KenK

Alvechurch have some narrowboats for hire which they call ecohulls, they have a lump on the front similar to the tanker idea. It is supposed, acording to their literature, to cut down bank errosion, wash etc. I've never used one, does anyone know if it works? Ken

Ken

Oh yes it is! Placing the flag upside down is considered to be lèse majesté and is offensive to some, however, it can be deliberately flown upside down by the military as a distress signal. While this is rarely done these days, it was used by groups under siege during the Boer War and during campaigns in India in the late 18th century. and Civilian use is permitted, but stricter guidelines apply for use on naval vessels where the flag may not be used as a jack by merchant ships. Interestingly, unauthorised use of the flag in the 17th Century to avoid paying harbour duties - a privilege restricted to naval ships - caused James' successor, Charles I, to order that use of the flag on naval vessels be restricted to His Majesty's ships "upon pain of Our high displeasure". Those restrictions remain, and still today it is a criminal offence to fly the Union Flag from a boat. Ken

The other option take a training course on the boat before you start off. Many of the instructors who do the RYA helmsman course will do it on your boat at a location which suits you. After a couple of days training you should be fine. Enjoy the boat search and I hope you find a good one. Ken

Hi Heather, Yes , do the course. I can recommend Bob Strachan he runs courses from Alvechurch, you can find him on the Alvechurch website. I did a two day course with him and learnt more in those two days than in 15 years of hiring, mind you I am a slow learner Like Gillie we are on the K&A and she's right there is always something new or unexpected, the training will give you the confidence to deal with it. Ken

Hi welcome to the forum. We bought a folding gas barbecue from The Range about £35.00, and I think Homebase do something similar. We looked at charcoal but it seemed a lot of messing about on a boat, harder to get going and harder to clean. Good luck with the boat. Ken

Oh! Only furley distressed then

We have a roller blind in the bathroom, it has a D ring fixed to the bottom of the blind in the middle and there is a small brass knob screwed to the wood below the porthole. When the blind is down the ring fits over the knob and keeps it in place. Same system in the kitchen. I suppose with venetian blinds you need some kind of channel on each side never seen it done but anything is possible, electrical trunking might work. Ken

Maybe, but by the looks of it you have it upside down so are you in distress? Ken

In that case forget the sailaway. There are plenty of good 45ft boats around ready to go between £30,000 - £40,000. Have a look at the Used Boat Co website http://www.theusedboat.co.uk As John said in an earlier post you do need to go and look at the boats. Web sites and magazines and brokers all make the boats sound wonderful but the reality can be different. Many people have a strange idea about what their boat is worth and don't forget the advertised price is only a starting point. There are always more boats for sale than buyers some boats we looked at two years ago when we were looking to buy are still for sale. Ken

Halfords do a nice kit comes in a metal case, contains most things to service anything on a boat. Last time I looked it was £99.00, my wife bought me one for Xmas so far it proved to be an excellent buy. Ken

Your original post asked about getting a fitter to do the job. If you do it yourself it would possibly work out cheaper. However you need to factor in finding somewhere to do it, given our current weather inside would be best. Then how long is it going to take you? If your working it is only evenings and weekends. I think you need to look carefully at what you want, a boat to go cruising or a project. Good luck Ken

Unless you have just won the lottery that's a crazy way to buy anything and even if you have it's still crazy. Unless you are going to live on the boat full time it is always going to be an expensive hobby. So decide a budget and then go out and see what you can get for your money. New prices for a fully finished boat tend to start at £1000 per foot after that it depends how deep your pockets are. Second hand you pays your money and makes your choice but the quality and price don't always go hand in hand. Also don't forget once you have bought it it is going to cost around £3000 a year to keep running and a lot more in some parts of the country and before someone shoots me down cheaper in others. Good luck in the hunt. Ken

Try looking at Tillerman's website, http://www.tillermanboats.co.uk or Canal Junction http://www.canaljunction.com There is loads of information on the net. It's always difficult to offer advice as everyones taste is different. The Ashby's supposed to be very easy but I don't know how much there is to do. Main thing is don't set a schedule and try to keep to it, you'll just end up rushing. Take your time and you will be hooked. Ken

It's worth it for peace of mind. I can fix most things, have the tools on board to do it, and the most common spares. Having been an engineer all my working life it's always the part you don't have that fails and always at the most inconvenient moment. Murphys, Sods, etc Law Ken

I'm sure the hire company will make certain that you will be safe. Dead clients are bad for business. Make it clear you are a novice and ask all the questions until your comfortable. Enjoy the holiday and relax, that's what it's all about. Ken

Christine, It's in the breaking news section of http://www.narrowboatworld.com It does not give any details nor so far have any replies been made by BW. Ken

In general I've only good service from BW. Certainly the staff I've met or have had dealings with over the phone have been helpful and very pleasant. That said I spotted this on another forum, if accurate it should certainly worry BW's management. WorseningStaff Confidence in British Waterways Leadership A NEW survey of its people has dealt a body-blow to British Waterways, with only an appalling 31% showing confidence in the leadership of the company, down from the 'low' year of 2006 of 49%. The directors too are slammed in this new survey getting only 27% of its people having confidence, a massive downtown from 46% last year. Senior management as well is in the doldrums, with only 52% earning its confidence, down from 60%. Little loyalty All along the line, employees of British Waterways show their disquiet of how the company is being run at the present time, with only 51% satisfied with British Waterways as an employer and just 55% having loyalty towards the company. The recent emphasis on the customer is certainly not reflected in its staff, with only 65% believing it is a customer-focused organisation. In every single one of the 20 categories of the survey, the results show a downturn from last year. Great concern These results must be of great concern to the management of British Waterways, which has prompted immediate actions to remedy the situation, comprising: More two-way communication; More explanation of British Waterways' vision: Developing performance and capability profiles; Functional working; Employee benefits. Staff turnaround is reflected in this lack of confidence, with 51 people listed as either leaving or joining British Waterways employ in the past month, though this also includes British Waterways Marinas Ltd. A few years ago, under its former management, British Waterways was listed in the Sunday Times as being amongst the top ten companies to work for. It certainly in not any longer. Certainly makes you think. Ken

I don't know about batteries boiling but this topic always gets people letting off steam. After the last debate on this subject I looked at my boat more out of interest as I don't have a charging problem. The engine is a Beta 38, two alternators, 40 amp for the starter battery and 70 for the lesiure. I measured the output voltage (Fluke True RMS meter) on both with the engine running at 2000 rpm, both outputs were 14.6 V. Checking the manual for the engine I noticed the larger alternator was machine sensed the smaller battery sensed. A little more investigation revealed a Beta battery controller fitted to the 70 amp alternator. This year at Crick I noticed the new Beta 38 had a larger alternator fitted, a 100 amp in place of the 70. The reason new alternator is battery sensed and new boats have more batteries. They have however dispensed with the battery controller as it is no longer needed, the original reason for fitting it was to convert the older alternator to battery sensing. So the conclusion seems to be if you have an older alternator set-up a battery controller may well help. A modern 3/4 stage alternator probably does not need one. Flak jacket and tin hat on, waiting for incoming Ken

Drunken revellers causing havoc on the Thames HIRERS using narrowboats for such as stag parties are causing havoc on the waterways around Oxford on the Thames, with Environment Agency managers particularly concerned about damage to locks. There have been a great many incidents on the river this year, and it is feared that it is only a matter of time before there is a serious accident or a death. The latest was when a narrowboat was hired for a stag party and crashed it into the lock gates at Osney Lock causing thousands of pounds worth of damage. Earlier in the year another narrowboat hired for a party crashed into a cruiser near near Kings Lock at Godstow. Drunks frequently fall into the river at locks, and agency officials are urging boaters to limit their drinking. A man risked his life by tightrope-walking along the guardrail of the weir at Osney Lock and last year at Pinkhill near Farmoor, two stag party drunks raced their hire boats until one crashed into another boat on a bend causing serious damage. Chris Mullineux, Environment Agency Waterways Operations Team Leader for the Upper Thames region, complained: "Large single-sex groups tend to be on a binge when they are boating on the river and we often see them go hell-for-leather from the hire base to get to the nearest pub as quickly as they can. "There could be a serious accident or even a tragedy arising from drunken handling of these boats and we strongly advise against it." The Thames Conservancy Act 1932 give the agency the power to deal with 'dangerous navigation' but it was difficult to enforce, and it is believed the legislation needs tightening up, and breaths tests for all waterways. Anglo-welsh at Eynsham have had problems with breakages on its boats caused by hirers using them for drunken parties and have banned many people from hiring its boats. There have been 20 significant near-misses reported in the Upper Thames region so far this year, many alcohol-related and the majority involving stag parties. Interesting that their prefered solution is not to ban stag parties from hiring boats, with one exception, but to require tighter regulation and breath tests for all. I fail to understand how if they can't enforce the existing legislation how tightening it up will improve things. When I was last on the Thames at Easter there were several EA boats with nice blue lights on, if they observe boats "go hell-for-leather to the nearest pub" surely they could monitor the activity and prevent the excess and damage. Ken

Not sure if it's still there but there used to be a notice telling people to do just that. When we did it the two boats coming the other way ignored my wife's efforts to stop them. Fortunately I was more than three quarters through the narrow bit so they backed up not me. On the K&A through Reading they have a traffic light system which seems to work well, might solve the problem at Llangollen as well. Ken

We seem to have forgotton that wonderful English compromise the semi-trad. Best of both worlds, looks like a trad works like a cruiser. And if your worried about safety close the rear doors and there is no way you can fall in. Go on someone prove me wrong. Ken

Hi Dave Welcome to the forum. If your mooring in Gas Street try to get on the moorings on the right past the Sealife Centre away from the Mailbox. It's quieter and less drunks pass that way so your less likely to be cast adrift. Going to Wolverhampton I'd use the Old Main Line, the new one is dead straight, boring and last time I was up there filthy. You should make the bottom of the twenty one in a day. Have a good trip and don't forget to let us know how it went. Ken

It's called the Pilot Jack or these days the Civil Jack. The Union flag was banned from civilian ships by Charles 1 because too many ships were claiming to be royal ships and avoiding harbour dues. Funny how money always seems to be at the bottom of these things. By the way you can fly the Union Jack if you have an Admiral of the Fleet on board, as it is their flag of rank. Ken

Hi Sam, There are two pubs at Tibberton, the one by the bridge is more of a resturant however just up the road on the left is a pub called Speed the Plough. We went there last summer and it was first rate. Have a good trip. Ken