Francis Herne

Hotchkiss Cones don't seem to have come up yet. Fitted to some (mostly wooden?) butties; apparently Chance 2 might be the last barely 'surviving' example. Thread here

For stews and the like I don't think there's much difference. The thick cast iron stores a lot more heat and spreads it better than a normal pan. With preheating you can use it as an oven - I've baked bread in mine a few times, although tbh it was too much of a faff to do regularly. Mine is just about small enough that I can preheat it by wedging it into the stove above the coals, but I think most would be too big for boat-sized stoves. I don't find it's a problem. Regulating the stove for that is no different from getting the right point where your cabin's warm but not an oven.

I have a Sainsbury's oval casserole dish (not the bigger round version), in mock-Le-Creuset orange. It's been very good and a fixture of my stovetop.

Yep!

A remarkably early one, from Ray Shill / @Heartland's book "The Birmingham Canal Navigations".

Callisto goes up there, but I think they're the other side of the North Oxford landslip. Text Mark 07702 031718. Jules Fuels CTM operate Towcester on the bit of the Coventry you're on currently. Text Jules 07740 487222.

I'm generally happy with my little 31ft boat to live on, there's more than enough living space for one person with that mindset. I've considered looking for an ex-working boat with a hold so I can get back into hobbies/projects that need storage space, which is one major limitation of a small boat. And also because they're lovely things in their own right. Would have similar or less cabin. I do think 31ft, and possibly 38ft, might be too small for two people long-term. Not enough room to be apart and do separate things sometimes. A friend visiting me for a few days was ok but a bit short on privacy.

Oldbury, on the straightened old main line with original loop joining on the left. Les Allen's boatyard was the far side in later years. Do the chimneys belong to Albright's?

Wooden FMC motor 'Aster' again. Currently sunk at Bradley and to be broken up fairly imminently if no-one takes her on. https://www.facebook.com/groups/389587549882474/permalink/787095536798338/ (I've briefly considered it before realising how foolish that would be with my lack of equipment & knowledge...)

- Ian Smallshire has many photos (his and Vic's) of the Pensnett Canal stub restoration, might be the best person to ask. The BCNS archive has copies but not sure if Phil's got them indexed yet.

Can imagine it being Typhoo, but surely too obvious. I wondered if it was the Leabrook interchange basin near Wednesbury Parkway where the pylon is, now fenced off and sold recently as development land. Can't match the big open basin to maps/photos so probably not, nor anything I can find on the Monway Branch the other side.

Past threads on the BW hire fleet. One post lists Water Hyacinth as a cut down LMS boat.

Did Phil (either of them) find you anything useful? I'd be surprised if there isn't something like that in the archives. I'm sure I've seen drawings of the Tame Valley locks in a book or perhaps online, but can't think where. Will sleep on it...

One of the restaurants by Gas Street got caught at this a few years ago. Contents of the deep fryer straight out the back door, several times. A friend (who might see this post 😉) used to run his car on the stuff.

Ditto 'Adelaide' (debatable, apparently) near Stourbridge. Superb reedbed holder and moorhen nesting site; a steal by comparison at only £250.00 ono.

It is a strange impact mark. Not only unusually high, but multiple tracks at a wobbly angle. A single point scraping down the boat would be horizontal?

Sorry, I wasn't paying enough attention... Don't know. Something to do with the original chimney? I know it was demolished and then rebuilt later slightly differently.

Smethwick New Engine House. Passed this today:

For maximum effect you'd want to lock the tiller at about 45° rather than 90°. At 45° water will deflect off it and produce sideways force; at 90° it's completely stalled and will only create some slightly offset drag. I don't think either would prevent someone towing the boat alongside, but 45° could make it impossible to tow behind on cross straps whereas 90° probably wouldn't.

I have to share Milo with my Dad, we both wanted to keep him... He's 15 these days and mostly just likes a good flop: but sometimes we look at machinery: or walk up hills (is there a 'Pictures of your Dog' thread...?):

Winsford was surprisingly nice, I must go back there. There's a chap who comes down every day to check on the geese, and knows them all individually by sight. Several great places to walk around with the dog, a pretty good chip shop, and the flash is fun to muck about on too.

Problem with the new engine mounts. I understand @RLWP will sort them out for us next week.

Lark Ascending put to work as a pusher tug this week - the workboat is broken yet again. We found fifteen trolleys and some other stuff; the location will be painfully familiar to BCN enthusiasts.

The dog is Telford. He patrols the boat very thoroughly!