MarkAdrian

Very true.

Like waxoyl there is a smell for a week or so after application, but it soon goes. I like the idea of the computer fans, small enough to be driven by a small cheap solar panel too. Though I wonder if you would need two? i.e. one pushing the air and the other pulling it? Could they not both be set to "extract" at one end of the boat and just have two vents at the other, which would then draw air through? Just a thought.

Narrowbeam? My choice would have to be a Highbridge, preferably with an inboard diesel. Widebeam, SeaMaster, (older I know) but thick GRP. Spongy Bottom LOL, I havn't seen a cruiser sink yet from osmosis.

I tend to make my own waxoyl, 2 1/2 quarts turpentine 12 oz. beeswax / candle wax 1 quart light machine oil With a cheese shredder, cut the wax into the turpentine, stir until the wax has dissolved, (takes a long time; Leave in airing cupboard and stir occasionally. then thin with the machine oil to a brushable / sprayable consistency. Apply liberally. You can use a hand spray bottle to get into closed-off sections if you have a small access hole.

Stats, Well I guess this may give an idea. Fuzzyducks Dawncraft Forum has 719 members, Trevor's Norman Forum has 1689. I recognise that not all forum members will be active. but add this to any other GRP forum and that must be an indicator of a lot of craft out there.

Hi Alan, I havn't heard mention of Wheaton Aston for some time now, guess its still open. Norbury will be fine for Diesel, if just a tad busy. Great local reports of good food at the Navigation Inn Gnosall.

Marianette Hey andrew, put a beer on it Marionette and her sister boat High Jump were the first otters to be produced. they were 18ft long and as such had no water ballast system, as Im sure other sea otter owners will confirm. Edit; to add further info

I beleive Marianette didn't have the water ballast system. Certainly you will enjoy owning a Sea Otter. Look forward to greeting you in the owners club.

yeah guess so. They are useful tho, when your on the hunt for petrol.

Do you have a Sat Nav Ross? If so it set it to show petrol stations on route, it should pick up on those near the canal. It will show you your MPH too, (maybe useful with this being one of your first ventures). Some folk use multi-map, etc. follow the course of the canal and pick up petrol stations out there. Heres an example. http://www.whatprice.co.uk/petrol-prices/f...g-stations.html Just find your area, zoom in and petrol stations are shown. Hope this helps.

Check out fleabay, or they are easy enough to make out of some checker plate. ballast is a must. It would certainly help your cruising pleasure if you could do this before your trip. It would feel as though you had a different boat

Have you got a boult on rudder to help at slow speed?

We did this route in the opposite direction to you, i.e. Severn then Avon, going up the Avon. I thought the Severn was going to be my challenge, it was a mill pond compared to the Avon. Even though we had dropped lucky with a seven day window of dry weather, the Avon was still fast flowing from the preceeding weeks of rain. We just made Bideford on Avon as the river showed a significant rise in its level and started to flow over the towpath. We were there 2 days before the levels returned to somewhere near there "normal" levels. Its a beautiful river, but be prepared to be pushed along at a great rate of knots as you exit the locks and catch the flow from the weirs.

Their owners seem to love them, but hey Im sure we love our own boats too. Springers seem to fall into two groups, imho, it appears you either get a good hull, or a bad one, there doesn't seem to be any mid-ground on that issue. Pre 1970's steel strike boats seem to have lasted better. Plating a small springer makes them very tippy I think.

Easy. Flat bed lorry with Hi-ab will soon lift and transport it.

Quite a journay for you I know. But Stone Boat Building can do it with their dolly. Check out http://dawncraftowners.com/phpBB3/index.php too.

Appearently it was a Piper Cheroke, not a microlight. Not that much to add to the incident really, accept my mate witnessed it. He says the plane was flying striaght and level, but very low. He heard a change in the engine note and the plane went straight up vertically, as if doing a loop, it then came down vertically nose first into the ground. This area almost seems "fated". It being the exact location of the train crash several years ago, and not too distant from the rail disaster in Hixon during the 60's. Im sure all our thoughts are with the families tonight. Troll,,,, Well I refrain from comment.

As the title says guys? Is anyone in the area or going this weekend?

I think Victor has "Outed" himself over recent articles Oh Fuzzy whats with the lamp sticking out the side of yr head in the piccy? Can't remember a tunnel near that pub?

http://www.itvlocal.com/central/documentaries/ Just wait for the drop down menu on the right to load Daniel, and your off and running.

We have Pram Top. I guess its horses for courses. We wouldn't be without ours, as you say its somewhere for the wet dog, coats, wellies etc which soon dry over the warm deck plates. However, they do have some negatives too. As Chris says, ours hangs over the rear bench seat a little and makes sitting uncomfortable, we now have two stools. Our Sea Otter only has a small rear cruising deck which means that the pram top overhangs the rear of the boat past the button so we have too take extra care in a lock (not usually a problem with a small sea otter). In a stiff breaze occasionally the canopy material, althought still attached to the frame, has blown over the back of the boat and just cleared the waterline, now solved with the addition of two clips. Condensation can be an issue overnight since the air vents in the rear doors now exhaust in to the canopy. Thought needs to be given to CO build up in the cabin due to restricted air movement. Our canopy was made by Staffordshire Canopies and we are very pleased with it. Unless your on the Shroppie don't expect to cruise too many miles with it up in wet weather, since the extra height makes it very difficult to get through a lot of the bridge holes and as another member says it does significantly reduce vision. Edited to add. They also seem to make your boat more appealling to burglars who can enter your boat relatively unseen.

Ouch. That got to be bad for the hull. Planners grrrr.