KenK

The Flanders licence allows you to keep the boat on their waters, under normal circumstances navigation is your choice. As the circumstances are not normal they decided to do the decent thing, especially as this years licence cost was going to be a fair bit higher.

Visuris the Belgian waterways authority has announced that as leisure boating is not allowed on Belgian waterways at the moment they have suspended the requirement to purchase a licence. A couple of weeks ago the moorings run by public authorities were kept on winter rates for the time being which are much less than the rates for the cruising season. Still a pain that we can't use the boat but at least the cost of it just sitting there is much less than it could be, so well done the Belgian authorities. Any sign that CRT are planning a similar suspension?

Ignoring the rights and wrongs. As far as I remember ABP operate the lock onto the Ouse and their rules state 2 person on the boat and you need VHF. Naburn and Selby locks are keeper operated and may not be working. You might be able to make Naburn from Goole on one tide but if not then you would have to be able to enter Selby basin to wait for the next tide. The three locks to Ripon are manual wide locks. I suggest you do some checking to see if it is possible,

Italy has the largest proportion of elderly people in Europe possibly in the world, this virus seems to attack older people with pre-existing conditions much worse than younger people. Death rate in Italy is the worst so far.

Our boat is moored in Ghent and we are in touch with the Belgian authorities so that information is accurate. French canals which carry commercial traffic remain open but only to commercial boats, the rest are closed. DBA website forum is posting information for each country as it becomes available. The rivers and canals have heavy commercial use so the waterways are still open for them. Also the few locks that exist are operated remotely by lock keepers, bridges that need lifting also remotely operated.

The Belgian and French canals have been closed to all non-commercial traffic until 3/4/2020 at the moment obviously that is subject to review. As no one can move the Belgian authorities have kept mooring rates at winter levels until two weeks after the restriction is lifted. Just as well as the difference between winter rates and the rest of the year is significant.

If you think the BSS is ridiculous, try the survey for the Manchester Ship Canal. £70.00 for the surveyor to sit in the boat for twenty minutes whilst we had a nice chat and he drank a cup of coffee, ate a couple of biscuits, and then signed a bit of paper.

At least you can still go boating in the UK, French and Belgian waterways are closed to all leisure boating, until April at the moment but I'm not expecting it to get better then.

Yes those wonderful Lithium batteries which caught fire on several aircraft. Sorry choosing one form of technology and ignoring others is self defeating. As a country indeed as a world we need to explore all possible solutions not concentrate on one. As I said earlier charging millions of cars on so called renewable energy when the current versions can't be relied on will be difficult if not impossible. Oh and how do we power the trucks, what size electric engine will they require and how many batteries. Also don't electric cars have alternators to recharge their batteries? If they do why is the range so short and if not why not? Ken

Wonderful 300 miles, so actually 150 miles out and 150 back, my diesel does 550 miles per tank and worst case takes 10 minutes to refill if the fuel station is busy, as it a Euro 6 model only £30 tax a year. Given the number of posts on here over the years bemoaning failed batteries on narrowboats I'd hardly describe them as OK, as for getting better possibly but if I have a choice between electric or hydrogen I'll take the latter. Fortunately it won't be a problem for me I'll have given up driving by the time I'd need to choose. Ken

Birmingham University built a hydrogen powered narrowboat some years ago, passed it in 2017 moored up somewhere near Brum. No idea if it is still in use but it still exists. Ken

Wind and solar are dead ends if we are going to run the countries energy requirements from green energy, neither can be relied on 24 / 7 /365. Tidal / water power makes more sense at least it is reliable whether it is enough on its own to supply the UK's needs is another matter. As for electric cars no way unless massive improvements in battery technology appears in the near future and of course how long would it take to put in the recharging infrastructure? Hydrogen powered vehicles make sense although again it requires the infrastructure, but converting existing fuel stations would be easier and cheaper than running cables for electric cars. Ken

Yes and of course all those 30 million electric cars have to be recharged using green renewable energy, good luck with that. My 76 year old uncle has just sold his electric Jag and brought a hybrid Lexus, the current infrastructure for electric vehicles does not even meet his lifestyle and as he said he'll be dead before it does. Ken

It has been a while since I first posted this thread,thank you for your comments. My wife and I are now the owners of one third of a Luxemotor Dutch Barge, currently moored in Ghent in Belgium. We thought long and hard about purchasing a share in a boat rather than buying our own but given the issues re Brexit the positives outweighed the negatives. It helps that we only have two other couples as owners as that makes decisions about the boat and its use more straightforward. We expect it to be very different from cruising the UK inland waterways both because we are sharing and also because Europe has real rules and regulations regarding its waterways and how they are used. We will be cruising in the Netherlands this year, they have some serious waterways and very large commercial boats, lots of bridges but not many locks. Ken

I do wonder how much you know about narrowboat construction. The floor in a narrowboat has little or nothing under it except the baseplate and ballast. The black water tank will probably be under the bed, other locations are possible. Narrowboat floors are usually wood based, although that may be covered in other materials. Composing toilets do not need black water tanks, the liquid you remove similar to a cassette and the solids are composted, dispose of as you see fit. Water liner or stainless steel, your choice. Ken

Many narrowboats have the water tank as part of the structure, normally in the bow, replacing that with plastic is not an option although you could fit a liner. Some boats have stainless steel water tanks which overcome the potential rust problems. As for black water or sewage buy one with a cassette, they are already plastic. Sorry everyone please don't restart the old argument! Ken

One thing you need to research is whether you will be allowed to reside in Europe post Brexit. Unless Brexit does not happen we Brits will become a Third country and treated in a similar way to American etc. boaters. The standard rule without a visa is 90 days and then leave for 180 days, not ideal for boating. It is possible to apply for a long stay visa but it is a fair amount of red tape and at the moment no one really seems to know what the rules will be and even if they will be the same in different EU regions. Also be careful re VAT rules either taking a boat from UK into Europe or the reverse. Unlike the UK Europe has rules and they are enforced you need an ICC (International Certificate of Competence) which you can obtain from the RYA, and depending on where you are cruising carry the correct paperwork. Our boat, which we share with two other couples, is a 17 mtr. Luxemotor has an AIS receiver built into the VHF and for 2020 we are installing an AIS B+ transponder so the big boats can see us well in advance as well as us being aware of them. Tam suggested looking on the DBA website, I would also recommend the RYA website there is a section devoted to European inland waterways, well worth a read. Good luck but do the research before spending money. Ken

In September we sold WinterRose, the narrowboat which we owned for slightly less than fourteen years. Our original intention was to cover all the English and Welsh canals / rivers which we had not cruised once we had retired, that is now complete. Then to purchase a new boat and cruise the European waterways however that 2015 plan didn't take Brexit into account, even if we eventually achieve a trade agreement with the EU there is no guarantee that we will have the access we do now. Worst case will be 90 days in Europe and then leave for 180 days unless you can acquire a longer stay visa, not straightforward. Now the question. A friend suggested looking for a boat share, my first reaction was "no way" however it does seem to have some advantages, the boat would be used throughout the season and the costs shared. So anyone have any views either for or against, obviously anyone who is actually in such an arrangement would hopefully have a good idea of the pros and cons. Thanks in advance Ken

Well I am impressed, e mailed this morning and they have replied cancelling the charge notice and apologised. As I said earlier it does pay to have evidence. Hampton Court Palace moorings are owned by Historic Royal Palaces not the EA, I suppose they also control the car parks there. If you need it their address is appeals@district-enforcement.co.uk they only give a snail mail address on the notice. Ken

As part of our 2018 cruising we boated the length of the River Thames from Lechlade to Limehouse, we used a number of free 24 hour moorings which are run for the Environment Agency by two different parking companies. There are notices displaying the mooring conditions at the various sites, the notices for both companies look very similar one company gives a phone number to register, the other District Enforcement only supplies a website "where2moor". We moored at Hampton Court palace on 19/9/2018 and I tried to use the website to register our arrival, my phone signal was poor and the website kept dropping out. I then saw a man walking along the moorings taking photographs of the moored boats, I spoke to him and he told me he was an enforcement officer for District Enforcement who controlled the moorings, I explained the problem and he gave me two phone numbers and told me I could register my arrival by phone. I called and spoke to a man explained the problem with the website and he told me it wasn't a problem he would register my arrival, asked me when we would be leaving, I told him next morning, he said OK no fee to pay, I thanked him and ended the call. All done then, as required by the notice displayed by District Enforcement, so I was somewhat surprised this morning to receive a Mooring Charge Notice demanding £100 for mooring at Hampton Court on 19/9/2018. Obviously I am not going to pay and have already appealed, fortunately we keep a boat log and had noted the problem we had at Hampton Court and also the two telephone numbers I used were still in my mobile phone log, hopefully that will be enough but as this is a parking enforcement company I may have to take it to court. So if you do moor on the Thames and the site is controlled by District Enforcement (where2moor) make sure you have evidence of your boats arrival and departure. The phone numbers by the way are 01785 540016 and 01785 540017. Ken

Apparently you missed the last line. However I do find the somewhat absurd claims made for climate change laughable. Just how much energy is required to raise sea temperatures by 1 degree centigrade to a depth of 3500 m, required for this 1 m sea level rise , We really do not know enough about our planet and how it works to make claims about what might happen a hundred years from now. The so called greenhouse gases account for less than 1% of the total atmosphere. Not all scientists agree with the reasons put forward for climate change. The human race has since the start of the industrial age increased the output of pollution into the atmosphere, this will I assume have an effect but how much and given that we have started to address this will it reverse in the future, who knows. Generally the news is bad news it is rare that good news makes it either into our newspapers or onto TV, and sensational news is the best of all, accuracy not important. Ken

The survey is a joke, basically a quick walk through the boat check the fire extinguishers are in date ask if you have a life jacket and is it in date. Generally if the boat is in good condition, visual check only, you are good to go. Make sure you have the paperwork for the survey printed out so that whomever you use can sign it, guess how I know this. Cost of the survey in 2017 was £70.00. In addition you have to pay Peel Ports a fee to use the Ship Canal and they want a copy of your insurance. All contact details current in 2017 are available on here see Cruise Diaries pinned post. Ken

Indeed true however so is the converse, when ice melts the water produced occupies less space than the ice. Fortunately or not I suppose I won't be around to worry about it. If we get any more summers like the last one, well sorry but global warming bring it on? Only joking. Ken

There certainly isn't a thermocouple on my Refleks stove except for the external overtemperature one fitted to the hot water output pipe. The control unit is very simple, other systems are obviously more complex. Ken

Given that 71 percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water, how much is required to raise the sea level by 1 metre? Is there enough ice even if both the Artic and Antarctic melted completely? Ken