Mad Harold

The gas bottles have to be secured in the lockers. Mine have leather belts which are fastened inside the gas lockers onto the bolts securing the angle that the bench sits on. It is difficult to see how you could easily secure the gas bottles without welding some sort of mounting in the locker. Is the lid of the gas locker airtight? Probably not,so as gas is heavier than air,any leak will sink to the bottom of the locker and vent through the scuppers or vent pipe. I think it would be a very pedantic inspector to fail on having bolts through your gas locker.

The benches on my boat are fastened on angle bolted to the gas lockers. Had my BSC inspection a few weeks ago,and passed with no advisories. I think inspectors vary in their interpretation of the rules. As an example,on the previous BSC,the inspector gave an advisory for inadequate ventilation,but my chap looked at it and shrugged and said that he thought the the last inspector was being a bit pedantic.

It's advertised again on fleabay. Price is now £100K!

Quite right. In my teens I knew everything about anything.In my twenties I knew just about everything.In my thirties I started to doubt my knowledge.In my forties I realised that I knew very little really. At my age (not telling,but I remember the Romans leaving Britain) I now accept that I know BUGGER ALL!

My vote goes to "The Friary" Whaley Bridge,at the end of the Peak Forest Canal. Excellent pub,"The Goyt" close by too

Is this a wind up?

Have a 12V Cello tv. Quite cheap,doesn't use much leccy,picture quality is reasonable,but sound is rather "tinny"

£135, Two weeks ago. Mike Boulton Blue Star Surveys. info@bluestarsurveys.co.uk Works in W. Yorks. area.

My boat was made by a builder I'd never heard of (Hesford) I chose it because of it's looks. Good freeboard, plenty of tumblehome, and a small cruiser stern. I found it a most attractive boat. Having lived with it for nearly two years,there are thing I don't like,poor engine access,bathroom takes up too much space,and quite a few other niggles. With the best will in the world,you can't really know a boat untill you have lived with it for a while. It is quite likely that your first boat won't be your last. Owning a boat for a year or so will show you what you really want. You may be lucky and drop on a boat that is perfect for you,and it may well appear so initially,but when you look at boats for sale try to look ahead in case you want to sell in a year or so.

You might drill a hole through the roof to see a section of it.You can plug it with filler or Stixall. Because of different expansion rates fibreglass (or ply) tops on steel hulls don't stay watertight for long. I have heard that there is a way of ensuring fibreglass tops stay watertight,perhaps someone here has experience of this and can advise.

My boat is a Hesford. No, I'd never heard of them untill I bought one. Quite a few people have asked me if it's a Springer,to which I answer no,it's better looking than a Springer.

Yes we are Suggest watching grass grow,more interesting than paint drying,and no fumes.

Finest selection of traditional bread in the country is made and sold at The Handmade Bakery alongside the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in Slaithwaite,(pronounced Slawit) It's almost worth braving the HNC to visit it. After eating their bread any other tastes crap and,dare I say it,even homemade.

According to jeremymead Fibreline didn't make a 35 footer. Don't think lifting out would cause that damage,what can be seen of the hull looks intact. jeremymead does say the hulls were made 32mm thick,which is very substantial.The top would probably not be as thick. I would guess that the damage illustrated was caused by a falling tree.

Nurdus cretinius?

If you Google "Changing A Boats Name" you will find that there are several variations of the re-naming ceremony. I did change the name of a boat I owned a couple of years ago,but dispensed with the ritual because one of the requirements was to empty a bottle of rum into the cut!!! Too expensive!! Another requirement was to have a virgin urinate over the bow!! (Where was I to find one of them at Aspley Wharf?) So,just changed the name and notified CRT.

A cassette toilet gets my vote. Simple and quick to empty,and swill out,and with practice you can hold your breath long enough to empty it at an Elsan point,stick your head out of the door,take another breath and swill it out. There is quite enough stuff to go wrong on a boat without adding to the list.

Opinions on fenders vary. It used to be considered poor seamanship to cruise with fenders down. Still is with some people. I have five rubber pipe fenders a side,and they are down all the time apart from when using narrow locks.When mooring up,they prevent a lot of hull scraping,although you can bet that the hull will scratch where there isn't a fender.

My boat is a small cruiser stern.It has a canvas cover for when left,scupper holes in the deck and a drain hole in the channel deck supports,yet there is still water in the engine bilge. I found three causes; it takes very little muck to block the drain hole in the deck support channel.Simply getting on and off brings mud onto the deck and finds it's way into the channel. Once lifting the engine hatch shortly after starting the engine to inspect something,I was quite surprised to find the entire engine bay dripping with condensation. (Warm engine,cold engine bay) The main cause was rainwater running off the roof and under the canvas cover which I fixed by squeezing a line of Stixall along the rear of the roof and hatch. There is now very little water getting into the engine bilge,and what comes in can be mopped up with a cloth. A completely dry engine bilge might be a cause for suspicion,but it could also mean that the owner is a fussy bugger like me!

The one time owner of my local pub used to bore the pants off customers by playing recordings of TT races and steam locos. "This is Mike Hailwood on an MV four----vroooom." "A Pacific 231---chuff chuff clatter clatter" Some narrowboat engines sound interesting,the thud thud of a Lister,the slow beat of a Ruston,the rumble of a BMC, the vomiting sound of a wet exhaust. I think the sound of various engines could be interesting to some.