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Midnight

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Everything posted by Midnight

  1. Yes I think it could be done using a work boat with a hiab or maybe just dragging it off. I'm not sure the boat is licensed so maybe CaRT won't be too sympathetic I don't know what their policy is in such matters.
  2. Following yesterday's storm a boat 'Catherine Ann' was found this morning partially submerged in Battyeford cut on the Calder Navigation. Looks like it drifted above the towpath when the cut was high yesterday and appears to have been empty as there was nobody onboard this morning. It's been moored down the cut for awhile. If anyone knows the owner please let them know. CaRT have been informed. The adjacent River Calder reached a new record level almost a foot higher than Boxing Day 2015 causing serious flood damage to the clubhouse at South Pennine Boat Club.
  3. Calder reaches record levels at some monitoring stations - Battyeford Lock at Lunchtime river still rising
  4. Beware of the Linton tattoo
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. ^^^^^^^ ditto ... ... except for the chap on the bench I gave him a sandwich
  10. ?? 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. No myth, a jolly bunch of helpful chaps who clean up after their meetings.
  14. Remove a fuel filter and see if there's water in the diesel
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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?
  20. I would have been happier still if they were 4 or 5 day moorings. Why so many 2 day moorings? Someone told me they had been problems with continuous moorers but mixing 2, 5 & 7 day mooring would make no difference to that problem.
  21. ^^^^^^^^^^ and you will have to pay for mooring in Lechlade too, but well worth it - it's a really nice stretch of river. The only disappointment was the Oxford moorings. It took us a full 14 days to get there only to find about a mile of largely unoccupied 2-day moorings at the end of the canal.
  22. I've met these wonderful chaps three times. Always friendly, pick up their own litter, help you through the lock and offer a swig of whatever is in the bottle in the brown paper bag. They should be given a civic honour of some kind. Unlike the Mayor of Rochdale who should be given a certificate for the scruffiest canal in Britain and made to clean up all the fast food packaging and mattresses that usually wrap around the passing boater's propeller.
  23. Experience tells me from Nantwich you could do the circuit via the L&L & Rochdale in about 18 days but that wouldn't be enjoyable as those daily distances are based on when I've been moving the boat to get somewhere or to get back to base. There's the Wigan flight crew who may help you there. As there's not too many landing stages I think it would be an ordeal single-handed. The L&L swing bridges will slow you down but there's usually plenty of friendly boats moving so you should be able to team up for many of those. A few of the electric ones have had the control panel moved to the towpath side. The Rochdale is tough by yourself but as the locks are doubled you may get lucky there too. I haven't been over that way for a couple of years so there may be help from Volunteers now. There was a really good one on the descent into Manchester helping the single handed boat in front of us all the way from lock 65 last time I was down there. There's usually a few boats moving off from the Rose of Lancaster pub to Manchester around the same time so if you leave with them Grimshaw Lane lift bridge shouldn't be too much of an issue either. Both the L&L and the Rochdale are very spectacular waterways with some great places to stop so you really need time to enjoy them.
  24. Yes that's where the problem started, but CaRT's woeful management have made a pig's ear of it all. Remember Mr Parry after the Whaley Bridge incident saying they had enough money? They have concentrated on well-being,whilst getting rid of experienced staff and replacing them with volunteers and more managers who have not a clue. In our area two very experienced and able technical managers were made redundant and replaced with someone from a greetings card company who, I've been told by those who know, went to a staff meeting and repeatedly said he knew nothing about canals.
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