J R ALSOP

Comet and Cleveland will be there, I will endeavour to bring "Ilda". If you want to see what she can do look on You Tube for "Ilda Rickmansworth". Hope to see you all then, but only if you want to enter the best tug of war on the canal system.

It is moored in Wenlock Basin on the Regents Canal, I do not think it will be going anywhere again.

The "water" sloshing about is the stenching agent which is put in every refill. to give it the smell, it is only removed when the bottle is serviced ( see metal label on neck).

I think that the sign is part of the" tat" and is for sale, the reason you do not see many displayed is that people are saving them hoping that they will go up in value.

are you sure the pistons are the right way around if they are flat on top with swirl chambers.

I know a lady who when a roach pole came through her hedge and into her garden got her husbands cricket bat and drove it to the boundary, or even a six. They soon got the message.

Slash and burn, that is the way forward. When I started boating nearly 60 years ago the thing that really gave me a interest was the fantastic views over the hedges as i steered the boat along, the telltale plume of smoke from the lengthsman fire where he was cutting grass and trimming the laid hedges. This memory is what has kept me going ( 52 years of having a licence with BTC, BWB and now CART) . I know it has been said before many times but if we had still got lengthsmen we would not be in the same mess as we are now in. Alas though now every canal looks the same ( a green tunnel), gone are the days when every canal channel was different, sometimes on the towpath side sometimes on the off side, but now it is a shallow canal evenly filled with muck and rubbish. I am now getting ready to go for a Christmas cruise with like minded friends till the new year.

Only just noticed this posting, tell the insurance company to get stuffed, the BSS certificate is only for the Navigation Authority, the insurance Co's were asked if they wanted to come in on the scheme (i.e. put in some money to set it up but they said no) now it is up and running they want to jump on the band wagon. They should know if a boat has a current licence it should also have a BSS certificate. I am fed up with people asking for a extra copy for the insurance company.

I think you will find that the boat gets lent out to friends so it was probably been left there in ignorance of who's mooring it was.

Given the age of most boaters today are we sure that they are nappies. I shall now go down into the air raid shelter.

The winding hole below winkwell is where there is a pipe sticking out through the towpath bank it is encased in concrete, it is about a third distance between the railway bridge and the end of the marina. When the canal was dredged in the mid 80's through Berkhamsted a tractor was used by BWB steered by Ian Tyler to tow the 80ton hoppers down to Bank Mill Lane where they were unload on the offside between the bridge and the winding hole. Hoppers where turned and then towed back.

And do not forget to fix it down

I have a MX40 in Comet 70ft. had it for sixteen years not many problems since the early days, leave it on for long periods is the best way, not lots of short cycles. I remove the glow plug burner boss and use a gas blow lamp to heat up gauze then use a round wire brush to remove any carbon. do not forget to clean out the hole that lets the fuel dribble into the gauze.

Walked through the demolished site at Marworth yard today and saw pieces of paper blowing around, been a nosey person i picked up some up and read them, they were letter from GJCanal Co to Marsworth yard about boiler inspections and people claiming extra payments for work. It is a bit of a shame that BWB or Cart didn't clear the offices before departing. This should be in the hands of people who could collate it into interesting facts of the past and not to blow into the canal willy nilly. Sorry should have said these were from 1918 Sorry should have said these were from 1918

Are you waiting to load there?, I see you have your sheets rolled up. I have loaded many a boat there in the six's.

No you are right, Coles Morten Marine was set up by Morten Coles, who I think still lives in Tideswell, and Willie Webb (who sadly passed away in October last year).

I used to work for Coles Morten Marine from their start, hulls built in the early days by Pennine Fabrications at Whaley Bridge, later built in house by Hancock and Lane kits, they then in their later years built to their own design. I have a boat built by Pennine Fabrication the whole hull in 10mm plate and is as good as the day it was built in 1979. The steel used was all "good steel" and not the melted down tin cans that most boats are built with today. as for Bukh engines I have a 2G105 2cyl 30hp, never missed a beat or a spanner on it (except for fuel and oil filters from new). The 10, 20 & 36hp DV series are second to none with counter rotating crankshaft balancing are vibration free, spares and advice freely available from T.W Marine at Furness Vale. High Peak.

It is not a Berkhamsted Bridgewater Boats boat

Whats that then, go to the pub get "pxxxxd" and leave without paying.

I investigated a fire on a boat in Watford this morning, I will not bore you with with too many details, smoke alarm woke up owner in the night, found smoke coming from cupboard under sink, called fire brigade, fire not that bad but the cause is more alarming. A old fly spray aerosol had dropped down the back of the shelf and rolled under the plinth. It had been there a long while as the corrosion in the casing caused a pin hole that then released a quantity of the propellant, (in this case propane) this flooded the void which was next to the gas fridge, this caused a flash back and ignited the rest of the contents which resulted in a fire below the cupboard floor, this flame (blow lamp style) started to melt 16mm electric cables which also went to the fridge. Luckiley a neighbour put out the fire before too much damage was done. Morals! fit a smoke alarm and watch those wasp/fly sprays.

Where abouts are you? I have always used Zerney's in Tolpitts Lane Watford, they have all sizes and section, and most can be fitted with a taper lock to suit your shaft diameter.

Testing, I hope this comes to you all, if it does you are going to get bombarded! Look no hands.

Came down through that lock a few weeks ago, honest gov it wasn't me that broke it!

Gas bottle in bottom of boat!. I hope that isn't a battery along side.

I paid my licence fee on the phone to a lady in Wrexham.