Mad Harold

Thanks for the reminder,but I have seen them.

Flooding could have been avoided,or at least significantly reduced if rivers had been regularly dredged. I know the pathetic excuses trotted out by CRT and th EA, "difficult to dispose of the spoil " because it has to be tested for nasties and disposed of environmentally. How about saying stuff the regs,and just put the dredgings on the bank.It will save the cost of disposal and increase the riverbank height. There is an argument put about by some that dredging is ineffective.I think that is rubbish. Get a length of drainpipe,pour a bucket of water down it and measure the flow. Put your hand over half of the end and pour another bucketfull down and see if the flow increases. The argument that it is too expensive doesn't hold water.(sorry about that one) because the cost of the damage done to housing,roads,railways,and dare I say it,canal infrastructure I would guess will exceed the cost of dredging. If the government can spend a hugh wad on a questionable railway, then I am sure they can spare a bit to pay for dredging.

Don't think thats fair Alan.All the quotes I received from the boat movers through Shiply said they were fully insured and several quoted their experience. I used Alan Pease who turned up at the arranged time,slipped the boat out,transported it,and slipped it in without fuss or drama. Payment was on delivery so I was quite happy with his service.

I was joking about me being a prisoner at Aspley Wharf.I meant my boat,as the present cruising range is from Aspley to lock 14 on the HNC to the end of the Broad were it meets the Calder. Yes Jon and Gareth are still here. The mooring wall opposite Sainsburys has collapsed in several places,my boat actually pulled a large square stone out of the bank last week and although the bow mooring was ok,my poor boat was sideways across the cut listing from the large stone block hanging off the stbd stern. I live in Huddersfield and agree it's an ok town.The "Rat"is my favourite pub,and tonight (Wednesday) is quiz night in which I usually come last.I know a lot of stuff but unfortunately the questions persist in asking what I dont know. Damn! Today is Tuesday. Since I retired,every day is the same!

Also the good boaty folk of the Colne Valley. I feel like putting a message in a bottle reading Help, I am a prisoner at Aspley Wharf!

I replaced all the windows on my Norman 20 with 5mm perspex.I know you would prefer glass,but it was done at a fraction of the price you were quoted (less than £100 if memory serves.It's quite easy to cut with an angle grinder and if you want double glazing,stick another sheet of perspex on the inside of the window frame with double sided tape.

Google Shipley.They are sort of agents for boat movers and charge a fee of £50. Put all details in;from where to where, boat length,beam,weight,etc.and you will get half a dozen quotes in a couple of days.

Mine cost £275 to have it transported from Leicester to Huddersfield plus £50 slippage. I know we are not comparing like for like, but £1400 sounds a lot. I believe your boat is a large twin hulled one,so double the price.

That sounds an awful lot. How big is the boat,and how far is it being "hauled"?

GRP cruisers are not usually well insulated (unless a previous owner has insulated it) Generally there is carpet like material stuck to the inside of the hull,and similar in the cabin,or sometimes bare fibreglass.Some have a double skin cabin with balsa (Norman) or some other material in between. If the inside of the cabin is smooth fibreglass,then it is likely to be double skin,and will have reasonable insulation properties,providing the material in the sandwich has not rotted away.

Explosive bolts were tried on the wings of an American fighter plane many years ago.The theory was that if the pilot pulled too much G,the bolts on the wing outer sections exploded releasing the wing outer panels so protecting the main part of the wing from breaking off. It didn't work in practice because usually the bolts on one wing would explode but the other wing bolts didn't.It led to some incredible airobatic displays,so the idea was dropped. After that the exploding bolts were replaced with the usual bolts,and the pilot told not to pull too much G.

Please,don't either of you take up one of the worst instruments ever invented. The Tenor Horn!

Come on Arthur,live and let live.Your wife has to put up with your Trombone playing. Are you just narked because she plays the Tuba better than you play the Trombone?

Musicians,like everyone else needs to earn a crust. I'm thinking of a song that Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote. Can't remember the exact title,but it went," she wore an itsy teeny yellow polka dot bikini" Saw a TV interview and Lloyd Webber was rather embarrassed when this song was metioned.

The owner has my sympathy. The Calder is a volatile river and mooring along it has to be done thoughtfully. Looks like it is leaving a diesel slick too. Altogether a sad sight.

I have heard of the people you mention,especially the Beatles.They were all the rage in the late sixties before I went to college to study er music. Because in the seventies I was immersed in the study of the great composers,dead guy's music as a famous violinist once remarked,I missed the pop music of the seventies.

Don't think you will get a canopy for less than £800. If you fit a hardtop,to get standing room,you may well find that it is too high for some tunnels and bridge holes. The Shetland is a very sleek little boat,and a homemade hard top may make it look like a floating chicken shed. There is a thread on the Norman owners forum where one of the members made a hardtop for an 18ft Norman.It may be worth a look.

Fitted a longer exhaust because the standard one was too short.There is no "drip hole"in it so no fumes in the cabin. Your last paragraph sums up my main worry.If (heaven forbid) there is a fire aboard,then yes,an insurance claim will most likely be rejected.A worse outcome could be if the fire on my boat sets fire to another,then a third party claim against me could also be rejected with ruinous consequences for me,to say nothing of causing injury or death to some innocent person. As you can see,I am giving this matter some serious thought and talking myself out of the heater. The alternative is to buy an Eber, Webasto, or Propex and spend about £1000.I know the Propex is cheaper,but as there is no gas on the boat,they will all be pretty much the same price when fitted. Thanks for your input.

Cos working on the boat at this time of the year is cold and miserable. It is properly flued in that the combustion air inlet and the exhaust are on proper skin fittings to the outside,but my concern with the BSC is that the fuel feed pipe is plastic,and as these heaters are sold for trucks,campervans etc.they have not been certified to an international standard as suitable for installing in a boat. The reason I chose a Chinese heater was the price (£117) which is cheaper than some of the parts prices for Eberspacher and Webasto. I am thinking of contacting my BSC inspector,but I suspect he is going to tell me to remove it before he inspects the boat,so I am hesitating.

Don't thinkso,but have just read that seven employees of Webasto have been confirmed with Novavirus.

Having fitted a Chinaspacher I am worried that at BSC time,a certificate won't be issued with this aboard. Has anyone on here had a BSC inspection with a Chinese diesel heater fitted? If so,what was the result?

Both boat names sound fine to me.You will see some weird and wonderful boat names when you start cruising. Have used Funky Monkey vinyl letters and found them very good quality .

A decent tool kit,spare alternator belt,fuel filter,couple of spare glowplugs,pair of elbow length gloves,(for clearing the prop) oil can and greasgun,two bags of smokeless or wood more than you think you will use,loads of soup and tinned food,and a copious supply of Guinness.You never know when you will be held up somewhere. Having said all that,the old adage states that the emergency you're prepared for,never happens!