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Tom766

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Everything posted by Tom766

  1. Hello all, Can anyone advise if any particular boat type is more suceptible to dragging up weed than another? I have a 30' springer with cruiser deck, single pot Bukh 10 hp engine. My weekend trip to March and back was a nightmare (return journey). Trip to March was fine, moored up below the pub, opposite that nuisance abandonned sailing boat. Trouble was that the drunks were out shouting until about 4am! Anyway, on the way back i was caught in a vicious circle. Boat slows down, weed wrapped around prop, nowhere to tie up as banks are steep and overgrown so I nudge the bow into the reeds. Clear the prop and now the boat is stuck. The water level is so low. can't push or lever the boat off so have to rev up engine which as i'm close to shore pulls up more weed! this goes on several times. To make matters worse my boat sucks in river water to cool the engine, its now sucked in debris and shes overheating aaarrgghhhh. A neighbour happend to stop by as i'm dangling upside down in the engine bay trying to clear the water intake pipe. He has a small grp cruiser and as soon as he tries to tow me into clear water his boat veers into the reeds (summat to do with physics of the prop I suppose). Several attempts to clear the blockage finally work and she's running cool again. One last prop clearance by the low bridge before the Benwick turn and i'm grounded, water level is SO low...dread to think what it's like trying to man handle anything bigger than my 30' boat. 5 hrs later and i'm home, battered and bruised. Confidence in narrowboating also battered and bruised. I even considered buying a nice big one to live on! Tom....
  2. Horace-42...made an offer unseen, went with the cash a couple of weeks later, looked over the boat and sailed away. En route back to Cambs from Oxford had the boat lifted and blacked, couple of little jobs done at the same time. Looked over the boat on the dock, hull is very tidy with no plating. Ran faultless all the way back home over 7 weekends and now I tinker to make her really nice, get all the little snags sorted. My logic is there are worriers and doers. Good sound entry level narrowboat and it'll probably out live me. Only needs an enthusiastic optimist like me to snap it up in future. Sad I have to pay around £450 to have it lifted and surveyed for 'accident and sinking cover' just because its over 30 yrs old. Watched a documentary last night, an old working type narrowboat was over a hundred years old, made me chuckle..........
  3. Mines 10k. Good every day 1980 Springer...like her too much to sell at mo.......
  4. Haaaaaa. Forgot to mention the domestic water heater isnt connected as the flue kit doesent fit together, i'll take £45
  5. I agree, they seem like bulletproof old barges, the old Bukh 10hp single will run forever. I do read a lot of negativity on his site as regards to all boats in general...
  6. Yeah I know, annoying I cant go down the lines of fully comp. Fairly safe cruising between March and Ramsey on the Middle level. Will hopefully sell on to another lucky beginner in future then get us a really nice 'proper' narrowboat. Love my old Springer though...
  7. Thanks so much. Just got a quote for £73. Never used basic-boat before. sorted..........
  8. Cross a shipping lane at the wrong time and it'll cost ya £15,000 in fines..........stick it on a truck.
  9. Cheers, I'm with insure4boats. Went from £104 last year to £140 this year, but insist on a survey (wasnt necessary last year) . I'll call em and confirm whether they are quoting comp or third party.
  10. Unfortunately its third party which is proving difficult. Shame about Springers reputation, my friend and now myself have entered narrowboating with Springers. They have real character, and you just dont see that many 'under water'. Shame...
  11. Ahh thanks. Not sure but I may have tried them, amongst others. Some will not touch older boats.....
  12. Hi all, It's insurance renewal time and my insurer now wants a survey. Due to the age and value of the boat i'm hoping to avoid the cost of a lift out and survey. Can anyone please recommend an insurer that doesent require a survey. The boat is a 1980 springer 30'. A survey wasnt required last year but the underwriter has changed. Thanks all........
  13. Hmmm. There were two tents pitched right beside boat. Three ferile kids and two alcoholic parents....I had a word!!
  14. we made it........ so, thanks so much to Rusty, your pics were really helpful and kept us going the right way. Moored up by the lock at Denford, after being blown 180 degrees in the wind here. (we have a long pole now). Thought we were in a nice safe spot in a sleepy village, not close to houses but by a farmers field. WRONG. Turned up Friday evening and found the gear selector/throttle full forward, obviously kids had been playing... Next morning, pushed off, in gear....what gear....no forward....no reverse.....the cherubs had 'played' with the lever until they broke the cable!! Bolted a length of wood to the gearbox input lever and limped through some locks, found a marina two hours away with a rack full of cables. Very helpful man, Pete, at Oundle cruisers club, gave me a ride in his van to the chandlers. Two hours later the cable was fitted and adjusted...phew. We decided to navigate longer each day and made such good time we moored on Peterborough embankment Sunday evening. We do wonder how many people pull up as much weed as we do, we kept having to stop and lift the hatch to clear bucket loads of weed, is this usual? It got so bad we were almost at a standstill on the Kings Dyke and were lucky to find an EA dock to tie to, saving us having to pull into the reeds. Hmmm, sunburnt but proud of ourselves.........
  15. Wow thanks Rusty because we will be there Saturday evening, and there it will stay for a week. Always a worry.....
  16. Hi Rusty, did you notice our little red springer still tied up a Gt Doddington?
  17. Update....... Last couple of miles of the Grand union and I had the weed hatch open about four times in an hour, that stretch was full of weed. Thank god I got the eight bolts swapped for a T-bar mod. So....entered the Nene, passed the big Carlsberg brewery and approached the junction with Northampton Marina....do I go straight, left or right? WRONG.....went right and headed for a stagnant dead end and weir!!! Turned around and took the lock on the left. Long day, got as far as Gt Doddington where I moored. It was late and upon return I switched the deck light on, omly to attract millions of tiny white flies....quick, light off and windows shut. I really must get a gang plank, there's always nettles where I moor Oh thanks for the tips, the guillotines were easy, have a manual one coming up soon though...........
  18. Hi Julian, would I moor on the fork that runs alongside Denford (looks like it ends in a weir) or the fork that carries on past.... Wondering how much the river would normally rise here, I can look out for weather warnings.... Trouble is that if I use marina's all week at each stop it adds up to a small fortune..... Thanks, Tom.
  19. Oh a lock braekage would scupper my pland of reaching the Middle level in 30 days (licence), can only travel weekends....
  20. Ahh thanks, heard of the friends, i'll have to sign up....
  21. Afternoon all, Next part of our voyage from Cropredy to Middle Level is from Gt Doddington to Ringstead. Anyone moored there or know the area, there's Willy Watt Marina and Mill Tea room where we'd like to stop. Question is, is there anywhere at this point where we can leave the boat riverside as opposed to in the marina? Dont want to overshoot a good spot again, reversing isn't much of an option on my old Springer Enjoy.......
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