Midnight

There is some confusion regarding the length of boat that can get through Rhodesfield Lock. I remember when I helped Jim McDonald, despite having a folding rudder Elizabeth was about six inches too long to clear the bottom gates. He mentioned that he had previously been though so couldn't understand the situation. When Julie the lockie arrived by chance, she informed us that the lock had been shortened slightly when a new top cill had been installed she also mentioned the published max length of 57ft. Several 59ft boats from in Ripon marina occasionally went up diagonally and relatively stress free.

Yes you can get a 60ft boat up to Ripon but it's extremely tight especially in Westwick and Rhodesfield locks. Some years ago now Jim MacDonald managed all but Rhodesfield Lock in NB Elizabeth 63ft.

The locals have added flood safety poles since that terrible Boxing Day... ... and the pub is probably better than the one at Stanley Ferry. Even better I heard Ossett Brewery is refurbishing the Bingley Arms at Horbury Bridge.

There's a lot of options for moorings around Wakefeld. Online at Stanley Ferry and Woodlesford, Lemonroyd if you want a marina berth just to name a few. PS There are some very nice folks at Broad Cut. It depends what you want.

^^^^^^^ ditto ... ... except for the chap on the bench I gave him a sandwich

?? The Ouse is tricky but hardy "Dangerous" and there hasn't been any big ships since the rice barges stopped about 10 years ago. I certainly wouldn't suggest a novice do Trent Falls and getting into Selby Lock may be challenging first time, but I've never heard of anyone sinking a boat trying to get into the lock. There's plenty of advice available on this forum, if Jason is determined to go that way. I would also suggest picking a neap tide in good weather and visiting Selby beforehand to see how it's done.

When I started fitting out the boat I put a similar question to the boat builder "How do I get a level in a boat?" "It's easy" he said, "How?" I said, "Come on you must know" he said, "I don't please tell" I said. "Just do what we do" he said, "What's that?" I said - "guess!" he said.

When moving a boat from the Lancaster to the main system last year I followed a very experienced local out from the link. He told me to follow him on tick-over down Savick Brook to wait for the tide to slack off. Thinking about a previous trip that way when I was delayed leaving the sea lock due to rope fouling the prop, when I turned into the Ribble the boats that had set off by some 20 minutes beforehand still hadn't reached the first perch and I soon caught them up. Maybe the lock keepers have a tendency to let boats out a little bit too early.

No myth, a jolly bunch of helpful chaps who clean up after their meetings.

Remove a fuel filter and see if there's water in the diesel

You could probably do that in about 12 days. I suggest you plan an early start and a longish day from The Rose of Lancaster at Chatterton to Castlefield in Manchester. You can break the descent at Islington Marina but I have just kept going all the way down. The Ribble Link is straightforward I've done it in both flat calm and high winds never been a problem other than steering against a side wind. It is a bit slow coming out of Tarleton Lock into a big tide. You may need to give it some motor to make headway for a few hundred yards after that it's plain sailing, but don't cut the corners into the Ribble or into Link.

If it's any help this is what I fitted to Midnight 57ft 2 x https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/98-120W-12V-solar-panel-with-5m-cable-German-solar-cells.html 1 x https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/498-High-efficiency-30A-MPPT-solar-charge-controller-for-solar-panels-up-to-390W-12V--780W-24V-up-to-100V.html (bigger than needed but allows for a third panel) 1 x https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/26-Remote-meter--display-for-10A-60A-MPPT-and-PWM-solar-charge-controllers-TRPTRVSPULS-Series.html 1 x https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/96-Waterproof-double-cable-entry-gland-6-12mm-for-motorhomes-caravans-campervans-boats-and-building-installations.html 1 x https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en/catalog/full/322-3m-10mm2-single-core-red-and-black-extension-cable-with-a-fuse-holder-40A-fuse-and-ring-terminals-8mm.html 2 x https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Narrow-boat-solar-panel-mounting-tilting-brackets-Solar-panel-brackets-Pair/202734224887?hash=item2f33e6c5f7:g:JXsAAOSw7bhc48we Was recommended by one-who-knows to get German panels. On a summer's day these knock out about 12 amps which is enough to top up our 480ah battery bank. The remote is required as it's not too easy to read the meter in a dark engine room but at £28 well worth it. The best £600 I ever spent.

It's not the planet that's at risk it's the inhabitants. Nature doesn't give a flying fig, it's got all the time in the world to recover from anything we throw at it.

That's kind of the point. Once the EU courts are off our backs maybe the status quo will remain as it's not at all high on the political agenda and probably a pain in the arse to HMRC. Wishful thinking maybe.

From the Queen's speech, "..........the bill will also enable more British judges to depart from previous rulings of the EU's top court." Would that mean good news or has the fate of red diesel tax already been decided?