debbifiggy

They are advertised and you should be able to find details on waterscape or the BW website. It's not just boats they auction off but equipment etc. Think there might be one coming up in the London area early in the New Year. HTH. D

Just come back from the Marsworth area and there has been an absolute spate of genny thefts in the area including (and especially 6 on one night) from the resident boaters in the area. There have been problems with various camps of travelling caravan folk but not normally targetting canal "travellers". Work on the towpath is that it might be someone who was/is alledgedly a "boater" although anyone who nicks anything from another boater isn't a boater in my books.Hope the bastard fries himself on a dodgy connection ... bad karma etc. Nooooo what am I saying?????, do not be angry, people ultimately get what they deserve although the forces of the universe work in mysterious ways. P.S. If this happens to you please don't forget to report it to the police, post something on the NABO site and also report to BW as the bank staff do care. D

A digital picture frame that runs on 240 v??? and Requires a memory card or USB device. As much use as a chocolate tea pot :-) Will have to take to work to enjoy pictures of my nephews which apparently have been preloaded. Haven't got a spare flat surface to use it on the boat anyhow. D

Loads of ice further up the cut as you head towards Cowroast.

Depending on the length of boat you should be able to work the fees out from this which I think is pretty acurate except that we don't know what 2008 will be as the consultation doesn't finish until 7th Jan. 01.01.96 3.50% INFLATION 01.01.97 10.20% 8%+2.2 INFLATION 01.01.98 10.30% 7%+3.3 INFLATION 01.01.99 10.50% 7%+3.5 INFLATION 01.01.00 8.30% 7%+1.3 INFLATION 01.01.01 3.00% INFLATION 01.01.02 1.60% INFLATION 01.04.03 2.20% INFLATION 01.04.04 2.50% 01.04.05 2.90% 01.04.06 4.60% 01.04.07 2.70% 01.04.08 12.30% 9.0% + 3.3% Inflation depending on the consultation????? D

Mu guess would be sometime in the late 70's or early 80's unless it was numbered in the original system before their computer systems. HTH D

I'm sure I see this boat on a regular basis. Has often been seen moored just south of Dudswell 2 and also above Gas 2 in Berkhamsted, Cowroast and that kind of area. Is in reasonable nick and still has a partly uncovered hold. HTH. D

Hurrah! It's back ... Have recently visited the revamped and site and it looks good. Such a shame we've lost Mike (RIP) but it's onwards and upwards. Cheers Martin! D

If it helps we have a 150 gal tank which lasts the two of us and our cat 1 week assuming no more than 3 shortish washing machine loads (which does all our clothes and bedding for a week) and up 12 showers between us plus cooking, drinking and washing up and cleaning. I only wash my hair twice a week at most and that's plenty. I do know people who can make the same size tank of water last two to three weeks ..... but we are all different and that is part of the fun. Takes a lot of people a while to adapt to using less resources. D

Sudden downdraft pushing stuff back down the chimney? It's the only thing I can think of. General rule of thumb for all, make sure you always have adequate ventilation and never block up any vents. Anyhow well done for actually having a Carbon Monoxide detector :-) D

We got 3 110 amp hr domestics and one starter. We'd like another 3 domestic if we can find room. D

A boat round my way had the RSPCA remove a number of dogs from a narrowboat as it felt there were too many on board and that the conditions weren't good for the dogs. The man concerned is now limited to a maximum of two dogs but only has one at the moment. Personally one dog or two cats is enough for me. Also I would worry in the summer about a dog left on board if the boat is in the sun as it can get very very hot, just like a car. D

The combined mooring and licence fee only works where the vast majority of boaters pay the same mooring fee. Given that fees vary from around £23.5 per metre a year to over £200 per metre or that some moorings are done on a per berth basis (i.e. Battlebridge is just under £7000 per year per boat) it's not going to work in my opinion. D

My bit of canal was frozen over this morning. Down to -5 last night. Stood star gazing on back of boat last night and noticed the ice forming. Stars seemed extra sparkly. Very foggy and a bit of hoar frost this morning. Very pretty. D

BSC is most definitely affected if renting out. You need to have the higher standard hire boat Boat Safety examination to make sure you are safe on carbon monoxide. You will also need to check your insurance and almost certainly change to a commercial or landlords policy. Failure to do either of these will leave you in breach of your licence conditions and technically unlicensed by your navigation authority. Even worse, if it all goes t*t$ up and there is a claim on your insurance or other problem you can find yourself in deep smelly stuff and seriously out of pocket. Ask around, check with your insurance company and talk to your navigation authority. Best of luck. It can be done safely and without much expense if you plan ahead. Loads of good info on www.boatsafetyscheme.co.uk as well IIRC. D Just realised that Rob's beaten me to it. Cheers Rob, top stuff as always. D

It regularly freezes further down the GU summit. One year we had 3 inch solid ice for 3 weeks. Not much was moving. It's also jolly difficult filling with water when the tap is frozen and your hosepipe is full of ice. A bowl full of hot water and a lot of time works for the hose pipe. The tap takes longer but my chef's blowtorch for creme brulee works quite well providing you are very very careful not to cause any damage to the tap. Am hoping it warms up before the weekend as will need to fill with water in the next two days. D

If so he certainly hasn't got Boris's foot in mouth disease D

Shame. I voted for Dudley but at least there is some sort of benefit to towpath users in some places, just as long as the loony lycra brigade don't think they now own the towpath for speed trials instead of sharing with consideration with walkers, anglers and boaters. D

I agree with the duck man but at least this current minister is to date much better than the previous and is making the right supportive noises and should be supported (by us) and totally indoctrinated into how wonderful, precious and valuable to the nation the inland waterways are and that they should be funded properly. How about moving BW and the navigation bits of the EA from DEFRA (who couldn't organise a drink in a pub let alone something bigger) to somewhere more suitable???? Just a thought ..... D

Word of advice, if you are "letting" your boat you will fall under the same regulations as land based landlords so will have to comply with landlord gas inspections, and as it's a boat you will need to comply with the 2002 Section 10 Carbon Monoxide emmissions on your Boat Safety Cert (you will probably have to have your boat re-examined to the higher high boat standard for ventilation etc). Finally your insurance will not be valid unless you declare your intentions .... and if your insurance and Boat Safety are invalid you are in breach of the BW licence conditions and therefore unlicenced ...... It can all be done quite cheaply, safely and legally, just get some advice before you do it as you are already doing via this forum. Talk to BW too (suggest the local waterway office or patrol officer) if you are moored on their water and they are generally very helpful. You might need to change to a business licence but this shouldn't cost you anything as if your annual "business" turnover is less than £45,000 then you pay exactly the same fee as a private pleasure craft licence IIRC. More info on their website and also on the Boat Safety Scheme website. Best of luck, hope it all works out for you. D :-)

Hmmm, I could be around in London too, just next to check my work diary as to what's happening before I go off boating over Chrimbo. Can't wait, a whole week of winter boating. It's been too long and I've got an itchy windlass ;-) D

Plenty of advice available to download free from the Boat Safety Scheme website. There's also plenty of people on this forum and generally on the cut who will assist with relevant advice. Just make sure you are working to the most recent set if regs. Best of luck. Stay safe. Debbi

In some areas the vast majority of boaters do exactly what you are proposing to do. The pressure on "visitor moorings" ande facilities in some places is very high. I can quite understand why people are doing it, after all I'm doing it too :-) albeit with a permanent mooring. Doing the genuine cc thing can very challenging in some places. How much grief you get depends on where you are and BW's resources to deal with it. Best of luck, D

Don't forget that if you buy a sailaway the Declaration of Conformity will only be valid for one year and you'll either have to get an Annex 15 fully fitted DoC or Boat Safety Certificate in order to get a licence. Only mention this as have seen many people fall into this trap and end up unlicenced and getting a whole load of grief. Best of luck with your plans. D

BW Gold licence only covers BW and EA waters (Thames, Medway, Nene, Great Ouse etc). The Avon (the one that runs through Warwickshire) is excluded as are various other bits. The new Gold licence application form and fees is now available at www.waterscape.com in the useful downloads section. Only worth getting a gold if you are planning more than 2 or 3 weeks in the year on EA waters if you are normally BW based. Good value still if you are planning extensive cruising rings and spending a far amount of time on both systems. HTH, enjoy your new boat and new life. D