Dr Bob

The ideal place for a strategic barrier would be where bridge 86 used to be. This is a 'pinch' point but on a straight bit of canal so it is not going to hold up any more traffic than at present. It would be very easy to install. I dont think New and Used Boats would be happy, they have launched a number of new widebeams in at Dunchurch this year as the marina now has a very good boat lift (as an alternative to Mercia which was the only viable place to launch them). Most of these launches have left the marina to enter the 'wide' network at Braunston so more widebeam traffic on the narrow North Oxford. BTW, very good boat lift and good support for DIY blacking. I know, we are out of the water at the moment. Great service there.

It's even wider than you think!

No, he didnt come back. His berth is very near ours and he didnt come back in last night, which means - as he cant stop overnight on the North Oxford - he must still be on the GU. Given the notice for a boat movement next weekend, it looks like he will be back next weekend.

The best kind.

I do like the prohibited installation (h). Not in a boat! Also (f) would also disqualify it. Who reads the manual anyway.

We've been out nearly 3 months on our summer cruise this year. Now that Mrs Bob has added a 240v freezer to the bote inventory, we are usually above the 200Ahr power usage each 24 hours - but we have ice for the G&Ts. As routine as clockwork now, we find that if we are not moving, we need to run the engine for 1 hour a day (to heat the water) to put 80 odd Ahrs back in and the 500W of solar usually does the rest. I reckon we'd be running the engine at least 3 hours a day with LAs only. Our best day for solar was 216 Ahrs in (+/- the error in the BMV working out the power in - but that is another story) with no engine running. You would never have got anywhere near that with LAs. I reckon these Li's will last 10 years+. I regularly look at resting voltage vs Ahrs out and the results always fall on the same line (after resetting the BMV!). Spent a bit of time in the first 12 months balancing them.....but not touched them since. God, the're boring.

I rarely know who I am these days.

Very similar set up to mine (with the LAs in parallel). I think that is 4 years my system has done. Massive reduction in engine running to put power back in. I've 2 * 60A Sterling BtoB's but given up with them as like you they only put out 40A heating the boat with the wasted 20A. I now just charge direct from the alternator and isolate when I get to 13.8v. No change whatsoever in battery performance since I got them (2nd hand ex vehicle).

Bloomin' heck. Your Tomatoes are a bit bigger than ours. Had to rescue ours off the room yesterday with all this wind.

That's no good Ray, we'll be in Audlem in a few days time!!!! Now if you can pick 'em up from Braunston and keep them on board for a few years before delivering to me......that may be a solution. 'Bout time we met up for a drink?

It's taken over 2 years to get these bleeding noodles to somewhere in the vicinity of where we are. Braunston is but a few miles of where we spend a number of months in the year but as luck would have it, we are on our bote and t'other end of the network (ish) and Smelly is in a different country. We'll not be back till August. Which way is @Mrs Tawny Owl getting to Braunston? If its via the North Stratford going through Shirley then I have a solution. If it is via the north oxford (hillmorton way) then I have another solution (ie places to leave it). If its via the north oxford, she could always abandon it with @tree monkey and we will pick it up in a few months time. This is really concerning. If we dont get them back, how can we possibly put it back into Auntie Waitrose's next auction?

Miles Away moors in our marina, just behind where we are. He regularly takes his boat out for a trip down to Braunston on a weekend. He says the CRT aren't bothered anymore taking details of a trip ....."just give us a phone call in the morning if you are going out" ......to "It's not worth ringing them anymore". The marina management dont seem bothered at all ......and dont seem to know about the restrictions for fatboats so there is no chance of any change unless the CRT enforce the requirement for notification and then issue a CRT notice to other boaters (has this been dropped?). I've not seen a notice in the last 2 years. We have been out since April so cant comment on his movements this summer but I will ask around to find out how much he is going out at the moment. Sean, where are you this year? We're heading north - Chester ish.

I actually entered the evening before the start.....but that was not within the rules. However we actually received bonus points for doing that .....I think it was for initiative...... but the real reason for the points was only to inflate our very poor score so we didnt come last allowing someone else to do so. I'm not bitter but the bitter was good at Ma Pardoes where we ended up that night. There is definitley a precedent for entering late and being awarded extra points m'lud.

It is an interesting question. To answer it you need to understand where the LPG comes from. Energy companies get their fossil fuels from underground in the form of Gas ie Methane (C1- one carbon atom) with a bit of ethane in it (C2 – two carbon atoms) or Oil ie Propane (C3), Butane C4) and heavier molecular weights (C5 and above). Methane is the stuff that is piped from gas fields or chilled to form LNG and shipped in tankers. The C2 content has to be small for calorific value reasons. The Oil is sent to refineries where the C3/C4 is extracted and bottled for LPG with the higher carbon species then pushed through the refinery to generate as much cash as possible from fuels etc. The C2 stream is pretty useless and can only be used as a feedstock for Petrochems - so its pricing is handled differently. Demand for methane is going up and up so you can see why the price is doubling and with Russian supply to go down, even more market pull. The world is theoretically awash with oil but pricing based on OPEC restrictions to production, so not allowing it go into the market – and now Russian oil not wanted by the west will increase prices of road fuel etc. Is the C3/C4 fraction in short supply? It's production will be linked to the processing of crude oil rather than production of C1's (methane) – and I guess a lot of the C3/C4 was coming from Russia along with the oil, so yes, likely the market will be short so prices going up. I doubt if a lot of methane usage can be replaced by C3/C4 but that could tip the balance in a 'short' market. Pricing is all a big con! The people in need have to pay a lot more so drive the price up for everyone as the people with the fossil fuels make a huge killing. I'm nearly as right wing as Smelly but in this case an energy tax is essential.