MrsM

That's interesting Alan and almost certainly confirms that they were acting improperly. I think I will now email CRT and alert them, although I appreciate it may be a little too late. They could, of course, had successfully applied for the appropriate consent.

Part of me thought, "What's the problem with a bit more plant material in the cut?" Another part of me thought, "You lazy bleeders! I bet you are charging CRT for the removal and disposal of green waste." They certainly looked rather sheepish as we passed and directed the leaf blowers away from the water.

Cruising through Rugely the other day we were quite surprised to see canal-side prunings (grass, weeds, hedge cuttings etc) being blown off the towpath into the cut by a team of workers. Created a lot of mess in the water. Can't decide whether that was good practice or not.

If you can do that and rent out a spare room to another student that should easily cover a mortgage. Also doesn't getting a boat for your son to live on whilst at uni in 4 years time rather restrict his choice of universities to those with available moorings nearby? I shudder to think of a youngster trying to to juggle living away from home, settling into uni life and managing within cc restrictions. I'm an ex 6th form teacher and I don't underestimate the talents and abilities of young people but I think that would be a big ask.

Hope the survey goes well and you are soon joining us on the water. Please do post an update.

And there is the lowest bridge we've ever been under - top of our cratch board brushed it - so make sure you have nothing tall on your roof.

Very tight - in that both the bow and stern were sitting on the silt and we had to use the pole to lever ourselves around. We didn't try to get ashore as bit concerned about the depth of the silt and the ditch edges are so shallow that our gangplank (scaffold board) wouldn't reach. However, a rope from the bank would definitely have helped. We winded anti-clockwise and used the gentle flow to help bring the bow round. You will probably be fine but don't expect it to be easy! Enjoy the trip. Nice and very friendly pub at South Kyme with proper moorings in the village.

We did the Sleaford Navigation (Kyme Eau) recently. It was a lovely run but extremely shallow and weedy so very slow going. Winding at the extremity (Cobblers Lock) was also very tight in our 58' NB. Glad we did it though.

This restoration is the kind of thing that I think a YouTube vlog could cover really well. I for one would love to watch it. However, I suspect harrybsmith is far too busy getting on with the actual work to bother with blogging 😀

We used Ian Jennings too a couple of years ago. We had a good walkthrough the boat with him afterwards which was very helpful.

Have used Newark copper cylinders to produce bespoke tanks for our last 2 houses. They have been a great company to deal with.

We had a leak where the cylinder was (badly) supported. We (or rather himself) soldered a copper patch on, reinsulated it and it is now back in place with better load spreading supports. So far so good, cue engine bay filling with cauliflower water!

We did exactly the same

I didn't know the boater. It does seem to be a bit lawless around the Lincoln waterways. Such a shame as it doesn't reflect well on the city and a thriving, well run harbour could be a real attraction for land and boat visitors.

I remember the fireworks incident - the boat was moored in the towpath side and I understand the poor chap was made homeless. The Brayford pool itself is independently controlled but CRT have visitor moorings on the offside as you approach the flyover bridge. These are supposed to be 2 day visitor moorings

With live very close to the Brayford and I am frustrated by how it is managed. So much so that we choose to moor in Newark. There are only a few visitor moorings in Lincoln and for at least the last 3 years there have been the same boats permanently living on the visitor moorings - often meaning there is only space for one visiting narrowboat. I don't understand why these long-term habitants aren't moved off the visitor moorings and onto the pontoons. The nearby 48 hour CRT visitor moorings are just as bad, with the same cruisers squatting on them week after week. Lincoln is a great city and it could be such a nice spot for visiting boaters. I wish the harbour and local CRT enforcement would get their acts together. And don't even get me started about the state of some of the boats on the long-term moorings! ..........

We are hoping to go next year. Don't think we could get the boat ready for the crossing in time otherwise we would love to buddy up.

AndrewKyiv, you say you "have walked along the canals for the last 2 years talking to probably hundreds of boat owners (even during the winter) and I have heard many positive stories." I'm surprised you didn't ask about how one empties a cassette - many people I chat to are fascinated about the personal hygiene situation on a boat! 😀

This is another one of your 'joke' posts I presume?

Brill thank you - looks like there are lots of options.

Thank you. That's an excellent idea.

Acrylate edge sealing paint is what I need (according to Google). Thank you

A quick question: we are replacing our deck boards. What is the best way to finish the cut edges of the boards to protect them? We are using hexadeck rhino. Thinking of thinning down Danish oil with solvent and applying several coats but there may be a better way. Already ordered the boards and can't afford anything more fancy. The old boards have lasted 14 years so if I get half of that I'll be happy.

As you are so near I would thoroughly recommend the Black Country Living Museum & moorings at Dudley. This was one of my favourite stops last year.

Have a great trip. You should have no difficulty with your length or draft. Ferry bridge is very low so make sure you have nothing tall on your roof after leaving South Kyme. There is also a winding point just beyond the Bailey bridge (on the right heading towards Cobblers) that isn't in my guide book. Weed will be your enemy, but as long as you aren't in a rush ...