adam1uk

The canal system is supported by the Exchequer. From memory, BW gets £70-odd million pounds from DEFRA and another £13 from the Scottish government. The total government funding is far, far more than the money raised from boaters.

I agree. And it also depends which locks, and how you mention it to them. I met a hire boat coming up the Napton flight who were very grateful to find out how to avoid their boat being sent crashing into the top gates. They'd already broken several glasses as a result, and were worried they'd have nothing to drink their wine out of by the time they got to the top.

The IWA insists on towing path...

One of the bloggers reports that Whitefield's cratch (or whatever they call their design of cover) was torn going through Crick Tunnel.

Did they ever get around to announcing the winner of best boat?

We're glad we went on Saturday too. We were quite worried about the signs that kept blowing off the roofs of the boats. Some of them could have done some real damage.

Is no-one going on Saturday (which appears to be the best day weather-wise, if the forecast can be believed)?

Leave it as it is, and make a selling point of it in your literature.

I rather like the Wolverhampton 21. The bottom end is quite countrified, and there's the racecourse, trains to watch, a little shop nect to one of the more urban locks, and a rather attractive area at the top lock. IIRC, they need an anti-vandal key, so you'd better make sure they have one on board.

Have moored in both parts of Birmingham that you mention. Between the Mailbox and Broad Street can be quite noisy. I'd always suggest going round the corner and stopping near the NIA/Sealife Centre. It's much quieter, because it's residential. There are also more mooring spaces there, as you can use either side of the canal.

Most pay as you go schemes are designed to encourage people to use less of something, whether that be water metres to try to get people to use cut their water consumption, or congestion charging to try to stop people using their cars. Surely BW shouldn't be in the business of discouraging people from using their boats? It's meant to encourage participation. A boat tied up in a marina adds very little to the waterways environment, and (as Allan has already said) the costs caused by boat movements are insignificant. A pay as you go scheme would replace a simple charging regime with a complicated one, without providing any benefits at all. In fact, it could severely damage the cause of the waterways.

Getting a reduction on insurance (which in the scheme of things isn't that expensive anyway) isn't the reason why you might want to do a course. We'd been boating for quite a while when we did one, and still learned things, including lots of little tricks that you just wouldn't know unless someone told you. Plus it was a lot of fun!

This is very true. And all that reverse actually pushes the boat away from the side, which is exactly what you don't want to do. I was taught to approach very slowly, allow the bow to touch, and this will gently swing the stern in.

The prices quoted in Canal Boat are £9 for one day and £18 for three days. Online, it's £8 and £16. So if you're buying a three day ticket, or two or more one day tickets, you're making a saving. And avoiding the queues. And getting a free guide (if you want one).

The website says buying online will save you money (although there is a £1.50 transaction fee per order). Either way, it was so frustrating standing in a long and slow moving queue last time, we'll buy in advance. And if you use the code CBS5 before 12 May, they'll send a free show guide too.

You have to ask why they decided to put the service area is the furthest, most inaccessible corner of the marina. It's probably not too bad if all the Black Prince boats are out, but the day we popped in, there were dozens of hire boats, about five abreast, making things tricky.

As long as the boat ticks all the boxes ...

I'm glad it's not just me then!

I'm constantly amazed at how many people stand in the danger area -- even on semi-trads, where there's no reason at all to be outside. As far as the aching is concerned, I wonder if it's to do with making too many movements with the tiller. I've noticed that lots of people seem to constantly make little adjustments, even though they're trying to go in a straight line. It's much less hard on the body if you just relax and try not to move the tiller unless you actually need to.

I know that Galleon Marine on the Basingstoke Canal have one (only one, but it takes 12 people, or the rest could hire their rowboats, canoes or punts!): http://www.galleonmarine.co.uk/dayboat.htm The AA website suggests this is just over an hour from Watford.

Diesel is still going to be red, even after 1 November.

Anti-clockwise takes you with the flow of the Soar, which is probably an advantage. When we did it a couple of years ago (starting from Warwick), we thought it was a bit short for a fortnight. So rather that turning down the Coventry Canal at Fradley we carried on along the T&M to Great Haywood, then went through the Tixall Wide, up the Wolverhampton 21, through Birmingham, and back via Lapworth and Hatton. Depends how energetic you want the trip to be, but there are always extensions or side trips to add on if you want.

Surely what will happen is that HMRC will come up with a proportion that they're happy with, and everyone will just go with it. No-one's going to want to go to all the trouble of actually working it out, and HMRC aren't going to want to check.