adam1uk

As it's only going round the loop and back to its mooring -- and appears to do so without an issue -- they'd probably argue that it is fit for navigation on the part of canal it's intended for.

I'm bookmarking this thread so I can quote it the next time someone complains about CRT having a monopoly.

I got great satisfaction from doing my oil change on at least one occasion moored near bridge 74 on the outskirts of Milton Keynes, and then walking with the old oil to the recycling centre just down the road from the bridge. I think you’re not technically supposed to walk in, but I’ve been there on foot a few times and no-one has stopped me. And there, you tip the oil into a huge container. It was being emptied on one visit, by a tanker with a pump.

You probably mean never, rather than ever, I suspect! BTW, I thought Sickle looked spectacular when we passed it on its moorings a couple of times last month.

Yes they are doing Buckby and Watford. To upside is that they come to unlock Buckby first, so when we came down last month it was all open by 8.30.

That'll be the landslip? Some photos on this blog from April: https://pippa13.blogspot.com/2019/04/further-than-expected-easter-sunday.html Passable, but slowly, and I believe they are locking the locks above and below overnight. Incidentally, your title says Stourbridge, but the text says Stourport, which I think is what you mean.

The huge Tyler Wilson/Finesse Brigantine was 50 tonnes -- I'd be surprised if the Elton Moss was as much as that.

Which can only be positive. Also, the more publicity there is about the efforts people are going to in picking up litter, the more people might be encouraged to think about not dropping it in the first place.

We switched to GJW a couple of years ago, when Towergate suddenly shot up in price. The renewals have all been very reasonably priced. Haven't had to claim, though, which is the real test of an insurance company.

I got shouted at the other day as I passed a permanently moored boat on tickover. The guy said he could see my rev counter which was showing nearly a thousand revs, while he knew that tickover on a Diesel engine was 750. I thought about asking how he could generalise about Diesel engines, or whether he realised that my rev counter is all over the place, and tickover can show as anything from 500 to 1500 depending on how it feels — but thought better of it. Apparently they’re new to the site and have already upset some of the other locals.

No it’s nonsense. Just about the only spindles which are big enough for the big hole are the candlestick ones at Hatton etc. But I’ve seen plenty of people using the big hole at other GU locks, where the spindles are much smaller; it explains why so many of them are worn and becoming round.

Apart from the boating, Wightwick Manor (National Trust) is well worth a visit and is just across the road from decent moorings. At Kinver, you can walk up the hill to the cave houses (also NT).

Last report I saw was that it had closed. Possibly I now understand why.

Well, the trade boat price seems to be the same as the non-trade boat price, and I was comparing it with what I pay in a small marina a few miles north. The new marina is 70 per cent more expensive.

You haven't said which marinas you've been in touch with, but I notice that the new Campbell Wharf Marina in Milton Keynes, has some berths set aside for what they call Trade Boats. I believe these are actually on the opposite side of the canal, so not in the marina itself. Details here: http://www.campbellwharfmarina.com/downloads/Campbell_Wharf_Marina_Tariff.pdf The fees look sky high, however...

When we went up to Llangollen in 2010 (I had no idea it was so long ago, but I’ve looked it up) The was an open day at the metre house, so we went for a look inside. The water from the Dee goes into a big pipe, which then narrows, then widens again — using the Bernoulli principle to draw water into the canal. Because of this, I’d be surprised if much extra water made it into the canal in periods of high flow on the river, because only so much can get through the pipe.

There's an aqueduct between Piccadilly Village basin and the turning onto the Rochdale.

Yes I’ve seen a couple — the boat which won Favourite boat at the Crick Show, Snail’s Pace, had a locker on the cruiser stern with a shower hose so they could wash their very hairy dog.

LVT is Luxury Vinyl Tile -- the generic term for this sort of material.

He’s not setting off from Debdale until the Tuesday after Crick — so the queue will have cleared by the time he gets there.

Crick finishes on 27 May, which is the Bank Holiday, so boats leaving to head north won't get to Foxton until the next day and they'll all be going down -- so you should be fine going up especially if you get there early in the day. Watford is always busy on the Monday afternoon and Tuesday -- but things will have calmed down by the time you get there. The only issue you might find is quite a lot of traffic on the summit, where you'll meet every boat on a blind bend or a narrow bit, as is sod's law.

I'm not sure this can be right. He advertised a semi-trad towards the end, but when I spoke to him only about a month before he died he said that although it was designed he'd never actually built one. If there were any cruisers about, I would imagine they'd be very early not very late.