Midnight

Despite his obssesive and somewhat flawed view of the role of this government, I actually believe he could probably do a better job. You'd have to be really sh*t not to. Looking at the politics for a moment, does anyone here believe Starmer and Co will provide any more money to what is a failed organisation. Parry accepted the job based on the financial package at the time. He has failed. Normally when managers fail they get sacked, albeit in his case 'leave to spend more time with the family' and a big fat pension.

It's where the buck stops

Richard Parry!

I think a few on here just get frustrated when people like yourself, who presumably have no interest in canals and boating other than just looking for cheaper accommodation come along and ask the same questions that have been answered many times. It's probably not that cheap in the long run. Real residential moorings are expensive if you can find them. There are many issues like water, toilet, heating, fuel etc that are a bit more of a hassle than when living on land. People have a tendency to move onto a boat then when they find out it's a bit more complicated ignore or complain about the rules. Good luck with your quest!

And the hessian bag around Nancy David's prop which took 3 of us over an hour to remove. Most of it was picked up in locks. Between the 4 of us we visited the weedhatch 14 times. No wonder it's cleaner now. Next time we should follow @IanD 😆😆

Wolves! He wouldn't like the wolves on Summit

I confer upon MTB the title 'Honorary Yorkshireman' - one of us.

A tale of caution When Midnight was being fitted out I was advised by a so-called expert at Crick Boat Show that if I wanted to add a battery management system to my Beta 43 I would be better swapping the alternator for a Mastervolt system with an Alphapro regulator. As I had just bought a Mastervolt invertor and charger I could have a show discount and a free MICC - still cost £600. The Mastervolt pulley would need swapping for a polyvee but so-called expert would have one made for me - doh! Two years later on a holiday cruise the alternator stops working. When I sent it back to so-called expert for repair I'm told guarantee had expired and it needed new diodes - £200. Two years on on our 4th holiday cruise the alternator burns out and destroys the charger! So-called expert is called and visits but after offering no solution dissappears from view. So I call Mastervolt technical. After a lot of questioning about cruising destinations, Mastervolt Technical asks me to measure the pulley then tells me it's too big in diameter which wouldn't provide enough cooling at canal speed. My 1st and 3rd cruise was mainly on rivers so the alternator revs were high enough. 2nd and 4th cruise maninly on canals resulting in the overheat and eventual destruction of the alternator and charger. I call so-called expert's company but alas he is no longer employed and they won't accept any responsibility for the oversize pulley. New Mastervolt charger - £ouch! Prestolite alternator cos' it had a small polyvee diameter pulley from my local auto-electric company - £96 Moral - pulley size matters!

Blimey! It's all getting a bit complicated. I think when I peg it I'll just have my body laid on the roof and the boat pushed out to sea while you guys fire flaming arrows from the shore. @IanD can have first shot providing there's no blue signs on the beach.

I expect when to day comes to sell up I won't be around so maybe I just need to leave a note saying "to be sold on Apollo Duck". 😆

I will be contacting the surveyor early in the new year regarding the BSS and mention the situation. i also have a close friend who is a boat builder so may be able to get some advice there.

I think my surveyor may be qualified (MIIMS, MABSE, RMS, DipMarSur(YS)) and fortunately I do have the appliance and electrical equipment manuals. As the wiring was done by Loomtech I also have the wiring specs. The gas pipework was DIY and checked off by a Corgi registered surveyor in 2004. I'm sure it was 3/8" but it's accessible under the well deck gunwhale if it needs checking. The structural stuff may be a problem as I received no paperwork at all from John White. If the technical spec requires the fit-out details and sizes I can write a fairly detailed spec from memory. Around £2000 isn't a deal breaker when it comes to selling. With crossing the Wash in mind I had a professional valuation earlier this year at £60,000 for insurance purposes.

It's 20 years since Midnight was craned into the water so I was thinking of getting a survey next year, and of course the BSS is also due again. I will ask the surveyor who has done every BSS since 2008 about a Post Construction Assessment. I do have all the fit out drawings and photo's of each stage. As I'm in no hurry to sell and would probably use Apollo Duck if I did, I'm not too concerned right now. Of course being 73 doesn't help so depending on cost I'll probably go for it.

Sorry I'm in British Columbia so on different time. When the shell was being built John White, an honourable chap, had a stroke. His manager wasn't so honourable. I paid for extras that didn't materialise until it all got a bit acrimonious. I eventually got the shell after sorting my own transport, but received nothing else. The company ceased trading years ago. Maybe I need to sort out my own HIN etc. I'll have to look into it. I'm not thinking of selling, but maybe it needs sorting for the future.

Invoice? I was lucky to get the shell never got an invoice

Prompted by another thread. I don't think Midnight has a HIN certainly no obvious builder's plate. Built by John White in 2002, but because of delays with extras wasn't delivered until 2003 as a 57ft shell. We spent a year fitting out on dry land before dropping it in the water and registering with British Waterays in August 2004. Never thought about a HIN until looking at the thread in General Boating about a reg number. Before I took delivery John White arranged for the shell to be spray-foamed so it's possible the plate is somewhere but covered with the insulation. It's also possible I just forgot seeing it as it is 20 years since the fit out was done. Would I have needed to have it when regestering for the first license? There's no mention of HIN on the My Trust page. Is anyone familiar with John White boats who could give me an idea of where to look?

I don't mind these increases but I do mind the system falling to bits at an alarming rate. More for less!

There I fixed it for you. Home moorers in Yorkshire should receive a discount! Boaters travelling over the Pennines should receive an MBE.

I believe that published prices for the public must include VAT. I remember a website of a well-known specialist chandlers that published prices ex-vat and they were told to change them to include vat as the main customers were not trade. It's okay to publich ex-vat prices for trade customers. I would check with HMRC and you may have a case for witholding the vat or requesting a refund if you've paid the bill.

Not many complaints on this thread. Personally, although I realise this will lead to more fly tipping, I believe it's the local authorities who should provide rubbish and dog bins in their own area. Regrettably the LA's are strapped for cash too. At Cosworth this year I witnessed man with a van unloading a whole transit full of builders waste into the C&RT bins. It happens and it's not for C&RT to pay for local tradesmen to get rid of waste. Nor it is for C&RT to have to remove the various boaters waste that shouldn't be put in bins. I've regularly seen batteries, the remains of boater's bathrooms, kitchens, waste oil, etc. left on the floor of waste compounds. Blame goes to those who abuse the system this time not C&RT.

Come on are you suggesting C&RT would fiddle the numbers? I have an idea, cut the publicity budget and fiddle a bit more.

But C&RT's visitor usage figures suggest an incredible amount of non-boaters already enjoy the canals. Would there be room on the towpath for more?

Blinkin 'eck Ian you are almost agreeing. You certainly seem more friendly since I opened Battyeford Lock for you 😆 If we accept your guestimate of £1M saved on publicity, times that by all the other non-essentials where savings could be made and that has fixed quite a few paddles, leaks and swing bridges. Throw in closing (by stealth) the Rochdale below East Summit (a reliable source mentioned this to me) and maybe they could keep the Leeds & Liverpool open for a whole year. hurrah, you hear me say 🙂 Just one point. The Government want C&RT to be self-funding so unlikely to cut the £400m until after 2037 at which point I won't be around to complain. hurrah, I hear you (and a few others) say 🙂

To quote a recent advertising campaign "Every paddle helps" You still didn't say whether you agreed or not that the publicity budget could be reduced. "The Trust is responsible for maintaining navigability and safety of its waterways ... "