dmr

I did briefly use one of those till it was replaced with a "VDU". You had to push the keys really hard but they did make a very satisfying clunk, or possibly a very unsatisfying clunk. The keyboards on the very first IBM PCs were good too. Have also used paper tape, punched cards and and a magnetic drum, I must be soooo old. I recently got myself a "surface go" as a spare laptop, things have moved on, only trouble is I can't find a Fortran compiler for it .. ...............Dave

Laptops getting a bit old and some of te keys don't work as well as tey used too, very nice computer so not keen to get a new one. ................Dave

I always feel really guilty when I sand and all the paint dust goes into the water. Its much better to use a drydock and let it just fall safely onto the muddy floor.....but hold on, next time they empty the drydock its very likely that this all flows straight back into the canal .............Dave

I don't know anything about how batteries behave on float charge, or even if Trojans are suitable for this. The people on this forum who do back up power supplies might know more but I don't think Trojans are the usual choice. I reckon they do need to see 14.8 volts quite often to keep them happy, maybe your charger just stayed in float and never gave them a good voltage. I don't think over-filling would hurt them, it might even help as I believe acid strength contributes to plate corrosion. Batteries will only have a finite life even if never cycled but I haven't got a clue how long this is. The fact that they went down quickly after removing them must be a clue as to what the failure mode was....any suggestions anyone???? The acid in my old ones was very murky when I removed them. ................Dave

I think this is a forum myth generated over the past few years. Decent batteries can be left without a 100% charge for several days. Sulphation is generally reversible, it just gets increasingly difficult. A good charge at 14.8 or even 15v will get the batteries pretty much back to fully harged, and an equalise every few months will recover a bit more. To be pedantic there is probably a tiny bit of residual sulphation after every discharge but I expect to get 5 years of reasonable capacity out of set of Trojans without doing a full recharge every day. ..............Dave

The age old wisdom was to run the engine 2 hours every day and 8 hours once per week, this implied working the batteries mostly between about 50 and 80% . For us in winter its more like 2 to 2-1/2 hours every other day, and the big charge every two weeks. ................Dave

I charge my Trojans (just under 700Ah) from about 50% to about 85% in a couple of hours, certainly not 4 or 5. Only do a full charge once every two weeks, the 14 day moving rule is just perfect for batteries. The water tank lasts about two weeks too, and we get itchy feet after 14 days. ................Dave

Last winter we saw an old continuous cruising bloke getting "forcibly" removed by CRT welfare people and his family. I think he was 85 and wanted to continue but his family were concerned about him. I think he said he was 85. I heard the plan was to move his boat to a marina so he could still have some use of it. .............Dave

Its sesnsible to compare lithiums with proper lead acids, such as Trojans or full tractions, its not really valid to compare them with cheapo leisures. Trojans will go down to 20% charge and will likely survive if you accidentally go a bit lower, they can handle a fair bit of over-charging and contrary to forum "wisdom" can be left semi discharged for many days and still recover. Some people reckon lithiums should be kept below 80% charge so the useful capacity is the same, and if you mostly charge lead acids to 80%, and only 100% once a week or so, then the fast charge advantage of lithiums looks marginal. I am not anti-lithium, if I live long enough then I will get some, but at present if compared on a like for like basis they look very expensive. If you have poor access or otherwise are unwilling to top up lead acids, and don't want to equalise from time to time, then the argument maybe swings in favour of lithiums but they must have a suitable and reliable management system. ................Dave

CRT have recently negotiated an exemption from some aspects of changing listed structures so maybe this lets them sneak this one through on safety grounds. Its actually very concerning as it allows changes to surface and signage. This has allowed them to start putting up horrible blue lock name signs in place of the original historic lock signs, and I fear could allow them to take up cobbles to lay a cycle raceway. ..........Dave

Not the Saracens head, the Kings Arms?, a couple of hundred yards up the road from the Ship but not canalside. A locals pub with lots of dark wood, Think all the beers were from Salopian Brewery. Pretty sure the Bootle Arms is another no dogs pub, we usually have a night off in Melling (well bottled beer only) ready for a visit to the Baltic Fleet in Liverpool. However will be spending a few nights in Melling this year due to that swing bridge but have some local friends who are planning a train trip into Liverpool for a pre Liverpool Liverpool drink. ..................Dave

Never felt quite at home in Heatons, but the Railway at Parbold is a real favourite, will be in there tomoro. Hop Vine is odd, its a real eatery, but for the last hour each day gets full of drinkers, very nice beer selection but they won't let the dog in. Sadly in a bit of a rush due to that broken swing bridge. What is the Slipway like now it has re-opened? have had a few pints in there waiting for CRT to fix that swing bridge. Ship at Haskayne has gone downhill over the last few years, has transformed from a decent pub into an eatery, but the one just up the road was ok last time we were down this way. ............Dave

Many times, and there was always somebody on the beach or in the water. Its a good circular dog walk, up the hill behind the Golden Lion, right up to Gaddings (opposite end to "the beach"), along the Pennine bridleway, drop down into Walsden then back along the canal, stopping off at the Golden Lion. Think we must have become locals, Golden Lion landlady said we were neighbours and gave us discount. Currently at Gathurst Lock on the L&L and missing the Calder Valley, but expect we will find a pub or two in Liverpool . Is the working boat convoy spending a night in Tod?. .............Dave

You are absolutely right, though can't blame CRT or even BW, this was done by the railway companies who owned the canal when it was rapidly declining???? Having spent the winter on the Rochdale and done a fair bit of walking up round those reservoirs it becomes obvious that an unwanted reservoir on top of a big hill next to a narrow valley is a major liability, so at the time it was a good decision. Interesting that Gaddings Dam is now owned by a group of locals, I expect they would love to GIVE it to CRT as long as they were still allowed to go up there for a bit of late night drinking and skinny dipping. .............Dave

Water is the big issue on the Rochdale, made worse by too much crap in the canal. We went up as a group of four boats last July when water was in short supply. It was mostly ok but I suspect Ian Mac had spent a lot of effort getting all the water ready the day before. Taking a lot of deep boats up will be difficult. As we went down we took a load of water with us and left every pound just about full, but the first group of working boats will have used all of that and more besides. This is a good event as it might just help CRT to think about getting more water, they need to purchase another reservoir, there are several of them up on those hills, trouble is, with climate change and so less water the water companies might not want to sell them. ..........Dave.