vicafloat

Paul was one of the founder members of the volunteer force on the Shroppie and worked hard latterly for the Small Tasks team. Great bloke and will be badly missed. We in the North West have now lost in the last year two exceptional canal people in Paul himself and Mike Carter of the IWA.

We also went to the IWA rally and enjoyed our time,though weed can be a problem. There is a water point at the Gt Northern basin though a better description would be the small cluttered basin.! Try the Bridge at Br 23 (good moorings round the corner) We had an excellent rib eye steak there and they have many special offers;I think the Landlady's name is Chris

Thanks Nightwatch for the info!

My Candy Aquamatic 10T worked fine in conjunction with my Powermaster 1.8kw pure sine inverter.However,my machine is now obsolete and parts are unobtainable. Does anyone in the forum have experience of the Zanussi ZWC 1301 which is of similar size and performance?

Liverpool is highly recommended,we have done this 4 times! You need to book with Wigan but can moor in Salthouse dock for 7 days for free. Mooring is fine until you approach Maghull;so most people stop overnight at Bridge 11 (good pub down the road) and take the assisted passage to Bootle and the docks the next day. Have fun!

Having moored for some years near to "Dor" I agree that people turn where it is quite clearly against the rules,and the official and good winding hole is no more than 200 yds further on. This is sheer idleness or bloody mindness (if there is such a word!) and is almost exclusively done by private boaters,not hirers.

I agree, my Hurth 150 allied to a Lister TS3 always clunks going into gear; and I have been advised by those engineers who know that this is normal. Quiet operation is not!! My gearbox has had this characteristic clunk since we bought our boat in 1999. Don't worry about it but do change the Auto transmission oil once every year.

Don't be put off by scare-mongering,it is a great experience and the Weaver is a lovely river. Incidentally,most of the recent breakdowns have been caused either by lack of maintenance or failure of the modern electronics!! Not problems which occurred prior to 1984!

My experience,for what it is worth,is that all cyclists,even the pleasant ones,travel far too quickly to mix with other towpath users. CRT seem blind to the fact that most towpaths are just not wide enough to accommodate all the users they now encourage to use them. Matters can only get worse until there is a major incident and speed humps/restrictors are introduced,especially at bridge holes

I am sorry you didn't like the replies but you will always get a cross section of views. I would be interested to know the name of the boat,since many on the cut will know it and will have a view on the way it is operating on the cut. I would also love to hear the full story of the later incident;it sounds very interesting!

I have done the survey or the parts relevant to me as a CRT licence holder. Latest news I have heard is that ABC hireboats have been charged and they are negotiating with Peel for an annual agreement. This will not help the situation!

I am on the return journey from Liverpool, having spent 7 days in the docks then 3 days at Eldonian village for the IWA festival to celebrate 200 yrs. of the Leeds & Liverpool canal. Many members of our boat club (Broken Cross Boat Club) have been harassed by the enforcer Sonny Smith,who is quite adamant that if you exceed 7 consecutive days on the Bridgewater canal you cannot return within 28 days. Those boats returning from Liverpool on this occasion have been given a dispensation and CRT have now opened discussions with BCC. Watch this space!!

The council and Investors are spending a lot of money here and the town is worth a look. Charlies cafe is good and the Wetherspoons (Penny Black,the old Post Office) is worth a look too. The River Weaver Navigation society tried to persuade The Environment Agency to provide user friendly moorings whilst they were doing the flood prevention works. Apathy from CRT and the Council meant that this request was ignored. If you travel further up-stream there are excellent moorings above Vale Royal Lock. And for even more excitement , Timothy West is officially opening Winsford Marina 30th April! Vic Moses Broken Cross Boat Club NB: Lyndsey Jane

Swanley Marina and Aqueduct Marina, both have welders available

Travelreign still involved I believe,and the pontoons are similar to Uplands ie. very long and not very customer friendly (IMO) I am a member of the Broken Cross boat Club and understand that they have recently begun introducing water to the site. The bridge over the towpath is very nice!!

It is still Travelreign as far as I know and they have just started to let water into the marina. The pontoons do not look very user friendly,being exceptionally long.

I emailed David Baldachino Monday to say that it was not clear when the canal would be re-opened. Credit where it is due he responded very quickly,even though there was a bit of duplication on the notices!

MSCC like boats to "buddy" up but breasting up is no longer required. Mike Carter of IWA Chester & Merseyside branch regularly organises passage on MSC and across the Mersey.

Met with other members of our local boat club on Saturday at Anderton. The rumours flying around are that not only has access to the site been difficult (as it was last time) but that the stoppage could last until May!! Tried to get a sensible up-date from Red Bull office,without success

Thanks Paul,found it!

I know that there has been a fair bit of correspondence about this breach which was first reported by Tim Leech I believe. But try as I might I can no longer find any trace on the Forum! Anyway,just to advise you all that there has been an up-date this week on the CART website;doesn't give much detail except a posible completion date before Easter!

I suspect that the current Dutton Breach on the Trent & Mersey will absorb a fair chunk of this cash,no matter what the Press release says!

I emailed David Baldacchino to ask whether it was acceptable to have no up-date since 15th December 2014 on progress with this important breach. He has promised an up-date this week!

We find Excel to be very good and leaves very little ash. £8.90 for 20kg from Calveley coal right opposite the CRT service block

Narrowboatworld has just reported the problem, a few days behind !!!