Captain P
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Posts posted by Captain P
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On 20/04/2013 at 14:13, flickadancer said:
Hello,
I was out cruising with my husband on the Kennet and Avon canal when I had the misfortune to fall in and as it was deep to inadvertently swallow a mouthful of water.
I fell in under a bridge and found that the towpath was so undercut I couldn't kick myself out on the bank as my feet had disappeared under the bank and the water was at least six feet deep. Luckily a passer by came and hauled me out as I had been going on ahead of the boat to prepare the next lock and my husband was nowhere in sight.
I have been horribly and disgustingly ill since then.
What I would like to say is that the canal seems to me to be nothing better than an open sewer, as I have actually seen people emptying their elsans directly into it, and have a photo to prove this, and that all along the canal are a series of permanently or semi permanently moored boats that never seem to have gone anywhere all winter let alone the pump out or elsan emptying point. These boats are being lived on. Where are they putting their sewage? In the canal of course.
I would like to call on CART to police these boats and to find out exactly what they do with their sewage and fine them accordingly.
Farmers are not allowed to pollute their land or nearby waterways in any way and would be heavily fined if they did so. Why should these dirty people get away with doing so?
Incidentally I sent the photo to both CART and the EA and NEITHER of them did a thing about it. Spineless, or rather, just turning a blind eye to something they know is going on everywhere.
I am sure I am not the first person to suffer a horrible illness after having fallen in this dirty canal (where my husband used to swim regularly as a boy - BEFORE it was restored and filled with dirty boaters) as the assistant at the chemists where my husband went for my medication told him she frequently has people in suffering after falls in the canal.
Obviously not everyone does this and there are probably many more clean and well behaved boaters than there are dirty ones, but these dirty ones are spoiling the whole canal for the rest of us and turning it into something akin to the Thames before Joseph Bazalgette's sewage system was introduced. Will it take someone getting Cholera before something is done?
Every time I think what I might have ingested I shiver in horror.
Flicka
Those of us who use compost toilets aren't throwing our waste into the canal.
The water is pored into the hedgerow znd then deleted with twice the amount of water. This is the original way of boating.
Those boats you may think are all throwing it in simply aren't.
I knew two clean cut guys living in a boat moving as pee regulations. Who were using compost method but dumping waters into the canal. You just never can tell.
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On 04/12/2023 at 07:43, MartynG said:
I asked the question because it is relevant.
If no rules/laws are being broken then you should deal with it by accepting it as being normal or move on.
I can't move on and am dealing with it. My question was 'is this normal?". I would use this information in future to decide on where to moor.
As someone who avoided communityuntill recently I was not sure. That is what a forum is for, to ask questions. I also detailed that I have no animosity but would like to know for future reference.
You obviously did not read properly and look a fool, thankfully others did awnser my question thankfully.
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On 29/11/2023 at 08:03, MartynG said:
What rules/regulations are being disobeyed here?
If you read my question it was asking is this normal? It wasn't asking how to deal with it or what rules are being broken.
I was trying g to figure out how normal it was and wigh up the benefits and risks of living in a community.
I do wish folks would read properly.
On 29/11/2023 at 14:12, Alan de Enfield said:Wherever you moor in a group there will be someone that irritates you for various reasons.
We always tried to moor 'in the wilds' out on our own, I remember on one occasion, we were moored up for the evening, no other boats for miles (literally miles) when a boat came up behind and slowed down sliding along the bank, gently hitting our stern fender. At that they jumped off and tied up with their bow fender overhanging our rudder.
Popped out to say "hello, that was a bit of a bump" and after they'd tied up, we upped sticks and moved half a mile or so further on.
Mind you when on holiday the Sister in law will walk miles along a deserted beach until she finds someone to sit next too, we walk miles away from folk to find somewhere quiet,
Nowt so queer as folk.
Ha, yeah I've experienced that strangeness in the past myself.
Yeah we've decided to stay on the edge in future.
To be fair we were on a canal bit and had to move, this was as far as we could go to avoid a spanking from the CRT.
Your right though there will always be an overfriendly one or a noisy one one that gives you the willies ha.
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On 29/11/2023 at 17:08, booke23 said:
At this time of year generator or stationary engine running is very common due to no meaningful output from solar panels, combined with little cruising. It's how people do it that causes problems.
A neighbour running the boat's engine or a quiet suitcase style generator for an hour or two is not going to be as intrusive as running a cheap frame generator for 10 hours a day. On my home mooring there is a boat about 40 yards away with a Honda eu10 (the gold standard in quiet generators) and they run it a few hours a day in winter.....I still find that surprisingly intrusive.
Good to know, thanks for the info on this, will try to be closest to community but not button to button in future:)
On 29/11/2023 at 17:09, BWM said:Maybe the travellers will return to relieve you of the problem..
Much as I fantasise about it wobbling it's way over the edge or me feeding it a delicious Mars bar; I just couldn't ha, matey is a friendly neighbour.
Will just learn my lesson for the future and stay in the bushes.
On 29/11/2023 at 14:34, magnetman said:It was around that area (K&A near Reading) where the copper got dragged along by the stolen quad bike.
Not a fluke. A concentration of bad people around there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Andrew_Harper
Sulhamstead.
That's the place, right near Uffton swing Bridge. We were hit by them not five minutes walk from the poor coppers memorial shrine.
On 29/11/2023 at 18:15, ditchcrawler said:The boss often says, "dont stop here there is a genny on the deck"
I will think of the Boss's wize words when I moor in future. To be fair will stay on the edges and enjoy the birdsong of the cut.
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On 28/11/2023 at 12:52, Hudds Lad said:
My daughter sometimes gets overwhelmed by busy social areas which was leading to panic attacks (think college canteen, busy pubs, large crowds etc.) so we got her a set of these which she loves.
Thanks, will buy some and for the time being use them. Then I'm off into the wild.
I was hoping to find our if it was regularly the case with moored boats in groups but didn't get an answer sadly. I've decided to just avoid humanity in future and enjoy birdsong:)
23 hours ago, magnetman said:Maybe if there is a generator going all day they have a cannabis grow room in there.
If this is on the Thames the yellow boards are coming orf now but there are some lock closures.
Na on the KandA but hopefully soon will smell freedom:)
18 hours ago, blackrose said:I watched a programme on TV about a year ago with Ed Stafford who's one of those nature survivalists on a lesser known TV channel.
In this series which I think was broadcast on channel 4, he spent a week with a different group of travellers/gypsies and got to know them and their lives and problems.
At the first place his caravan got broken into even though he was very sympathetic to their cause and supposed to be part of their community for the week. He interviewed community leaders and got their side of the story on disputes, and even tried to understand why they often left sites in such a mess when they left leaving the local council to clean them up. Apparently it's because there's nowhere provided for them to put their rubbish - I've had the same problem at certain (non liveaboard) moorings but I've never felt the need to dump my rubbish...
Anyway, what became apparent to me after watching him talking to some of the older gypsies and travellers was that any code or decency of the older generation of travellers doesn't exist or apply to the younger ones. They're the ones who do all the nicking. I think most people would be fine living alongside the older ones who do live by a code, but not the younger thieves and troublemakers.
Watch 60 Days with the Gypsies - Channel 4 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/60-days-with-the-gypsies
Nice one will check it out. Yeah we don't have access to tips and must take it to Cornwall when we visit. No wonder they leave large goods about.
Still though I turned out with my axe last time they came shopping them moved the boat sharpish. Nasty pair of specimen they were.
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Aye, pretty hairy along here. Will just hang back next time on the outer edges and not get as close to other boats.
Usually I'd have just bogged off, I'm happy to live and let live so will just get noise canceling headphones n hold out for a tranquil mooring ASAP.
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5 minutes ago, booke23 said:
Sounds like you're on the river Kennet? It's nasty on Red boards.
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20 hours ago, Sue68 said:
Have a talk about solar panels saying how quiet they are
He has an extensive system of solar, it's a very big TV and quite a big boat so I think that's why it's on so much.
15 hours ago, wakey_wake said:Hi @Captain P & welcome aboard the board.
For the gennie, I can only suggest being apologetic when telling them it bothers you; and ask whether they can limit the times until you move on.
Erk. 😞
I've been trying to make my stuff look dull and not worth pinching, but basically there are useful or valuable things and they have to be attached where they're needed.
Are you willing to tell about what got stolen / damaged?
and also tend to work better on low frequency repetitive noise, although I haven't tried mine near an engine. (They're miles away in storage)
Hi thanks for the welcome, I'm just gonna grab some noise canceling headphones and avoid community I recon.
Tires off of our van were pinched, balanced on a bottlejack in the wind. The travellers were down poking about our boats recently so we decided to head to community.
In Aldermaston they wiped out a mates battery's and gas last year. Bunch of goits to take rverything from a poor man and against travellers code.
Were all locked up but in the back of beyond bolt cutters don't make much commotion.
17 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:Maybe its an all electric boat
Nah this is an outdoor noisy petrol genny.
1 hour ago, MtB said:In what way?
I make my own judgement about whether I am willing to move on red boards. Sometimes the river is pathetically benign for red boards to be on.
Or maybe you feel you can't due to insurance becoming invalid. Have you actually read your policy?
Even the fuel boat has had difficulty trying to move to deliver fuel and gave up. The community are keen to move on. Bit of a nasty place for us as the rivers are very swollen here.
Our engines canny take it captain, I listen to the red boards as when I haven't in the past it got hairy:)
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22 hours ago, booke23 said:
You could tell them the noise is driving you nuts, they might moderate their use. Or they might just tell you their batteries are knackered/or they need to run it due to ill health etc.
Agreed. I never moor near other boats if I can for exactly these sorts of reasons. It's looking like the weather for the next 10 days is colder and potentially dryer so maybe you'll be off red boards soon and can just move.
Yeah I think that being that he has mobility issues likely this is why its excessive as he's home all day.
Gonna get noise canceling headphones ang just avoid community living.
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23 hours ago, rusty69 said:
Noise cancelling headphones are fantastic
My fella has suggested this and I think it's the best plan of action. Thanks for the great suggestion.
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23 hours ago, Mike Hurley said:
Have you spoken to them about this, if you get on with them it shouldn't be a problem.
Failing that start blasting rock music when the gennie is running.
No, to be fair I'm more a live and let live. Just wanted to know is this is an average issue so I can avoid community in future. And retain sanity ha.
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Moored next to a lovely boat and get on very well with those on board.
Thing is since it got greyer this boats generator is going on from around 9/10ish until 7/8ish non stop.
I can't seem to think straight, I feel like I'm going nuts. They have a big TV and I think that's what's being powered.
We're stuck on redboards and there's no escaping the noise, I'm usually less involved in community and stick to the edges.
We got hit by travellers thieving though so have started to get more social, is this usual in boat clusters?
Think it way be less maddening in future to stay in the wild where I can live in peace and just risk it.
Generator usage
in Living Afloat
Posted
Thank-you for your response, I will indeed avoid rivers after this.
To be fair we've decided to knock this arm on the head because being trapped here has been most unfun.
Appreciate your informed response on this subject muchly:)