Marbling

Best: A coal scuttle in Saltford marina dropped by me. It had corroded such that it sank vertically due to the holes, and could be pulled back out the same way by the handle using a boat hook. Didn't last very long after that, though, obviously. Worst: The only key to a second (or possibly 5th)-hand car in the same marina by my husband. Fortunately there was a main dealer within walking distance who; after furnishing them with the registration number, proof of ownership, and some time and money; got us a new key.

Presumably on the grounds that the presence of a wreck a) causes inconvenience to third parties while in the water and b) will cost third parties money to remove it if the owner cannot or will not do so. Presumably also the insurance company can claim any scrap value.

Thanks cuthound - you never know, that info might make it into his eulogy. So the Buzby T-shirts date to 1984 then, which would also help date some holiday photos! Make someone happy with a phone call, you've got to have an 'ology and all that…

My Dad would have sympathised with you, being a regular Stone trainee about that time. Would it have been BT or GPO then? Sadly he died on Monday so I can’t ask him.

Oh dear! High time for a clear-out then.

@The Happy Nomad - that's fascinating, it looks as though the 'cill' or step down is actually above the lock gates in the top picture. Is that right? It would be safer, you'd think, but prone to silting.

Thorne Swing Bridge S&SYN Bridge currently permanently open, pedestrians need to walk over the road bridge That's new - I swung it last Saturday! It is apparently perpetually breaking, though, and the landing on one side is currently in need of repair.

That's because their buoyancy has to be delicately balanced in order for them to dive efficiently and fresh water is less dense than salt, so they always look like they are struggling a bit. Sorry to be both late and pedantic, but it’s one factoid I always remember about them!

As a counterpoint, we're both ex-boaters and current boaters! Our first boat together was an 18' sailing 'pocket cruiser' on the Bristol Channel in the mid-90s. As we spent 90% of possible boating time confined to berth due to wind and/or tide, and the other 10% scared to death, this pretty much put me off sea, tides, charts etc. From 1998-2000 we owned and lived on a 57' narrowboat on the Bristol Avon near Bath. It was a lovely time, but we outgrew it and moved back to dry land and 2 years later to Scotland where the liveaboard life seemed less practical. Now back in England we have a small but perfectly-formed Springer which does us nicely for weekends and possibly longer trips next season. Who knows what's next? I've occasionally quite fancied sailing dinghies on a reservoir, but now I've passed 50 it might be a bit late. We keep talking about a motorhome but frankly the roads seem to be worse than the waterways.

I recall having a lot of trouble getting through some of the K&A locks at the eastern end following heavy rainfall. As it was 20 years ago I don't remember whether it was water going over the bottom gates making the lock impossible to fill sufficiently to get the top gates open, or the other way round - water flowing over the top gates making it difficult to empty the lock.

Was that the neighbour's job, or just your nickname for him? 😳

On the plus side, you get to chat to everyone you meet. On the minus side, you have to chat to everyone you meet!

Heading down from Thorne to Keadby on Saturday was like a motorway! I mean, I know it's the gateway from the North onto the Trent and all that but everyone was saying they had never seen so much traffic. The bloke manning one of the adjacent level crossings reckoned we were the 8th that afternoon (and we were last into Keadby) So apparently there are quiet bits. If you take into account the 2 marinas and 2 or 3 boatyards in Thorne there are theoretically a few boats per mile, but we know how to spread ourselves out, or bunch ourselves up if you look at it the other way round. Could do with a bit more traffic to break the weed up at this time of year, but never mind.

Definitely Thorne lock, might have been a volunteer but certainly both present and competent! Definitely Thorne lock, might have been a volunteer but certainly both present and competent!

My memory might be faulty then! It was the first and only lock I've ever operated without windlass and bum power and was just hoping to get the boat out again at the end of it… I definitely got all the gates open (and closed) using the buttons on one control panel, not so certain about the paddles.

I think they must have changed it since then. Locked up a few weeks ago by the lock keeper, then brought ourselves back down. Paddles operated simultaneously, although more gently than the keeper did it. There are very few instructions - the control box assumes that you know the order in which a lock works, and where in the sequence the bridge falls, although it won’t let you do it unsafely, and it won't give you your CaRT key back until the bridge is open to traffic, all gates are closed and all paddles down. And hopefully most of the time that will be after your boat has escaped the lock!

Thanks Jim - encouraging to know that it’s doable with a bit of logistical forethought. We've already got two interchangeable 12L petrol tanks and a trolley (bought for the toilet cassette and gas cylinders), and we're getting the batteries sorted. I'd be pleasantly surprised to only get through 5L of fuel per day, we'll see!

See you next month then! Safe cruising!

It would be a very bad idea for us to have the boat an hour or more from home as we'd never get there! I have a demanding job in the NHS in Hull and the boat's main purpose is to be Somewhere Green, only occasionally will it get out for more than a weekend. Don't worry, I have a lot of respect for big rivers - we can see the Humber Bridge from our bedroom window, have sailed on the Severn estuary and lived just inland of the Firth of Forth. I should tell you sometime about the episode when we unwisely spent low tide on Weston Super Mare beach on an 18' 'pocket cruiser' with a 4hp egg-whisk…

Really? It wouldn't be worth it for me to be paying higher marina fees for a boat I never saw. My life is here, my job is here, my boat is here; the only question I asked was concerning local knowledge about some local waterways. If we're going to leave the real world then I'll have an island off the coast of Stockholm, please.

Yes, we've got a marina mooring in Thorne with hook-up (and a tiny solar panel) so can head-off fully-charged. We're just getting a battery management system sorted out as it's currently pretty rudimentary.

Google maps is a wonderful invention! Pubs, petrol stations and supermarkets, frequently co-located…

It will certainly be more of a military-style operation than with a diesel and a big tank. We've also got the batteries to think of as there's no alternator charging. Might have to calculate how long they last and book in an overnight with a hook-up if going for more than a few days.

Thanks everyone - very helpful. The motor is a 10hp Honda outboard and we will be pootling up and down some canals before we try going anywhere more challenging, in order to get the measure of both boat and motor. I'm just thinking about our first week away - it seems anywhere you go more than 2 days from here you hit a river, although I won't be getting myself on the Trent, Ouse or Humber anytime soon (or ever, in this boat).

Hi - we've recently bought a 23' Springer based in Thorne and we're ready to go off on our first proper cruise. I was thinking of heading for the Aire & Calder and maybe making it as far as the Calder & Hebble. Although some waterways maps regard these as canals, looking at Google Earth they incorporate quite a lot of river. We're not quite sure of the boat's capabilities yet so I'm slightly nervous. Firstly, is there likely to be much flow? And secondly, how well signed are the many canalised sections with locks? Are we likely to end up faced with a weir by mistake? In our favour is that we lived aboard a 57 footer on the Avon downstream of Bath 20 years ago. We didn’t consider the river a problem, but perhaps because we were living on it and were very aware when a load of fresh was coming down, and the locks were inline with the river with the weirs on the bypasses. And also perhaps because we were younger and more foolhardy then!