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Bullfrog

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Everything posted by Bullfrog

  1. Don't want to troll this issue, but when I 1st joined this forum in 2005, every other post was about vandalism, rock throwing youths, no-go areas, bandit country, etc. It was therefore with some trepidation we bought our boat and set off on our canal adventures. Needless to say we have experienced none of the horrors so widely reported at that time (touches wood carefully !), and have thoroughly enjoyed our canal experience so far. Have things gone a bit quieter, I hope so.
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  4. I've noticed on ours that the rain runs off the roof down the cabin sides and then on to the walkway on top of the gunnel. If the boat is up at the bows (eg low water level in bow tank) then the water will run aft along the gunnel and then drop into the stern well. ie its not just the stern well that has to be drained it's the sum total of all the water that's hitting the boat. That is why in my opinion the drain holes can't cope with the flow when the rain is really heavy.
  5. Anyone tried this on a boat, and how did it do?
  6. Sorry to hear this Rona. Like the others said, please do report it. regards David
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  10. And now I'm getting you in stereo! Good to see you on the forum Rona. David
  11. Nice day out in London yesterday, and look what we spotted:-
  12. My view on the timber is "Hexagrip" by Lathams. Best if you can source locally 'cos carriage will cost you as much as the material. Cheaper stuff like "buffalo Board" turns to Weetabix quite quickly. I "sound-proofed" my hatch cover using Mike Jordans method from the mag. article. It uses vehicle hinges, rugged locks, gas struts and neoprene tape round all the contact points. It has been remarkably successful, and as well as keeping the sound levels down, has also reduced the ingress of water via the channels. Thank you Mike for such a helpful article I've not bothered to vent the deck boards. there are several other points where the engine hole can breathe eg where our electrics pass thru the bulkhead into the cabin, Run all this season without any over-heating probs.
  13. You are talking about Wolverton. I always smile every time I see this, I think its great. It still gets vandalised by the local taggers and scrotes but the more public spirited locals, including some business people keep it refurbed as you can see here:-
  14. And wait until you hit your 1st swing bridge!
  15. We just have the RCR Bronze retainer. I've had cause to use them twice:- Busted hose at Whittlesea on the Middle Levels 6 years ago, and Broken morse cable just outside Wellingborough. Both occasions a long way from our base at Cowroast on the GU, and both "foreign" enough for me not to know where to source replacement parts. Both breakdowns were sorted very efficiently. The 2nd one (last month) was subbed out to a contractor who came across all the way from Wheedon, The whole episode only took 2.5 hours from initial phone-call to us waving them goodbye. Excellent service and I was well pleased. Strongly recommended. David PS Please don't anyone bother posting to say I should be carrying more spares, at that rate we would be towing a complete spare boat as a butty!
  16. We recently stayed at Becket's Park marina managed by Smudge and Sam - Purple Fairy of this parish. Wonderful modern facility and a very pleasant stay. I know Smudge has been working hard to make this festival happen - please support as much as possible. CART has been dredging the Rothersthorpe flight, probably to improve access for the festival. Unfortunately all the weed they displaced floated down the flight, blocking lots of top gates in the locks last week! (Why can you never find a keb when you want one?) Sure this will all have been pulled out by now.
  17. Optional crotch strap as fitted here:- http://shop.topboats.com/tienda/material-de-seguridad/chalecos-salvavidas/chalecos-salvavidas-hinchables/chaleco-quickfit-xm-yachting-150n/con-arnes-automatico-azul-marino?gclid=Cj0KEQjwqe-rBRCv_J6qs6isp6EBEiQAmbctFmSooXEXaJfAQ36CnAMjhewHR0PPVhCAejQMRl3ttAUaAnvo8P8HAQ
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  19. Starry I'm really glad I wasn't steering that one! (BTW It's done with a titchy little joy-stick)
  20. Dean S Definitely NOT the same barge, but similar style:-
  21. Ann and I just got back from Germany where we have been on a cruise on the Rhine and Moselle. Our cruise boat was the Rex Rheni. We had a great time and really enjoyed it, lovely old boat, excellent attentive crew, and lots of food and drink. The country there is stunning and there is always lots to see. At lunchtime on Monday we were just travelling upstream through the centre arch of the Wolf Bridge near Trabern Trabech when we were struck hard by a massive fully laden tanker travelling the other way. The collision was port bow to port bow. Most of the passengers were fortunately seated in the dining room. Those that were standing, getting their dessert, were knocked over like nine-pins, as were some of the crew. Even some of the seated guests were sent flying complete with their chairs. Fixtures and fittings such as the musical equipment and TV in the lounge were torn from their fittings and crashed to the deck. Hundreds of glasses, bottles and china-ware from the bars were smashed all over the floor. There was a moments confusion when everyone tried to work out what was happening, and then Captain Arthur Petri ordered us to our muster stations. By the time I got on deck the boat was standing in the shallows on the right hand bank, the barge was still progressing downstream. Crewmen carried out a visual check to ensure the hull was not breached. Following this, the captain brought the ship off the bank using her bow thrusters and then we continued upstream. We were released from muster stations but lunch was abandoned because of the amount of broken glass spread over the dining room. First aid was carried out by the excellent crew but a few passengers were to be hospitalised later for X-rays for suspected fractures and one blood-clot. Fortunately all returned to the boat over the next 24 hours. This was a SAGA cruise and several of the our fellow passengers were quite frail pensioners, it was astonishing that there were no worst injuries. Our captain stated he had been on the river for 11 years and had never experienced anything like this before. He was genuinely very upset, despite it being no fault of his and although he and his crew did a sterling job of dealing with the aftermath. Once we arrived at Bernkastel we all rushed to take a look at the external damage. Note the way the combined walk-way/rubbing strake has been knocked downwards out of the horizontal. This was quite sobering when we saw how hard we had been hit and how much worse it could have been if for instance the impact had been through one of the windows or if the angle had been less acute, and the boats had not bounced off each other. The police were waiting at Bernkastel to take statements and since then we have heard the following, note this is hearsay and not first hand:- The other captain has been arrested and charged as follows:- 1 He was an inadequate German speaker (French?) this in itself is an offence on the Rhine/Moselle where skippers communicate a lot via radio. 2 He was in the wrong position.(the RR has a sophisticated nav system including plots of all other ships’ transponders in range) 3 He did not stop to render assistance after the accident 4 Two witnesses on our boat reported seeing crew men running along the sides of the barge towards the wheel-house. The implication that either no-one was at the wheel, or else a non-qualified man was at the helm. The rest of our holiday continued to plan and was hugely enjoyable despite our scare. I would love to follow this case and learn the out-come, does anyone know how I could achieve this? I am also sure there are many of you who will have a view how this happened, and whose right of way it might have been! I look forward to your comments. David
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  23. The building the OP asked about had its lead off the roof about 2 years back. Must be ruined inside by now, real shame David
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