Liam

I've been to the one that they hold at Middlewhich. Not much bric-a-brac, mostly new stuff and to be honest, I found it quite pricey. You get the normal kind of stuff.. inboard/outboard engines, rope, mooring pins, windlasses.. but I found it was geared more towards cruisers/sea going boats. I'd still recommend you go - just to see for yourself, and they might differ from place to place.

Enjoy

Will any of you lot be attending the Yarwoods rally, at Anderton? I may drive down there for an hour or so on Saturday, seeing as I won't be able to get the boat off the bottom of the Bridgewater yet

You're right John, they all look in good nick.. but they're not. Most of them haven't been used for years upon years.. the only one which works I beleive, is the one which has been put into place at Sale, which is about an hour and a halfs cruising time from Castlefield. Why?

I'm not sure if that's the case on BW waters, but on the Bridgewater it isn't. There are no lengthsman, but the canal has not been properly maintained for years. We have had water loss trouble in the past and, we keep on asking where it's going and they blame it on the weather etc but (according to an insider) it's dissapearing through the walls. Because of the lack of water, you can now clearly see what would normally lurk under the water. Shopping trolleys, road cones, motorbikes, tyres, washing machines, bricks, the lot. The canal goes through a busy part of a city centre so there's bound to be stuff in the water, but the amount there.. woah, I'm suprised I could get through in the past. Does anybody know if this stoppage is recorded elsewhere yet? As I'd like to keep upto date with it..

Okay, I have some pictures.. only a couple but you can see the extent of the damage and delay the breach will cause. Pictures of the breach :: www.salecruisingclub.co.uk Apparently, according to friend who's in the know, a sluice at Potato Wharf in Castlefield, Manchester is very badly damaged, and was draining the whole of the 40ish lock free canal. There are numerous stop planks but the only working one, which just on the southern side of Sale Town bridge is the only one that's been put into use.. If you're not sure where Sale is in location, it's about the middle of the length of canal. Because these stop plank haven't been used for god knows how long, they just aren't doing their job and they have had to be secured by a coping stone which is sat on the planks very cautiosly. The stop planks in question are in Sale town centre, and could be vandalised, or the coping could be pushed into the canal which would cause the planks to literally pop out so the water would run away faster. When I was there, some youths were running across and there was no sign of any officials or security. The northern side of the breach has suffered the most (obviously).. around the Trafford Park area, the canal was completely drained - you could see the bottom, but because of the stop planks, the southern part of the canal is bypassing the poorly installed stop planks and is being lost through the damaged sluice at Castlefield. This is putting the boats on the moorings from Sale to Preston Brook at risk of serious damage. I've checked the canals website.. www.bridgewatercanal.co.uk but there is no mention of the breach. I will be visiting the moorings again tommorow night and also wednesday, and no doubt I'll find out more so I'll keep you all posted.

I received a text earlier on about a breach in Castlefields on the Bridgewater canal (Manchester). I've been told it's a serious one. Stop planks have been put in at Sale but Mike Webb (MSCCo.) doesn't think it's a consideration. My boat is moored on the Bridgewater... so I'm going to go and check on things with my camera. I'll be posting these as soon as I get back. Hopefully more news later on this evening.

Sam, I don't like being called a liar. Time to kill this thread me thinks.

Sam, I know you can't spell properly, and that can be excused, but please try your best to read properly. As I said when I first started this topic.. there was nothing to keep from them.

Interesting reading Thanks guys.

Thanks mate

Hi guys, Need a bit of help/info. I've recently sold my boat to a couple - cash. They chose not to have a survey of any sort and when the boat left our moorings it was fine - no problems whatsoever. They have reported a few small probs, and one big problem which we never had in the 5 years we owned the boat. How do I stand, legally if it's taken further? I'm not putting too much info on here, for the obvious reason. I can disclose more info in PM if you'd like to help! Thanks in advance

There's plenty of people who don't have a bow/stern thruster and they manage fine. Sorry if I've offended anybody. http://www.cruisingschool.co.uk/home/cours...mans_course.htm

I spend most of my time on the Bridgewater, so, unfortunately, this doesn't apply to me. I wish MSCCo. had something like this in place. Oh well, you can wish can't you!

"Your" ... I'm sure you mean "Our" ??

I agree totally

I've been to Wheaton Aston a few times, but not to the music festival. Is it every year? Let us know how it is - I may check it out.

Jon, yup, got it in one.

That wasn't aimed at you, Tony. I meant in general. You almost sound as if you're trying to hide something

People think that because they're only going 2mph they're not causing a problem. Okay, they're not "speeding" but you have to think about how much water you're boat is pushing. If you're in a cruiser you could probably pass other moored boats at 4mph, but if you're going past with a narrowboat/wide beam which swims like a goldfish belly up, it's time to knock the throttle off a little.