TGweeder

Hi all, Bit late to the party here, Yet again the papers writing articles with out fact checking, Reality is : the effected boat was one originally from the docks BUT the current owner in the article attached bought the boat only one year ago thinking they could freeload as correctly stated the boats were on a free pass so to speak, not having to move or having to pay for a mooring for a few years, All boats were given notice the beginning of last year (find a home mooring on the canal or leave) On the other side of the coin CRT were working with local businesses to identify and secure agreements to provide home moorings, If the above mentioned had been respectful to the situation and location they were in when they bought the boat and didn't cause trouble cause fights and generally turn the area into a tip. The business would happily of offered them a mooring, Short canal local news travels fast they had no options or offers else's where, Crt's offer to pay to move them I would think was a cheaper option than a prolonged Court case as advertised by there solicitor, Before moving onto the boat they were van dwelling (still have three van's) Take from this what you will, Best of luck to those they end up locating next to on the K&A

Could it fall into disuse? Yes, Is it likely, considering new home moorings for the original docks boats have in the last 6 months have been identified and approved? I very much doubt it. It isn't a recognised navigation on paper and I am aware the iwa are constantly requesting it to be upgraded. But it is active enough that things keep moving, lock's and bridge's keep being repaired so all the signs are very positive.

Ymca pontoon has boats moored, facilities wise are what's available in the center itself so members access, LOWER MAUNSEL has toilets ans elsan no shower, Bathpool has toilets shower and elsan.

Wasn't managed or advertised very well either.

There is a cranage area, So getting boats in isn't too big a deal, If you wanted to navigate the canal then 50ft is about it due to the lock sizes. They did a pricing exercise to reinstate the lock onto the river but it just isn't viable as due to the tidal situation the lock would have to be managed and pilot used to bring the boats in. Expense versus usage. The Canal also supplies drinking water so any salt/saline contamination would cause lots of problems as you can imagine.

The docks redevelopment has residential as part of the 4.2 mil planning, The town council are actually pretty good considering its a council lol. They will obviously be looking for a return on there investment and as we know residential moorings are worth more money, 40/60 on the moorings split residential leasure but I can't remember what way round it is.

Interesting reading all the speculation, Unfortunately the article in the Bridgwater and Taunton Mercury is very misleading and the "unnamed man" is a disgruntled boat owner who has caused nothing but trouble for himself through his own behaviour, Also not an original bw docks boat owner... Thought he could buy a boat on the B&T and freeload from the situation, 1. The reality of the situation is. CRT gave up 28 marina's the same year as the bw docks, Somerset County Council were the only council to insist on all the boats having to leave (not crt's choice) 2. CRT worked with the boaters as yes some lived there had job's and families so lifting out and causing upheaval leaving there home was something crt recognised and helped by allowing the boats to move out onto the 14 miles of waterway, 3. As some on here have stated you can't meet Cc requirements moving over 20 miles a year as it obviously isn't that long a waterway, there were also no suitable identified mooring locations for the particular size of boats in question. 4. the docks future at that point was uncertain, potential leveling up funds for refurbishment but no timescale or guarantee so crt gave the boaters an agreement to bide by and it was reviewed every 6 months. 5. The time came where the town’s fund was secured and a date set for refurbishment was place to be the summer of 2025. 6. Once crt had this information they (last year) spoke with the boaters and indicated if the boats didn't have home moorings by January of this year they would have to be removed from the b&t. 7. Three locations were identified for moorings (pretty much where the boats had found homes over the past two years and local businesses approached with offers to lease and manage the locations, 8 (here's your new paper misinformation) all the original boat owners who left the docks have identified locations there is some finalising to be done with 4 but heading in the right direction. One original boat sadly the owner passed away and the family are removing the boat to be sold. Two of the original boats but not original owners are being removed, And a third that just showed up on the system thinking they could be clever and play the system these 3 boats received eviction notices, Two of the three have done nothing but try to play the system claiming squatting rights cause fights and upsetting the local areas,ect, the 3rd was recently sold and the new owner is lifting it for a refit. So 10 people loosing there homes/boats? Not true. There has been nothing but support for the boaters from crt and the local bridgwater town council, yes some difficult pills to swallow at times loosing the facilities at the docks for example (the county council again insisting they had to be closed) and life adjustments to make but everyone is still local to there families and job's. The Bridgwater mercury didn't fact check before publication.

For ease of explaining the only image I have with the clamp in place.

It has a cavitation plate trust me it's easy enough to lift out ? tried and tested that bit. As for blockage yea it might do that has yet to be put to the test. Worsted case would be to weld the hole in the cover up and as you say stick it out the side. ?

I did consider putting them out a skin fitting but decided this way as having moving pipework would gradually loosen the skin fitting and could cause problems. It's simple enough for me to fit a small tap into the line and just close it off when cruising.

There is a clamp to hold the plate down picture is work in progress ? Yes the pipework is long enough for it to lift out of the way ?

Good morning everyone ? I have recently fitted a access lid above the weed hatch, put in a gutter and drain pipes into the weed hatch. Will I need to put a tap inline to stop back wash coming back up the pipe when cruising or is it too high to have an effect? Looking forward to your views again thanks for your guidance. Kind regards Tim

Oddly enough I have bought a mat for the stern. Thinking you're right I might as well get one for the bow ?

Yep watched them twice ?

Thanks DRP I am lucky enough to now have the boat under cover and a small amount of control over temperature. Done a lot of spray painting in the past but never rollor and brush off so looking forward to having a go. The roof will be pretty full solar panels plank,poles ect. Don't see much point in walking on a roof either so ... Image of us moving across our yard to the shed for your enjoyment ?

Hi Richard The vents are staggered on the roof. Ignor the two close together one is a temporary cover for a gas flue.

Hi everyone hope you're all well. Currently have a few questions for you wise people ?. 1. First up reference the photo. Is it a problem having an air vent so close to the chimney? 2. I am close to painting the roof and cabin but can't decide on paint type. Roof and deck paint I am guessing is just paint with grit in for grip ? Please correct me if wrong. Not worried about the roof as we won't be walking on it (no room) 3. I will be rolling so what's a good brand of rollor and brush to use. Don't want anything that's going to break up on me. 4. When it comes to hook's and rope tie points should I be looking to use an enamel ? Thank in advance ? Tim

This has obviously stood the test of time. All fixed now ? . Something for people to look out for in the future too ? Thanks everyone for your input a great insight ?

To be fair (not that I am anything) When I first saw it I didn't think anything of it, it wasn't until It was blasted out did I realize and I guess I surveyor would only know on experience. Apart from the few lumps of weld sticking out you would not of know.

Yeah and that ? Give me a 24 speed semi auto dozer transmission, engine or anything mechanical I can fix it. Ask me to write a sentence ??

Sorry predicted text. And I am crap at spelling ??

Ok will do thanks . I did think about putting guides at the ends but it's never ending ? excuse the pund

Are they not inspected before being put on the water then ? And would a good survivor not point it out on a sales inspection? (Note I didn't have a survey done so am not criticizing anyone) My choice as I wasn't worried about anything needed and was cheap enough.

Evens Marine and Son

Update. Thought I would share, this is what I have done 16mm stud's ? All inside the width of the boat incase you was concerned ?