Grassman

Similar to this??

Naturally with my job as a pest controller I came across many strange and bizarre wasps nests. The largest one I dealt with was the size of a fridge freezer (in a barn) and the strangest one was in a bed in a gap between the pillow and duvet. It was a rarely used spare bedroom at the end of a cottage, and south facing. There was a hole in the wooden window frame where there’d once been an aerial cable through it, and this is where the wasps were getting in and out. Regrettably I haven’t a photo because it was in the days before camera phones.

My Webasto is secured to the cabin bulkhead and I've had no problems despite having quite a leaky cruiser stern (deck boards, drainage channels etc). Because the unit is slim the steel part of the deck protrudes from the cabin far enough to protect it from dripping rainwater. It's mounted on the port side so the exhaust outlet is easily routed through the skin of the hull. I may be wrong but I think the Eberspachers are of similar size and shape, however the Hurricane heaters are much bigger and not as slim.

During 10 years as a pest controller, every year I received calls about wasps in the weeks leading up to Christmas. People were going into their lofts to get the Xmas decorations out, and disturbing hibernating queens. Someone commented on there seeming to be less wasps around last summer. This may have been because the preceding winter was mild. As a pest controller mild winters were bad for business because the warmer days would rouse hibernating queens into thinking it was Springtime so they would emerge and then find the was no food around (insects etc) and they'd die. As a consequence less queens obviously meant less wasp nests in the summer. Whereas a cold winter meant the queens would stay safely hibernated. It varied so much, for example one year I dealt with 507 nests but the following summer I only did 85.

I can never understand why there's always moored boats there when there are plenty of other equally suited places on straighter sections, and it's a PITA if you meet an oncoming boat as there's nowhere to go. Many of them flout the 14 day rule too. In November my team of IWA offside vegetation cutting volunteers significantly cut back those trees you refer to, so it's much better now. But I wasn't with them when they did that section and having seen it since I think they could have cut the trees back further. So when we pass there in February on our way back to Fradley I will make sure this is rectified.

Hopefully the changes to CRT’s licensing system will persuade more widebeams to follow The Grey Goose’s lead and abandon their waters. Even though they can fit into the locks, much of the canal system wasn’t built for wide boats and the increasing presence of widebeams in those unsuitable waters cause unnecessary hassle and inconvenience to other users. Happy Xmas

We were told by a regular link user that if you have a deep drafted boat try and be the first in the convoy on the outward journey and the last on the return journey, they said this should mean a better depth on Savick Brook. Our boat is well within the draft limits, but our length is nearly 63ft so a few of the bends on Savick Brook were challenging. However because its mud rather than silt we tended to slide nicely round them, so the same might probably apply for the deeper drafted boats. There are a few places were rocks jut out, but generally it’s fine. As others have said, on the way to Savick Brook keep up a good pace, and don’t just stay behind other boats because if they’re too slow and miss the ‘window’ then so will you. On the return journey we found the most challenging part was emerging from the brook into the Ribble. Having to make sure your stern clears the sandbanks and then turning into a strong incoming tide needed full revs. A couple of internet vloggers called Foxes Afloat were in front of us. They made the mistake of heading straight into the middle of the Ribble where the tidal flow was strongest before starting their turn and got into difficulty, briefly being swept sideways towards Preston. Then once recovered they filmed us coming out and it clearly shows the tide trying to push us towards Preston as we made the turn. If you want to see it, here’s the link to the vlog and it starts at 8 mins and our turn into the brook appears at 10 mins. All those vloggers tend to over dramatise things but in this case it really was quite a sight. They were being swept sideways towards Preston, but soon managed to recover. Unfortunately by the time we started filming them they had straightened up but were by then the Preston side of the brook instead of the other.

I went through a similar experience recently. The problem with a repair or refurb is that you're relying on the skill and thoroughness of whoever does the job. You frequently hear stories where people have gone for this option and it hasn't worked out, so if this happens to you then you've effectively wasted a few thousand and are back where you started. I opted for a new engine. and as well as the guarantee it comes with I also have the peace of mind that the likelihood of any problems occurring has been reduced.

I did a similar thing. I fitted a Whale Gulper pump to the cabin bulkhead in front of the engine, and attached one hose to a pole so that I could vac up the water, and the other hose was long enough to reach over the side of the boat to discharge the water. If there was water in the engine bilge I'd put the hose end into a suitable container for proper disposal.

We had a 12th boat share for 4 years and employed BCBM to manage our syndicate because none of us wanted the hassle of self managing it. They were excellent, and another reason to consider having a syndicate managed is that they can act as an independent arbitrator in the event of any disputes or other issues within the syndicate. Andrew Barton was running BCBM in those days and now I believe his daughter Dee runs it. Back then our annual meetings were held in central England at a hotel but I'd imagine these days there'd be a Zoom option for those who live far away.

When I first bought my boat years ago (cruiser stern) I used to worry about water in the engine bilge. I have a plastic tub under the propshaft similar to yours, I vigilantly keep the deck drain channels and holes clear of debris, and I fitted new deck boards, but I still get some water in there. It seems that many other boaters have the same issues, and I believe that the damage caused to the steelwork is so negligible I no longer worry about it. If you're new to boating I can assure you that in future you will have far more pressing matters to worry about!

None of those 'plug in' devices work. The mice or rats just get used to them. During my 10 years as a pest controller I attended many infestations where the householder had these devices plugged in all over the place.

Not if you only have a week 🙂

No pressure in the 2nd half either, because we'd always allow enough time, then if we happened to get back to the hirebase early we'd carry on past it to an appropriately located winding hole.

Each to their own of course, but I can never understand those who are hell bent on going as far as they can during their week or fortnights hire. They miss out on exploring some wonderful places they're passing by, they often have to travel in awful weather, and it can add pressure in trying to achieve it. With all our hireboat holidays we rarely did a ring, preferring instead to do a 'there and back'. This meant there was no time pressure, we had the time to stop, linger, and explore, and on our way back we'd notice things we hadn't spotted on our way out. Our philosophy was that we spent the rest of the year rushing here and there, deadlines to meet, appointments to get to etc, particularly when working, so a leisurely relaxing boating holiday was our chance to chill out and unwind.

Thanks for your replies. I've found out that at each of the charging points 2 boats can charge at the same time. Castle have three electric boats and Beacon have one. Also it's not always necessary to charge the boat each day. I therefore don't think charging the boat will be problem so I've booked a week's hire for next year.

Having gone through the boat hire - boat share - boat owning process since the 1970's, the latter as a liveaboard for the last 10 years, I'm thinking of trying out a weeks hire of one of those Castle Narrowboats' fully electric boats on the Mon & Brec Canal next year. Having previously had 2 hire boat holidays on it before (1993 & 2009) we're not bothered about 'doing' the whole length of the canal, so the limitations of having to moor at the 6 designated charging points along the way shouldn't be an issue. Being boat owners we are also used to being frugal with our power resources. We've always wanted to revisit this beautiful canal and thought we'd have an electric powered boat as it would be something a bit different. Have any of you others hired one (or know somebody who has)? If so I'd be interested to hear how you/they got on, and about the differences compared to doing it on a diesel powered boat, except the obvious ones such as it being quieter and not always being able to moor where you like. Is it true that depending upon your usage you don't necessarily have to recharge every day? Are there any other issues I should be considering? Did you enjoy the experience? Would you do it again or go back to having a diesel?

Different owners in those days. It's now owned by Aquavista.

That should be possible. I think the most common set up with share boats is 12 shares, and when we had a 12th share in a boat, a two weeks a year share was referred to as a half share. There were several co-owners in our syndicate who had half shares.

I think the fact that he was travelling in the dark was a significant factor as to how it happened (CRT's notice said 'this evening').

Go through a lock on a hot day and feel the difference between the black and the white paint on a lock gate beam and you'll see how much cooler the white painted parts are.

When we came through the tunnel (north to south) on Wednesday they had to move the workboat to let the 5 of us (pre-bookings) through. When I reached Etruria Locks an hour later, I was chatting to a CRT chap when he received the call about the rudder. He said he was off to help them try to find it! I presume the rudder dropped off when they moved the boat that morning. I'm so relieved I hadn't opted for the later booking as I'd have been stuck the wrong side. Phew! Last year we had the rudder drop off the workboat that we were using to do the offside vegetation cutting. It had obviously received several 'codge job' repairs in the past, performed whilst it was in the water rather than having to dry dock it, and the holes at the edges of the rudder through which the bolts went, had rusted right through to the edge of the rudder. Unfortunately another example thats backfired of CRT having to be reactive instead of proactive in order to try and save money.

The house is a good 5 minutes walk from that car park, possibly 10. Also I think the car park barrier is locked overnight. Kings Norton was a lovely area when I lived there as a child in the 1960/70's until I was 18. Nowadays it isn't. That house is quite isolated in what is now a rough area, and I wouldn't feel comfortable living there.

Thanks for all this useful information. I don't want a DIY job btw, I'm too old for that! There are some good options there so I will investigate them. Rightly or wrongly I assume that a dry dock would probably want the slot for the next booking (but I should check this), whereas if it was a crane or haul out onto open hardstanding, there would likely to be more scope (room) for leaving the boat stood there for a few days or more afterwards. Being in the open there could be issues with wet weather of course though. I had the blacking done at CC in Stone last time and they were very good, but I would never go to Streethay after my experiences there a few years ago (not related to blacking).

It's always concerned me the way boats are put back in the water so soon after being blacked. Obviously time of year and weather conditions have a bearing but I'm looking for somewhere where I have to choice to delay this by a few days once the blacking is done, but without the extra cost of this being too prohibitive. Probably a max of about £30 a day? And at a location within a 50 mile radius of Fradley Junction and preferably where I can remain living aboard, although I'm prepared to travel further afield if I have to. Is there any such place?