Hudds Lad

Grrrr, Bark, Woof!

A quick look at Google maps says once you hit Preston from Lancaster you have to leave the water's edge.

I seem to recall this old tale doing the rounds when i was at school in the early 80's, probably from my mate who had a paper round and had to deal with several houses with big dogs. The idea being when the dog jumped at you, you grabbed a front leg in each hand and pulled them apart sharpish allegedly splitting the dog's heart. I always assumed it was a load of rubbish, who has the presence of mind or technique to pull that off for a start.

Giving up the boat they live on, not the cafe boat.

That's reminded me i need to apply some more to the roof prisms next time we're down to the boat, it cured the little leak we had, but another dose before winter can't harm

Assuming "market" meaning like a broker rather than an individual seller, such as where CRT send re-possessed boats to be sold which i think is somewhere near Chester?

Our old shareboat (Reeves hull) originally had that setup with just drain pipes in the corners, unsure if these just fed into the underfloor to run to the back or if they were piped to the rear. Either way it was blanked off at the front bulkhead, an extra central drain fitted and an auto bilge pump. The corner drains would constantly clog up and require poking out with one of those flexy drain unblocking wires.

It's a pity she's not still on the HNC, i'd pop down with some screwdrivers

Ahhh, i thought she was referring to the pics @BoatinglifeupNorth posted as not being hers, and the ones in her post were in fact her burners.

Admittedly my eyes aren't the best, but your pics look like pozidrive heads to me 🤷‍♂️

Has anyone mentioned a suitcase full of cash yet?

Funny how the ones with signs are usually the worst culprits, isn't it?

It was right next to where a tree had been down and cleared that day, we picked up a submerged branch on the rudder and were literally crawling past heading for the bank to remove it

Licence fee changes Hello, I am writing to let you know about some changes to future boat licence pricing following a consultation with boaters. Alongside growth in income from other commercial and fundraising activity, the changes will help support the long-term future of the 2,000 miles of waterways that we manage across England & Wales. Boat licence fees will need to rise above the baseline inflation rate for each of the next five years. In addition, we are introducing a surcharge for boats that continuously cruise and increasing the surcharges for wide beam boats to reflect the greater utility they receive. The above-inflation increases for all boat licence holders, and the new surcharges, will take effect from 1 April 2024. Details will be announced in November using the latest inflation forecasts. Our canals are facing some daunting challenges and, if we don’t act now, the future could look bleak. The government recently announced significant cuts to public funding for the canals over the years ahead, whilst high inflation rates and the ageing infrastructure has seen the cost of caring for canals rise. We’re re-doubling our efforts to further grow volunteering and to raise increased funds across all our activities, from all our users and supporters, so we can deliver the additional ongoing investment that the network needs. The boat licence fee represents around 11% of income, going towards vital maintenance and repairs. Whilst the scale of the investment required is in no way to be borne by boaters alone, the increases from boat licences will make an important contribution. Alongside the changes to boat licensing, we are continuing to grow income from our property and non-property endowment, and from other commercial sources such as hosting utilities and water transfer, which together contribute over 40% of our income. We are targeting a step-change in income generation from towpath users and other supporters, with fundraising income projected to grow by 10% each year – while other commercial waterways income, including from anglers, paddle sports and moorings, is also set to increase. Boat use has changed over the years, with rising numbers of people choosing to continuously cruise, and to choose wider boats. Most boaters without home moorings spend more time on the waterway network, and make more use of facilities, than those with a home mooring. Wider boats take up more space on the water than their narrow beam counterparts. We believe that reflecting the utility people get from their use of the waterways network, and the cost of supporting different boat use, is the fairest way to decide licence pricing – as reflected in the responses from the recent boater consultation. We also considered whether the various licence discounts currently offered are sustainable. From 1 April 2024, there will be a reduction in the discounts for prompt payment and for paying online as this has become the standard method used by the vast majority of boaters. The electric boat, historic boat and charity boat discounts will be retained. We will continue to control our costs as far as possible given external pressures, while focusing our resources on the priority maintenance and repairs that are required to support safe navigation, and we will continue to lobby the government to rethink their short-sighted decision on our future funding. We recognise that these changes to licence pricing will not be popular with everyone, but the income we receive from boat licences is more critical than ever. The cost of the licence has largely kept pace with inflation since Canal & River Trust was formed and now, together with increases in income from all possible sources, we must raise the resources needed to keep the network alive for future generations, averting a return to the decline of the mid-20th century when canals fell into disrepair in the face of insufficient funding. The consultation report can be found here, alongside an equality impact assessment: National consultations. For more information on boat licensing, visit: Licence your boat. Our ultimate aim is to secure the future of the network so that boaters, like yourself, can continue to enjoy, and benefit from, this precious national treasure. Richard Parry Chief Executive Canal & River Trust

The better half's family being originally from Sheffield, she swears by a dash of Hendo's, don't see the attraction myself 🤢

Not blue, but my favourite from this year (edited for those of a weak disposition to robust language )

Saw this on the Book of Face earlier and have seen a boat with similar on it on the North Oxford, often wondered the significance of the logo, anyone got any ideas? The one i've seen is quite short with an odd bow and stern, and i "think" it had an inboard outboard if you know what i mean. Pic from original post by Kev Rumble on Faceache and not mine

We went to the boat at the weekend with intentions of doing a few jobs, one of which was rubbing down and painting the fire and then running it to bake off the paint as required. Fire got painted but it was too blinking warm to even entertain lighting it Did manage to sand and revarnish the porthole liners and attended the marina BBQ so it wasn’t a total loss

Probably an attempt to help stem the tide of bored grumpy boaters who contact them saying "We went cruising and i counted 50 boats without a licence and 70 boats with an out of date licence, what are you doing about it?"

It's an ancient Peter Stevenson Wine Hydrometer, no mention of beer on it Perhaps i'll just put it back in the drawer for safe keeping

Now we're talking! Pretty much echo what @Goliath said, save getting superfluous gear. I do have an ancient hydrometer my dad used to use, so that's gotta be early 70's as he died in '76, will it still work??

Stalagmites you missed the G for ground

That's a tricky one, there's a high likelihood that "Dave" actually would be there, plus it must be tempting to use all those pegs as kindling in the meantime. The old caveman approach of clubbing them with a Calder & Hebble Handspike and dragging them back to your boat is also troublesome. You could always take a leaf from the birdlife of the Amazon and wear your bestest and brightest clothing and enact an elaborate dance on the roof of your boat, taking care not to trip over any solar panels or vast stacks of coal. A well-placed teapot may also help

A couple of spanners will see you right