enigmatic

I don't think they'll struggle to have all their fleet hired out this summer regardless. But if they can get people aspiring to hire them in future summers....

Just in case you ever get asked by family in future, it's very similar to how you send photos or other attachments - Click the 'attachment' paperclip icon next to the text box you send messages with. A list of options pop up, including Location. - Click Location. You will see a map showing your location and telling you how accurate it is, and choices to share it live (and updating), just the current location or listed nearby landmarks - The user gets the map in the middle of their Whatsapp conversation,. You can of course also add other notes like "towpath side please", or send another update if you have to move. WhatsApp design isn't perfect, but this is probably easier than explaining what what3words is

No, but you can choose to send a location to other people with WhatsApp accounts at any point in a conversation you want to Mostly it's for sending messages and pictures Other apps have similar functions, WhatsApp just happens to be a particularly popular one.

From the picture it looks like it'd be turned by hand, grabbing one spoke and then the next. Looks like the lower spokes are easy enough to grab on some of the pictures, and perhaps the one with the ladder is easier to get started with the help of gravity... Presumably the large size as a simpler alternative to the gearing on the modern hand operated Nene sluices: you turn a big wheel at least a foot or two to lift the gate an inch instead of turning a small wheel a full revolution. Lethal if it starts spinning the other way of its own accord, but guillotine gates are potentially lethal to boaters without some effective combination of counterweight and ratchet/brake anyway...

Although tbf they have 6'5" headroom (mine anyway) and are generally considered value for money

If the emergency services want to use proprietary mobile apps to locate people, they'd be better off asking people to send their location on something many more people use on a daily basis like WhatsApp...

Ultimately your surveyor will tell you how thick it is, and also where it's worn and pitted and whether that's above or below average for a boat of that age, The owner might be able to answer that question beforehand, knowing that you'll check anyway, It's non-standard because it's a V-bottom so won't have the big thick base plate, but if it was built for a hire boat company they probably didn't skimp and ask for really thin plate either

I'd be inclined to check your alternator is actually charging correctly as well. My issues with power draining faster than expected when cruising turned out to be the fact it was *only* recharging in the October sun. Which was resolved by screwing in a bulb on the control panel properly!

I assume if the original owners haven't got their boat back yet, they are in a much stronger position to do so. Are they aware of this latest twist in the tale? Along with "don't steal money by transferring it into a bank account in your own name" I think we can add "don't steal narrrowboats", "don't register new accounts to vouch for yourself on Canalworld, it's really obvious" and "don't ask for sympathy because you're an elderly man in declining health when you're actually 34" as tips for aspiring criminal masterminds The recently stolen barge appears to have been taken by someone called Carl Rutter. Google suggests there was a Carl Rutter jailed for being part of a gang stealing antiques worth millions, so trying to con someone out of a narrowboat (I take it he wasn't originally the getaway driver ) is quite the step down...