m0mcx

Hello Tidal (don't know name, sorry), In days gone by, certainly licensing and equipment were expensive but licences are now free after first registration (free to over 65 and under 21 too I believe) and equipment costs are negligable, certanly less than a new fancy mobile phone (ebay has lots of cheap marine VHF sets - do a search). Getting licensed is only really a procedural matter too. I really do appreciate this is a horse-for-courses debate but instead of narrowboaters purchasing different standards (CB, PMR446, Ham etc) I do believe that if there was a concerted effort to move the inland waterways over to the almost never used marine VHF frequencies, it would align all users on the same standard, promote safety and confidence and there would be social benefits too (as there was on the CB days). I say "never used" because the Oxford canal is hardly the Solent in a busy day. For the record, I never use CB anymore because of the disgusting language near towns and cities. Cheers and beers, Callum.

My login name is my amateur radio callsign. It's a habit I got into a while back on all the other forums I play with. I find it polite for people to sign off their posts with real names - or with a full sig, like an email however everyone has their own habits. Kind regards, Callum M0MCX 07976 631881 http://www.m0mcx.co.uk (See our latest canal adventures at: http://www.m0mcx.co.uk/gallery/index.php?/category/44)

Scotty, Yes - that's the ones. Now called Taff rails are they? What are the Ponce seats then, the same? Callum.

Ponce? Great name! It would suit me!! Health and Safety issue are they? C.

>>>There is no safety substitute for Marine VHF on rivers etc though Some here think they are toyish. http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...st&p=141256 I positively promote marine VHF on the inland waterways precisely because it's a free resource and there's currently few peope using it. Callum.

What are those welded-on stools called on the stern of a semi-trad / trad boat? Boat builder says they can't fit them anymore due to health and safety. Is this right? Regards, Callum.

Carlt (I don't know your name - sorry), Apologies for delay in replying, I've just started cruising this site. With respect, may I ask you why you are so negatively opinionated regarding licensed radio ops using licensed radios within inland waterways? There is PMR446, CB, Marine VHF or Amateur Radio - all either free and/or available after a few hours study. It's the licensing that's dictating the differences in procedures that's all. For any *genuine* marine or inland radio use, I would choose Marine VHF every time (and this includes shouting an instruction to get two loaves at Tesco, not one!). It's less cluttered and has a much higher respect value than the other license type and I would have less chance of having any sort of interference - especially if one picked a suitably out-of-the-way frequency. All this bullcr@p of race control frequencies etc and channel allocation is utter bunkum, most frequencies are clear for 99% of their life. .. why I would want to use a mobile is beyond my comprehension. Callum.

>>>was great on the river , but a nightmare on canals Was the geography getting in the way of the signal on the canal..?

Hmm. Just had a discussion with the war department. She wants a continuous tracker system, I'm not completely sure. I feel a more regular flip up system in use only when stationary might be more in keeping with a lower profile. I'm not keen on watching a dome 24/7. It's great for showing off I'm sure - but I'm very concerned about the viewing obstruction. I'm on the fence until I need to press the button. C.

John, You are overplaying this old boy! Clearly Jonathon Wilson supplied shells (to Louis and Joshua) meets all the rubber stamps Callum.

I am specifying a Camos 30cm satellite tracking sat dish like this: http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/camos_mobile_satellite_tv_dome/. 1) Does anyone here actually have one? A search reveals someone said they were noisy when continuously tracking but I'm very keen on the functionality. Real observations appreciated. 2) The smallest 30cm high version: For a 70 footer, will this impede my travels terribly around the 70 foot network in terms of air draft (and visibility..?) or should I move towards a slimmer auto-fold-away non-tracking one? C.

Ian, For some reason, I missed your reply when I compiled my conclusions. Indeed, the Wilson shell looked about 3.5 inches and the Reeves shell was at least an inch and a half bigger. I just saw that as three inches extra for the four of us. That's a lot square footage. I banned the kids from walking on the gunwales at all times, even when parked up and followed the rules myself. I'll discuss today with builder and see what potential there is for gunwale reduction. I'm pretty keen on idea - and as you said, if you can reduce the risk and not use the gunwale, then perhaps it's not a bad thing. I'll still have it in servicable usage in non-slip paint but not as a day-to-day feature. Lastly, you mention the business of using the stern as a hopping off point, not the bow. There's clearly loads of different ways that people get into risky situations. I wonder what the most risky departure point is on a narrowboat? Actually, what's the safest then, the stern I suppose, but only when it's not moving towards large concrete structure in shallow water..? Food for thought. Callum.

I conclude that a) You can have any size that mechanically will work, It's probably the shell builders style and c) Safety / usability concerns. Nothing else will or can constrict the size. Thanks. Callum.

Prior to placing an order for my shell this month, I need to clear up a small issue I have in my mind with gunwale size. On a hire boat last week, I had a chat with a fellow in a lock whilst going down the Stockton flight. He was steering a Jonathon Wilson shelled narrowboat (from Doncaster). He pointed out that his gunwales were a lot narrower than mine (Kate Boats / Reeves Shell) but he said since he never walked on his, he doesn't miss them and gets another 4 inches of width inside the boat instead. I like this idea having only ever used the gunwale when stationary to shuffle along when moored a bit far from the bank. Do I ask /specify for a smaller sized Gunwale? What's your opinion? Cheers, Callum.