Karma Dreams

Very sad reading about this incident on the Oxford canal. But makes us all think about our boats and our safety eh? We had a similar event with our stove couple of years ago... hubby tried to light the fire, and it kept going out.. we thought maybe the chimney wanted sweeping or a blockage somewhere, so on further investigation looking into the fire itself revealed a large hole and clear picture of the TILES BEHIND THE STOVE!!! The backplate was missing (it was lying under the stove). Panic stricken as what might have been the case if this had happened during the night whilst fast asleep, we duly ordered a replacement along with the bolts and lugs to fit asap... But it certainly is a wake up call. We have an alarm but think as Mike suggested in his post, might be good idea to purchase another make as they say 'belt and braces'

Cheers for the replies..... As always you lot always come up trumps.... lol. Yes I can see their use now.. wow another thing I can impress my friends with .. You learn something new every day... I'm really impressed with this bit of history that I would never have known about without asking on here... shame though that this sort of history is going to be 'buried in the past'...

The other day whilst going through these locks I was noting the odd little 'boxy' type openings high up on the bridge span (I dont know how to post a pic of one of these)! Some of these had been bricked up and some had a wooden door over the square openings!!! Did see one where the door was a tiny bit ajar and could see traffic crossing the bridge.... Anyone got any ideas of what these were used for as not that deep to hold anything... and too high for any boater to reach from the boat.. but really weird... must have been for some purpose when the bridges were built... so over to the experts..... Have any forum members familar with seeing these?

Well folks I made it... to the top of the Hatton flight, yipee only took hubby and me 4-1/2 hrs on our own. Nothing in site on the upward journey, all coming down which was great as didnt have to empty any. I nearly gave up on a couple of the paddles.. and yes Grahame I do the same half way, wait till water starts to ripple then continue to raise all way. Only 1 paddle and 1 gate but still took us a while. The volunteer (on his own) appeared at the old BW yard lock and helped me through the last couple. So nice cuppa now and get my breath back

Tks for the replies... then it is ME ... getting old folks!!! Well have to take my time then with them... may take me longer but.... I have just read your post Alan, yes I agree when I was younger I didnt take any notice of the paddles on Hatton.. but now with breathing probs I have to pause inbetween turns. Pity I cant steer the boat...

Maybe it's me then... We did pair on the Stockton flight with another boat, but the lady who worked the opposite paddle made a comment on how 'hard' they are to work through, adding they never used to be this hard!!! I know that with age and trying to cope with asthma as well, these locks are very testing my abilities I certainly ache from the last 2 days labour lol...

Over the years I have worked through the locks on this stretch with not too much effort.. But over the last day or two have really struggled with the ground paddles!!! More like pushing 'iron' lol... and the gates the same hard to move . Is it me? I really felt like turning around today, going back and trying a different route as this is just not enjoyable! Not yet arrived at the Hatton 21 but not looking forward to the fight.... maybe I should give a shout for some help lol.. So do any other members have the same problems at all?

No dont think its any connections as these were looked at first of all.... also we did get some channels and they were clear... but how come in places that we no FOR CERTAIN in past years we have had tv and now nothing... that's the annoying part... I'm stuck now completely.. :-(

Hi again ... Well I thought my Maxview Gazelle aerial was sorted.... had new pull up aerial for the radio fitted... there was some water when taken apart in the head (prob through the rusty old radio rod lol) and more importantly a new signal booster as wel as our one the knob just kept turning and turning :-( so we gave it a retune and voila up came some programmes... we thought... well now been on the cut in several places (where in the past got fantastic picture and strong signals) with absolutely NOWT ... asking other boaters with various aerials including the one we have (with all the new bits) and they all say the same.... "forget tv we cant anything either, so have given up" :-( so wonder now if this is DUE TO THE 4G wiping out our freeview? Also, wonder if we get a 4g tv filter the AT800 version will make it any difference? Any other thoughts guys???

Sorry for confusion YES... My post should have read Maxview. My tv aerial has the radio pull up attachment.. maybe water has got into the the main head through the 'rusted out radio aerial bit, never thought of that. Cant seem to remove it for further inspection either. Would be handy to remove the head and have a look (as said though, havent got the required security key to do it) Had a look on the Maxview link you gave... they are expensive to replace the whole unit though eh?

Hi members.. help again needed. We have one of these on our boat (8 years old) and up until now has been fab.. not many places that we havent been able to get a 'good freeview signal', well, up until now that is.. now nowt!!!! Tried retuning it and it picks up nothing... cant understand why this is. We first of all wondered if it was due to the 4g signals being used (hence the articles last year on the forum about this).. but since been on boat this year ... nothing. So have any members got one of these aerials, and if so, have you had any probs at all? Hubby looked at the instructions for the aerial and looking at the associated parts we seem to be missing 1. the security key and 2. the allen key. These look like how you gain access to the inner workings. But we cant get inside the unit to see if maybe water has intergrated the wiring etc... So pls hep if possible on ideas... once again tks in advance.

yes.. congrats to CWDF wouldnt be without it, read it most days. Wonderful source for boaty things and loads of other bits and pieces... Never found out what happened to Gibbo, he was a knowledgeable chap, did someone upset him?

Had to put the record straight here - the tug that was pushing the crane barge was ordered away. The tidal flow caught the crane barge and pulled the tug over sideways. The crew got off (one of whom is my cousin) but the engineer drowned as he couldn't get out :-( My hubby is a retired Waterman & Lighterman and even he says he wouldnt dream of taking our nb to get into that situation... As he agrees with other posts here they are not designed for this.... and to do this is 'complete madness'

Isnt the chicane in question at 'High town'? Good fish and chips here lol

Would love to be there but unfortunately not Can imagine Maureen standing there, like in passed years viewing the 'goings on at her lock' God bless her and may she rest in peace

I remember years ago now, I was let loose on the 'stairway to heaven' flight (Hatton) and when I took off the chain the paddle spindle started to take off like a propeller and in panic of it crashing down with all the onlookers I tried to 'brake it' by trying to HOLD on to it!!! Wow did that hurt and gave me a red hot hand for quite a while lol.... initiation or baptism of fire But I think that these were operated in this fashion as they are geared and slowly drop.. but what about today... So even with these I still tend to wind them down..

Yes follow what most posts have raised here... and yes, think we have all seen the 'drop the paddle' method especially if it's let go and crashes down... another out of order notice!! But in an emergency and without a windlass anything that we could do to try and control the situation would be acceptable.. cos that's what us boater do isn't it?

As an aside - what would other forum members on here do, say, you were walking past this lock and noticed what was happening here, like, cant see anyone operating the said lock, cant see the steerer at all!!! I would have to intervene as we 'all know its someones home' and as a boater, I couldn't watch this happen. Drop the paddles first..... or... would I be in TROUBLE for interfering in the first place?? ie it's not my lock, it's not my boat, and if I had stepped in and things still went wrong would I be blamed... ummmm difficult one this. Even though I just couldn't stand and watch the outcome if left?

Or Mike the boater that decided at the water point to empty his 'toilet cassette' at the same time... but decided that the nearest table (with customers enjoying their lunch in the sunshine)was a very handy place to put the 'full tank' on lol... You couldnt make it up could you...

Likw rgreg we have the same engine in our boat, and we got a Lombardini engineer to change our cambelt couple of years ago (not got the invoice to hand at mo) and she has been a good engine to us, and we have had the boat now over 8 years... So do your regular maintenance like you would your car, keep check on your diesel filters,water filters and douse your holding diesel tank with marine 16 to keep the 'bugs' at bay. It was the engine in the boat when we bought her, and maybe it wouldnt have been our choice at the time, but as said, very happy with it, and runs very quiet too... we have even been asked in the past if the engine was 'electric' as very quiet running

Just been reading the posts on this film that we watched yesterday, brought back memories for hubby as in that year of '63 and the big freeze he worked on the Thames (Waterman&Lighterman) and he worked day and night trying to keep London warm by running gas oil & paraffin to Hammersmith from Greenhithe Kent. He said he had to take two new ropes per crew each time they went aboard the tug as once they got wet and froze they were like 'bars of iron' and unusable!!! He was even offered 50 'squids' for his hat as it was sooooo cold... and back then that was a lot of money Also he remembers the wind & spray as it froze in mid-air and was like being pelted with pebbles!!! What memories.

Pain in the butt eh lol.. Always probs when you can do without them, think its called 'life'. We ordered the parts from Midland chandlers, as need the lugs and the stainless steel screws as well, plus fire rope and the glue to make a good seal. At least you noticed yours had fallen off, we on the other hand didnt realise this until the fire wouldnt light properly.. gasp horror!! Old one well rusty. As for your starter battery, ditto on that too, we had that fail first time aboard this year... not good enough as that was a good 7 year old lol... Hope you soon get repairs done to your stove, as a wee bit on the cold side now.. brrrrrr

PM sent

I did get today a 'sort of' response from the BBC basically saying 1. check surrounding neighbours are they getting the same? (Yes I have, and yes they do) 2. In general but not always high pressure will disrupt channels carried on the highest frequency first, so this explains why some will break up whilst other remain seemingly unaffected. (think we all are aware of that statement too) 3. Retune (yes done that) 4. If problems persist, I'd have a professional aerial installer, ideally registered with the Confederation of Aerial Industries (CAI) assess the situation. ummm... cop out springs to mind!! 5.If all else fails, you may wish to consider cable or satellite for a more consistent signal. Lol... Really? .. Regards Unquote....... etc..... So that's their answer folks to a long winded questionaire outlining everything from power drops,pixelations on BBC channels I sent them. So, maybe if WE ALL ON THIS FORUM checks out the transmitter they are on, and usually this takes them to the BBC web site for reception problems they might start to realise its not just ONE person complaining It might get looked at if different masts and users are experiencing the SAME!!! United we stand might be the way to go to get THEIR ATTENTION