BANG and boat stopped

[Peter X]

On 23/08/2020 at 14:46, Mad Harold said:

Sometimes the morse control won't engage gear with the engine stopped.

Need to get down the weed hatch and check/remove weed/etc.

when prop is clear,you can investigate further; check prop blades , and that it turns freely in neutral.

The bang you heard may be just the engine stopping suddenly and hopefully when you clear the prop everything will be ok.

 

I am curious why you gave up salty water boating because of your knees.

How do you manage locks on your own?

I am seriously considering giving up canal boating because of stiffening knees (and just about everything else) I am finding climbing lock ladders and walking around locks harder and harder.

 

It's interesting to me that you said that, because I know that knee problems often limit people's ability to continue canal boating. How? It's well known on the forum that I've made a habit of volunteering myself as crew for people in order to go boating more, and among the people I've helped in this way I can think of two in particular for whom their knees were a problem, and having me on their crew, a fit agile man with enough boating knowledge to do the locks, was very useful for them. So Harold, maybe you'd be mad to give up boating, I advise that you just persuade a friend or relative to go boating with you and teach them how to do the activities for which a good healthy pair of knees is a requirement!

The odd thing is, my knees are fine and in general I feel really good and healthy, but I've had a very different and life-threatening illness this year which has made me hesitate to offer myself as crew! However, my doctors have so far worked wonders to keep me alive and well through it, and I do still plan to get out on the water for a trip on the Thames 8th-24th October, subject to what I'm told at a consultation at the hospital scheduled for 8th September. I appear to be recovering very well and expect to be still alive and boating when I'm 100!