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Pleeeeeeeese - What did the donkey have for lunch?

The Manchester sh*t boat used to do a regular daily trip down the MSC to dump its load out at sea.

Richard: if you use your prop and work your way backwards and forwards you will soon shift the silt. A boat at Henhull could only moor at about 45 degrees to the bank when he first arrived, but with a good bit of stirring he was soon able to get in. Last time BW dredged our moorings, all they did was pick it up and move it to the middle of the channel!

Shifting gravel on big canals I can understand. Moving stuff on small canals, especially narrow ones like the Shroppie, I can't see happening. I can get 20 tonnes, on pallets, moved from Winsford to Wolverhampton say for about £300. On the canal, firstly you have got to get it from the factory to the wharf, then load it (can't drive a fork lift onto a boat). Then say 3 days travelling to Wolverhampton, then transhipment again and final delivery. Minimum wage for the three days travelling would be about the same as the full cost by road. I don't think we are going to see many boats overtaking us on the lock queue!

The following article is in the Times: Canals set to make inroads on routes clogged by lorries By Ben Webster Transport Correspondent CANALS, once the arteries of the Industrial Revolution, are to return to transporting goods in an effort to remove lorries from congested roads. British Waterways, which manages 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, has drawn up a plan to carry millions of tonnes of freight on the network. Leisure craft have dominated canals since the Second World War and most of the recent projects to restore disused waterways have focused on tourism, but congestion and the rising cost of fuel have prompted a series of projects aimed at attracting freight back to canals. Work will begin today to create a series of wharves on the Grand Union Canal in West London. The first, at Willesden Junction, will allow barges carrying waste to unload at a recycling plant, taking 37,000 lorry journeys off London's streets. In the heyday of the canal network, from 1760 to 1840, more than 30 million tonnes of goods were carried each year on 5,000 miles of waterways across Britain. In just two years, in the 1790s, 37 Acts for the construction of new canals were passed by Parliament. Canals went into decline with the rise of the rail network in Victorian England, but it was the coming of the motorway in the 1960s that almost finished off the barge as a mode of transport. By last year the quantity of goods shifted by canal had dwindled to 1.6 million tonnes. British Waterways plans to almost quadruple that figure, to 6 million tonnes, by 2010. The increasing pressure on industry and households to recycle is helping to create a new market for canal-borne freight. A spokesman for British Waterways said: "You are never going to want to transport bananas by canal, but waste is not time sensitive. Using such a green mode of transport also fits very well with the recycling industry, which is growing fast." With each household producing 1.5 tonnes of waste a year and half the population living within five miles of a canal or navigable river, British Waterways estimates that it could eventually carry 234 million tonnes of waste a year. The River Lee Navigation in East London is to be used to carry municipal waste from Hackney to an energy-generating incinerator in Edmonton. British Waterways is also planning to revive the Bow Back Rivers, between Bow and Stratford in East London, to carry 6,000 tonnes of goods a day, saving 75,000 lorry journeys per year. The cost of moving goods by canal is cheap * British Waterways charges only 1p per tonne for each kilometre travelled * but companies have to factor in the cost of delivering goods to the canal and taking them to their final destination, maybe two lorry journeys. British Waterways believes that the solution is to build recycling plants and distribution centres next to canals." Now there are some big canals around, and moving freight on them makes sense, but I can't see many barges using the Shroppie. Yet here BW are using the statement that half of us live within 5 miles of a canal to justify the potential. If commercial transport did return to the smaller canals, would they expect priority at locks?

See picture in Viking's post on Dunwyrin. Shows the bow thruster with an access panel alongside.

Gaggle your praise is highly appreciated. Last time I tried walking on water it was Christmas eve. Unfortunately my faith was not up to the task and I went two foot under; and it was verrrry cold.

You have to factor in the time if you are trying to compare galvanic action to electroplating. Our boats are in the water for years, quietly corroding away. A bit different to the time used for plating.

The Llangollen ones certainly increase if there has been a lot of rain upstream, but then that is what the canal is for - bringing the water down. I don't find it makes as much difference on the Shroppie main line, as there are plenty of places where there are overspills to control the level. Usage does affect them; some will almost stop, then a boat emties the lock above and a flood comes down. All adds to the excitement when you are moving gently towards the lock and someone turns the tap on.

What you need is several trips up the Llangollen to get some practice at dealing with bywashes! The trick is to steer the front well into the side wash, so the bow gets pushed into line, then push the tiller right over the other way to stop the stern getting pushed across. What you mustn't do is try to di it slowly. You need plenty of power. Once you get the knack it is quite easy - and very satisfying to get into a narrow lock across a strong side wash without touching the sides. The one at Audlem, under the road bridge, can be particularly tricky though as the side wash comes out under the bridge and you have no room to manoever.

Beeston Iron, Shropshire Union. No ladders.

I did the 4 counties anti-clockwise, as I read somewhere that most hire boats do it clockwise. Don't know if there is any truth in it. I undrestand that Claymore (Preston Brook) hire company recommend the Cheshire ring is done a particular way, anti-clock I think. Something to do with the locks in Manchester maybe - more experienced by the time you hit them.

A couple of years ago I was at the helm during a very close thunderstorm. I used a large umbrella to keep off most of the rain. It then occurred to me that standing on a very well-earthed surface in wet trainers, holding up a spiked metal rod that was the highest point around was just tempting fate a bit. It didn't reach the tingling fingers or hair standing on end stage, but with the benefit of hindsight it is something I will think twice about in future!

Hmm - Just read Sir dick's post again, and it isn't the thing I was thinking of. My comments above related to a controller that used a battery bank plus inverter. The inverter worked off the batery bank, but if the alternator was running, it combined that with the batteries to provide the 230V. Thus avoiding the need, and cost, of a 230V alternator and also not clobbering the batteries more that necessary.

The following article may be of interest to some of you....... http://www.computing.co.uk/news/1162830

I read the description of this combined system. The principle makes a lot of sense. I think sterling have been around long enough to have some idea of what they are doing. They are not famous for their reliability, but they give good service. If you were thinking of intalling a 230V alternator to run washing machines etc, I would certainly give this new setup a serious look.

S-O-T is not as bad as it might appear from the A500. south of stoke is quite pleasant, although it gets a bit tatty as you come into the area from the south. Once you hit the locks, you want to go to the top, by the caldon junction. There are reasonable moorings here, although not the prettiest of spots. A bit further up is a marina where you could probably get a mooring for the night if you are concerned. If you carry on a bit further there are some pleasant moorings by a lake, north of Longport. This is a popular spot and reasonably quiet. Further up still, mooring at the southern portal of the tunnel is a nice quiet spot, and you will get in the first transit through the tunnel as well. North of the tunnel is a bit tatty, but once you get to Red Bull and the Cheshire locks it is very pleasant with plenty of good moorings. Alternatively turn up the Macc and moor just beyond the aqueduct.

I definitely go for roller handles. Much more pleasant to use. If the windlass is flying off the spindle you are not using it right. Also have a long throw ali one for the wife to use on some of the stiffer locks.

As for speeding, I passed a narrowboat that was doing 60 mph last week. But that was on the M5.

I am surprised that it was ever done to 6 ft. Tales I have read suggest that they used to rely on the working boats to keep a clear passage through. This meant that you had a reasonably deep bit in the middle but rapidly shallowing. This is why the working boat fraternity think they have right of way on the canal and you must get out of their way (neatly forgetting that in their unloaded state, they are riding about 2 ft highre than when fully loaded!).

Whilst out last weekend we saw a heron catch an eel. It was getting on for two feet long, and this heron had quite a struggle to get it down. The eel was still wriggling furiously when it had half disappeared down the heron's throat. Must be quite a wierd sensation!