tizzy

Many thanks for the reply Tony. Very interesting. I have never changed the oil in our PRM but whenever I check the dip it is clear. We have had the boat for 5 years so I guess it is worth doing. I was looking at recommendations for cars and they are usually about 60000 miles which probably equates to something like 1500 hours on a boat which for us is 4 to 5 years (leisure boaters). Plus the gearbox on a car must be working far harder than a boat where once forward gear is engaged it chugs away uninterrupted.

Can anyone enlighten me please. Why is it that gearbox oil needs changing. What happens in a gearbox to cause it to deteriorate. As mentioned above there is no combustion process to contaminate it so surely it should last a very long time.

What about going on the Shroppie from Norbury Junction or Breewood ? Wide straight canals and not too many narrow locks (unless you venture down Audlem) and lovely scenery ?

If you can't get round you will cause chaos if there are any boats trying to use the staicase .We came through last week and it was really quite busy, Why not go up the locks they don't take long and the lock keeper will help. Winding holes are there for a reason.

Hi I suggest you have a look at some of the hire boat websites to get an idea of how they fit in the number of berths you would need.Then have a think about storage space for everyone and think about how small a boat kitchen is ,it can be hard to cope with 4 never mind 7.Ask yourself where is everyone going to sit in the evening and how are your children ,all at very different stages of life .going to be able to have any space of their own. How are you gong to sit down for meals and how big a table do you need so everyone can do their school work ? I speak from experience when I say that if someone is trying to work then everyone else has to be quiet -sound travels in a boat.This is not so bad for us as there are only 2 of us but 6 other people ? The water tank would have to be very large or you could end up filling it every day.How are you going to do the washing and dry it. Remember all the fuel,food and other supplies have to be transported to the boat ,this can be a challenge in a marina and much harder if you CC . You would probably have to have a pumpout which would still need emptying regularly with the associated cost.Living on a boat has challenges which I feel increase in direct proportion to the number of people on the boat .

Hi What is it with the locks at Middlewich they seem to infect people in a strange way and make them behave irrationally ? A true story we were in the 3rd lock waiting to come up, and a boat was in the 4th lock coming down. OH said "walk up and tell them I will wait in the lock and then pass them in the pound " (this is our usual procedure ) I relay this message to the boat in the lock and get an an acknowledgement., boat leaves lock and I wait for OH ,At this moment a woman appears from the next boat waiting to go down and tries to close the gates and turn the lock " Excuse me " I say "what are you doing " she replies "We are travelling with that boat and need to stay together so this is MY lock ! " me (trying to be polite) *But it makes no difference if we are in the lock while you re-fill it " Her "NO NO IT IS MY LOCK" Me (loosing patience) "it makes NO difference to you if we come in " Her "IT'S MY LOCK !" I resolved the problem by sitting on the gate so she couldn't close it OH came in I filled the lock and then off we went with her muttering the whole time.

Have you checked the split charge relay. If you have a battery charge controller monitoring the domestics and the relay is goosed then the alternator will increase voltage in a vain attempt to charge to domestics. Easy to check by putting a jump lead between starter and domestic positives. If it all goes back to normal then that is the problem.

eeerm yes I need a husband he has a bad habit of posting as me !

Most small wind turbines only generate their rated power output at 45mph wind speed and the graph of power output vs wind speed is not linear so drops off rapidly below this. In reality you might as well get a hamster and fit a dynamo to it's wheel.

To be honest Rusty we aren't that bothered about it being unique but it is a nice name with no puns or word play which I have to admit I struggle with sometimes ?

Hi My Brother in law changed the name of his boat without any problem I think he just told CART and they reissued his licence in the new name. I don't want to be smug but according to Canalplan our boat has a unique name not that we can take any credit because we bought the boat secondhand ?

Do you score points for the length of the queue (double for 4x4's)? We do at the lift bride at Wrenbury ! I am the champion at the moment with 4 cars,1 white van ,a bus AND the bin lorry ! Also at the same bridge I had a cyclist try to run the lights ....he came to a rather undignified halt ?

Hi I do understand your dissappoitment but don't dismiss the idea of going into Leeds. The canal passes to the north and goes in down the valley so is quite secluded and green. It goes through some pretty villages and the towpath has been upgraded all the way along. I don't remember much in the way of industrial blight and the waterfront in Leeds has been redevolped and is really pleasant with plenty of bars and reataurants. Leeds is an interesting place but I am a bit biased!

Hi We have our own boat so these are just general observations . The main problem with Winter cruising are the stoppages so you might find yourselves very restricted as to where you can go. Yes cruising on a crisp day is lovely it isn't as much fun when it is raining or snowing. We do take our boat out in Winter but we have the choice of when we go so can avoid really bad weather ! Hope this helps Tizzie

If you want to go to the Horse and Jockey (and I recommend it and it is dog friendly) then you need to moor before the locks . If you are coming down there are visitor moorings before the water points then you have to walk along the towpath and out through the garage. If you are coming up you need to moor up before the redundant railway bridge and then follow the towpath under the bridge and then cross the road. Hope this helps Just to add don't go beyond the bridge or you will have to do the locks because there is nowhere to moor until the top of the 6 locks.