Bobbybass

Hi..... Around this time next week I'll be heading to Gloucester from Worcester. The main run takes atound 4 hours ( I'm told) and there doesn't seem to be moorings on route? When I arrive will it be easy to find a mooring there ? I don't want to get stranded and have to face another 4 hour run back. Thanks lots 😃

I thought she was overlooking several factors when ordering a standard sofa and a standard ( king size ?) bed. Narrow boat furniture needs to double up as storage. How many of us have our favourite spanners...spare ropes....water pump bits ...assorted emergency stuff that we never use but need.....under the sofa and bed ? I also notice that miss Fancy pants was starting to look a bit scruffy after a month aboard. Another few months....and she'll look as decrepit as the rest of us. 😃 😀 😄

It worries me.....if they start to close some canals, can you imagine the pressure on the rest of the system with all those displaced boaters ? A future life of tick over past continuous moored boats.

I leave the door slightly ajar when not in use ...to avoid unnecessary flattening of the seal.

What I did : roughened up the area and cleaned with meths. A skim.of fibreglass resin....then a patch of ordinary cooking foil worked carefully around edges so as not to rip. When dry....another skim of resin and larger cooking foil to overlap the first.... Repeated again..... I did this to a petrol tank on a mates vintage bus until he could source another tank. Still there after 19 years 😃

I've noticed a fair few newish CRT fences cut off near the bottom 🤨😐

No....you didn't let him down. I remember staying on board and how supportive you were of each other. With you working hard each day and Dave looking after the boat....you were a great team. It's not you. Time is what let's us down and we all optimistically hope for more. I know....it happened to me....but we did it. There are many that only dream. Bob

We took our boat to Keithley. Under the road bridge and moored up. Within an hour we had stones thrown at us...abuse....and threats of violence. Then the hot hatches started up. Rather than press on....we "upped" the road bridge and then took ages reversing back to the winding hole....during the rush hour. No....I didn't like it much 😕

They have a steam train..

Opinions before I change my boat.... https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/features/readersviews/24019137.letter-fears-future-leeds-liverpool-canal/

With the use of white vinegar to clean the loo....plus the acidic nature of certain " secretions".... my thick mild steel tank rotted through in 8 years.

Mine in this boat...and my last....also used about 1 litre an hour.

From Practical Boat Owner: https://www.pbo.co.uk/all-latest-posts/insurance-cover-concerns-over-lithium-batteries-82249

London will be fine. Budget £10,000 - £20,000 a year....and still wait and wait

The reason I pointed this out....was that the OP hadn't mentioned the age of the boat....and the huge electricity demand may have brought the problem to light.

Be careful of that...Beta 43 and Travelpower arrangement. It's not a good one...destroyed my engine...and my neighbour had his Beta 43 destroyed after only 6 months. Beta paid for a new engine. Although they have made more recent modifications...its still not good running that big load off the main crank pulley. You need to regularly take hold of the main pulley and "waggle " it from side to side with some force. If you detect any movement...get advice quickly...as the pulley will quickly bite into the crankshaft and then its all over.

My Beta 43 had 15,000 hours when I sold the boat. Great compression...never used the glow plugs even on frozen mornings. No smoke...started on second turn. Oil/ filter changes every 250 hours with Wilko ( the late Wilko 😔 ) Classic motor oil.

Yup....they'll definitely need that.

The trouble is....that once one council gets away with it, others will rub their hands with glee and join in..bolstered by canal side dwellers. 😔 Look at ULEZ

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/23/ban-on-wood-burners-threatens-british-boat-dwellers-with-winter-freeze

You could always look out for something like this on ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194286851117?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=oeEY8pm9Tae&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=IIvLDLg8S8K&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

To sum up my thoughts over the years. Boat jobs are like normal straightforward jobs in a house...but carried out in a matchbox. If you take a few shelves out of a wardrobe to fix a pipe...you will then fall over said shelves and bury the screwdriver you were about to use.

I had some bloke fitting out the boat next to mine. I came back after a week away and my boat was covered in sawdust and shavings. Not pleased !

I met a few making oodles of wine. They didn't even use bubblers...but plastic lemonade bottles with steriliser soaked cotton wool in the neck. I crewed with some well known boaters and they had made a still out of an old pressure cooker ( YouTube)... Worked well...I think....as far as I can remember 😃 😀 😄