fergyguy

I think your right Mike...last year I was fishing on my regular lake when environment bailiff approached me for my license which to my honest amazement had in fact run out.the guy was fantastic he allowed me to continue fishing and simply asked me to apply for new license on line when I got home. I have heard the fines can be crazy high at times.

i heard he's bin seen skipping

He's bin on ere wheelie he has

It's not rubbish coz its bin on news

I think it's bin misplaced

Whilst some may consider them to be a boring old couple I feel sure that showing the general public a snippet of life on a canal must be a good thing although to be honest I feel had the tv company chosen to cover say a year in the life of a real cc on the waterways warts and all it would have made much better viewing...just my opinion.

is it just me or are others having same issue? i turn computer on head for this forum and go to sign in and even thou all my details are correct it will not let me sign in..yet if i click on a posting first then go to sign in it allows me to..is that right???

Hi magictime thanks for advise we will buy the map and because we aim to cruise North first in a wb and not a nb we thought before we decide on what size we buy we would do well to look at the routes and then using the Collins map book see what the max distance we can go per given length and if that provides us with enough to see and do then we will choose that length of boat ( if that all makes sense?) kind regards Martin

hi guys which is the best large scale waterways map we can buy? we simply want one to mount on a large board (in our office at home) so we can plan cruising routes with the aid of the collins nicholson books peter boat recommended.

When we first posted our intentions to buy a wide beam and cc the North and South waters for some 5 years we found that it was quickly being made clear to us that there are those who love wide beams and those who don't and I'm guessing the same goes when it comes to narrow boats too? We were quickly being informed that "you can't go here" and "you can't go there" and if you want to cruise get a narrow boat. As I mentioned before the boat to us is an end to a means...we are looking to slow down our hectic life style cruise a little moor up and explore where ever we fancy but at the end of a day of exploring we want some creature comforts to come home to one being space. We were starting to think our dream was only going to be a dream and so decided to post a request on here for feedback from wide beam owners and 2 guys soon answered the call Francis drake (not the real one lol) and Peterboat. I have yet to converse with the former but received an invitation from peterboat to visit him and his boat some 38 mins drive away.yesterday we had a drive up to Rotherham and was soon met by Peter who had given up time in his busy day to show us his 57 x 12 wb and offered us so much advise in plain English with no thrills.we can not thank Peter enough as he quickly put our minds at rest regards our plans and bless him he even offered to take us with him on his next trip on the Trent simply because I mentioned some reservations of boating on the Trent. If all boaters were genuine down to earth guys like Peter then boating will be a dream ( but somehow I'm sure we will meet our share of boaters who are not). To all newbies like us don't be disheartened if replies to your post does not always give you the answers your looking for as this forum will have many genuine guys like peterboat ready and willing to set you on the right course.

just checking if my post get through? written 2 new posts but site saying theres a problem..can anyone tell me whats happening?

There does seem to be lessons to be learned from this and as a newbie to the boating world may I just remind you seasoned boaters like us you started out with little or no boating knowledge and your wealth of experience has come about through some study a lot of on the job learning guidance from others and no doubt lots of foolish mistakes lol....I for one will be seeking guidence once we are on the water and expect to make my share of errors and mistakes . Maybe the poor chap would have been better boating on a slow and steady canal as his learning patch.

the euro cruiser style boats we are looking at seem very low will need to look at specifications....do you cc or moored and work

hi alan i know the glory hole well as grew up near saxilby and my dad who was a farmer used to take us to the markets there....im guessing dimensions can be found but then the boats profile would determine if passible but what happens if you get to it and find no way through..reverseing back to a turning point would be a bitch of a thing to do? lol

We may choose to do South first I'm assuming there's enough down there to keep us busy for a few years cruising? We aim to see and stop at as many places as possible allowing average of about seven days per mooring.

Hi peterboat not peterboatman lol yes Wednesday would be brilliant and help put our minds at rest...lunchtime is good for us..will just need to know where to find you. Kind regards martin Hi spade foot you North or South? Do you cc the system or marina based? Peterboat I have corrected my post ref you boat size lol

We hope to visit peterboatman next Wednesday who I believe cruises a 57x12 wb to get the heads up and pitfalls etc although it does appear from reading posts on here that's the size best able to allow us around more not all the waterways.

Hi old goat we are aware we would need to be lifted and transported thought that would be good time to get her re blacked ...we may go 10 or 11 feet this at the moment all depends on what we get in feed back from other wb owners on here.

hi johnmck we have hire a nb and enjoyed it for a week but its corridor style living is not for us thats not to say its not for everyone else we want a wb because it offers us the space we are looking for and yes we do realise this space comes with some compromises but we are trying to find wb owners who are currently cc either north or south or have done both to guide us as we feel sure we are not the only ones wanting to live this style on the waterways avoiding living in a marina.

hi robby so 57 x 12 wide beam seems to be the size everyone is suggesting as it gives a much longer cruising range is that right? are you north or south and do you cc the system if so do you find bank moorings ok robbo sorry system puts words in place of ones it does not recognise..damn technology

hi guys I'm starting to get a clear picture through this forum that there are some who buy wide beams and are happy to live in marinas then those who like the nb of a size where they can cruise just about anywhere...we are looking to buy a wb and cc the systems both north and south and would really like to hook up with someone who is doing or done what we are looking to do...we don't want marina life but want to cruise moor up explore for say a week then cruise on again..once we have done the north areas we can navigate with such a large boat we will have her lifted and blacked and transported south..surely there are wb owners on here living that same dream??

So let's see if I have this right..if I cruise a 65 x12 wb on Trent up to fossdyke then on river witham to Boston...can I cruise the witham drains? Then back up to Trent then up to Boston and York ...river derwent river ure and river foss. Can this be done? Issues I need to consider? Bearing in mind we want to stop as often as we can to explore towns villages and cities staying say 7 days moored at a time...how long would such a venture take? Roughly.

Hi David mack thanks for that...I'm guessing the blue areas will be no issues for a 65x12 then is it just a case of checking the red areas don't have lock restrictions etc. kind regards martin

hi kriss88 do you cruise a wide beam then? what size? we are based in nottinghamshire and looking to buy a min 60-65 footer x 12 and want to cruise the north wide beam areas mooring up for say a week at a time to explore then move on to next town/city etc....we are struggling to gain much positive information on the possibilities of doing this. our intentions are to cruise for approx 5 years spread between north and south we are not looking to buy a wide beam and live in a m,marina we want the comfort of a wide beam moored close to where we are exploring so when we come home at the end of the day we have the comfort and space we want. are we dreaming the impossible? is there enough wide waters for such a craft to allow us to do what we are aiming to do? any help advise etc very very welcome. kind regards martin

Hi I too am new to this forum but the one thing I have found is these guys have almost all the answers you will need.they seem to have been there got the t shirt and are now using it as a duster...you can trust in what they say.