furnessvale

Retirement, what retirement? :-) George ex nb Alton retired

Another problem, which occurs at the swing bridge at Furness Vale, is the fact that the angling club have been told by BW, who we all know know nothing about boating, to leave 70ft clear each side of the bridge for landing. Thus the end peg is exactly 70ft from the bridge. Apart from the fact that the restaurant boat is more than 70ft long, it is not fitted with side thrusters front AND rear to enable it to crab in sideways. Even if it did, the bridge wing walls mean you must be at least 20ft from the bridge with the bow. So coming in at an angle means I take out the last two pegs. Every match I explain the situation to the anglers but the next match is always pegged out the same. George ex nb Alton retired

One of my old BTF films from around 1950 about the building of the canals has the immortal line that always makes me smile, "and idlers will find new places to fish". Says it all really:-) George ex nb Alton retired

I too do not subscribe to the turquoise/green colour theory. The trouble with the letterbox was the amount of heat passing through it, especially the one over the stove. Over years this could alter the colour. When repainting ALTON on one occasion, I accidentally flashed over the light blue for a split second with my propane torch. The paint immediately turned turquoise! George ex nb Alton retired

As you are probably aware, very few yards allow it due to the mess, but the dock at Middlewich used to a few years ago. Don't know if they still do. George ex nb Alton retired

Indeed. By loosing off and starting your move before the exiting boat has passed you, its draw will pull you away from the bank and into line with the lock without all that pushing and shoving some boaters seem to enjoy! George ex nb Alton retired

Still on PFC steering Judith Mary part time to keep my hand in. Alton still on same round (now extended) with new owner. George ex nb Alton retired

Just placed you, Phil. 21st March 2005, bag of pureheat plus diesel. Never forget a sale:-) George ex nb Alton retired

I think Pirate Paul is pulling our collective plonkers, just stop feeding him and he may go away:-) George ex nb Alton retired

I don't know if I am replying to Pirate Paul or Daniel BUT why duplicate the excellent work done by Martin Clark? George ex nb Alton retired

It is indeed a strange comparison. People can get very sniffy about PD2s but they can be obtained very cheaply and I ran one for years in Alton without trouble. I needed an engine that started every day, winter and summer, and did the job. I passed many a boat with more glamourous engines, especially in winter, with the owners head stuck firmly down over the engine trying to start it:-). Come to think of it, that is probably why BW fitted them in the first place. George ex nb Alton retired

That is only true if there is full depth in the bit of canal the boatyard has left available for you. On one occasion, passing Longport Wharf they were 4 abreast. I passed "very" close to the moored boats and, of course, on the typical slack lines they came out to meet me. Cue motormouth emerging from the outside boat shouting the odds. What he didn't know, but I did, was that a submerged motorbike of several months standing prohibited a close approach to the towpath. George ex nb Alton retired

Port or starboard doesn't matter. Many boatyards will ask you to turn your boat so the fitting is bankside. Ideally, you want to meet ALTON midstream, he will pass down either side to get to the fitting. Blatent plug:-) George ex nb Alton retired

I used to hate fittings mounted on the side as you describe. I had to ensure my boat was pulled away from the boat you were servicing to allow room for the hose and they kept wanting to drift together again, trapping your hose. The chances of dropping the cap in the cut when screwing/unscrewing are also much higher. In fitting the thing as described you also put a right angle bend into the lift pipe, not a good idea for blockages. The roof is also not a good idea. Any spillage (inevitable occasionally) will have to be washed off the pretty bit of your boat. Occasionally, you will come across a "tired" pump that cannot quite make the extra lift required for a roof fitting. George ex nb Alton retired

Never put yourself in danger in such a situation. As long as its a steel boat, a boat tied up at lock landings is a convenient platform to tie alongside and hop over in order to do your job. With a deep draughted boat it even keeps you out in the channel. BW workboats tied in such locations were always a most welcome sight:-) George ex nb Alton retired

A quicker method, and one that I have used before, is to make a valiant attempt to get your deeper draught boat over the obstruction. Once the channel is blocked to ALL boats BW will attend, in my case in 45 minutes, having waited two days watching a procession of shallow draught boats getting over the obstruction. George ex nb Alton retired

About two years ago a friend of mine got out his title deeds and proceeded to reinstate the canal edge to his land back to where it should be. There is now a quite narrow bit of canal at Furness Vale. George ex nb Alton retired

A friend of mine used to swear by using the cheapest oil based paint he could find, throwing it into the bilge by the gallon and sweeping it round with a yard brush! George ex nb Alton retired

Canal use for boaters is not free at the point of delivery. We choose to pay for a licence which (allegedly) gives us unlimited use of BW waters. If you choose not to purchase a licence, which the vast majority of the population opt not to do, then there is no right of use. Free at the point of delivery means such things as walking on the public highway or using a public reference library. Both involve maintenance at public expense but no discretionary payment is required for their use. George ex nb Alton retired

Took one of mine to a backstreet garage. The owner asked me to buy the fitter a pint. George ex nb Alton retired

Steady on Malarky, you will be joining me in the "bit of a thug" category! George ex nb Alton retired

Except in Wigan. George ex nb Alton retired