Midnight

https://www.narrowboatworld.com/15124-damian Please someone tell me this is bollards or is it another let's change the bollards and give ourselves a bonus for doing it?

"Tonic" and it is. 😋

All that needs to be done is better maintenance and a clean up in Manchester. I get the feeling C&RT aren't trying very hard. If it wasn't for Shire Cruisers I believe it would even less reliable, if that's possible

Yes! One of our club members had a tussle with C&RT last year. He had booked a passage but they rang him the day before and said it was canncelled due to there being no staff. When he replied saying he was going through regardless even if he had to cut the chains off they capitulated and agreed to send someone to help him through. Food for thought???

It must be a close call especially over the last 5 years. There were times when we didn't worry and would have three choices. Now it's Russian roulette with 5 bullets in the gun. As you found out, trying to get back to base in the autumn months, with impending winter stoppages and the short Trent hours adds to the anxiety and frustration.

I never found the 18 and the 9 particularly hard. Water flowing over the gates can be an issue if boats follow too close together, but the method is to keep at least two locks apart. Running low on water is a pain but it's never stopped us. The stuff that gets around the prop are the worst things to deal with but I've done at least three trips without a visit to the weedhatch. Usually when descending we leave The Rose of Lancaster early, stop for a sandwich at Ducie Street Junction, then drop down the 9 to Castlefield. Going up we spread it over two days. Going east it's always a pleasure to get to Summit. Going west I'm full of trepidation from Littleborough. As @beerbeerbeerbeerbeer suggested it's the fear of getting stuck between two stoppages that detracts from the splendor of the Summit and Yorkshire side.

Exactly my point. Where's the sensible leadership? Volunteers painted the Halfpenny bridge at Mirfield two years ago without the need to encase it in plastic. The buck stops with Parry!!

I didn't worry too much in those days because I could rely on the canals being open. It never occurred to me when doing a 3 week dash from Ripon to the midlands and back that the Pennine crossings would be closed. Now it's a racing certainty that at least 2 of them will be and far too often all 3.

No @IanD it's me who thinks Parry is the problem. If you read some of posts above you will see it's not all about money it's about management. What a brilliant decision it was to ignore warnings at Todbrook and Middlewich. What a great decision to waste £loads on electrifying bridges on the Oxford and £enough to fix a few locks on sponsored Facebook adverts when 100s of boaters do same job etc, etc.

Good cos I doubt it could get any worse than that crossing Simon made. Daryl did confess to me that they really should not have been out it those conditions but hey ho they lived to tell the tale. As @Kendorr said "It's a once in a lifetime" thing - for most of us. You may find it exciting at times but you will definitely be happy you did it.

On the other hand I doubt any colour government would/will chuck in another £10m a year. We don't seem to have had a decent government since Tony Blair but at least Boris did deliver when he said "Get Brexit Done". Brexit arguments in the political section please!

Let me guess - the government's fault 🙄

Ian does a great job. I've never needed his help myself but he once helped the boats in front which made our descent easier. Nobody is moaning about the locks being difficult. And I agree moaning about Parry won't help. Replacing him might.

Maybe just another C&RT cockup. The Standedge Tunnel is closed until Easter but still bookable as it the Ribble Link etc.

If you recall it was C&RT's own inspector who warned of the potential disaster at Middlewich 5 years before it gave way And didn't the people in the reservior house warn numerous times of Todbrook? Perhaps if the keeper had been retained it would have saved the £millions of repair and the cost of the police security and RAF Chinooks. As for Figure of Three, the towpath had been washed away several times before the big flood. Last time I went that way there is still no flood bank protecting the expensive locks. Next big flood deja vue? Which begs the so far unanswered question -- @IanD I asked you "Tell me what wonderous things Parry has achieved including all the targets and promises made when he took over."

This where we seem to be at odds. Let's look at Todbrook, Middlewich and Figure of three. £millions spent of fixing something that was preventable with a better maintenance regime. No doubt there are other examples. Talk the the chaps on the front line they are demoralised because there's things they can fix but management insist on contractors. Most of the stoppages are caused by minor defects that could be fixed at not much expense by the ground staff. Okay you have a point but fixing a good percentage of issues would help keep the waterways open longer. It's all well and good blaming the goverment but get real there is no money coming.

Are not capable of figuring that out for yourself?

You haven't addressed my challenge as I did yours A point of view some on here fail to recognise.

I would get rid of all the non-essentials (you know what they are and most are not blue) and reduce the management structure, redirecting the money into the front line essentials. Maintenance would be the top priority and by that I mean dropping the wait 'til it breaks policy' . Parry of course will deny that exists but I suspect most on here believe it to be the case. Spend zero on promoting towpath visits and vanity projects (The EA waterways manage without them), but I would keep the team who produce the stats they are bloody mathmatical wizards - on second thoughts, sack them too and just pluck visitor numbers out of the air when asked. (Some think they already do). As I'm Yorkshire based, I'd look very hard at the three routes over the Pennines and weigh up the pros and cons of focussing resouces on just one. Finally I would find out where you are moored and make sure the canal there suffers equal amounts of closures as we have had to suffer for the past five years then ask you if you had changed your views. Oh come to think of it I wouldn't need to do that Parry is well on the way to achieving the same end. Now here's a challenge for you. Tell me what wonderous things Parry has achieved including all the targets and promises made when he took over.

A better man might make more use of the money they do have. If he is so good how come he was removed form TFL? "He was paid £503,271, including £367,534 compensation for loss of office after being forced to make way for current Tube boss Mike Brown. Mr Parry, now a director with First Group, refused to comment." - Evening Standard

No assisted passage available. I feel sorry for our new club members who are now stuck on the wrong side of the Pennines. They are new to boating having had their electric boat built at Worcester. With the constant ongoing problems on the L&L, the Huddersfield and Rochdale they must be wondering why they bothered. When these issues permeate to the Midlands and South boaters down that way may agree C&RT under the leadership (🤣) of Richard Parry are a disaster. He needs to go before the whole system falls apart.

If your engine as an older model, have you tried using the little finger pump after slackening the bleed vent on top of the engine fuel filter`to see if fuel is getting that far? If you have to pump for ages it means there was no fuel in the line. I once forgot to open the fuel tap after a service and after the engine slowly died it took ages before fuel appeared from the bleed vent. I painted the pump trigger (?) white because I have difficulty in locating it after every service.

Usually when we were out summer cruising the charge amps in the morning after mooring overnight were around +50amps. When the batteries are showing 100% on the MICC the amps drop down to single numbers. I know 100% is a meaningless bean count figure, but the voltage is usually in the high 12s to low 13s, overnight it drops to the low 12s. The four batteries are cheapo unbranded things I bought from Streethay in 2021 after my old AGMs died at Tixhall Wide and they couldn't get the Numax 120s I wanted. I don't expect them to last much more than 3 years so will probably get replaced later this year. I also intend to replace the noname alternator with a 12v 150amp Prestolite (2605048).

The whole C&RT management team is the subject of ridicule on a discussion forum 🤣

Sorry if I confused you I meant on both domestic alternators i.e. the Prestolite that died and then the replacement. I think it is. Last Saturday after being on shore power the Mastervolt charger will have fully charged the batteries. I took the boat a short distance to the Club's pump-out jetty and noticed the light on all the way. After spending awhile sorting out the shhh-you-know-what, I checked the battery voltage at 12.96v. When I restarted the engine the voltage went up to around 14.6v (senior memory moment but near). I've never cruised in the dark but I will check next time I'm aboard. I'll also check to see if the solar controller can be adjusted. It's one of these. How would I find out what to adjust it to, or if it can be adjusted should I just reduce it bit at a time? UPDATE! I spoke to Photonic Universe who said the easiest way to reduce the MPPT voltage is to change to the Gel Battery setting.