices as neither Jolly Miller or Lemonroyd have any permanent moorings as a guide price. I can't compare prices with last year except for Clarence Dock where we booked and paid for a mooring last winter. We actually only got as far as Lemonroyd because of the ice but you don't get your money back. This year is £11.91 which works out at £8.00 a month more than last year for 58ft. Interested to see Cuckoo Wharf in Birmingham on the list. For a start there is only really one visitor mooring there but I was told about 3 years ago that although it was zoned as a residential site, BW only wanted leisure moorings because of a dispute with the land owner. I would agree that the auction system is daft. We shared locks on the Aire with a wide boat (before you ask he was only 9ft wide and the locks are 16ft!) who had a pontoon mooring at Selby that he won at auction. He had just bid and won on the mooring next to him for £700 a year less. So he doesn't have to move and just gives notice on his old mooring and saves! Regards Pete Stuck again, this time by floodwater at Linton Lock on the Ouse.

We've just had ours done at Pennine Cruisers at Skipton. A strange experience as you go into this hole under the timber yard and a large 4 post lift lifts you up out of the water. Only takes about 20 minutes to bring you up. Regards Pete