Hudds Lad

first experience of a narrowboat was about 1981ish, a trip boat on the Hudds Broad when i was about 9 that i think ran from Aspley Wharf? nothing much after that, unless you count half-drowning in Elland basin whilst doing my Canoeing badge in scouts (big lad, small kayak, capsize drill) over the years have walked and cycled the Hudds Broad & Narrow countless times and always loved the peace of it. then in 2015 out of the blue my good wife randomly booked a week on the L&L with Silsden Boats for us, our daughter & the inlaws as something different to the usual week abroad. So on August 22nd 2015 i found myself along with my Father-in-law crammed in a small office with lots of other people watching an instructional video on the world's smallest tv, and an hour later we were let loose on the L&L with 56ft Molly's Drum heading for the Bingley Five Rise. We were hooked. July 2016 saw another week on the L&L on 57ft Drummer Boy, and after some searching on Feb 4th 2017 we bought a 12th share in Streamline, and in June 2018 due to serendipity/stupidity we bought another 12th share. for the last year or so we have been looking for a boat to own outright, but i think we are leaning further towards having one built...

actually, now i look at the OP’s profile pic i reckon he already has a channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TravelsWithMartin or do my eyes deceive me?

i did subscribe, cost me nowt. still no content though ?

He/She/It (delete as applicable) could have waited until our roofing was finished (one done, one half done and flapping alarmingly) ? You mean it's washing off?

Caley Cruisers who are on the Caledonian Canal state they DO NOT do one way, not sure if other hirers are available. i've always fancied having a go at it, Loch Ness, Neptune's Staircase etc. but SWMBO says no

Shire Cruisers do one way trips, as you've done the Hudds perhaps L&L or Rochdale? https://www.shirecruisers.co.uk/routes/one-way-canal-routes.php edit: just noticed L&L is out due to Figure of 3 locks ?

Shhhhhh, how do you think she disposes of all the electricians?

Initially i did all the steering and my better half and my daughter did all the lock working. this was purely down to her lack of confidence and i think fear of not being fully in control of what was happening. Over time her confidence has built and we now take it in turns to the point we'll almost argue over who gets to steer at XYZ junction or through XYZ tunnel etc. my 14 year old daughter however, is another matter, hard pressed to get the bugger off the boat these days, suspect she's counting the days until responsible enough to be left home alone whilst her idiot parents go boating

That won't stand up to much wine though, maybe better with something like... https://www.fullyrugged.co.uk/panasonic-toughbook-cf-19-core-i5-mk4-rare-finger-touchscreen-tb444?language=en&currency=GBP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhIP6BRCMARIsALu9Lfkvoc4I5nWFWcbTA3gjYVBCmJ2qFCBrn5mZt0yvdXbkX-fO4Axzil4aAuS0EALw_wcB

On the iPhone it's; Settings Personal Hotspot Allow Other to Join - turn on then set a Wi-Fi Password On other phones/devices it then shows as an available WiFi network that they join using the password you set above, so very similar to Android

Its a setting on your phone that makes it act like a WiFi router, so other devices can connect to it and use its data if you give them the details. Some phone companies used to frown upon this practice, think they pretty much all allow it now.

Some are a bit old fashioned and not even convinced of the merits of a TV, suspect a dedicated MiFi device would blow their mind Its been suggested this years AGM is conducted via a Zoom meeting.........

i'll probably go for something like that when we splash out on our own boat, but whilst we're in a syndicate it's too much outlay for 8weeks a year. i may change my mind if the cheapy ones don't cut it though

My phone is on GiffGaff, which despite using the O2 network does not get the same signal my wife's work phone does on O2 so no good for that, its on a cheap tariff and i have no need to change it. The dongle is only used on the boat or on other holidays and its just easier to have everyone including guests connect to that, works for us, other opinions are available

Ours survived ok the other week when it hit 30something, but on a couple of moorings we had to remove it from the window and stick it on the bench in the well deck to get a better signal. I'm now looking for an external antenna for it to avoid this in future.

something like this: https://www.mymemory.co.uk/3-payg-4g-trio-data-sim-pack-with-36gb-data-30-days.html in something like this: https://ebay.us/NPKWXy just blue-tack the Huawei to the window and recharge it whilst cruising those are just examples and not necessarily the best place to buy, gives you an idea though

Could just be me, but that does not look legit

i’ll just throw another hat into the ring with: https://www.waterwayroutes.co.uk/wr/maps-four-counties-ring.html it won’t show you pubs & shops but will show you all the relevant canal stuff

We did exactly that mid-April last year as there were no moorings at the lake, were too late for the last transit, and needed water anyway. was nice and quiet and we didn't see a soul until the staff arrived next morning. oddly enough we heard later it was best not to stop at the lake because of vandals ?

the three narrow bits are only after you make the turn at Trevor basin really, and they're not that bad. Just send crew up first until they reach one of the passing points, or wait for another boat with crew or the trip boat and follow it through. Never understood those who go as far as Trevor to "do the Pontcysyllte" then turn round, if you don't go to the basin you're missing the best bits IMHO. The locks at New Marton can be quite the bottleneck, so perhaps the chap behind was in a rush to get them done?

why do you think we're having them done had enough of flat ones, converting to pitched

we've picked a great time to have the extension roofs done ?

https://www.canals.com/webcams.htm

from what i gather from Facebook its being dredged as it was well silted up, also new jetties and facilities block going in. 4-6weeks work they reckoned. all boats moved across to Park Farm as its owned by same people.

Was this on the Oxford somewhere between the Ashby and Hillmorton locks? We passed a line of boats moored before a bridge (forget which) and the last one squeezed in before the bridge hole had three gennies on the back under the pram hood, two of which were running and sat side by side, the engine was also running at quite high revs. This was mid afternoon and we were looking for a mooring, so glad it wasn't there, we felt sorry for all the other boats moored nearby.