Mac of Cygnet

I moored at Whittlesea on two occasions for a total of five days this summer, and hadn't the slightest problem. The BMX 'park' (a small enclosure) is about 100 yards away from the moorings in the middle of a huge recreation ground, usually with several other (supervised) activities going on. There are no BMXers overnight, or anyone else that I saw. Mac

No-one has mentioned Whittlesea, which is much preferable to March, with a good selection of shops and three GBG listed pubs. 5 mins walk across the recreation ground from the moorings above Ashline. Ramsey is good too. I did have a small stone half-heartedly lobbed at the boat when moored at the end of the High Lode, but I think that was an aberration, and the lad responsible nearly sh*t himself when I went over with the dog to remonstrate - he also got a good telling off from his sister. The country museum is interesting, rather better than most of the 'how things were' places, and a barn stuffed with fascinating bric-a-brac and books for sale. There is a good bus service linking Ramsey, Whittlesea and Peterborough if you need to nip back to the city for anything. If you need to leave the boat anywhere, Bill Fen is the place - cheapest short-tem moorings I've found anywhere, and very welcoming. Mac

EA moorings (and GOBA moorings for that matter) on the Nene and Great Ouse are all 48 hours, so you will have some difficulty staying over winter without a permanent mooring ( see Black Ibis' experience at http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...st&p=424772 ). I had no difficulty mooring near where I wanted this summer (except at Earith), but Cygnet is only 27ft, and I would certainly have struggled with a much longer boat. The EA moorings are obvious, and increasing in number - I found the ones out in the country were rarely full. Some of the GOBA moorings were a bit ad-hoc, to say the least. There are several recognised (but unofficial) bankside mooring spots on the Nene, but few on the Ouse. Most pubs have moorings, but often full. I presume you have a Gold Licence if you are planning to spend quite a time there. Otherwise you could do what I did - buy a week's Anglian Rivers licence at Gayton to get down the Nene, spend a few weeks fossicking around on the Middle Level (no licence needed), then buy another month's licence at Denver Sluice to explore the Ouse and tributaries and get you back up the Nene. Enjoy it. It's a beautiful area with some really out-of-the-way spots. And above all don't miss the Prickwillow Fen Drainage Engine Museum. Mac

I also was fascinated by this claim, and would like to know seadog's source. But I'm afraid that the myth is not blown from the water by your 'seven nights', as the relevant section is 'for seven nights before the first Sunday of the reading of the banns right through to the last Sunday (a minimum of 22 nights) Mac

Doesn't say anything about locking through wide locks. A few hundred of those in a year must be the most wearing requirement any rope has to go through. Mac

Both my centre ropes are 16mm. Dyneema claims to have the same strength for a smaller diameter. What diameter do you use? Mac

Last week my long centre rope parted while single-handing up a broad (Rochdale) lock, due to repeated lockside abrasion. Of course the boat was all over the place, which was quite scary. This rope (dark blue polypropylene - you'll recognise the type) has only lasted a year, and in fact showed signs of abrasion after only a day's use - I wasn't impressed. My other centre rope, with two loops for simply dropping over bollards, which has had far more use on other waterways (can't use it on the Rochdale because the bollards are huge), shows little sign of abrasion. It looks like natural hemp, but may be synthetic hemp lookalike. Which type of rope has most abrasion resistance? Natural hemp, synthetic hemp, stranded, braided, etc? I do most of my boating single-handed through wide locks, so a certain length of the centre rope gets a lot of wear. Mac

I find it rather weird that you compare Hebden Bridge with Hackney! If you are referring to the 'Callis Community' west of Hebden Bridge, in fact only about half a dozen boats are lived on there - there are more liveaboards on the moorings at Sowerby Bridge, which is a totally different sort of town. I find it very difficult to tell liveaboard boats from 'continuous' cruisers from boats which have been left for a while, when I'm passing through a strange area. Mac

And there's also Phil Duerden's Boatshare site Boatshare Its forum isn't exactly busy, but he sometimes has interesting boats coming up with shares available, both managed and private.

Glad you had a good time! The Caldon is one of my favourite canals, with as you found, the Hollybush and the Black Lion the jewels in its crown. Your blog gives a fascinating insight into the UK As A Foreign Country, with every detail appearing strange and curious. Cheers Mac

I presume you know that virtually the whole of the western part of the Rochdale is closed from Nov 9th until Christmas?

Thanks. The second link seeems have what I want Mac

I need to replace my dual action Morse control, which is a TX (now Teleflex) 700SO. My present one is 20 years old, and the internal bits are so worn that it refuses to stay in position when in gear. I've found the nearest modern equivalent, but the only supplier in the UK I can find is Marine Megastore, which received a real slating here a while ago. Are there any other stockists in the UK? Cheers Mac

Can I add a request for a recommendation of a surveyor who covers West Yorkshire? (I'm at Sowerby Bridge, and the chap who does Shire Cruisers' boats is trying to retire and no longer taking on new work.) Just a hull survey needed. Cheers Mac

I might be interested if I knew what a Dip Cell survey was

However, out-of-hours callouts do mean extra money in pockets (up to double time according to cicumstances). This is not me being cynical, but the explanation offered for their cheerfulness by both BW and EA guys when coming to help on Sunday morning and Saturday evening respectively! Mac

No, the alcohol content is reduced. Only the flavour is increased/improved - neat gin is seriously unpleasant.

I envy you! Haven't found any sloes worth picking yet, and didn't find any last year, so supplies are very low. Here's what I do: Weigh the amount of sloes which will half fill a wide-necked container, then add three quarters of that weight of sugar (Mrs Mac adds an equal weight, but that's too sweet for me). Fill the container to the top with gin (and put the top on!) Every day after that upend the container to mix the sugar and sloes, if the top is gin-tight, or stir with a wooden spoon if not, until all the sugar is dissolved. Another month should see the full flavour develop, when it can be strained (we use old tights, but sometimes that leaves a bit of sediment - if I was being fussy I would strain through kitchen roll in a funnel, but that takes ages) and bottled. I'm sure you'll get lots of variations, as everyone has their own preferred method. Edited to say that it is completely unnecessary to cut or prick the sloes, as Chris's link suggests - far too fiddly and makes no difference. Cheers Mac

Phylis's original pic was of her moored near the bridge out of West Stockwith basin. Can't help thinking she's a bit pessimistic thinking she might be chucked about by passing boats there. Physically bashed by another cruiser blown about in the wind is more likely. Mac

OK, OK, the consensus seems to be owls. I hadn't even considered them, assuming that the expenditure involved in erecting the best part of a hundred of these over a large area must mean some sort of commercial shoot was involved. Round where I live only pheasants would warrant that sort of outlay.

Sorry, but I have seen barn owls, and there is absolutely no way one could get through the door.