Steve Manc

Moored above lock 56 on Trent and Mersey Canal. At 5:15 today, 22nd May, woken up by the sound of our narrowboat creaking and listing. I quickly releast the ropes. I then run down to locks 56 and 57 to find all the lock paddles fully open. After closing them a man appeared walking up from lock 55. He said he was moored further down and was going to set the locks so he could travel through. Told him what I had found. He said he would keep an eye on the locks below. I now know it was him that had opened the lock gates because there wasn't enough water in the pond for him to move his boat. He has now traveled through lock 55 and is now happily on his way whilst the network ( other boaters ) behind him are not. Canal and River Trust put out a stoppage notice yesterday saying there was a water resource problem between lock 54 and 57 on the Trent and Mersey. I believe the problem is the pond above lock 54 or it's the lock that are leaking. This morning I was informed the long-term moorings boat owners in this pond above lock 54 are draining water from the ponds above because their boats are sitting on the bottom of the canal. I cannot carry on with my summer cruise and move my boat until Canal River Trust get their people to get water down. Question: Is it right a boater can drain two ponds above the one he is in so he can move his boat? Is it vandalism to fully open all the lock paddles on two ponds and walk away? My thoughts are yes it is.

Steve 65, thanks All Any tips on moorings, best places to moor and visit? Thanks in anticipation

Tony, GateKrash I will take the radio Thanks for the replies

Dave, thanks for the reply. Plan to join the Severn at Stourport, travel down to Sharpness. Then return up to Birmingham. To communicate with locks on River Trent and River Ouse we used the radio. It was also useful to listen to other boats approaching or leaving the locks. Is this the same on the River Severn? Thanks for your replies

Plan to join the Severn at Stourport, travel down to Sharpness. Then return up to Birmingham. To communicate with locks on River Trent and River Ouse we used the radio. It was also useful to listen to other boats approaching or leaving the locks. Is this the same on the River Severn? Thanks for your replies

Is a ship to shore radio / ship to ship radio required on the Severn? I have a IC - M25 Euro radio which I purchased for the River Trent and River Ouse last year. Thanks

Hi All Thanks for your input. Yes I ment the Engine / Starter Battery The charger battery is not on the display panel. Charger battery gets charged when the engine is run.

The charger battery is not on the display panel. Charger battery gets charged when the engine is run.

Midday today cannot remember if cloudy or not. Therefore some energy from the solar panels may have been coming through.

Isuzu panel has two readings on it. In the summer the readings were the same as when I tested the batteries individually.

Our boat has two banks of batteries. One marked Inverter which the 240 runs off. The second marked domestic which the 12 volts runs off. The boat is only used in the summer months. There are solar panels fitted. In 2019 new domestic altinator fitted. In 2021 new inverter altinator fitted. The inverter batteries were new in 2021. Arrived at the boat today to check everything ok. Both battery readings on the panels were 14 volts. I started the engine to check everything is running ok. The battery reading on the inverter bank went up to 15.5 volts. Knowing this wasn't good for the battery I switched the engine off. On knocking off the engine the reading went back to 14 volts. Any ideas? Thanks

Due to Selby Canal bridge and Google not being open in May, June and early July we didn't travel up to York via the River Ouse. We did travel down to Lincoln and Nottingham from Keadby Lock on the River Trent. Lock Keepers let us out on a high tide which on both occasions were in our favour. We followed the boating association charts, set of 3 for £35, they were very helpful. Very easy to follow and highly recommend. We purchased extra ropes as recommend and didn't need them. They are still in their packaging. Hopefully come in handy for the Thames should we get their

All, thanks for your replies. I did my last service in October 2019 when I winterised the boat. I have had around 4 lts of oil in a 5 lts container in the engine bay since October 2019. I am aware water can get in the diesel tank due to condensation. Does this happen with oil in a plastic container? Cheers

Purchased the charts which are very informative. Set of three for £25.00. Looking at information online and CRT website. It has been recommended to have landlines 30 foot in length for River Trent and River Ouse. For the boaters who have traveled on these rivers is this your experience? Thanks

All, thanks for the replies

Thanks

I have a Isuzu 35 Engine. Looking to carry out a service. Isuzu Marine manual states air filter element number 100066-4LS. Carried out a search online and cannot find any information. It currently has a Beta Air Filter 211-61832. There are a number of sites selling this filter online. My local car spares cannot find this on its data base! Does anyone have this engine ? Are you buying the filter from local car spares? If yes what is the parts number? Thanks

Thanks Plan to fit Karndean Looselay, will keep you posted

Anyone laid Karndean flooring on top of vinyl ?

All, really helpful stuff being posted, thanks. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... We are enjoying watching these videos , which are giving us a flavour of what we will see on the River Ouse and River Trent https://www.youtube.com/c/MinimalList/playlists We learnt about the Propeller Challenge through watching the videos which we plan to adopt for fun https://www.waterways.org.uk/waterways/using-the-waterways/silver-propeller-challenge ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Great photos ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Re, I would recommend getting the Boating Association publication for cruising the tidal Ouse before making this trip if you don't already have it. I have been unable to find a book but I am guessing buying the set of three charts should cover our journey on River Trent and River Ouse? https://theboatingassociation.co.uk/index.php/store/#!/Publications/c/2703498 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Re: There's quite a useful list in the IWA guidance note (second link below). It is a bit out of date - eg Salters Lode and Denver have not used VHF for at least ten years - but it's a good starting point. I am a big fan of marine VHF on busy rivers eg the tidal Thames. https://www.waterways.org.uk/about-us/news/using-vhf-radio Via the Waterways website I found the announcement of Red Diesel which I had missed ? https://www.waterways.org.uk/about-us/news/red-diesel-budget-announcement-is-a-win-for-boaters

Waiting until after Crick Virtual Boat Show before buying VHF radio, hopefully there may be a few deals. I am now looking at https://icomuk.co.uk/IC-M25Euro/Handheld-VHF-Marine-Radio From people posts I recognize some boaters choose not to take up a VHF licence. I found this link with a sample online course https://www.seavoice-training.co.uk/events/rya-online-vhf-radio-course/ I have learnt River Ouse uses channel 9 & 74 - River Thames 17 - Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, Sharpness Port 13. Ribble Link and Weaver Navigation use phone numbers for the locks. Are you aware of any other Rivers that narrowboats can cruise on that use VHF Radio channels for Locks and Bridges ?

All Thanks for your comments.

The following info on page 41 & 42 shows it has all these channels except 2006 https://standardhorizon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HX210_E_OM_ENG_EM061N210_1804M-BC-1.pdf Great feed back by all Thanks

Nicknorman, Midnight I have decided to purchase Standard Horizon HX210E https://standardhorizon.co.uk/products/#handheld-vhf to enable me to listen to any chatter when arriving at locks or bridges on River Ouse. Also to communicate with them. I understand from reading another thread 'VHF Radio' that I need a licence. This has been confirmed by https://www.rya.org.uk/knowledge-advice/boating-abroad/european-inland-waterways/Pages/atis-and-rainwat.aspx The manual for HX210E states the user has to install the ATIS code. If you are narrow boaters only like myself and do not intend going on Coastal Waters what are your thoughts? https://standardhorizon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HX210_E_OM_ENG_EM061N210_1804M-BC-1.pdf RYA say the unit cannot be used on inline waters within 14 miles of coastal low tide if only on a inland licence. Thanks