Ben Jameson

Yes, anything you had is still there. I've probably got a fair chunk of old mailing list stuff myself as well and quite likely chunks of the news group from back when we ran a local news server. There are various potential sources for archives of uk.rec.waterways as well, e.g.: https://groups.google.com/g/uk.rec.waterways https://uk.rec.waterways.narkive.com (I note that it is still going, I've not looked at it for years (decades?)) Ben.

There are actually a few residential boats moored in Jubilee Gardens above Jesus Lock, who are currently stuck. The trip boats also used the lock previously. As Alec says, there is a window in the winter when navigation of the backs is allowed and a few boats will venture up the backs. Baits Bite being closed is quite a problem. There are various folk who would typically go on longer cruises over the summer, it is also necessary to go through to get to any yard facilities. Some have already been lifted out or are contemplating it, although I should think that doing this with some of the larger vessels would be pretty awkward / expensive. Ben.

Yes, according to canalplan 62 miles and 64 locks on Song (including positioning from the WBC before the challenge and returning back afterwards) of which 60 miles and 62 locks was on the BCN and 77 miles and 72 locks on Oates, of which 25 miles and 38 locks was on the BCN (after the challenge!) A decent amount of BCN cruising I think. Ben.

We've got two battery banks, 12V (5 batteries in parallel) for domestic and 24V (2 batteries in series) feeding the CAV starter. We have a 12V alternator and 12V Victron mains charger which charge the banks via a split charge relay and, in the case of the 24V bank, via a Victron DC-DC converter that steps the voltage up (examples at https://www.victronenergy.com/dc-dc-converters). Ben.

It was Rob Dickinson, contact details at https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/requirements-examinations-certification/arranging-a-bss-examination/find-an-examiner/?counties=Cheshire Ben.

I certainly enjoyed myself, quite satisfying to have ticked off another couple of locations, particularly the tunnel! Here are some photos of the (pretty reasonable) clearance we had on the tunnel gauge: Our tow through the tunnel: Heading along the main line (pleased to see that "Tojo" is still visible): Atlas and Malus heading the other way along the Wallsall: Escaping Spon Lane: Passing Rushall Junction: and the top of Farmer's bridge at 11pm just after we came up:

Yes! We made it up to the first pool on the Challenge in 1999 on Calisto (hire boat) and then found the wire rope and fallen tree: The attempt in 2022 with Oates ended at the narrows before the pools due to lack of depth: It'd be quite nice to go and have a decent look at the pools! Ben.

My first thought on seeing that the finish was at Hawne Basin was that we must take Oates next year.... I hope you are going to arrange a suitable spoon dredger to take along as a butty so we can have another crack at Titford Pools as well? (actually, that may well be better than it was back in 2022). Ben.

Thanks both, I did find Aquafax but for some reason I thought that they were trade-only. Fitting an external pressure switch to the deck-wash pump is a cunning idea. Step-up is an interesting option as well.

We have a Johnson WPS 5.2 water pump on our boat which has, up until recently, served us well. Unfortunately it seems to have developed an internal leak on the low pressure side. My original plan was to get a second identical pump and try to fix the leaking one to act as a spare (I suspect that one of the gaskets needs renewing). As far as I can see though, the availability of these pumps in the UK isn't all that good. They certainly don't seem to be stocked by many chandlers (ASAP have the 24V version but not the 12V in stock, the 12V being on a five week lead time by the look of it). There are a few on eBay but in at least one case the photos supplied make me suspicious that the pump in question also has an internal leak. Taking a look at alternatives, one of the Jabsco pumps seems like a good option in terms of common availability at least. The Par-Max HD4 looks like the most obvious direct replacement as it is also a 12V, 40PSI pump. However, the delivery rate is 15LPM whereas the WPS 5.2 seems to be rated at 20LPM. I can't really see that reduction being an issue in practice.... So, any opinions on the best option to replace the WPS 5.2 with?

Sherborne are open 9am-12pm at the moment (or at least that was the case when we came through a week or so ago), you need to phone the mobile number on the building by the Roundhouse to get someone to come over. Apparently doing pump-outs when the pub is open isn't too popular, so mornings it is! Can't comment on their current price for pump-outs I'm afraid, I had to get diesel from them and they were decent enough to point out at the offset that I might only want to only put a small amount in as it was expensive due to them having bought it a number of months ago before prices started to drop. Ben.

I've been contemplating using a Pi as a system to monitor a boat whilst away. Haven't done anything yet but did find this project which looked interesting: https://github.com/gregcope/piboatmon Ben.

Matt Parrott's Historic Boats site appears to have some photos (and a new address!) Ben.