koukouvagia

Twenty five years ago it was still possible to pick up a neglected ex-working boat for a reasonable price. I swapped a new 38’ Springer for a rather woebegone Owl, which was gradually sinking, and for the magnificent Seffle, which was sitting on the bank and which might or might not have been a runner. My mother-in-law thought we were completely mad. It took about 12 years to bring Owl up to scratch. For ten years we just patched her up as best we could and had great fun with it. We then had Warwickshire Fly Boat give it the works in 1998. In fact, if you discount the cost of my time in fitting the boat out – it was quite a bargain! I look at these pictures when we first saw the boat and think, perhaps mother-in-law had a point.

Yes, that's correct. Too big a vent - or hole in the bottom of the cabinet where the gas pipe enters - will make the flame lift off and too small a hole will cause the flame to go out.

I’ve heard of people using a length of drain pipe to view underwater. I’ve never done this myself, but there’s a more elaborate version of an underwater scope here: click It looks as though it might work. Has anybody tried such a device?

Yes, but they’ve also built a controversial modern bridge over the Grand Canal, which looks equally out of place. Sign of the times, I fear.

Have you tried a basin wrench yet? clicky

We’re moored near a marina entrance and have the opportunity to observe a variation on this. The technique of many in the marina (but not of course any of the CWDF boaters ) is to blast the horn, come out of the marina at ram speed, hit the opposite bank, get tangled in the bushes, clobber a nearby pair of ex-working boats and then proceed. All very entertaining.

I was very pleased with the one-off specially-shaped sprung mattress this firm made for us. http://www.edbed.com/ .

Yes, these pictures were taken in the “Stinkhole” in about 1982. I’d been offered Beatrice free, but I declined because even though it was historically significant, it would have needed a huge amount of money to restore.

Who said anything about high revs and white water? A rope wound once round a bollard and gently payed out brings the boat to a smooth halt. No fuss, no revving. You do need, though, a round bollard and one that stays in the ground for this to work. If you’ve ever watched a working pair gliding into the lock and being brought to a halt by strapping the boats, you’ll see this technique is certainly not that of a rank amateur.

It’s a pity you weren’t on board while the examiner was there. He could then have discussed with you his findings. I’ve used the same BSS examiner since the scheme was first introduced and I’ve always been present. It’s not that I don’t trust him – I do - (and, what is more he understands old boats ) - it’s that I like to hear what he says about any work I’ve done on the boat and I’m able to pick his brains and ask for advice. My examiner is more than happy for me to be there. Do others prefer to work alone without having owners breathing down their necks?

Yes, and those horrible concrete mushroom bollards break loose when you use them to slow a boat down as it enters a lock.

Welcome to the forum. They'll be plenty of advice forthcoming, I'm sure. It depends how bad the rust is – if it’s surface rust I’d just wire-brush off all the loose stuff and then use Danboline Bilge paint - it tends to repel oil and grease. On more extensive areas of rust I’ve used Fertan rust converter before applying the bilge paint.

I used a pressure washer for the first time on the boat the other day. I was a bit dubious about it removing all the paint along with the lichen which had built up over the winter, but it worked well. I was even able to clean the white cotton strings which don’t like being scrubbed.

I think the BSS sums it up rather well: "To reduce the risk of your boat sinking if it keels over or is excessively weighed down, it’s a good idea for privately owned boats to only have openings which are at a height of at least 250mm (10ins) above the waterline. Where openings are necessary below this level this risk can be reduced by ensuring that these openings are permanently and securely connected to ducts or pipes, which are watertight up to that level."

What a distressing story. I have observed that this shock and awe tactic is what BW specialise in. Drop a bombshell and sit back. Over the years I’ve been on the receiving end of several such bombshells: * “Your mooring fee is going up immediately by three hundred percent” * “The electrical installation on your mooring is unsafe and will cost the tenants £30k to put right.” *“We’ve changed the rules about breasted up boats and you owe us an extra £1000 per year.” All of these demands came out of the blue with no attempt to soften the blow or ask to speak to me and explain things first. I was able to do nothing about the mooring fee hike and my son who was living on the butty had to look for another mooring. The electrical installation had minor faults which were put right at negligible cost and BW backed down over the breasted-up butty. I expect that while you were reeling from the bombshell your main priority was to find another mooring. But did you challenge BW’s reason for refusing to give you a licence? The BW’s complaints procedure does work – first at a local level then if you’re not satisfied at a corporate level and finally, if there’s been maladministration, a few cases even reach the Ombudsman. I have found the further up the BW hierarchy you go the more reasonable the response. I agree with an earlier posting that ranting and anger are counter-productive, but I certainly wouldn’t let matters drop, even though you have found an alternative mooring.

I have a question that puzzles me. If I have a 10% discount for an historic boat and a 10% discount for prompt payment am I entitled to a 20% discount on the licence fee? i.e. 80% of £725.11 = £580.09 BW does the sum this way: The licence fee is £725.11 They deduct 10% for historic discount making £652.60 Then they take off another 10% for prompt payment making £587.34. Is this the usual way of applying multiple discounts? Or does BW owe me £7.25? On the invoice, there is no mention of the historic boat discount, so until you go delving, it’s not apparent how they reach the sum.

Yes. In fact, the above account is only a very shortened version. There's an equally long saga of my trying to retain the butty discount which was only finally resolved at a Stage 2 Complaints procedure.

Sorry this is a bit long. We have two joshers – a motor and a motorised butty. It has taken me nearly eight years for BW to accede to a very easy request. Could I please have one bill each year so that I can pay two lots of mooring fees and two licences on a single cheque? Simples. Dealing with BW is a Kafka-esque nightmare. Here’s a sample of the conversations I have had over the years: Me: Can I pay for both boats on one cheque? BW: Each boat has to have a unique customer number. This means we have to send out a different bill for each boat. Me: But aren’t there other boaters with more than one boat? BW: Yes, but they all have to have separate bills for each boat. (Think of the expense of this duplication) Me: (Every year) You’ve have not given me the mooring discount for the butty. BW: Discounts only apply to licences not to moorings. Me: (patiently) Yes I know. But this is a special arrangement for an historic butty. I have a signed agreement to pay a full mooring fee for the motor and a half fee for the breasted up butty. If you look on my file you’ll see there’s a letter about this from Matthew Routledge (former Southern GU Manager). BW: Can we get back to you? Me: I’ll send you another copy of the letter. Do you think you could keep it so that I don’t have to have this conversation next year?) (sequence repeats idefinitely) Me: Thankyou for the revised invoices but I notice you’ve applied the discount to the motor, not the butty. (Thinks: Does she know the difference?) BW: (Some incomprehensible rigmarole about the computer not being able to apply discounts to moorings) Me: Would it be simpler if I transferred the ownership of the butty to my son and you simply charged him half the fee? So I did, but now the confusion is doubled – My son first tries to explain, then I have to call and have the same conversation. Every year we go through a similar routine! Me: Thankyou for your letter explaining that because of a computer failure/new system etc. you will not be issuing licence demands for three months. When I finally do get the invoices for both boats, could you make the start dates the same? BW: Er… (The answer, after much to-ing and fro-ing was "no" – but I forget the exact reasons given.) Me: My son tells me that he’s received an invoice for the full mooring for a motor, not a half fee for a breasted up butty If you consult your records, you see that we’ve a concession etc. etc. BW: Sorry. Just pay the half. Me: But I think I’d better have a new invoice for the correct amount. BW: We’ll send it. (more postage and expense). At the beginning of July 2007 I received mooring and licence demands for 2007-8. At last, I thought, I could pay a single bill for the two licences and the two moorings, with the 50% discount for the butty as had been agreed. The office at Milton Keynes had obviously no knowledge of the past correspondence. The following mistakes were noted on the application form: * there was no attempt to harmonise the mooring dates for Owl. I should be paying 11/12ths (because Owl’s mooring runs from August to August) of the mooring fee so that next July all the dates for moorings and licences run from July to July. * I was being asked for a new insurance certificate for Hampton. This is not necessary, because, if somebody had looked at the file, he or she would have realised that the boat has a perfectly valid certificate. * the butty was described as an “unpowered craft” with a 50% discount * a 50% discount had been applied to the licence fee of Hampton – something I’d never asked for!! I was about to go on holiday so I sent off a cheque for the amount BW demanded - less the 50% discount for the butty to which I am entitled, crossed out “unpowered”, added the insurance policy number to the application form and waited to see what happened next. When I returned from holiday I received a phone call from the new Moorings Officer at Milton Keynes, who informed me that there was a mistake on my application and that I owed another thousand odd pounds. She seemed vague when I asked her to give me the details, but it soon became evident that she had absolutely no knowledge of the 50% mooring discount or any of the correspondence relating to my breasted up butty. Aaaaaagh!! :lol: Last year – hurrah – I got all four demands at the same time. The trouble was they arrived in four separate envelopes with four separate stamps. The inefficiency, waste of time - mine as well as BW’s, stress, hassle lack of management and hopeless internal communications makes me wonder if, in the current management-speak, British Waterways can be deemed “fit for purpose”.

Try here http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...st&p=263103

True, but I can think of several established, long term mooring sites on the Southern GU where BW could easily rake in thousands if they got rid of the mooring warden.

At Cowroast.

Our local Mooring Warden has been told by BW that they will not be renewing his contract. The dispute has now gone to a Stage 2 Complaints procedure, so I don’t want to go into the details. Is this an isolated case? Are other wardens feeling the pressure? Are any being moved to less popular sites? At present Mooring Wardens do not pay a mooring fee in return for the work they do for BW. Does BW, I wonder, want to take back much sought-after moorings which can then but put out to tender and produce a high income for the site?

The very best of luck on your maiden voyage. A few suggestions of places to tie up between Braunston to the Tring Summit. First Stoke Bruerne. Definitely worth stopping here. If because of the Easter holiday moorings are full between the tunnel and the top lock, you can always moor in the long pound two locks down. Next I’d stop at Cosgrove – supplies can be obtained from the shop on the camp site that adjoins the canal. I’ve forgotten the name of the pub, but I remember having a pretty unremarkable meal there last time. Then Leighton Buzzard – stop at the Globe. Tescos is just after Leighton Lock. The next night you could stop at the bottom of the Marsworth flight. The best pub is the Anglers a hundred yards down from the road bridge or push on to Bulbourne and eat at the Grand Junction. Plenty of moorings past the winding hole if the space between the lock and the pub is taken. Or perhaps you might go a bit further to Cowroast. The pub there does Thai food. The nearby garage is OK for papers, milk etc. I’ll look out for you at Cowroast, when you reveal your name!