agg221

If they will let you do the short stretch from Droitwich to Stourport then I would go for it while the river is with you. It only takes a few hours so is an easy dash in good weather. Once up there, consider your revised options as including the Staffs & Worcs, up to Great Haywood, turn right on the Trent and Mersey and then down the Coventry and back into Birmingham either via the Oxford, Grand Union and northern Stratford, or if you want an easy trip then just the Birmingham and Fazeley. The former is longer but not hard work. Alec

My perspective, and that's all it is. We are leisure boaters with a home mooring. We boat within the rules, so that defines a range, particularly since a lot of our boating is limited to a weekend at a time.We have had our mooring for nearly three years. In that time, I have become aware of three boats operating outside the rules. I have spoken to the owners of two of them (not about the rules, just a general conversation). One has not moved in the time we have had our mooring. It has holes in the hull and is on the edge of complete collapse. I do not know specifically whether it is licenced or insured, but it looks likely that it is not. The owner has no particular means of financial support, and upgraded to this from living under a tarpaulin in the woods. If you were to pass the boat, you would identify its condition, but there are no other signs of how long it may have been there. The boat is in an isolated spot, well away from amenities and is in no way causing an obstruction or adversely affecting other users. There is nothing on the towpath and the area is neat and tidy. The owner is likely to be seen outside the boat and give you a cheerful wave. In a purely commercial sense there is non-payment of a fee due but practically speaking the fee would be derived from the government (ie taxpayer) and there is no use of resources or observable negative impact on either other users or the surrounding environment, so I feel that pragmatically there is no advantage to be gained in changing the status quo. The second is a grp cabin cruiser. It would not particularly catch anyone's attention on passing - a bit patched up on the plastic windows and it must be very cold. It moves (the outboard is fitted) but definitely not far enough to 'satisfy the board' although it does not overstay at any particular location. Again, the choice of moorings is rural locations, mainly near bridges, because the owner has a child at primary school (who does not live with them) and stays close enough to regularly see them. They are not compliant, but they are doing the best they can and again are not having a negative impact on other users or the surrounding environment, and I cannot see another reasonable option so again, pragmatically I see no advantage in changing the status quo. I have not met the owner of the third boat. This is moored much closer to amenities and is occupying a location where visiting boats moor adjacent to it or a regular basis, although the area is not so heavily occupied that a visiting boat could not find a mooring. The boat is newer and in better condition. The owner has begun to fill the towpath adjacent to their boat with sacks of coal, a large cargo bike etc. This boat is just beginning to annoy me because its owner appears to have a sense of entitlement to behave in this way. Another boat in the area creates a similar general impression but is on a residential mooring on the offside bank where they have permission from the owner to store coal etc. and I compare what these two boats are contributing/taking. The first two boats do not create the same impression as the third. I don't think this is because I have had conversations with their owners, I think it is because the first two owners have taken a conscious choice to minimise the impact on others of the situation which has been imposed on them and the latter has not. I have had no personal dealings with NBTA, but the press content they issue has this similar sense of entitlement which is what grates with me. Alec

They are not hard to make if you need a custom length:

If you can confirm the registration number you may be able to reinstate it. Oates had not been on CRT (or BW) waters for a long time but there was no issue re-licensing on the original number. No particular advantage but it keeps things tidy. Alec

Not sure if Mike Carter works that far south, but if he does I would certainly recommend him for his experience of rivetted boats. Alec

You could model Trent 5? https://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/2476/trent-5 Alec

If you have a particularly deep draft then you can pick up a prop-full of saris whilst making the turn onto The Crow. This gives the opportunity dredge up extra tar and coat both your boat and your arm simultaneously. Alec

If you can get a flake off then HMG Coatings can match it, in a paint type of your choice (HMG are the manufacturers of Craftmaster for example). If you do go down this route, I have always found HMG (South) in Andover to be far more helpful than headquarters in Manchester. I have bought a fair amount of paint from them over the years and they have always been happy to sort things out for me, even on small orders. Alec

Thank you. Yes, you are correct - I did intend to compare them manually, which I have now done. I found that the content of the slides up to and including 22 is essentially identical but the formatting is different. I also found that beyond slide 22 the slides were not simply removed. Slides 23 and 24 in the public version of the report are not present in the other version. I could not find the word 'final' present in either version. I therefore conclude that this is not redaction of a report but rather revision, since slides are substituted rather than redacted and other formatting issues are addressed. I also conclude that it is not possible to infer from the available evidence that the original report should be considered a 'previous report', since it could reasonably be considered to be an earlier version of the same report. As such, I cannot see any definitive evidence that CRT has failed to comply with the freedom of information request. Alec

I would be really interested to do so. I would like to put the two reports side by side and compare them right through from front cover to back cover. Please could you point me at links to both reports? Thanks Alec

That’s the one!

Does it now work? Alec

Out at Easter heading for The Port when the wooden end of a friend's tiller snapped off. On the way back whilst heading up Adderley I ran across a snapped off handle in the grass on the towpath by the lock. Now the one in the grass was faded but not rotten, and was significantly longer than the one that needed replacing, so a bit of time on the lathe yesterday resulted in:

Right, I think we have the answer - you have a 1/4" OD pipe. That means a 6mm olive will not go on but you cannot crush an 8mm olive enough to seal. Does a 6mm olive go straight through the hole in the nut? If no, sand down the outside of the pipe enough that the olive will go on. 1mm wall thickness will still be enough. You can then fit the olive over the pipe and crush it up as normal using the nut. If yes, second choice is to find a washer that you can drop inside the nut. If you are very lucky you will find one with a 6mm hole, but assuming you have a drill this can be addressed if the hole is too small. Alternative choice is to wrap a load of tape around the outside of the pipe. PTFE tape has been suggested but I would go for electrical insulation tape as it will stay in place better. It won't hold up for long and may leak a bit, but it should give you a week or two with luck. Put on enough that the 8mm olive only just slides over it. Make sure you fit the nut first, then the tape, then the olive and crush it up. It may take a few goes to get this right, but it won't damage the pipe, only the tape. Alec

Hi Tony, I think this has been answered above. The OP took the photograph to show an 8mm olive in place on the pipe, having trimmed back the end and slid the olive on. This was not compressed on, so before attempting re-fitting the olive could be slid back off again, the nut put in place and the olive re-fitted and compressed. However, having had several attempts at this and failed to get a seal, he is asking for more thoughts before trimming off yet another piece of an ever-shortening length of pipe. @MrBadger to confirm that the above is the correct interpretation. Alec