Marc Hartley

I read somewhere (at least re cars, but boats would be the same but even more problematical) that... "Hydrogen is a TERRIBLE solution to climate change - it produces more CO2 emissions per mile driven than either diesel or gasoline vehicles and it’s about four times more expensive. The cars that run on the stuff are actually hydrogen/electric hybrids - and they cost about twice what a pure electric car costs. Hydrogen “combustion” (as in “internal combustion”) engines are even worse. Hydrogen embrittles metals - making them crack and shatter. Put into a somewhat conventional piston engine - and the engine wouldn’t last a year. Worse still, the byproduct of combustion is water - which dilutes conventional lubricants. You really can’t make a viable hydrogen combustion engine on the scale and price range of a car. Hydrogen is a **dead** technology. The only companies who are still pushing it are doing so because the coal, oil and gas industries see it as a way to push a “green” technology (which hydrogen could possibly be - if you didn’t mind paying about 10 times the price of gasoline) - while behind the scenes producing that hydrogen using coal and gas. The only country in the world with significant hydrogen vehicle usage is Japan - and it buys it’s hydrogen from Australia - who make it by burning “brown coal”…coal which pollutes so badly that Australia can’t find any other countries to sell the stuff to."

Thursday 6th June - Day 6 of the Explorer Cruise I visited the R&CT Bradley Workshop, Thursday 6th June 2019, on day 6 of the BCNS Explorer Cruise. There used to be five workshops making lock gates and everything necessary to maintain the canals, but now there are only two. It is a stark warning for boaters that in the days of British Waterways the five workshops made over 400 ‘leaves’, i.e. individual gates a year. Now according to C&RT each year the two workshops normally build 180 lock gates between them, although one of the Bradley workmen told me that it was in fact only 110 or so in 2018. The number necessary for replacement each year is apparently over 200. So you can see that as they wear out and there aren’t enough replacements being made, that canals will have to close. When our canals and rivers were built there was no standard template for lock gates. They were constructed using a variety of techniques and designed to navigate the local landscapes. So no two locks on our canals and rivers are alike - each one has to be sized up and built to the exact specifications for each lock, and ‘heritage’ demands that no changes be made to existing styles. An average lock gate lasts for about 25 years, and each one is built from European green oak from a single supplier, by a single carpenter, taking from two to five weeks depending on the size. So when you see a pair of gates, it was built by one man - no production line here. Steel brackets are fitted to strengthen the joints of the gate to make sure it lasts. Many of the cast iron fittings, for example the working paddle gear, are recycled and then reused on the new gates. Other bespoke metalwork such as hoops, collars and paddles are also made at Bradley. The gates are built all year round, but usually fitted in the winter stoppages, so the green oak is kept wet outside to avoid shrinkage, until they are fitted.

Thank you. Done.

Yes I've done that, with a picture of my boat, but as you can see above, I just get a generic silhouette against my name when I post.

How can I add a picture icon against my name on postings, please?

I have just today had an email from Kev Russell, Navigation Officer for the Middle Level Commissioners, confirming that "If you have a CRT Gold licence you will be covered on the Middle Level waters until January 2022. After this you will need to have a Middle Level licence for the remaining 3 months of our year or renew your CRT Gold and have a visitor licence or the new Anglian pass to use our water." So good news, at least for this year, 2021, a Gold Licence is sufficient for the Middle Level.

Ah yes, but that’s facts getting in the way of the joke. The important point is to say the French words aloud.

In 2013 we passed a boat, called Snowgoose. It had a French quotation under the name - "A l'eau c'est l'heure". The story goes that before the battle of Trafalgar, as was customary, the French admiral was boated over to speak to Nelson aboard The Victory, gentleman to gentleman, before the battle. As he left, he said this phrase, as was often used in the French navy, in effect meaning "The hour has come - to the water!".

Hi Blackrose, Did you buy one and fit it and how are you getting on with it?

I thought What a Great Idea! But the free app now costs £1.49 with no free trial.

Many thanks to everybody who replied, much appreciated. Regards, Marc

Hi everybody. I have booked a build slot for a new narrowboat (woohoo!), so am in the process of specifying requirements. Mobile broadband for a laptop PC is a definite, but know practically nothing about it. I would be grateful for advice, as although I'm sure this topics has been raised many times, I can't find anything current. First - do I need a PC card in the side of the PC to provide the access, or do I go for a separate router then connect to that via WiFi? Or something else? Second - does a narrowboat need an external aerial? I think reception within a steel box must be a bit compromised? Third - which mobile phone company do you recommend for internet access from canals in the midlands? Any experiences or views gratefully received. Thanks, Marc

Has anyone seen the narrowboat Senior Moment recently, and if so where please? I would like to get in touch with the owner, as I am thinking of having my own boat built, and am interested in the design of the stern steps, which go down from the middle of the boat and turn to the starboard side. It looks great, but I'm wondering if this would restrict headroom and make access awkward, so would like to visit Senior Moment to have a look, if I can get in touch with her owners, and have a chat. Many thanks, Marc. You can call me on 07825 371 390