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Many years ago we were on a beach in south wales and had hired a little inflatable dinghy. I had left my glasses in the bottom to go for a swim and when I tried to climb back into the boat it flipped over and glasses went to the bottom of the sea, about 10 ft down. Bit of a disaster as I was doing fieldwork for a month in S wales and needed them for driving (no spare then). We waited for the tide to go out and walked about on the beach but still couldn't find them. A bit later, sitting on the beach we saw some lads shrimping so went to sak them if they might have found them. Just as we got there, one of the lads was trying on what he thought was a pair of sunglasses, and found he couldn't see through them. They were the ones! So Glenn, maybe a shrimping net is the answer. (Or have a weekend in Thailand and pick up a replica fro £10, - cheaper than a new Tag!)

for the more pedantic among you: In 1988 an agreement was reached that voltage levels across Europe should be unified at 230V single phase and 400V three-phase with effect from January 1st, 1995. In both cases the tolerance levels have become -6% to +10%, giving a single-phase voltage spread of 216 V to 253 V, with three-phase values between 376V and 440 V. On January 1st, 2003 the tolerance levels were widened to +/- 10%. Since the present supply voltages in the UK lie within the acceptable spread of values, Supply Companies are not intending to reduce their voltages in the near future. This is hardly surprising, because such action would immediately reduce the energy used by consumers (and the income of the Companies) by more than 8%. One effect of this is that ligt bulbs won't last as long.

QUOTE(maffi mushkila @ Apr 11 2005, 01:07 PM) So if the plugs are sealed how does the electrician get in there then? * They don't, they replace the cable.

And how much would they charge? Assuming a charge is levied, this means that you will effectively be having to pay for water. (can't see them doing it for free).

2:00 boat just gone into the top caisson at Anderton. 2:20 Transfer completed; Edwin Clark exited at top. Quite neat: picture refreshes about every second.

Actually there is legislation, the latest being to control nitrogen levels in the water. Also in some european countries - so expect it here soon - there are limits on the amount of phosphorus in animal feeds to reduce P input into surface water. Having said that, I agree absolutely that the amount of detergent that goes into the canals from grey water is minimal compared to the volume it is going into. It is limited by the size of our water tanks - you are not going to use water like you do at home, therefore the amount going into the cut is minimal. the detergents, in the sort of concentrations we are talking about, are readily broken down by oxidation and bacteria so do not present any long term threat. doesn't mean that legislation won't be introduced of course!

Have a look at http://www.billybubbles.demon.co.uk/sitemap/index.html An entertaining site with a lot of useful information on canalling on the continment. I believe you can get from Calais to the Med by canal & river.

We went up as far as Wrenbury last weekend, and I was suprised how quiet the canal was in terms of boat movements. WE hardly saw a boat moving from Hurleston to Wrenbury on the saturday afternoon. Surprising for an Easter week. Maybe the breach had reduced the number of advanced bookings.

The food has always been better at the Bridge than the Fly. The Fly has live music on friday nights which can be quite good - usually tributes or aging rockers, but it is VERY load for the sizr of room, so best enjoyed from outside. I believe that the Fly is one of the pubs owned by BW that is being transferred to the new partnership, so don't know how that will affect things in the future.

Don't want to be a merchant of doom & gloom, but this is a post from another thread: We quite often go to Trevor or Llangollen on the bike for a ride out, and I have witnessed some amazing mayhem - boats all over the place and real canal rage. Grindley Brook isn't so bad now it usually has a keeper, but there used to be some fierce arguments in the past- quite entertaining sometimes when one boat in the top lock going down, another in the bottom lock going up, both convinced they had right of way as the lock was set in their favour!

Shroppie etc top gate paddles: Half open until the cill is covered, then open up fully. I consider it irresponsible to do it any other way, even with as 50' boat in a 70' lock. I was once in Beeston stone lock when a couple came along and whacked open all the top paddles before I could say anything. Te boat was tossed about like a cork and the people on the boat were terrified. After my reaction and words I don't think that couple will do it again in a hurry. Too much can go wrong in a lock, especially when it starts filling - you need to be in control.

A friend recently made an enquiry to a boat broker, with the view to buying a boat. All the details were sent on CD's (4). It took ages to review the boats, and if you wanted to flick back to one, it took longer still. The technology is great, but for this purpose I think it still has a way to go.

Try arriving mid-week in early August John! I tend not to go further than Trevor between May & September.

But what about the new marina with mooring for 30-odd boats?

The first part of the caldon has a bit of a reputation for bandits, but I've never had a problem. The flint mill museum on the junction is worth a visit if you have time. I would definitely do the leek branch if you have time, very picturesque and quite remote at the top end. At Froghall, if I remember rightly, the guide books are a bit deceptive about the winding hole - it is a bit earlier than it appears. You can turn past the tunnel, but even with the dropped water level it is quite tight. Enjoy your trip.

I think the key word in John's reply was "removable" plastic pipe. Also I think you would need to fit a tap near the bottom of the tank, as the feed pipe to the tank will (or should) come out of the top of the tank.

Not sure what a BSS inspector would say about that!

I use a pice of wood. It is hardwood, a sort of curved triangular pice about 1 cm across, which you can get in the sheds as used as trim. There are racks of different sorts. Easy to cut lines in it, which you can rub black paint into. Write on the figures in biro. Very easy to read.

My 12V tv draws 39 watts. If yours is a combi unit, I wouldn't expect the video bit to add much more.

I have finally put them in the links section (or at least - "subject to the moderators".) This is actually the 4th time I've posted links to this site. I found the electrical books excellent - a really good guide to 12v electrics. I suspect the other guides - gearboxes etc, are useful as well.

Good guides to 12 volt electrics and alternators. Also some good gearbox manuals etc http://www.motoren.ath.cx/ lost of links on left hand side.

Try http://www.motoren.ath.cx/ Near the bottom of the list of links on the left hand side: Electrical: 12 Volt Handbook Alternator Handbook They are in pdf format, quite large, but make good reading.