enigmatic

Have to admit I'm unconvinced by the claim in one of the captions that "the water level is never this low", considering I distinctly remember Hebden Bridge looking like that around this time last year when I was playing Pennine Canal Roulette. If the cruiser mentioned in the article left every lock open from 27 onwards, it won't just be Hebden Bridge that's dry either. I've also found the Environment Agency is capable of putting red boards up without updating their website notices...

Think it might have snagged on the way down rather than due to the impact, in which case it may even have been doing me a favour snapping off rather than holding up the bow. Same T-stud held the boat on anchor in the middle of the Thames the year before, when I'd have been a bit sadder for it to snap off....

I believe it had an encounter with the overhanging footway attached to the gate on the last lock on the Aire and Calder*, so gently that neither I nor the other boat nor the volockie noticed, until I got to Keadby and a neat hole where the T-stud had originally been welded and a T-stud lying next to it *I recommend not doing this

I didn't use them and nor did anyone else as far as I could see. Surrounding area a mix of 90s estate that's prettier than its reputation, flats abandoned mid construction, and light industrial. I've stayed in much more unattractive bits of Birmingham, but wasn't warned against them! IIRC there are rings in Bootle too, but again not a recommended area. Booked two nights in Salthouse Dock and ended up paying for more, it is very good and I don't bother paying elsewhere. Litherland was gated and but very busy and the only good bit about the surrounds is the supermarket, and Maghull looks pleasant enough but you'd need the bus in from both.

I wondered what the catch was, and £2k to fill does seem like quite a big one...

Northampton Arm has no real appeal unless you're going to the River Nene, which won't be navigable at this time of year

Boat's in Hartford where I no longer have to worry about that sort of thing! Don't think anyone really has a choice about overstaying at the moment, but with the weekend floods the only places I'd feel remotely comfortable about mooring a narrowboat are the pontoon in St Neots or the Waites in St Ives. I guess the mooring you're referring to would be okay with wellies...

He's a nice chap and he does have waders, but I'm still glad I decided not to stick around at the other end of that visitor mooring...

I'm sure if inland waterways insurers were in the habit of refusing to pay out on third party damage caused by unoccupied boats loosening themselves from their moorings it would have come to CRT's attention by now. There's a difference between the risk of a boat moored by a (supposedly) competent skipper causing third party damage and a boat skippered by an incompetent person. Its much the same as the third party car insurance policy everyone is required to have usually both pay out on damage done when you're not at the wheel and the car rolls down a hill but still has exclusions which mean you can't claim if you're not at the wheel but your teenage son is. Boat insurance is more generous than car insurance though, so you can usually get cheap coverage which allows anyone to helm (and some policies will let you have any named person but aren't necessarily any cheaper). IIRC Craftinsure's policy wording is happy to cover with anyone at the helm provided there's a competent adult on the boat

Tbh I'm just hoping the broker sells my boat before they deport all the boat people to Rwanda

Well yes, I'm assuming the user is moving at least every 14 days when out of the marina, but those moves obviously don't have to be 20 miles each, and I can't imagine being occasionally spotted within a 20 mile range and not being spotted there at all at other times is likely to trigger their suspicions they're trying to avoid moving, especially not if someone has paid extra to cruise someone else's waters and have a bunch of marina receipts to prove that when they want to stay somewhere for an extended period of time they pay for it Your point that travelling between marinas demonstrates bona fide navigation is a good one too.

Yeah, you'd want risers for that one, and wellies, and you'd have a lot more company than the photos suggest.

Are you cruising the Thames with a Gold Licence? I'd have thought that'd automatically put you low on the list of people they're likely to see as an enforcement issue The "20 miles" is a suggestion to discourage people from staying on the towpath in the same town all year, not a minimum CRT waters journey length for someone that also spends a lot of time paying to be in marinas or off EA waters altogether. Ultimately the licence checkers are spotting boats that are in the same five mile zone every month, not trying to measure exactly how far away you've gone when you're not spotted by anyone for a couple of months

The important bit is it's not a tall boat so you should be fine under the bridge at Oundle and in Upwell/Outwell, maybe even some of the Middle Level side channels narrowboats can't manage. Next test would be how deep it is for Upwell/Outwell but it looks like it's probably OK. Width is fine for anywhere on the Nene and Great Ouse system Would definitely prefer to move it in a truck than along a wintry coast though. Just be aware some locks will be closed for repairs until spring, so your ability to move around this winter might be limited. Have you got a mooring yet?

Tbh if I had a product that defied the law of physics I'd charge more than £6 for it. Especially considering all the hundreds of quid it's saving people on their energy bills...