noddyboater

It's all becoming too civilised now. In past years the unnecessary grid-lock was the entertainment! I might just watch "Mostly loaded Joshers" by Mykaskin on YouTube next year and save the fuel cost.

Without wishing to be too pedantic, I did say Sunday, and all I saw was Dory leaving the arm and not returning for a circuit of the marina. I don't think I'd have missed William if in attendance, but could have when I went to visit the closets. Bison was leaving later in the day, BM powered I believe, but for the general public it's obviously the hot bulbs that add a bit of variety to the parades. Maybe it was the amount of historic boats tied up and not taking part on Sunday that made the difference, it always seems a shame that people make the effort to attend but not parade. A bit like going to a beer festival and standing in the corner with a bottle of water. He doesn't appear to be having much luck with Dory does he? Despite the amount of time and money put into the engine.

I've never paid for parking, just find a spot down the road towards Willoughby and walk in. There was plenty of room this year without a hike back. It might not be in the spirit to get out of parking fees but £20 is a bit much and we always spend money on other things.

We arrived on Sunday morning and actually caught all the parade which is unusual for us. Although it was an enjoyable day we thought the attendance was down markedly compared to rallies of old, both boats and the public. One bolinder powered boat in the parade for instance, and that didn't hang around. Maybe the price of fuel is having an effect now on visitors to such events. (Cars, not boats)

Interestingly the original mooring had to be constructed by CRT approved contractors using natural "green" techniques. When this later failed it was rebuilt using steel piling and used sleepers (we all know how green they are!) by the owner with no complaints.

The mooring is still being paid for although as Cheshire Rose says it hasn't had a boat on for a couple of years. You'll be aware that it's not the deepest canal but the previous boat was a 60' Dave Harris tug so it can't be too bad there.

Anyone fancy a project? Hayton, Chesterfield canal, current mooring - towpath side. Permission granted for demolition and rebuild or could be renovated. There's a large new barn/workshop behind the house, and a decent sized piece of land that had to be bought to put an access drive to the nearby lane. Best viewed on Google maps, Church lane, Hayton nr Retford, It's the 2nd house from the bridge. Will be going to auction soon (Mark Jenkinson), but pm me if interested.

Exactly. We've all seen/smelt them, festering away with black windows and mouldy curtains, clutter all over both decks, a manky dog tied to a mooring pin.. and you cruise past and think, "who the hell would go in there long enough to do a safety cert?"

With the state of some "scruffy" boats you see know I'd want a hell of a lot more than 250 quid to step through the door. Can an examiner refuse to do the test when he turns up and sees the state of the boat?

Too much balance isn't good, you lose the feedback- a bit like modern cars with overly light electric steering. Boat builders like Sarah who posted earlier have a distinct advantage with such things, they look at the hull of a nearby working boat.

I don't know what the correct position is, but I do know that when I pile the revs on (all 900 of them) and steer around a tight bend on my boat it takes a lot of muscle to keep the tiller over, or you put your back into it instead. It can be done one handed on a TT hull, whether running a large prop or not.

I think you're doing the right thing by modifying the standard design at this stage. I don't know why exactly but TT/JW rudders just don't seem to work efficiently when manoeuvring at slow speed. It might be the amount of balance designed in, you can steer with one finger quite easily, or just the basic spacing of prop/rudder blade. You certainly don't get much "thrutch" coming out where you need it.

Sounds about right. Very similar to the bow of St Tudno that I briefly owned, early Bantock with the stepped footings for a plank up the side.

Is that the bow of your boat? I'm guessing it's the "Goliath" I saw recently around Glascote, what's the history of the hull?

Is a mid 80's Springer that sells bacon sarnies and cups of tea a working boat then? Or a new boat that takes people out on helmsman courses?