Mad Harold

All good suggestions. Looped a length of whipping twine through the eye of the splitpin the second time and tied it to my belt. This is my home mooring and they are also visitor's moorings. There is also a clause in the mooring agreement that states the management reserve the right to move boats around when they deem it necessary.

More vibration from engine than normal (ouboard) investigation revealed prop loose.The engine is only one year old and I found the prop nut fingertight. Tried leaning over the transom but couldn't get enough purchase to get the splitpin out.Took the boat to the water point where there is a 90 degree docking and backed the boat into the corner. Lying face down on the ground took the splitpin out and tightened the nut. Heavens opened and chucked it down.Getting soaked while trying to put the new splitpin in (very awkward as the prop is in a recess) it sprang out into the cut *#&!?:I swore worse than that.Back into the boat for another splitpin and found that the one I just dropped was my last one.Rain was really hammering down and I couldnt leave the boat at the waterpoint and couldn't motor back to the mooring with no splitpin as the mooring is on the opposite bank I couldn't bow haul either.Made a cup of coffee to think while watching the ground get wetter and wetter. With a lot of effort I managed to straighten the old splitpin and waited about half an hour and the rain eased off a bit.Lying face down on a soaked surface with rain on my back the old mangled splitpin was most reluctant to go in,but it did when I was about ready to give up. Soaked to the skin and in a foul mood I motored back to my mooring to find to find a visiting boat had nicked it! Not a happy day!

Suggest you look for privately owned leisure moorings. As has been said,some operators strictly enforce no residence,and others don't. One I know well is leisure,but with a clause in the agreement,that you take yourself or yourself and your boat off for a few weeks holiday every year. Some moorers do this,others don't.

I'm going back here to about 1966! Memory getting a bit dim. It's old age and poverty that causes it!

As a young lad,I worked briefly on a site that used Ruston Bucyrus diggers and draglines. They were I think made by Priestman engineering in Hull. They were known as a RB 10,12 or 22,the number being the cu yards of the bucket. A Paddy with a shovel was known as a 1 RB!

Have a bucket of warm water handy,and keep dipping your hand .Worked ok for me. A tip I got from another boater,although I hav'nt tried it,is to pour a bucket of hot water down the weedhatch prior to inserting your mitt.

It isn't the same stuff of old! Time was when you degreased a (British ) motorbike engine,the pong wafting up from a hot engine was almost intoxicating! Doesn't smell like that anymore.

A rather sad post to read. Probably every live aboard boater will sooner or later find themselves having to make the same decision. You have my sympathy.

It has always struck me as rather odd to see a boater struggling to control a boat in a lock (usually going up in a broad lock ) with crew on the top wall watching. Surely it would take little effort to chuck a couple of lines up to secure the boat. I do this in a broad lock single handing and up the lock ladder sharpish.

I am a single hander and I see little point having the engine running in a lock when I am topside with the boat secured as It isn't going anywhere. Yes,if there is someone at the helm,and the boat not secured,then it is necessary to be able to move the boat so as not to "cill it" I did point out that my boat is outboard powered with a pull start,and auto decompresser so a child could start it. So there is no stress on the electric starter or battery. One particular lock on the Calder and Hebble (Cromwell Lock I think ) took nearly half an hour to fill! I don't want my engine idling for that long.

Have both. Buy a cheapie grp cruiser,and toddle off for weekends. For less than 5K you could pick up a boat that is "ready to go"

As a single hander,Wherever possible I switch off the engine and pull the boat into locks with the lines. Easy going downhill,but not always practical going up.Engine is always switched off in locks,because some of them take forever,and it not only saves fuel,it means I dont have to breath exhaust fumes while waiting and can enjoy a bit of peace without the background engine rumble. Should add that my boat is outboard powered and has a pull start as well as electric and I use the pull start more often.Saves wear and tear on the starter motor and battery.

Weedhatch on some boats seem to be an afterthought by some builders! Keep at it. Nil Desperandum!

I have used Armorol on my vinyl conopy with excellent results.

Sometimes the morse control won't engage gear with the engine stopped. Need to get down the weed hatch and check/remove weed/etc. when prop is clear,you can investigate further; check prop blades , and that it turns freely in neutral. The bang you heard may be just the engine stopping suddenly and hopefully when you clear the prop everything will be ok. I am curious why you gave up salty water boating because of your knees. How do you manage locks on your own? I am seriously considering giving up canal boating because of stiffening knees (and just about everything else) I am finding climbing lock ladders and walking around locks harder and harder.

Mastic tape,or I have sealed my boat window frames to the boat with guttering mastic.Messy,but cleans up easily with white spirit.

If the Elsan stations are used properly,blockages are rare,and easily dealt with. The problems come because blockheads shove stuff in them that they are not designed to cope with. There is a poster in my local station (and I am sure,others too) saying what contractors have pulled out.These included duvets,boots,sleeping bags,engine oil and all sorts of other stuff.

Don't know how much of Elgar's music you have heard,but if you are basing your opinion on Pomp and Circumstance (Land of Hope and Glory) marches ,then you are missing a trick. Try Enigma Variations,Symphony No1,In The South overture or Falstaff. As a retired orchestral player,I think Elgar is one of the worlds great composers. This is of course nowt to do with boats,just felt I had to say something about Elgar.

My old boat (BMC 1500) used to start smoking every few days. It was due I am sure to poddling along at low power settings. The fix was to run at full power (on the river) for a few minutes.The smoke initially produced would have been a credit to a navy warship laying down a smokescreen.But after a short time the smoke would diminish after burning the soot out of the cylinder head and exhaust.

Don't think your engine/prop combination have much bearing on weed clogging your prop. My tub has a small outboard and yesterday on the pound between locks 1 and 2 on the Huddersfield Broad,I had to clear the prop three times.Boat draught 12"outboard leg 24". There wasn't enough weed free section for "sprint and drift".

Havn't had a good bang for years.!?

Thanks for the tip. Just looked Gowindlass up and they look ok. At £95 though they are not cheap!

Not heard of a Gowindlass,I do have a long throw windlass aka the meataxe,it does help,but too long to carry around,so deploying it means a walk back to the boat.