BigRoj

This Video Roy's making, anything to do with boats this time, or is he chasing women?

Governments are chosen with less conclusions than Malc has displayed, and they cause far more disquiet than Malc could ever hope to achieve with a simple question.

That's one of the reasons we like the Witham, it's relatively quiet and peaceful. Plus it's pretty much a dead end for NBs, most won't venture into the Wash so don't bother unless they're going to Boston for a stay.

S'right y'know Malc, Wud cud definitely do with something on the cabin roof, looks a bit bare otherwise. Either that or declutter the cockpit roof!!!! A bike rack perhaps instead of a mast? Honest, I'm serious!!

It's getting there Malc, it's getting there.......................................

Interesting, if it fails as a lock, I'm sure Alton Towers could use it for their next pant wetter!

Looking at the pics on the website I see Scotline Mariner has a great big willy extension at the front. These are to aid efficiency so that could be something to do with it, although there's hell of a wash in the web pic!!!

I wrote it down in a fit of indignance and now can't find it!!! I wanted to double check that this act was against any rules or bye-laws before I reported it. (Been caught out before) Just a thought but has anyone thought where all the dog mess, liquids included, goes that gets deposited on pavements and roads, along with anything else that gets discarded there as well? When it rains, especially heavy rain, it gets washed into the storm drains and into the nearest water course, either a stream, canal or river. So thats something else to look out for when you clean your strainer out!!!!

I watched, gobsmacked, last week as a woman on a narrowboat moored on the floating pontoon at Newark emptied her wastebin into the river, plastic bags, milk cartons, tincans, the lot. And off it floated down the river towards the weir. I gave her a hard stare, but she had no trouble giving me an equally daring hard stare back, as if I was a voyeur intruding on a private moment!!! If this had happened on the canal all that stuff would just have spread out and gone nowhere except into your strainer perhaps, but as rivers are relatively self cleaning it would eventually end up in the sea, along with all the crap that got washed away in the recent floods. There's a dead sheep festering away at the waters edge near Burton Joyce, been there for weeks, and what sort of putrefying by-products thats letting into the waterway doesn't bear thinking about. The wakeboarders just downstream from it would be a bit more careful about falling in, I'm sure, if they were aware of it!!

Its nice to know that you can reap what you sow, eh Malc? Sort of gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, helped no doubt by the beer!!

Its propably cheaper to get one from BW than have it copied, and thats if you can as its meant to be a security key. You have to supply your Boat name and index number or your BW customer number.

As most fixed vhf radios are 25/5w rf output, and handhelds are anywhere ffrom 5w to 500mW rf output, surely a logical answer to this debate would be that for non tidal inland waterway use fixed vhf radio output should be limited to 5w. After all, when calling a manned lock with your penning intentions, you are generally within sight of it (river bends excepted), so high rf output is not generally needed.

You'll have to elaborate on that one Daniel. The two steel windlass' I have are welded up commercial things, ie bit of bent rod welded to a bit of box section, whereas the ally windlass is a casting, epoxy coated and nice to use as its smooth, light and warms up quicker in the hands when its cold. Most sober people with proper tuition and instruction from the boat skipper shouldn't have any trouble with lock paddle winding.

Thanks John. Had a look on here, www.jim-shead.com/waterways/Listboats-RA.htm , but without knowing whom the builder was its a bit difficult.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, here are a couple of pics of a working boat, Seagull, returning light after unloading at Colwick. An interesting thing told to me by one of the lock-keepers on the Trent, Seagull used to be petrol carrier from Immingham to Colwick back in the days when the Trent was full of commercial craft.

Thanks Liam, I shall be interested to know whether this boat exists as the person who told me ought to have the surname Mitty, given name Walter!!!

Some of the "slowdownyou'regoingtoofast" lot should take a trip upstream from Gunthorpe lock on a saturday/sunday afternoon at their preferred speed. They would soon find out what backwash/breaking wash is from the Wakeboard and waterski boats that operate from the Unicorn slipway. We arced through 60 degrees last sunday as we cruised along there when the speedboats came past, but its great fun watching them close up, the boats are awesome. And they are allowed to do it. There are a number of places on the Trent that allow waterskiing, and it can be very entertaining one way or another cruising through these stretches of the river. Don't suppose there are many places on the canals where water skiing is allowed!!

A colleague at w**k was telling me today about a Narrowboat that he and his workmates at Boots bought and fitted out for a charity. Apparently, they had a charity day every year and on this particular occasion they bought a new shell (with the companys' blessing) and fitted it out in their spare time (also with the companys' blessing). I'm told it had a wheelchair lift and was generally kitted out to assist disabled people. This colleague was a bit vague about the length, he said "about 40ft" which sounds too short to me for a boat with that use, and it was called "Rainbow" and had the Boots logo on the side. I have to say that the person who told me is not always completely accurate with his facts (interpret this as you will!). Does anyone know the whereabouts of this boat (if it exists) and if it is still used as a respite care vessel?

I have an aluminium windlass that I've used extensively for 4 years now, and it shows no sign of wear or corrosion even though it's fallen in a few times, once in 8ft of water. But with a 10ft pole with a home made stainless boathook it has been retreived. Of course, the thing to do with these ally winders is put a jubilee clip or a couple of self tappers in it so you can fish it out with a magnet-simple!!

We had a long weekend out on the boat, went to Newark with a stopover along the way. However, it all very nearly ended in Holme lock at the very start. I have never seen such appalling behaviour from boaters before. We were first into the lock at the front, and as such, I assumed, would be first out. After all, we were waiting the best part of 50 minutes! All in all, there were 7 boats in the lock, 2 nbs and 5 cruisers. When the gates opened, I gathered the ropes in, put it in gear and set off, only to be beaten by the 2 nbs and a cruiser! One of the nbs, WEE BLUIT, opened his throttle fully, and never let off until the next lock, the bow was almost out the water. Everything else shot off too, overtaking each other, forcing others, me included, to take avoiding action. Very unsafe, very bad behaviour. And for what? to wait at the next lock for the last boat of that penning to catch up. So I made the buggers wait! It was the attitude that got me though, the " I must get there before you so I get a mooring and sod you" attitude. Those of you who were around Gunthorpe this weekend will know what it was like, three deep saturday night I'm told, must have been dreadful! It was very quiet at Newark, there was even room on the floating visitors pontoon, but why o why are there no facilities at Newark anymore, not even a toilet. The journey back was delightful if a little windy. All in all, it's been a very good weekend for cruising.

And the big bonus this time Malc was that you didn't add the contents of your stomach to the sea!!! Glad you had a good trip, sounded almost perfect!

Posing Malc? Never!! That pic brings to mind the post on the forum about cruiser stern safety and Taff seats, a sort of 'before' pic, as in ' just before Malc fell in, he was posing for me on the stern '.