Liam

Yep, but not mine! This is Bellatrix

Very easy to hand start a DM2 in the summer or after it had ran for a bit to warm up... But on those cold and frosty mornings, this is how I got a little assistance...

Correct. Nothing to do with Matt or Rebekah!

Can I hijack the thread with a quick question please? My boat works pretty hard all year round, especially in the winter (coal/fuel boat) and I try and dock it every year and apply 3 coats of bitumen because when out breaking ice it strips the bitumen off the water line (which is very variable depending on load) Is epoxy tough enough to withstand a decent amount of ice breaking or am I wasting time and money, and should I stick with standard bitumen which I will continue to apply every 12 months? TIA

That's interesting. Maybe I can get 5ft of my boat back if I shake my piggy bank hard enough!! The original Midlands & Coast motor Ariel was chopped in half, if I remember rightly, at some point in the early 60's. The original bow half went onto the Weaver and eventually sunk. The original back half was based on the Trent & Mersey, and was eventually placed on the bank where it was purchased by Ed Mortimer. I was told that the front end of the back half was beyond saving and was removed during the rebuild into "my" Ariel, but then found out shortly afterwards that it was cut out to form another boat? One of the numerous times the boat sunk, being raised with the assistance of Hercules. Photo by Jim Taylor. Ariel out of the water in 2010 at Hesfords. This is my bit, the original back end. Ariel back working, seen here with a consignment of steam coal for the Lymm Historic Transport Rally.

Paradine spent some time in Preston, and then went over to Douglas on the Isle of Man for docking. Not sure how long she was over there for but has now returned Ask your dad about it, and he suggested the Skipper for the trip

Iris Abbott, Sarah Abbott and Parfield are on the River Weaver. Parbella has recently relocated to the Weaver too, after many years at Leigh on the Bridgewater. Paradine has spent some time in the Isle Of Man but not sure where abouts it is now.

One of the reasons why I leave the stern line coiled nicely on the slide ready for tying up, but leave a short line handily and loosely looped around one of the stern dollies. If I were to take a look it is easily reachable to enable exit from the water by using a quick loop in the line as a foot hold.

Went past yesterday, and seems pretty well occupied. It was very very windy around there but and as it's a relatively new marina, it looks as though it needs more time to "bed in". A good spot in terms of cruising options with links to the North and Middlewich and Barbridge and Hurleston Junctions to the south.

A couple of pictures of Byfield snapped earlier today. The small Ricky Fornax is the wooden motor on the inside.

Thanks Steve. I hope it's sorted sooner rather than later. It would be nice to hear that they are bringing the annual maintenance of the aqueduct forward to coincide with any work they're doing at Barton Lane so it doesn't have to shut twice (if it's even open by then!) but that's probably too much to ask.

Hi Steve... Is the canal still in water between Barton Yard and the Aqueduct or have they drained it again? Any sign of action or work being done? I'm stuck from getting back to base on the southern side at the mo.

Oxbow subsidise the cost of their official Oxbow branded coal bags. I know they do this with Excel so I assume they do this across their product range. If you get Excel that's not in the Oxbow branded bags then I'd ask questions as the merchant would be better off with half cost bags than spending the full amount on generic "smokeless fuel" bags.

If you don't have the hand starting gear and starting handle you can reach in behind the flywheel shroud and turn the flywheel manually.

Oxbow produce both Excel and Newheat. They also produce two non authorised fuels called Glow and Red. The problem being that the same mould for Excel is used for Glow and the mould for Newheat is shared with Red. I'm by no means saying all do this, but there are some unscrupulous people out there who will sell Glow as Excel and Red as Newheat. Unless they are taken to a lab there's no real way to tell the difference.