Mac of Cygnet

I bought Cygnet from Calcutt in February 2 years back. After expressing an interest, I went back a week later. Not only had they made sure the batteries were charged up and the seacock open (It had lain unsold since the previous August), but had actually lit the stove to provide a welcome. I was given the keys and lent a centre rope to work up the locks single-handed, and told to take it as far as I liked. I had a great afternoon, and made an offer on the spot, which after a little negotiation was accepted. Extra work ordered and done promptly. All this for a boat costing less than £20K. And yet I had previously heard the company slated by more than one person. People's perceptions of a company can be very different according to circumstances. Mac

Can I revive this thread to make another appeal for the same info? This question has been asked before (I searched), and someone said they could come up with details of generic equivalents if we could give the part numbers, but the thread stopped there. I used to have a site which listed all the equivalents from different manufacturers, but it's lost in the depths of a defunct computer. Cheers Mac

I was stuck on the Chesterfield for six weeks last summer due to floods and other factors, and went up and down it twice. The Retford and Worksop Boat Club at Clayworth were very welcoming ( l left the boat there twice for a few days), and the pub in the village excellent (the first one you come to - can't remember the name). The first section from West Stockwith to Drakeholes is a little shallow, but I was OK with a draft of just over 2ft. There was very little problem with weed. Excellent quiet moorings at Forest Locks. Pity about Worksop - could do with being moved a few miles east, out of the way of the canal. The main problem is timing your arrival at West Stockwith to get in - it can be a little fraught if the tide is running much. Mac

This not only wrong but very confusing. The 17.5% VAT on a purchase costing £38.35 (ex VAT) should be £6.71, not £8.14 What you have done I think is deduct 17.5% of the VAT inclusive price to get the total ex-VAT. This is incorrect, and gives what appears to be a 21% VAT level. Not only that, but you may be aware that you should be charging VAT on the postage, and this is not mentioned. I would be reluctant to buy anything which approached its pricing in such an amateurish way, and I haven't even looked at the site. Mac

Apologies if this has appeared elsewhere, but the Irish Government has apparently announced its solution to collecting the extra tax on diesel from boaters: "..... the owner of the craft used for private pleasure navigation shall, not later than the first day of March following the calendar year in which the marked gas oil was purchased for such use, deliver to an officer:(a) a return, in such form as the Commissioners may require, of the quantity in litres of marked gas oil purchased in that calendar year, and ( payment of an amount of mineral oil tax calculated at the rate of 32.069 cent per litre (which is the difference between the mineral oil tax rate for marked gas oil and the rate for heavy oil used for private pleasure navigation) on such quantity.Record of purchases(3) The owner referred to in subsection (2) shall, together with vouched receipts for all purchases of the marked gas oil concerned, maintain a record of such purchases, in such form as the Commissioners may require." So, in effect, boaters will buy their green diesel as normal, and at the end of the year send off the extra tax to the government, having kept all the invoices.I'm afraid I laughed out loud when I read this. Do you think the same arrangement will be followed here? Mac I've no idea where that smiley came from. It was a (b ) in the original, but apparently gets changed into ( (Edited to amend weird smiley effects and quotes.)

There are several websites dealing with this subject. This is one of the clearest: vegoil motoring Mac

Cygnet spent several days at Portland Basin Marina last September, with and without me. Guy, the owner, and his wife are very friendly and helpful. The exterior moorings there are fairly secure, with an adjacent liveaboard, but you'll have to pay of course. A couple of hundred yards up the Peak forest is usually ok. The museum opposite is interesting and free. There is a dearth of decent pubs within walking distance. Ashton Market is well-known, but a bit of a trek from Portland Basin. Mac

I really have no idea. Many towpath walkers, on passing us, have commented favourably on the smell of woodsmoke. I can only guess that the marinas of which you speak are looking for shiny respectable boats, and that wood burning has a taint of the 'gypsy'. Mac

I entirely agree, and go even further by burning only wood at home and on the boat - I bought the boat with a load of coal on board and gave most of it away to helpful neighbours. For those who burn coal - Cygnet has a very deep front locker down to interior floor level, with a hatch next to the stove through which coal could be accessed. So an exterior coal bunker (taking 6x25Kg bags) with interior access - no shovelling coal into scuttles etc. Haven't seen this arrangement anywhere else. Anyway, however clever that is, I don't burn coal so converted the bunker into a multi-tiered locker. Back to burning wood - I understand wood, having heated our house for the past 30 years with wood-burning stoves. I don't trust coal not to poison me with carbon monoxide; wood would produce a very smoky atmosphere before dangerous levels of CO (yes, I do also have a CO detector, but these things can malfunction). And wood is free! Now it has been pointed out to me that collecting wood by the cut could be said to stealing, but of course we only use dead wood. Only once have we encountered a problem, when a chap in a lock cottage, seeing the logs on our roof, gave us a friendly warning against collecting any locally, implying that the local landowner was a bit paranoid about this sort of thing. Never have we failed to find enough wood for our needs. A can see that a liveaboard not moving much in winter would have to resort to coal, though. Mac

I may be being a bit silly, but you haven't got the water intake and outlet the wrong way round, have you? The intake should be low down on the calorifier and the outlet as high up as possible (so that the heated water will rise up to it and stay there until you use it, and won't be mixed with cold water coming in). Mac

WHAT! I have sent you a message enquiring about this appalling news. Mac

Unfortunately I don't own the image, only the boat. Trevor, the guy who appears in the picture on the back of his nearby boat, has made strenuous attempts to find out who took the picture, in order to get a copy, but has met with a complete blank from the 'Customer Service Department' of Northern Trains. Mac

Boarding a train at Leeds recently to travel to my mooring at Sowerby Bridge I was amazed (and rather chuffed) to see a picture of my boat on the side. Passers-by nodded understandingly seeing on my knees on the platform with a camera, gibbering "Thats my boat! That's my boat!" Apparently the picture of Sowerby Bridge Basin is one of the local scenes featured on several Northern trains in the area. Apologies for inflicting my childish delight on others - I should have grown out of this at least 50 years ago. But has anyone else unexpectedly come across a picture of their boat on public display? And here it is (I hope): Mac