Stroudwater1

https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/nick-thorpe-48-cruiser-stern-for-sale/745160 I think it’s this one? It looks OK to me, depending what you are looking for. Four year old boat for £70k seems a reasonable price? Looks to be in good condition. 1500 hours usage of the engine. Composting toilet is a controversial subject- best search on here for discussions over them.

Yesterday evening- getting some distance before wind and rain today Glascote Basin, Coventry Canal and surrounds of Tamworth

Lovely boat, seems to be looking as good now as 2019. Passed us near Braunston last Saturday , unsure where she was going, travelling at some speed, effortlessly and still under 4mph. What engine does she have? Looked to be water cooled.

Nicely done. It looks like it’s for one of the canal chaplains or a retired priests boat?

I’m sad to hear this. Customer services seems to have virtually disappeared from so many firms these days. I wonder if they can’t get or afford the staff or IT seeming to overrule common sense or doing strange things. A friend bought a car from a car delivery service (Not Cazoo but easy to think it was) but before it was delivered it failed one of the engine checks. They provided a hire car unlimited miles for him whilst the fault was fixed. Like you he waited and waited, finally after six months of contacting the firm and very many email replies it turned out they had sold the car to someone else. 🙄 At least he had six months of hire car driving for free bar fuel.

Why have you turned round? The delights of Birmingham beckon 😊🤣 It’s so quiet further up, passed 2 boats going all day in lovely weather bar one 10 minute shower. .

It sounds likely to be a blocked up pilot to me. I had similar where the pilot went out when using intermittently ie putting the shower on and off. A very gentle brush over the pilot light sorted that out. @Paloma Bob of this realm may advise more. he was probably the eBay contact you made too? I believe ours had its first service 25 years after purchase- it’s pretty bombproof I believe?

Yesterday evening Knowle locks, and a heron nearby

Well done John and David! Interesting additional information. These ones were on Hatton. I didn’t check the Knowle ones, and perhaps should have as I’ve always been intrigued by the number of different manufacturers of Staffordshire blue cappings on the Worcester and Birmingham locks. Appreciate the widening of the GU was in a very different era of procurement!

Any thoughts on where this may have been taken? There’s a good number of them which must have pleased the manufacturer in the 1930s?

The OPs idea is very unlikely to happen with such speed but with around 15 boats on Rugby boats sale list currently the market appears to be less like that than it was. However aiming to buy an ex Hire boat in that timescale seems risky, as I believe they come up at seasonal times rather than constantly through the year. This really could go badly wrong as the broker/ private seller will sense the urgency that the OP has, for sure.

Some sound advise later on , but many brokers will allow you to talk to the previous owner. Many will be sad to see their boat go and would welcome passing on tips or quirks of their boat to new owners. We spent a very pleasant 2 hours with the previous owner of ours sold by brokerage. I would have struggled at first otherwise. Its hard to know with prices, a good boat that ticks lots of boxes would sell at the asking price. Some brokers are more realistic about prices too. It seems there are more boats than buyers for the first time for several years so that 10-20% maybe reasonable overall suggestion but that is definately not always the case.

I’m afraid it took my friend just over a year to get to the eye department 😕

Dobson Locks?

Yes but look at the bottom line of Alan’s posting Ian, unfortunately no indication of what activities or admin were. It’s not just historical underfunding but how it’s spent and organised. No not the silly blue signs but many other things. The lack of harnessing volunteer lengthsmen, maintaining an experienced workforce who actually know what they do, sub-contracting much stuff out, gold plating some repairs and not addressing others. Leaving catastrophic failures to happen when we all know minor tweaks or maintenance can address more costly failures. Then there’s the stuff Allen has unearthed here as well as elsewhere. Just now they are spending huge amounts on hydraulic systems for 4 lift bridges on the Oxford which just don’t need it (£650,000 in the Winter closures) Re lengthsmen its interesting that the CCT round here managed to get volunteers for the whole length of the canal. You only need a fraction of the network covered to make a difference. I fear you won’t listen nor will you pay voluntary additional payments even though you think it needs more money from boaters but hey ho, just increase licence fees!

There’s the Leak and Rudyard railway which must be very close to the Caldon. It runs along the lake that’s a feeder for 1.5 miles. But you will have to be quick or hope there’s a local buy out as the owner is retiring and selling up. Yours for £495,000 including 2 steam locos 10 carriages, 3 station and the track. http://www.rlsr.org/timetable.html https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-67122007.amp

Last weekend Working boats, Braunston, Norton Junction and Braunston tunnel at a minor wobble in between

Sounds good 👍 If they can do epoxy then it’s well worth asking to have that done. Failing that save up and have at Debdale in 2 or three years time.

Sadly we have a deep draft large prop but are extremely rubbish at reversing. I’m sure it is inertia in large part but the prop must have a part as water shoots out in full foreward but dribbles pitifully past in reverse. Maybe that’s down to the swim shape? We just have to try and adapt. Most hire boats we used stop far faster, within half a length, we stop in just over 1 1/2 lengths 🙄 At least with a traditional engine there’s heaps of smoke indicating that something is happening

£50k for a 16 year old boat if now treated with epoxy after pit welding and going forward comes out to be inspected from time to time seems a reasonable price- it depends on length overall condition and layout engine etc of course. We are talking about one built in around 2007. Look at Rugbys website and there’s several unexceptional boats of that age in the £60k area. For sure it’s a negotiable price with the pits. Debdale seems a great suggestion depending on the quote.

That’s often difficult though as a large number of boaters do their own servicing especially oil changes etc. I just keep my receipts for the oil I buy and hopefully that will tally (I’ve no oil filter)

A friend replaced their GRP roof with steel. It’s been a very good result and their old Harborough boat looks similar to how it did even with the louvred windows preserved. A good boatyard should be able to advise. His was done at a well known yard with a tall crane near the River Severn. it would probably be a worthwhile investment but then we don’t know what your boats hull is up to. Good plywood is very expensive now but sadly I think steel is too. The difficulty as Tony says is that wood GRP and steel all expand and contract at different rates so leaking seems are pretty inevitable with the set up you have.

Yesterday And from the other side Nutshell bridge and dredging nearby, Stroudwater Navigation- a loaded Weft or is it now XEEI?

I would just ask and TBH having hired on a number of occasions in the past I would have towed you. I suspect there’s much in the T&Cs that people overlook or aren’t aware of - it’s never been mentioned to me as a don’t do by any hire firm. is it any less easy using a long pole to steer from the stern and pull from the bow with the long rope described ? (assuming the OP has one) Just feels better if someone was on board ?

It’s quite likely to be difficult to assess the amount of pits p he needing pit welding without grit blasting back to bare steel. Then pit weld what’s needed then epoxy which will give better protection for the future. Friends boat went from needing overplating on the survey to a few pits welded after grit blasting. It’s not that exact a science it seems.