David Mack
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Posts posted by David Mack
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I believe the EA have recently proposed that in future boats will require a Thames licence if they want to wind below Isis Lock. Does anyone know what became of the proposal?
Presumably it is already the case technically, since EA now require all boats on backwaters connecetd to the Thames to be licenced for the Thames.
But it will be irrelevant if/when the new BW charity takes over the EA waterways.
David
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Needle gun will clog up if used extensively on tar or bitumen, plus it's a tedious job for a whole boat and there are hand vibration issues using it for long periods, but it can be done.
Consider a powerful water pressure washer, a powerful industrial washer with rotary nozzle will get rid of any old paint which isn't adhering properly. Alternatively there are very high pressure systems which will get the whole thing back to bare metal without the mess of grit blasting, but you'd probably have to get contractors in to do that.
Tim
We used a mooring spike to chip off much of old (tar) blacking, followed up with a wire brush on an angle grinder to clean up Fulbourne's hull last year.
David
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What impressed me more was the inverted loop and the victory roll that he followed it with....
My gawd the beer was good in the Greyhound that day.
Tone
I did once loop the loop in Tixall Wide whilst towing a broken down boat. The bloke steering the 'butty' looked mighty confused until he realised what I was doing!
David
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All 20 of the closest friends and family I invited accepted straight away....
My Best Man has looked into hiring 2 12-berth boats....
I hope you all get on well together and have good weather! Even a full length narrowboat is a pretty small space for 12 people!
I know this from a student trip many years ago when 11 of us squeezed into the cheapest hire boat we could find on the first week of the university Easter holidays. It snowed on the first day, and the only heater on board had about enough oomph to dry one wet glove! It snowed/sleeted/rained for most of the week, so many of our lot stayed inside the boat, where we kept falling over each other and everybody's bags etc.
The twelve berth we hired had 2 double beds and 8 singles. Fine as we were a mixed party, but are some of your (presumably all male) mates prepared to share a bed?
Hire boats have generally got better these days, but it might be worth seeing if you can take a look at your chosen boats before you commit.
David
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Our contract delivery date is February and the latest update is end of July which is why I believe we may need the accommodation from our arrival in May until the end of August!
Helga
Well if your builder has failed to meet the agreed delivery date its his problem, and he should meet the accommodation costs. Does he have another boat you could live on in the meantime?
David
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I'm curious as to how many boaters have pets aboard with them, whether moored or constantly cruising. I know quite a lot of people have dogs, others things in cages, but that's about all I'm aware of.
I ask because I have two rats and possibly a cat, and I'm not sure how the latter will take to living on a boat (although he's adapted very well to moving 4 times in the last two years). I'm also aware that some marinas have strict "no animals" policies, whereas others are a lot more relaxed.
We had a rat on Fulbourne once. But it wasn't a pet....
Dog on board:
David
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I wonder if someone could please give the definitive answer -- if you want to cruise the entire system, how long (or short!) must the boat be? Many thanks....
Depends what you mean by the "entire system". If you include Teddington Skiff Lock the answer is 49 ft 6" (and 5 ft 10" wide).
David
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It will be a loose replica of Hector the wooden hulled tug built by Walkers of Rickmansworth for Chance and Hunt.
The pile of steel may not be photogenic...
A replica wooden boat built from a pile of steel will certainly be a "loose replica".
If only I had the money for a newbuild wooden tug......
David
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Hi,
I'm about to take the plunge and buy a second/third hand nb. Should I be able to get about (slowly) on my own and if so, does length matter
enormously?
Yes. If the boat is longer than about 72ft its awful hard work lifting it round the locks. Below that length, I find longer is no more difficult than shorter, and often easier.
David
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... heading for Lechlade (which I think is far you can go up the Thames & still turn around a 60')
The Tuesday Night Club got a 60 foot boat up to Hannington Bridge, but had to reverse back to here to turn.
In the early 90s we got Fulbourne (71ft 6 in and drawing 3 ft) nearly as far.
If you are not into such adventurous boating, the normal turning point is the junction with the Thames and Severn Canal at Inglesham.
David
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I posted some pics last week that showed the boat repaint underway at Sanderson and Lucas - the business at Dadfords Shed which was formerly owned by Phil Speight.
To say we are chuffed would be an understatement - the job is just outstanding. A few folk asked to see finished pics, so here you go.
For information, Marcellus is based on the stern of the original GUCC butty (now forming the bow) with the rest being crafted on by the late Ian Clifton in the 90s. We are in no illusions as to its pedigree, it is pretty much a new(ish) boat, but we think it is pretty. The original GUCC colours have been replicated - they were on it before and I didn't have the imagination to change it!
Not to be confused with Marcellus:
(The other half)
David
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Having read several threads on The Tidal Thames trip, I am hoping to gain a bit of experience and try and do the journey sometime in the summer. I know it is a way off yet, but want to make sure I have everything on board that is required (by law and otherwise). So just after some type of check list.
Radio (and licence)
Lifejackets for each person (to be worn at all times ?)
Anchor (Type and size for a 60' widebeam)
Anchor chain ? (how long ?)
What have I missed ?
Check with your insurers to confirm that you are covered. They may impose an additional premium or special conditions. Our insurers require us to be accompanied on the tideway, and we are not allowed out if forecast is higher than Force 4.
As I said in another thread, if you are at all nervous, join one of St Pancras Cruising Club's organised trips.
David
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If those who want it found could provide some better pictures, (like back and side shots, not just from the front), our chances might increase further.
Great Haywood Boat Sales have now put up some pictures on their news page.
David
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Whilst looking at boats for sale, we keep coming across engines that are cooled by drawing raw canal water.
Are you sure? If you are looking at steel narrowboats built in the last 20-30 years, almost all will be fitted with a closed cooling system with a skin tank on the hull side (or occasionally the bottom). And if you are looking at boats from the 1970s you will find a fair few with air cooled engines. As others have said, only vintage engines are usually directly raw water cooled.
Might be different for GRP and wooden boats.
David
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I know of at least two non historical ones that got stuck - one so tight that he finally unplugged, shot across the basin and destroyed his prop and gearbox on the shelf. The other sued his builder.
When we went up Hurleston some years ago, the modern boat in front of us got stuck, and was only freed with lots of flushing and heaving on ropes. We then followed in Fulbourne (allegedly 7 ft 1/2 inch wide) without any problem! I think it depends just where the wide bit on your boat is.
David
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That works for an organised flotilla that are in mobile phone contact with each other. So if you are arranging to travel with someone else it is acceptable (so I understand) if only one has a VHF radio so long as the one with the VHF radio agrees to phone the other one if necessary
But don't rely on someone else being present, in five trips I've never shared limehouse lock
If you want to do the trip as part of an organised flotilla, join one of the St Pancras Cruising Club events. They are a very friendly bunch and welcome non members to join their convoys. You don't need VHF (just mobile phone) and if you do get any problems there will be other boats on hand to assist.
I have been on one tideway trip with SPCC when one of the boats suffered engine failure and had to be taken in tow. On another occasion a boat with an undersized skin tank started overheating and had to slow right down. One of the other boats held back and stayed with them in case of further problems.
David
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I have had something similar too. More of a nuisance than serious damage, but annoying nonetheless.
Malwarebytes is good, but SuperAntiSpyware sometimes picks up things which Malwarebytes doesn't. I run the free version of both in safe mode then reboot and if necessary run again.
Before running either, always make sure you download the latest version, as that will have the most recent virus definitions.
David
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Can I bend the topic a little?
Braithwaite & Kirk had their works at Ryders Green, West Bromwich. According to a little local history I find it was called 'Crown Bridge Works', but no more as an address. I've heard it say their yard was by the locks, but at the top by the junction - or at the bottom somewhere near the old interchange basins?
Does anyone have any history of the company, its exact location and fate?
Brathwaite and Kirk is still trading, under the Braithwaite name, making water tanks in South Wales. Some history here.
Crown Bridge Works can be seen on the 1890 OS map here. The section of Henry Street alongside the works is now closed and incorporated into the industrial estate which now occupies the site.
David
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I suppose the fact that I'm having to ask this at all (given what I do for a living) is very telling
Can anyone point me in the direction of a document outlining BW's policy and practice on connection agreements and fees, something that outlines when they are required, how the operate, when fees become payable etc.
And at the same time, can anyone point me in the direction of the legislation that enables BW to have such a policy and to enter into such agreements
I'm not expecting this thread to have many answers for some reason...
BW's policy is set out in the Inland Marina Investment Guide. The whole thing can also be downloaded as a series of pdf files from the downloads page.
The info there includes details of the process required to get approval, the fees payable and a summary of the terms of the Network Access Agreement you will have to enter into to get a connection to the BW waterway.
I seem to remember some publicity at the time this was produced a few years ago. Part of the intention was to set a level playing field for prospective marina developers, who would know in advance what their commitments would be, and hence would make a business case for a development.
The ongoing cost of the connection is 9% of the mooring fee (excluding VAT) at prevailing local rates assuming the marina is full to capacity. This compares with an equivalent 50% rate to moor at the end of your garden, the difference being such as to allow a reasonable (it is said) return on the capital cost of the marina.
Before these arrangements were introduced, agreements typically varied from site to site, and in the case of some long established marinas, or those using old private basins (such as Ashwood Marina), BW may be stuck with old agreements which generate little or no connection fee, or which do not give them rights to require boats in the marina to be licenced, insured or have a valid BSC for example.
David
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I wear 'Snickers' trousers ...
Formerly 'Marathon' trousers?
David
(getting my coat)
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All useful info chaps, cheers!
I am planning my move from winter moorings at Batchworth to my new mooring at Blisworth Marina and I think Hemel will be far enough for the first day.
Somebody (non-boaty) recommended the Three Horseshoes at Winkwell - any good?
One regular on the Yahoo Canals List was banned from the Three Horsehoes, and every other pub owned by the same pubco, for having the temerity to tie his boat up to the mooring rings right outside the pub. The consensus of the resulting discussion was that the pub (can't remember its name) 100 yards up the road from the Winkwell swing bridge was a better bet, but I have never tried it.
David
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There may well be parts of the system that a leisure boater wants to visit, where it will not fit. OK, I know it will definitely not fit the shorter locks of many Northern canals, but it's quite probably not going down the Llangollen either.
Why not? Fulbourne, another Big Woolwich, has made it to Llangollen a few times.
David
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Does anybody know what the maximum air draft is on the Great Ouse?
Not a lot towards the top end.
Bedford Lock footbridge:
Railway bridge above Bedford:
David
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The uxter plate is sitting about 2.5-3 inches below the waterline,
Does the hull at the stern continue vertically below the bottom of the red band then? On most boats there is a couple of inches of rubbing strake below the red band, and then the uxter plate, as on Fulbourne below. If Pinmill is like this then the uxter plate is few inches above the water line, which would explain a lot!
David
High Speed Rail 2 ( will impact on Waterways)
in General Boating
Posted
But its not (primarily) about speed. Its about capacity. In that respect the use of the 'S' in the 'HS2' branding is unhelpful to the case for the new line.
As others have said, WCML is effectively full, so new capacity is needed. Providing additional capacity on the existing route is more expensive, takes longer, and disrupts the existing train services, so a new separate alignment is better. Once you have reached this position, then it makes sense for the new line to take the best route for today's needs (not those of 150 years ago), and for the services on the new line to operate at higher speeds to maximise the benefits of the new service.
Once the new line is open, London-Birmingham traffic can be removed from the existing route, freeing up capacity for more stopping trains serving intermediate destinations, and for (slower) freight services.
Yes there are things still to be sorted - the HS1/HS2 link should be sorted, not because there will be much of a case for running through services from the continent to Birmingham and beyond, but to provide a decent connection between the international services into St Pancras and the onward connection within the UK. That way the rail system maximises its competitive position in comparison to the airlines.
And since all the stopping services into St Pancras already run into the Thameslink tunnels, how about diverting the longer distance Midland Main Line services into Euston, and using the domestic platforms at St Pancras for HS2?
David