dave.e

Is it the railway bridge north of Blisworth?

I have been really upset by this. Britain needs more people like Jo, full of compassion and the energy to make a difference to other people's lives. I feel proud to be British while there are people like her, but ashamed that there is so much hatred being stirred-up. Desperately sorry for her family and friends. Dave Edwards Sophie-Jane No.2

We had a silly season incident last week during our Regents Canal & Thames trip. Between Camden and St Pancras we were passing the inevitable line of moored boats with a narrowboat approaching from the opposite direction on the wrong side of the canal. It had a large wheelhouse and seemed to be moving over, but then the moment they swung back to make a head-on collision, was the same moment I realised there was no-one in the wheelhouse. I made some frantic horn signals and gave plenty of engine revs, just managing to pass them on the wrong side as we narrowly missed each other. The moored boaters ignored us like it was a regular occurence. At the back of the boat, completelty hidden by the wheelhouse, a tug was pushing. Neither the woman standing on the deck (who shrugged and smiled weakly), nor the "pilot" had any view of where they were going. There were several trip boats out that day and we could only imagine all the potential whiplash claims...

Done!

Don't forget to check the current PLA Notices http://www.pla.co.uk/Safety/Regulations-and-Guidance/Notices-to-Mariners/Notices-to-Mariners I think that M15 and U3 are probably the most relevant between Limehouse and Brentford at the moment.

700 cycles doesn't sound great for £290 per battery.

We went down to London and along the Regents Canal to Limehouse in May 2011, and again in May 2013. In just two years, the number of moored boats had increased noticeably and it was difficult to find anywhere for visiting boats to moor. Since then, we are constantly meeting boats on the GU that are heading for London with the aim of living there. It must surely reach the point soon when there is no more room?

Don't worry Kathryn. Jon & Ian at Baxters will do a first-class job. Dave, Sophie-Jane No.2

Yes Mr Quinn (Paul?), we were in Dublin over the weekend. This is the Grand Canal at around 10am on Monday morning. I'm guessing there's not much traffic, and it's a neat solution to speeding past moored boats..... Dave E

If you feel that one set of mooring lines is not enough, use mooring lines across to the other side of the canal for added security.

I've taken all my ropes off to wash them. How do I get my boat back....

It's definitely caused by gassing from a lead acid battery. We had a faulty sealed battery in a bank of three that was less than a year old. It had a cell that became shorted and I had left our mains charger on float. This filled the boat with fumes and turned the copper pipes a silver colour throughout the entire boat, including in the cratch at the oppisote end from the batteries. It also wrecked our CO alarm, so make sure you test that it is still working. I think you need to monitor your batteries very carefully. Dave

The other thing to be aware of is the large yellow buoys. I can't remember which bridge these are near, but they are presumably anchored on chains with enough slack to accomodate the highest tide. When a large vessel passes between them, the water displacement in front of the vessel pushes the buoys apart. After the vessel has gone through, the water is rushing into the void behind it and so the buoys move back (at fairly high speed). We had moved over to the right to let a large vessel overtake and then tried to "tuck in" behind it, but the incoming tide was driving us forward as we battled to get clear of one of the buoys. We now have a slight hint of yellow on our starboard gunwale... I should mention that these buoys are made of steel and are the size of a small car. But don't worry - it's a fantastic trip. We used an Icom IC-M35 radio. It was fine on low power for contacting London VTS while we were leaving Limehouse, but it needed full power at Teddington. Not sure about Brentford. Dave

Tony, I would like to add my condolences. Parents who have lost a child belong to an exclusive "club" - one that nobody wants to be a member of. I hope that you and your family manage to stay positive through the emotional rollercoaster of the grieving process. It is not something that you will ever "get over". It's like carrying a heavy load which doesn't get any lighter, but you get stronger and more able to cope with it. It's over 4 years since our tragedy and for the family it feels like we have normal, happy lives - just a different normal from what we would have hoped for. We should never wrap our children in cotton wool. You are right to say that somethimes things just happen. Regards, Dave Edwards

Waterscape have asked me to share locks from Marston Doles to Claydon and at Hillmorton. Does the forum recommend that we wait for a boat shorter than 15ft to share with our 57ft boat, or should we be looking to trade our boat in for a 3ft4in width boat in the hope that others will follow suit... Dave E Oops, just realised there's already a topic on this.... I'll get my coat.