nine9feet

This amused me : http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/10742021.Flower_display_concerns_at_Taunton_boat_mooring/ "..in a letter to Mr Furzer on October 3, Maria Nash, moorings manager at the Canal and River Trust, said an increasing amount of items being stored on the path was restricting the access, making the site look untidy and compromising security. The letter warned Mr Furzer and other boat owners to remove the items within two weeks or risk having their mooring contract terminated." Then: "This week, however, a spokesman for the Canal and River Trust described Maria Nash’s letter as ‘over-zealous’ and said they would like to find a ‘middle ground’ with Mr Furzer." !

Having had experience of a boat jamming in this way, it doesn't seem that unlikely to me! See http://groups.google.com/d/msg/uk.rec.waterways/iSdeI6K8Hx0/TpSfDgido4UJ - story relates to 1971!

Yes! First went through, going south, in 1971. The towpath was in a bad state with long sections collapsed, often leaving the supporting structure sticking up out of the water.

Hi Allan, Thanks for that. I'm obviously not using the correct terms in the forum search - could you please advise what I should have searched for? Or is it that the search facility isn't that good? Cheers, John nine9feet

Many years ago I recall reading that a hosepipe for filling the tank should not be your average garden PVC type but should be "food grade" for potable drinking water. As I need to buy a new hose I have had a quick look on t'internet but am struggling to find non PVC type. What sort of hose and fittings is normally used these days? Cheers, John nine9feet Edited cuz I can't spell my own name

More thoughts! The boat was not anywhere it could be craned out/dry docked. The broker expected to charge £200 to move the boat (but was unable to say when it could happen other than "in the next two weeks"!). Fortunately the owner decided he wanted one last trip, so that decision saved me£200 My first offer (as others have said "subject to survey") was 20% below the asking price and this offer was declined, as expected. My second offer was accepted. The date for craning out and consequently the survey was changed by the marina a few days before due. They could not undertake the blacking when it would be required so the boat was on hard standing for two weeks. Back in the water a week ago. If, as a result of the survey, you need to negotiate on the price do not share the survey report with the broker!! Be clear as to what is included in the sale before you make the offer. Cheers, John nine9feet

, I can only quote from my own experience as I have just bought my first boat. Don't trust the broker for anything - verify everything yourself or independently (surveyor, etc). Ask to see the documentation for the boat (e.g. previous bill of sale). You will need to drive everything - arrange survey, haul out/dry dock, etc. I had some difficulty getting everyone coordinated such is the laid back culture. As the cost of craning out was £410 pounds I wanted the hull to be blacked as soon as the paperwork was completed. In the end I has survey on a Sat morning and Bill of Sale was signed on the Monday so the boat stayed out of the water for the blacking. I also had BSS done at the same time as the full survey. If any problems had been raised by this I would have had the evidence to negotiate on the price. Good luck! Cheers, John nine9feet

I think that the real problem in discussing RMPs is that many people do not believe that CRT will deliver the required policing! Cheers, John

That's a neat bit of circular linking! How did you do that?

See here for the story. John nine9feet

Apparently, he called his 73- year-old father instead!! "The boat, which is worth £16,000, is completely submerged and British Waterways has closed the river from Diglis to Upton-upon- Severn to all traffic because of the obstruction."

Just came across this article in the Evesham Journal which does not give much information so googled and found this Worcester News article which begins : "A MAN was rescued in the nick of time from his sinking narrowboat last night. The boat had got into trouble 400m downstream of Kempsey on the river Severn, and the man on-board was found desperately trying to bail the water out. Minutes after being plucked to safety the narrowboat had completely sunk." What would you do if you found your boat sinking in somewhere like the River Severn? I don't think I would be attempting to bail out!

See an entry on Salty's blog HTH

According to the Herts Advertiser, David King "A PAINTER and decorator who sparked a nationwide manhunt after stealing a £40,000 narrowboat from a hire company has been given a suspended jail sentence." "The court heard that King had made so many alterations to the boat that the owners were forced to spend around £29,000 restoring it." "Brett William-son, defending, said King had significant financial problems at the time of his disappearance and had been forced to sell the family home since his arrest." "King was given a six-month sentence suspended for two years and made the subject of a 12-month supervision order. No order for compensation was made." The above is just a few quotes from the article.

According to this BBC News item on The Millennium Link canal restoration, the project has helped deliver over £178m of investment and 4,000 jobs in five years. "A study, conducted [by] consultants Roger Tym & Partners, assessed the progress of the project since 2003. The £84.5m scheme was Europe's largest canal restoration project to link the Forth & Clyde and Union Canals. The figures go beyond original forecasts set in 1999 which predicted £100m of investment and 3,420 new jobs. The study also found that the Falkirk Wheel, built to link the canals, has attracted 1.6 million visitors since 2003." OK, that's great news for the waterways and potential future investment but I can't help being sceptical about these numbers - e.g. 4,000 jobs. How does restoring a few miles of canal produce that result?

I was out last week on a boat from Viking Afloat at Gailey, Staffs & Worcs. They seemed to give everyone some instruction as they sent someone off with each boat that left the yard. Those going north were taken through Gailey Lock which is immediately by the yard. Those going south were not so lucky as there is no lock for some miles! We didn't have any tuition as we said we were experienced and answered a quite a few questions to their satisfaction (including a comment about keeping away from the cill!). However, the first time we caught up with another Viking boat was at a lock the next day. Two women were sitting on the balance beams holding the paddles partially up with the windlass and no pawl on!

Had a similar experience in a narrow lock. The details are a bit vague now as this was in 1971, but I believe the lock was on the Staffs & Worcs near Acton Trussel and I particularly remember the M6 being close by on our right going south. The boat had a centre cockpit and was hired from Simolda at Nantwich (no longer operating). The problem was that the lock wall on one side was not flat. About half way up there was a significant bulge so that the brickwork stepped out a couple of inches along a mortar line. As the boat rose in the chamber, one side gunwhale caught under the protruding brickwork. No one noticed that the boat began to tilt until too late. Where the bottom plate of the boat was joined to the sides there was a quite a wide lip. The projecting lip wedged firmly in a mortar line on the other wall, so the boat was held tight at an angle! We did not realise this until we had emptied the lock again in the expectation that the boat would fall with the water level, but it did not. It remained wedged and suspended two feet above the water in the empty lock! As this was in the days before mobile phones, we went to a farm next to the lock to phone BWB, as they were then. The farmer told us that this was a common problem and that he had often freed boats using his tractor and volunteered to do the same for us. Back at the lock, queues of boats were forming both above and below, so there were plenty of volunteers to help. However, the tractor failed to dislodge the boat. Various ideas were then tried until eventually someone suggested using the gang plank to force the lip out of the mortar line. Novel use for a gang plank and mooring mallets! I had my doubts, but it actually worked and the boat was freed. Unfortunately, we failed to partially refill the lock first, so when the boat came free it dropped two feet into the water! Quite a few of the onlookers got wet, but we were surprised to find only one broken cup and a couple of smashed glasses! Oh, and there was also the fall-out from the desperately full chemical loo............

I asked about this similar item a few weeks ago.

It's also advertised in WW as the "Boaters Lockmate" (Patented).

In the past! These were run at the Crick Boat Show, end of May.

This article mainly refers to incidents involving hire boats (not day boats) on the Thames, none of which involved loss of life or even injury but the whole tone, to me, is that boating and (excessive) drinking should be prevented.

The rules are here. Mind numbing unless you actually enjoy reading this stuff. John

I doubt you will get very far. If "everyone" were required to pay council tax, that would be similar to ( but actually go further than) the poll tax which council tax replaced. Think how unpopular poll tax was! How would each person's "share" be calculated? Council tax is banded, rates were dependant on value, so it is argueable from one point of view that there has never been a time when everyone piad his "share" of the costs. What about the aged, the unemployed, the sick, etc.? How do you expect them to pay? Yes, I'm sorry, I'm bending what you are saying to make a point and the point is that there has to be a set of rules which make it reasonably fair for the majority and are not too difficult to administer (bring back the poll tax ). John

I think he means there is probably enough interest and available material to make it worthwhile producing such a book! John

Surely you believe that in our society people should only pay what they are required to? Therefore if you think the rules applying to moorings need to be changed, tackle that instead of complaining about people who comply! HTH