FirstRateFirstMate

Hi All On my 17th birthday I was away on the Llangollen and at Quoisley Lock this lovely gentleman was sat selling eggs and veg from his wheelbarrow (photo taken from an online article about pipesmoking). He was lovely and helpful as he had his own windlass. It somehow got mentioned that it was mine and my twins birthday and he wished us well and coughed before saying he didn't have too many left himself. Does anyone know if he is still around, id very much like to know

Ello ello ello, what's all this then? Yes it's true, there was only one killer mattress in Newton Heath although I get the impression that mattress hurling is a popular pastime in those parts. The crew of Desiree does sometimes exponentially grow to 2, and congratulations to those that got it, I am the banned member's son

Updates Engineer for boats brought a 2x4 and a pickaxe, poked around and left. I pulled the boat to the next lock landing in a nicer area. A local has given, yes given (it surprised me too), us a hacksaw. We will drain the next short poun tomorrow and will hopefully be free

Update, the two of us and a very kind local tugged the boat 200 or 300 yards further down the canal, we're tied center line only to a bridge waiting for the RCR engineer

Update: After growing the additional six elbows it takes to remove ths boats weedhatch it has become apparent there is nothing more we can do. If the engineer is not here within one hour then CRT are going to refill the pound and physically pull us by hand up to the next lock

We've tried bolt cutters, prying with a mooring pin and almost everything else. It's just a case of waiting for RCR now

SABOTAGE!

We have a set of bolt cutters on board and have done the best we can but some are just too tight. We're hoping that the engineer from RCR will bring an angle grinder

There is a big thick mucky bank that we are caught on, the mattress has made a bit of a mess

Well the first of the canal rescuers have turned up, most of the locals are unexpectedly friendly too. Still fouled though. And yes Sir! To the metal polish immediately

Alive, over! We are still fouled but awaiting engineers from RCR and CRT to arrive on scene. Over night the canal level dropped to around 3 inches leaving us stranded on the bottom at a sharp angle

You are indeed correct, Newton Heath is within Greater Manchester. Any forum search result under 'Newton Heath' displays a large amount of people saying to under no circumstances moor here. We've a mattress caught around the propeller, it's twisted round there pretty good. General updates: I've been dozing on and off but have heard a not insubstantial number or car horns and police sirens

Well ladies and gentlemen of Canalworld it has finally happened. We've been fouled! And the water in this pound is too low! So we've pulled up onto some stakes in the water as we wait for RCR in the morning. Oh, didn't I mention we're in a place called Newton Heath? I've read the stories and I eagerly await the morning, I'll post some updates if anything interesting happens

As far as I know, the name of the boat can be changed willynilly but it is traditionally accepted that the boat must be out of the water to do so. As for the she? Boats and whatever other transports are vessels that carry people and, thinking of pregnancy, women are also vessel that carry people Happy Boating

They do bring in revenue for the canals but they are a right pain. It seems to me that CRT know there is more money in hire boating be it a week or a day than in liveaboards. But the canals without the unique liveaboard community would truly be a sad sight.

I'm not sure how long this has gone on for, I saw this very boat selling his products in Birmingham on the 29th of March and it was painted then. I hope it gets solved soon but I don't know this gentleman. He has painted over some letters of the profanities as the picture shows but it is still awful

We've all fallen into the cut before, it happens to the best of us. Has anyone fallen into any of the navigable rivers on the network or even the tidal Thames? If so what do you do?

Made me chuckle, what do you all think of this? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3568082/Built-cardboard-shed-Incredible-houseboat-recycled-material-takes-Thames-doesn-t-sink.html

Following the recent events involving narrow boat Cally Hanna I was wondering if anyone has any stories or photos of boats they acquired in terrible condition and made fantastic. Or any experiences with the destruction of a boat. Seeing a boat catch fire and sink a few months back I have wondered what happened to the owner and what they could do to rebuild her. Your thoughts please

There is graffiti around the whole network. In Birmingham I saw a boat with lines painted down one side with the words "Don't moor on fishing places you [Word had been covered]" I can't begin to imagine what he did.

We did Birmingham over the Easter and had no problems at all. Yeah ok, some people at the side of the cut can look a bit intimidating but as along as you don't antagonize them they are friendly or keep themselves to themselves

Two pictures from my previous trip

We painted the ends, hold a brush steady and spin. That's what we did

Need a hand, how do you attach pictures in replys?

How large a problem is boat theft on the canals? One would assume it is a rarity as they would be easy to find. Then again, there is the tale of the stolen hire boat