nine9feet

"The Front Legs Of The Cow" actually :-) Cheers

Shouldn't that be same side ground paddle, opposite side gate paddle? :-) Cheers

Oh dear, Martin! No one is "crying about it on the internet". I am merely interested in whether it is generally expected for there to be no through route. I appreciate that this issue would rarely (if ever) have affected you in the past and won't be a bother for you now that you are no longer boating. However, it may affect my boating as I cruise all year round and move most days. Cheers

Finally had the time to look at the proposed stoppage list for the winter. Any one else studied it yet? I note that for most of January there will be no through route between the midlands and the south, as the Oxford, which is otherwise open, is closed 4th to 29th to allow automation of Bridge 205 which is Mill Lift Bridge. This is the only planned stoppage on the Oxford. I thought it used to be the case that the stoppages were arranged to keep one route open but that was not true (iirc) last winter. Can we expect this every winter now? Cheers

Yep! The parts are Collar 44140921 Lugs 44256700 Bolts 743625 Note there are 2 sizes of collar above is larger as my installation has a step down connector to the 4" flue.

Yes. This is the link in the stoppage notice email https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/3427/lock-39-hatton-top-lock-hatton-grand-union Cheers

I was surprised at this: an emergency can wait a week to be fixed

The OP might wish to consider buying "Going It Alone" by Colin Edmondson. Available many places normally £4 but I found it at £2.50 here. Cheers

No consistency! I pointed out the errors in the data for my boat and received a response for each of the three errors I had identified. The following wording was included: 1, "....I have made an amendment to the sighting which now reads that the boat was actually at ...." 2. "....amendments have been included to state that the boat was at Mercia Marina." (This one had me at Foxton!) 3. "The sighting 28/01/2015 showing you to be at Wootten Wawen has been amended to state that you were actually at the Hockley Heath Wharf. You are correct in stating that Wootten Wawen is not on the Stratford North and for this reason I have made further enquiries with the Waterway Manager so that this can be corrected." (floc description incorrect) So CRT say that have amended the data! Cheers

Boat was returned to BCM and the owner has just lleft with it :-) Local moorers knew about it!

Pleased to hear that! I have been stuck at the top of Ryders Green since pm Monday - not the nicest place to moor and I am on the lock landing ! I was hoping for a thaw today but 'twas not to be - some of the ice here is 1" thick which I discovered this afternoon when breaking ice round the boat with the pole. Just need to get through the half mile to Pudding Green..........................but will have to wind first :-(

Except if they really like the paint job and is one of the reasons they have bought the boat :-)

Paul Smith, owner of the Livingonanarrowboat site and forum, sends out a newsletter weekly on Sundays (usually!). In today's newsletter he mentions Jim Shead's comprehensive information site and explains that : "Jim has decided that it’s time to take things easy so he’s going to cutting down on the work he does online. I suggested hosting some or all of his information on my site rather than lose it to the waterways community. He’s tentatively agreed so I’ve started to add some of his articles to my own." Don't know quite what to think of this. I am so used to Jim's info just being there. Maybe there was a hint when the boat data moved to Canalplan :-) If Jim really is winding things down then I hope all the info will appear elsewhere in the future.

This has been mooted for years. See : Stratford & Warwick Waterways Trust

Have you been given the combination to the exit gate? I was there last week and was told in case emergency exit was required. I wonder if it is still the same?

" Following a minor incident involving a holiday narrowboat, the Port of London Authority (PLA) has decided hire craft are classified as ‘commercial’ and have banned them from the Thames Tideway." Seems a bit extreme! Suspect some kind of political game is being played here See more at boatingbusiness.com linky

Yes, that is the new plan. I hope they finish soon as the pound I am moored in is dropping slowly! Over a foot in the last couple of hours

No, I would have been sat at the bottom of Atherstone for 10 days! And that is assuming that the stoppage ends on the planned date! In addition, it's some time since I did the GU through Knowle and I hadn't done Garrison flight before this morning either :-)

Because the Atherstone stoppage isn't due to end until 14th December I decided to go this route but in the opposite direction. Actually Grendon - Fazeley - Salford Jn - Knowle - Warwick - Braunston. However, I'm now stuck in the Camp Hill flight because their is a non-emergency stoppage at lock 4. This stoppage is unannounced. I have walked up to lock 4 and taken a few photos as the canal between locks 3 & 4 is completely drained and there is rather a lot of that orange mesh netting along the edge of the whole towpath to lock 4. I was told it was a routine lock inspection. I asked why it was not on the stoppage list and the reply was that if the stoppage was expected to last 4 hours or less often there was no notice issued! But someone in the office would have it written down somewhere! I was also told to expect to wait at least 3 hours 'til about 3pm. Has anyone else come across unnotified stoppages like this? I am, of course, excluding emergencies :-) Cheers

Atherstone flight closed until 14th December

Thanks for the link. The original article did not refer to any previous scheme so I (wrongly) assumed this was a new plan. I was already aware of the Grand Contour Canal proposal(s). The Independent reported in more detail and did refer to previous proposals.

The following appears today in The Scotsman. I am wondering what impact, if built, this new waterway will have on the existing system. Would be interesting to see a plan. "IT IS a multi-billion pound plan designed to route fresh Scottish water to the rose gardens, cricket grounds and farms of England’s parched south-east. A bold proposal to tackle water shortages in Britain’s southern counties by building a vast “super canal” between the two countries is being considered by both the UK and Scottish governments. The plans, devised by one of the world’s biggest architectural and engineering design firms, envisage a new £14 billion waterway running from the Scottish Borders down through Newcastle and Leeds, winding its way along the west coast of England and taking in extra water on its way. Known as the Natural Grid, it would eventually branch off as it reached the Home Counties, with routes running down into Hertfordshire and Hampshire to supply homes, businesses and utilities. The company behind the canal project, Aecom, suggests an initial starting point of the northern Pennines, with the canal eventually extended north to begin its journey in the Southern Uplands. The plans have been presented to David MacKay, chief scientific advisor to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and are under consideration. A spokesman for the Scottish Government supported the idea of exporting some of Scotland’s water supplies to the south. “Water is an invaluable resource which we are fortunate to have in abundance. Exporting water to England would be a long-term ambition which would assist an area with a less abundant water supply than in Scotland,” he said. “There are undoubtedly significant logistical issues to overcome but we would be willing to consider and discuss any proposals which would link with our ambitions to develop Scotland as a Hydro Nation." It's not April 1st, is it?

They are also concerned about boat width which they measured with a large aluminium (?) angle across the top and down one side using a plumb line against the vertical. This was in June. I was asked how wide and responded " 6'10" I believe". They measured it at 6'11". Then asked "how did you get here?". I was tempted to say that the boat was craned in just out of site round the corner (Marsden). :-) Anyway, they let me through. The boat has significant paint damage on the hull sides which I have yet to repair :-(