roland elsdon

Loose the 240 . We have no mains ring in 13 years We have a small inverter that plugs into a 12 v socket. Thats it, if the cordless drill needs a charge we blow the dust off the inverter. we have 6 usb sockets phones/ pad garmin devices.

To go back to the co poisoning. 2 dead at bascot on GU about 15 years ago generator running in engine room with doors open. Boat owned less than a week. 1986 3 pulled out of a boat a t chapmans in ricky unconscious. Genny in well deck. Out of fuel. Resi mooring with shed. Whilst child in hospital they did it again 🤪. We moored opposite t the time. Just saying.

Yep just passed by a liverboard ( if they are lucky) on the cov. Generator inside stern doors exhaust pointed through the gap. trad stern. wind blowing towards the exhaust pipe. I could smell the exhaust from centre of cut.

We had the opposite between Whitchurch and Ellesmere where we gave up. going uphill we bounced and dragged. Going downhill we stuck . Permanently. 16 hrs for the trip. One bridge which we hadn’t even stopped in on way up 2.5 hrs until dragged out at 2100 hrs by a hire boat on way down. We are deep under power but even going through clutch out we just stopped below the bridges, and what you stop on ain’t soft.

This sounds stupid but we have the same problem, its caused by some of paint softening. There is one solution but its temporary. Put baby oil on it and wipe off. Lasts about 2 weeks. Other than that sand off and overcoat. Dont polish t cut or varnish it it doesnt work, the issue appears to be the ratio of pigmentation of the paint has altered.

In the 1980s we had to use winches, shafts and devices for removing stuff of the blades far more. There was more overt threat on the waterways, we had threats thefts assaults and vandalism from anglers. Glue sniffers haunted the frequently locked and closed towpaths and there were known dont moor areas. Banbury being one, Sutton stop away from the turn another, Autherley was dreadful and as for manchester… many things improved when bwb encouraged towpath use . There seemed to be a sweet spot from about 1995 on.

We moored in the winding hole at Cowley in the winter of 85. We were the first moving boats for 14 days in the freeze. we broke ice all the way. At 1900 we tied up, it was minus 5 or so. So cold the butty towline dipped in the canal and then froze and snapped . ( not kidding) At about 0700 in the morning someone was banging on the hatches wittering about us being tied in the winding hole. Canal was about 3 inches frozen, they were on the permanents and paying so considered us to be taking the piss. ( never moved their own boat). Later in the day it thawed a bit we tromped up to the general idiot in Uxbridge. Frozen in there for 6 weeks. They filled the water cans for us if we bought enough beer. Never tied in a wingeing hole since

Theres a grand union town cut to 55 as a tug in the 1960s floating about. Looks gorgeous in my eyes. Right off boating.

Might make the sunday then! Cant get from audlem to there before saturday including bss’ somwhere’ on staffs and worcs, without divorce. Should have started back earlier instead of wasting time enjoying the trip!

Is it on. was planning on turning up on our way back from dredging the llangollen lump by lump, but not having seen anything about it have turned off warp drive. Arranged to waste a day getting a bss on way making it even less likely. Shame would have been our last attendance.

Saw a proudly proclaimed cruiser thingy saying “powered by electricity’. Strangely in the same spot as 3 weeks ago ( 48 hr mooring). Maybe I should sign write moved by diesel on the old nail. Probably waiting for electron delivery as it had less panels than many.

I thought the battle of bosworth referred to the shocking length of sludge between Stoke Golding and the new marina at Market Bosworth.

I still race at the tender age of 65 . Competitive riders have wear helmets even though they only ‘work ‘ up to a certain speed, so not wearing them training is a no brainer. I would expect ‘helmeted’ riders to have more injuries they likely ride more kilometres, ride faster and take more risks. I frequently ride over 70 kph in a race situation, you don’t do that going to buy a newspaper. However what is forgotten is a crash helmet is designed to protect you from a head impact into the ground, or a curb, not a crash with 2.5 tons of vehicle designed to be used in a conflict zone but instead going on the school or to buy cream from waitrose.

Having spent 13 hrs between ellesmere and whitchurch yesterday and today that is the only means of accessing the canal. No paint i suspect on bottom of boat anymore. We didnt stop in 2 bridges. 6 tow outs ( one after 90 mins taken to move 12 inches. What was worse it was was on the way back in a bridge we didnt stick on the way up Fitness tracker stated body battery 0. Beer consumption abnormal

I have had 3 cycling accidents wearing a crash helmet which did not involve a motor vehicle. All hospitalised me for head injuries, at least for assessment. With regard to the motorist proximity thing the Boardman head of improving cycling in the uk ,never wears lycra or a helmet and says its because its because motorists associate wearing lycra with having fun on the roads and blocking their way on route to essential activity. ( going to mcdonald drive through etc). They therefore become entitled.

It’s very not simple. I tried it a couple of times. Rope length has to be variable. Knitting everywhere. We used to tow on 70 ft or 140 ft , a. 70 ft line is a handful, like where do you coil it as the butty comes up to the fenders. As for buttying up locks we had a 10 hp outboard that we had on a quick mounted bracket. Going up variable length flights of single locks it was quicker to slap it on the butty than bow haul. Also stopped the crap from the moderns about wasting water etc, not working turns etc. Nowadays I would get a leccy one. And we towed off the stud not on mast or running blocks so rope had to go on motor counter. And yes we did and yes it took a long time to cut off the prop.

One of the craziest ‘professional’ jobs I encountered was the 150000 boat whose batteries went flat every night. He had just replaced a very big inverter as it appeared to have a high drain constantly. The new one had a drain too. A £6 meter evidenced a continual load when on. Eventually he was persuaded to destroy an apparently blind cabinet in the engine room. Behind it wired into the 240 circuit ( before the fuse box) was a heavy duty battery charger always on. It charged the bow thruster battery through a 50 ft length of electric string.

They started building my boat in 1936. I have no confidence it will ever be finished.. As you finish one bit another bit is busy deciding to rot rust flake break or fail. 40 years of boats evidences that only you can define when the boat is finished. The build morphs into maintenance rapidly, as evidenced by the mouldy grey primered projects littering the canals. Boats get away from you. I fix something daily, be it a scratch, a thermocouple failing , or an oil change. Im sure you will be fine, you appear to have your eyes wide open, enjoy the task. However you need to apply Kiss principles, because the bits that fail are always the most inaccessible.

I started at 22 the easy way with a then modern boat. Far too easy. Since then its been the hard way. We have had motor boats with no electrics , hand cranked engines and paraffin stoves. Now we have a Rolls Royce of narrowboats. Electric lighting and engine commencement. It charges the phone . However in spite of all that it is hard and heavy, sharp corners buts of old iron everywhere and a 4’6” lift to get anything bike ,coal, gold bars out of the hold. I have new cuts bruises and gouges daily, as I age and wobble.

And while you are at it replace the rubber hose and jubilee with stainless steel braided and compression fittings, to a fixed joint.