Wanderer Vagabond
Patron
-
Posts
3,698 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
231
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Blogs
Store
Posts posted by Wanderer Vagabond
-
-
5 minutes ago, Rob-M said:
Last time I went through Netherton it was just before bonfire night and the kids had let so many fireworks off in the tunnel it was a dense fog and I couldn't see anything.
Much like Harecastle when they turn on the fans then
.
-
4 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:
I'm talking to the OP who is an inexperienced and seemingly cautious buyer. I think it's somewhat more likely that they have made other large purchases like a house or a car in their life rather than they are a total halfwit that doesn't know their arse from their elbow.
It's not particularly different. A good boat seller turns over millions of pounds per annum so start by asking if the broker selling your boat looks like a company with a large turnover. Do they have a website that tells you the owner, the registered address, the VAT number, industry accreditations. Do they have an office, staff, nice sales brochures, professionally constructed videos of boats on sale, details of boats they have sold. Does this all check out with stuff you can find online starting with companies house and ending with recommendations from us fools that inhabit online discussion forums.
Again I'd agree with you re brokers, the only area in which I'd perhaps differ is the reference to Companies House. I once thought that was a good indication of a viable company, but don't put too much faith in it now. It doesn't take a lot to register a Company with Companies House and the oversight of the companies formed is nowhere near good enough. The whole thing needs to be revamped and made a lot more reliable.
-
2 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:
I bought mine by handing a cheque to a bloke who gave me an undated typed recept. A week later when the cheque had cleared I went back and got the boat. More of a newbie than me you couldn't get. No documents with the boat, just a lot of empty bottles and a wasps nest in the shower.
Someone on my mooring got handed a suitcase full of fifty pound notes and tenners for his.
You just have to trust your judgement. Ninety nine times out of a hundred (probably more) it's fine. The scams just make a good story, good sales don't. Most people are mostly honest.
Trouble is that these days there is a whole world of scamming that didn't really exist 20 years or so ago. Yes, there has always been fraud but it has become the go-to offence these days because the chance of getting caught is so minimal. It is all very well reporting it to 'Action Fraud' but we affectionately knew them as '(in)Action Fraud' because unless it is blindingly obvious who the offender is, it will just get recorded and that is it. Whether the offender has walked off with your suitcase of money in exchange for a boat that wasn't his, or the money you were sending to the broker has been diverted to an account set up explicitly for the purpose of scamming, doesn't really make that much difference, it can happen either way. I also believe that people are mostly honest, but in the current climate you have to assume that they aren't......unless you can afford to lose a whole lot of money.
-
4
-
-
9 minutes ago, MtB said:
Isn't Netherton so large it doesn't really feel like a tunnel? More like an underground cavern once you've done Gosty Hill and Harecastle...?
Yup
. Most amazing trip I had was in midwinter around about sunset, when the setting sun was shining almost directly into the Bumble-hole portal. It lit up about 500 metres of the tunnel. Only ever seen that the once and it's kind of bizarre since the canal runs South West to North East.
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, MtB said:
I usually see it written/spelled "Gosty". Is Gorsty also considered correct?
Dunno, I've seen is spelled both ways. When I walk from the basin up to the shops at Blackheath (up the chuffin big hill) I pass this sign...
....which allowing for Google having divided it, seems to read 'Gorsty' Hill Road, and that font of all wisdom, Google Maps, also calls it Gorsty Hill Road. We just know it as a chuffin' big hill and b'tard of a tunnel
-
8 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:
In terms of the question that was asked by @Bishop Brennan I think the starting point is to say that there aren't more scams than legitimate boats for sale. I'd also say that you're not going to find a boat that any BMF member broker advertises that isn't legitimately for sale. I'm not even aware that there are brokers that aren't BMF members. That said I'm not suggesting that it's some form of cast iron safeguard but I think it's probably a good indication of a genuine broker.
What you won't necessarily know is whether the supposed 'broker' actually owns the boat and is therefore a dealer rather than a broker. Although come the crunch of an actual sale wouldn't this become apparent? That's nothing to do with whether the boat is legitimately for sale but it does place more stringent legal requirements on the dealer.
The other thing is to ask on the forum. There are members here are familiar with quite a few boats that are available and there's a fair chance that someone on the forum knows something about any boat who care to ask about.
It's a bit difficult to list as there a lot of brokerages. Generally accepted view of things is that Rugby Boats, Tollhouse, ABNB are high end and Venetian, Whilton, Great Haywood (who aren't actually at Great Haywood) are lower end. Lots of others in between and possibly in those same categories.
I'd be in agreement with you regarding using brokerage, particularly since if it goes belly up you have a recognised company to aim your Civil Court Case at. The area of danger however lies in transferring your payment to the Broker, since this is where the scammers operate (both with boats and houses). Whenever transferring money (even between my own accounts if one of them is new) I only transfer a small amount first and then confirm with the recipient that they've received it.
-
6 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:
Easily, I've been through it quite a few times. If you want a good moan about it ask @tree monkey for his opinion.
Yup, me too. Pretty much every time I go out I have to go through Gorsty and Netherton. After Gorsty, Netherton is a real pleasure
-
20 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:
It just feels like an hour because it's so boring!
How can you say it's boring?
I always count the ventilation shafts (there are 7), it's really exciting when you get to the next one (is it going to be the one to pour water down your neck?). And then of course there is the 'surprise' pipe between two of the air shafts to pour water all over you (since you can hear it but can't see it until you have reached it)
-
1
-
-
I'd also go with it being a faulty oil pressure switch. It was the first thing that failed back in 2013 when I got the boat and my first reaction was, obviously, switch off the engine. Called out RCR (newby at the time and not au fait with boat repairs) and when he showed up he asked me if there had been any untoward noises, when I said "No", he said it was probably the oil pressure switch and fired up the engine. It ran with no problem and the new pressure switch was a doddle to fit. Good experience because a month later the the water temperature sensor failed so that got changed as well
ETA Oh, by the way, welcome to the forum.
-
1 hour ago, Richard T said:
It was about 5.30pm and getting dark. There was no hope of another boat coming through to help us and the family could not face the prospect of being stuck overnight in the tunnel. So the only way of getting help was to walk out hoping that the water wasn't very deep and that there were not too many nasties on the canal bed and ring the emergency services and BW.
There shouldn't be too many nasties on the canal bed, I usually hoover them up around my prop whenever I go out (I have to go through Gorsty Tunnel every time I go out, so kind of get used to it). Judging by the slow pace through the tunnel, I wouldn't think it's that deep either, proportionately it takes me longer to get through Gorsty (557 yards and 25 minutes) than it take me to go through Netherton (3027 yards and 35 minutes).
You wouldn't have been the first to spend the night in the tunnel though....
..... we passed thought it at about the same sort of time (without getting properly stuck). The back story was that CRT had been doing some tree cutting on the canal bank and left a whole pile of logs there. You wouldn't believe the shock and amazement we had when the local yoblets threw them into the canal
. I did manage to wedge one of the logs between the prop and skeg which brought the engine to a very sudden stop, but I was only just entering the tunnel at the time, so pushed the boat back and went down the weed hatch with a mallet and mooring pin to 'solve' the problem. Surprisingly no damage done.
-
1 minute ago, MtB said:
Gosty Hill seems to me to be in a different league to Harecastle when it comes to being a tight fit.
I think its in the same league as Froghall, the only one I haven't been through.....yet.
-
5 minutes ago, MtB said:
Astounding. When I went though the low bit the roof took my hat off!!
Obviously I engaged full astern to stop and retrieve it, which scared poor Tree Monkey sitting on the tug deck witless as he had no idea what was going on....
It is a mistake that you only make the once, I seem to recall dragging the starboard side against the tunnel wall in an effort to keep the chimney on.
Have to say you were brave to put the boat into full astern whilst in Gorsty, I can usually find some crud to wrap around my prop in there even without engaging reverse.
-
On 08/04/2023 at 22:01, dmr said:
We had an afternoon session in the Holy Inadequate then boated up to the tunnel entrance for the night and had a bit of cider. Next day I did not feel so good and forgot to take the chimney down. The very new tunnel keeper failed to spot it. Everytime I go through the tunnel I think how on earth did I get through with the chimney up without even touching. When we got out the other end the keeper went bonkers and said he was going to get the new tunnel keeper sacked, which was a bit harsh as it was totally my fault.
I would have thought going through Harecastle with the chimney up would be a piece of cake, bags of room. My first time through Gorsty Tunnel however I didn't realise that the size of the entrance is not the same as the size halfway through. Still managed to get through with the chimney up.....but it was close
-
46 minutes ago, Hudds Lad said:
Buzzards and Red Kites are so prolific down south we've given up counting them, a Muntjac i have seen in the brambles on the offside but only because i was looking straight at it as the boat moved by, it was dead still and so well camouflaged. Saw the world's fattest squirrel in one of the cuttings on the Shroppie, forget which but it's the one with a couple of boats moored in there with an old Landy and i think an old Roller under cover amongst the sheds. The squizz was sat on the boats tug deck with its own supply of bird seed, no way it was climbing any trees
My favourite spot is a toss up between the terrapin the size of a dinner plate sunning itself on the way to Coventry basin, or the first Bullfinch i ever saw just outside Banbury. Possibly the Bullfinch just pips it. Having looked for birds since being a little kid it only took 49yrs to spot one outside of a bird book.
I think my favourite 'spot' was just after we had crossed the Barton Swing bridge I looked up and saw a woodpecker banging away at a tree. Never having seen one in the flesh before I was transfixed but what was annoying was that having just crossed the swing bridge I had a camera in my hand, did I think to use it? Only after it had flown off did I think,"Oh, I should have photographed that".
-
1
-
-
24 minutes ago, magnetman said:
Food waste is another red herring.
In this country the food production and importation amounts to significantly more than we need. This will result in waste. Everyone knows that massive amounts of food is dumped. This is not news.
One of the great things with food products is they are of biological origin in that if you reject the product it will degrade quite quickly.
Wrapping things in plastic might seem clever but what do you do with the plastic? The plastic can make the product last longer but if there is already a surplus why do you want it to last longer? All you are doing is providing profits and creating food waste and packaging waste.
Obviously starving people would rather have the food but the economics of transporting it to them is not viable.
Wrapping foods up in plastic is the wrong plan in a state where food is plentiful.
I find myself fully agreeing with you, unnecessarily wrapping stuff up in plastic is now becoming almost obsessive. When our local Tesco was selling fresh fish (they've stopped now, apparently no demand
) the girl on the fish counter would studious wrap both of the pieces of fish than I had chosen into two plastic bags (double bagged) and then when going through the checkout, the checkout operator would then ask "Do you want those in another plastic bag?" (NO). What this is all about is profits for the supermarkets in that by packaging everything up they get to sell the crap along with the good stuff. I will always try to buy everything loose, apples,potatoes,carrots,etc.etc. because you can pick out the decent stuff, which obviously leaves the all the damaged stuff (I'm talking damaged, not just odd shaped) on the shelves for the supermarket to dispose of.
Why the country has gone down the road of everyone wanting to buy their water in plastic bottles is simply bizarre, it is the same stuff that comes out of the tap, merely packaged in a fancy way. It would be understandable if the stuff coming, out of the taps was non-potable, but it is all of drinking water standard FFS.
-
2 minutes ago, Loddon said:
What people fail to appreciate is that the plastic bags fuel is stored in are permeable, so if you leave them out in the rain the contents get wet
Not disputing what you say but, if they are permeable, how is it that the water never seems to drain out? (only 'drains' in, seemingly
)
-
1
-
-
21 hours ago, LadyG said:
I'm sure lots of people have had crumbly, dusty, damp and dirty smokeless fuel.
Well, I have to report the Realflame Premium Gold Standard (from Ace Energy), is just as good as it gets.
It's dry, perfectly formed, burns easily, low ash. Well worth the premium price, about £18.25.
I suspect it's sieved to remove dust and debris, and I can guess where that goes!
That has to be a big selling point. Although I haven't bought much coal this winter having been off the boat, pretty much all the fuel I have bought in recent years has been soaking wet. Yes, it still burns, but it seems to me that you are paying for a load of water in your fuel, which must be a 'bargain' for the fuel companies. I originally thought it was just a consequence of buying fuel from canal-side suppliers who store their fuel outside, but then visited my sister's house which is heated by a coal fire delivered by a local company, and the fuel they were putting on was soaking wet as well, starts to look deliberate to me
-
20 minutes ago, IanD said:
Ooh, I'm looking forward to trying that with a boat they can't hear coming... 😉
I've got a throbbing diesel in mine and I've still had anglers shout at me that they couldn't hear me coming, my stock reply is,"Yeah, I know, I'm travelling in Stealth mode".
I think pretty much everyone who travel the system probably has a story of collecting some angler's kit, mine dates back to 2018 when I'd decided to start the BCN Challenge at Anglesey Basin. So there was me at about 8am (very early for me) chugging across Anglesey Basin to my start point and saw an angler asleep in a small tent thing on my left. What I didn't know was that he'd cast his ledger weight right across the basin to the other side (why didn't he just walk around to that side and simply drop it in?
). As I passed over his line it wrapped around my prop and started screaming off his reel, setting off his 'bite alarm'. He certainly woke up pretty quickly!!
-
40 minutes ago, enigmatic said:
From personal experience, the warning is when you get a rope/coat/tarp wrapped round your prop the week before that does the majority of the damage. Apparently sometimes it makes a lot of noise when it's almost completely wrecked and about to fail, but with mine it didn't.
And when it fails properly, you might be getting some rotation in the correct direction from the prop at high revs, but not enough to properly move the boat
Most recently, I noticed because I was on the River Thames, and whilst my engine was running smoothly enough, I was going backwards
We travel the BCN quite a lot so I'm kind of used to stuff round the prop, and can usually react quick enough to knock it into neutral before any real harm is done. I did think I'd probably stuffed the drive plate when I trapped a log between the prop and skeg going into Gorsty Tunnel and stopped the engine dead. That was however five years ago now and we still seem to be trundling along.
-
Curious anecdote regarding discarded fishing tackle:- before Christmas we were doing the monthly work party on the Dudley No2 canal (hauling tyres out above Dog Lane Bridge if anyone was interested). A work party member latched onto some 'fishing line' with his grappling hook and started pulling it in, winding it around his hand as he did so. After about 20 minutes of winding it was apparent that there was quite a lot of line, so I started assisting by hauling as well. After 45 minutes we were still hauling in the damn line. The work boat was then going to travel to the CRT depot at Bumble Hole to dump the 20 tyres we'd fished out, so we sat on the back and continued winding in the fishing line. We got to Bumble Hole, a distance of about 700 metres and were still winding in the fishing line so we got back off the work boat and walked back towards Dog Lane Bridge as we couldn't continue winding it in around a right angled corner at Bumble Hole. We therefore walked all the way back to Dog Lane, still winding in the fishing line. I would guess by now we had wound in about 5 kilometres of fishing line and still hadn't reached the end of it. There isn't a 'happy ending' to the story either because back at Dog Lane, the line broke and we still hadn't reached the end of it, so there is still damn fishing line in that section of canal, despite our best efforts.
My question from any fishermen on here is who the hell goes fishing in a canal that probably 4 feet deep at it's deepest, with a fishing line over 5 Kilometres long????
-
16 hours ago, MtB said:
Nor the sort of 'heritage boat' with a vintage engine that rarely needs to rev higher than about 500rpm. Even at full chat this is less than the tickover speed of the modern engines that hydraulic gearboxes are designed for.
But it was the sort of 'heritage boat' that made a very loud 'chunck' when pushed from forward drive straight into reverse.
Perhaps it's just me but I don't see how that does any engine, heritage or otherwise, any good.
-
Just now, David Mack said:
Not the sort of heritage boat with a wheel operated gear change that takes about three turns from ahead gear to astern then.
No, it was 'Atlas' which I seem to recall is rod operated.
-
7 minutes ago, magnetman said:
You seemed to be implying that the engine needs load to get up to temperature effectively.
What about if the batteries are quite well charged and the aim of engine running being to heat the water.
People would naturally seek another way to load the engine.
If the batteries are already quite well charged I'm not sure I see the point of running the engine just to heat the water, that has to be a waste of energy par exellence. If my batteries are already charged and I need hot water, I'll boil a kettle on either the stove if it is lit, or a gas ring. To heat it via the calorifier, I'd have to run the engine for about an hour = 1litre of diesel, so at our basin's quite cheap rate that's going to cost me £1.05p.
-
43 minutes ago, Goliath said:
yea, and there’s the coupling to consider too when going to and fro without pause for thought 👍That's the beauty of boating, isn't it, everything can be done nice and slow (except when you meet the other boat in a bridge hole😱). It's the same when clearing weed from the prop, I'll knock it into neutral and drift for a boat length or so to see if that shifts it before putting it into reverse.
I think you just get a 'feel' for what is comfortable for the boat (says he before his drive plate fails on the next outing!
). I was down below doing something else when a 'heritage' boat was maneuvering nearby (speedwheel and stuff) and I heard him change from forward drive instantly to reverse with a distinct 'Chunck' as it engaged and I simply said 'Ouch, that hurt'.
How do you not get scammed?
in New to Boating?
Posted
Correction accepted