Is Now the right time?

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

8 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Here is a 3 year old one   

 Oakums Narrowboats boats for sale UK, used Oakums Narrowboats boats, new Oakums Narrowboats boat sales, free photo ads - Apollo Duck

Looks like it’s just sat in the Marina for that time, the 2 pack epoxy looks a little sorry for itself at the waterline. One of their Chinese cut’n”shut shells by the look of it.

 

 

[blackrose]

17 hours ago, LadyG said:

I reported this abusive post, but it has not  yet disappeared.

To the poster

this is a forum to discuss boat related matters, not to abuse people.  Im sure there are other places to go, you dont need advice,  you  know enough.

 

I think you're wrong and I think there's a lack of empathy here. 

 

Perhaps the OP shouldn't have expressed it as he did but I can quite understand why he did. 

 

Firstly he was rather patronisingly told he had a "Yes but" attitude, and then after respectfully replying that Tam & Di didn't know him from Adam so wasn't in a position to say that, he was told by another poster that because he'd bared his soul on the forum we did know him.

 

There was no need for anyone to comment about the OP's attitude or infer anything about how well we know his personality type in the first place.

 

 

Edited March 30 by blackrose

[Peugeot 106]

35 minutes ago, blackrose said:

told by another poster that because he'd bared his soul on the forum we did know him

Come on Blackrose I said it tongue in cheek. You  do seem a sensitive soul this morning.  I didn’t say we knew him I said I suspected we could tell him from Adam

 

 

[WulfNut]

The strange thing with electric boats is they seem to be totally in an economy of their own.  While the batteries and solar price is only a fraction of what it once was, the price of the boats seem to be carrying a premium.   How long do british manufacturers have before once again the Chinese containers start arriving complete with battery and solar ready to go out of the box.  

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Come on Blackrose I said it tongue in cheek. You  do seem a sensitive soul this morning.  I didn’t say we knew him I said I suspected we could tell him from Adam

 

 

 

Didn't Adam have a rib missing ?

[Tonka]

Was it the right time to be born?

The right time to start work

The right time to get married

The right time to have kids

The right time to buy a house

The right time to die

[Peugeot 106]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Didn't Adam have a rib missing ?

I wasn’t suggesting he get naked that would definitely qualify for a ban more so if it turned out he was a floozy!  I didn’t lose a rib but someone pinched a rather nice battered Grumman Canoe I used to own. Every time I see one I inspect it for an extra seat that I fitted to see if it’s mine,. I bought it for a two week canoe camping trip with my wife and two children on the Dordogne. Happy days. 

[mrsmelly]

5 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Was it the right time to be born?

The right time to start work

The right time to get married

The right time to have kids

The right time to buy a house

The right time to die

Nail on head. 

[ditchcrawler]

And you wonder why so many new members don't stay

[IanD]

1 hour ago, WulfNut said:

The strange thing with electric boats is they seem to be totally in an economy of their own.  While the batteries and solar price is only a fraction of what it once was, the price of the boats seem to be carrying a premium.   How long do british manufacturers have before once again the Chinese containers start arriving complete with battery and solar ready to go out of the box.  

Batteries and solar are now cheap so that will have reduced the premium, but there's still a big chunk of extra money needed for the rest of the high-power electrical system including the propulsion motor and motor drive (thousands of pounds for a decent one), and especially the usual cocooned onboard generator which on its own costs more than a diesel engine.

 

There's also the fact that buyers of such boats tend to go for the high-end (more expensive) builders like Finesse and Braidbar, whose conventional boats are also expensive -- and then they choose luxury (expensive) fitout materials and equipment.

Edited March 30 by IanD

[blackrose]

2 hours ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Come on Blackrose I said it tongue in cheek. You  do seem a sensitive soul this morning.  I didn’t say we knew him I said I suspected we could tell him from Adam

 

 

 

Well judging from his reply the OP certainly didn't think you said it tongue in cheek either. Otherwise why would he have reacted in the way he did? So it wasn't just me who read it literally.

 

You say "Come on... " but how is anyone supposed to know you're joking if you don't make it clear? Most of us don't know each other, so without all the visual non-verbal cues inherent in language these misunderstandings happen on the internet. Perhaps next time add an emoji or something to soften those sort of comments a bit.

[Peugeot 106]

30 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Otherwise why would he have reacted in the way he did?

Could have been any of a number of reasons. I don’t pretend to be a mind reader.

 

Forgive me I definitely qualify as old school fart. Having read “Bartleby’s Emoji School” in this weeks Economist (OK Boomers! Your Questions Answered) I shall continue to steer well clear of the Emoji minefield. The few I have used at odd times on the forum  may well have caused untold despair and desertion of posters from the forum. Comments full of explanation marks are also as I understand it open to misinterpretation though ? . and ,  seem to be reasonably safe? 

 

I apologise, if that’s what you are asking, for I've only just got used to the idea that “lol” means lots of laughs. 

 

 

[Dunworkin]

I think that my take on all of this is, as expressed by the gentleman from Lowestoft…” you wonder why so many new people don’t stay“

[wakey_wake]

  

On 28/03/2026 at 20:22, phantom_iv said:

On 28/03/2026 at 20:17, Dunworkin said:

[...] im just nervous that this is not the time to be shelling out thousands when God knows what is storming down the track straight towards us…

You can use that argument quite effectively to convince yourself to not do anything ever

 

That line of argument is better used this way: "I see certain problems coming. What do I need to do to reduce the impact, so I can still get what I want?"

 

On 28/03/2026 at 21:48, Dunworkin said:

Just worries me that if the canal bubble really bursts and the network gets really bad, I don’t want to be part of a huge queue of people who can’t sell a narrowboat….i my be missing the point entirely, and my wife has said “it’s now or never” a hundred times. There again I suppose the decline would be gradual and not a cliff edge and we’d have time to react.

 

The canals have been in decline before. The 1960s seemed to be a bad time from what I've heard.

 

We had a thread recently "is a boat a good investment?", resounding "No!"

 

Another way to look at it is, if you don't buy a canal boat then what holidays will you buy instead? Cheap getaway to Ibiza, cruise ship around that Antarctic? The idea that boats are a cheaper way of living isn't always correct. The idea that they're a more expensive form of holidaying is also not always correct.

 

And size... after a few hires, our first boat was 43ft for two teenage kids, both parents, one grandparent and two dogs. I can't remember how we crammed in but it was great for all of us. You pay by foot of boat length for everything.

[Stroudwater1]

Yes we forget Netherton tunnel was shut for ages and had a considerable fracas created in the early 80s or late  70s?  Blisworth tunnel was closed for several years in the 80s. There have been major breeches too, Llangollen x2  Peak Forest more recently but still years ago Dutton etc 

 Whats very different though is the way canals are now used, the huge cost of anything capital project related now amongst much else.
 

 

[wakey_wake]

 

23 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

On 29/03/2026 at 13:28, Tonka said:

We are all another day nearer death

This year, every day I  feel I'm further away from it!

 

That's a neat trick. Care to share how it's done?

 

21 hours ago, Rob-M said:

22 hours ago, LadyG said:

Ive put him on ignore. As a newby he is making unpleasant posts on a family friendly [...]

You seem to be the only one making a fuss about it.

 

I'm glad someone said something. For the original remark to meet silence would imply that we're all OK with that - so count me in the (previously) silent (maj|min)ority.

 

I would have preferred both OP and LG express themselves better, but my point is that IMO silence (on either side) was not necessarily better than what was said.

 

1 hour ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Forgive me I definitely qualify as old school fart. Having read “Bartleby’s Emoji School” in this weeks Economist (OK Boomers! Your Questions Answered) I shall continue to steer well clear of the Emoji minefield.

 

When I were a lad on the 'net with a 2400 baud modem (shiny modern it was!), we didn't have emojis. 🙂

Now when I type 🙂 it tries to autocorrect me!

 

~~~~ join?

 

Gah. I type : - ) without the spaces and it autocorrects me in the editor.

 

I undo that, to say what I actually mean.

 

Then it autocorrects me again when I hit 'send'.

:-(

[David Mack]

2 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Yes we forget Netherton tunnel was shut for ages and had a considerable fracas created in the early 80s or late  70s?  Blisworth tunnel was closed for several years in the 80s.

Saddington and Preston Brook too around the same time I recall. And there was a significant roof fall in Wast Hill Tunnel which killed two bricklayers in 1979.

 

[cuthound]

55 minutes ago, wakey_wake said:

  

 

That line of argument is better used this way: "I see certain problems coming. What do I need to do to reduce the impact, so I can still get what I want?"

 

 

The canals have been in decline before. The 1960s seemed to be a bad time from what I've heard.

 

We had a thread recently "is a boat a good investment?", resounding "No!"

 

Another way to look at it is, if you don't buy a canal boat then what holidays will you buy instead? Cheap getaway to Ibiza, cruise ship around that Antarctic? The idea that boats are a cheaper way of living isn't always correct. The idea that they're a more expensive form of holidaying is also not always correct.

 

And size... after a few hires, our first boat was 43ft for two teenage kids, both parents, one grandparent and two dogs. I can't remember how we crammed in but it was great for all of us. You pay by foot of boat length for everything.

 

I started boating in the early 70's and the condition of the canals today hasn't quite matched that level of neglect yet 

 

However in many cases it is more visible today, for example the external framework holding balance beams on and the yellow 'CRT Aware' bags over faulty paddles.

[wakey_wake]

4 minutes ago, cuthound said:

I started boating in the early 70's and the condition of the canals today hasn't quite matched that level of neglect yet 

 

However in many cases it is more visible today, for example the external framework holding balance beams on and the yellow 'CRT Aware' bags over faulty paddles.

 

Do you think it is a different kind of neglect, or the same kind of neglect with a veneer of "we have to admit there is a problem, else we might have legal liability for an accident" ?

[cuthound]

1 minute ago, wakey_wake said:

 

Do you think it is a different kind of neglect, or the same kind of neglect with a veneer of "we have to admit there is a problem, else we might have legal liability for an accident" ?

 

Definitely a different kind of neglect.

 

In the early 70's signs of neglect were everywhere. Today it is more of a managed decline, where funds are focussed on the more popular routes.

[Alan de Enfield]

5 minutes ago, cuthound said:

I started boating in the early 70's and the condition of the canals today hasn't quite matched that level of neglect yet 

 

We have been boating on the canals for over 40 years, in the early days it was pretty dire in places, but OK in others, we saw a steady improvement into the 90's and then it all went over the edge, and like a snowball rolling down the mountain just got worse and worse (bigger and bigger)

By the time C&RT took over the whole network was tetering on the edge and for the last 15 years I think that pretty much the whole network is held together by string and sticky-backed plastic.

 

As a whole I'd consider in now worse than it was in the 70s/80s

 

Its now 5 years since we gave up and left the 'muddy ditch' as too much hard work and unrealibilty.

At least the sea gives you plenty of room to 'go around' problems.

[Rob-M]

The thing today is any issues is immediately all over social media and the Internet where as in the 70/80's you had to read stoppage notices posted on lock beams or noticeboards until the stoppage line recorded message became a thing.  Back then most boaters accepted having to fix things as part of boating and they knew how to fill a pound or slow a leaking gate, today a lot of boaters expect everything to be perfect.

[wakey_wake]

15 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Definitely a different kind of neglect.

In the early 70's signs of neglect were everywhere. Today it is more of a managed decline, where funds are focussed on the more popular routes.

Hmm. At first it sounds like top-heavy management, where money is sucked out by expensive people, to allocate the inadequate remaining funds in some way that suits their goals.

 

There would be obstacles of all sorts, including statutory, but what could a user buyout look like?

[cuthound]

27 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

We have been boating on the canals for over 40 years, in the early days it was pretty dire in places, but OK in others, we saw a steady improvement into the 90's and then it all went over the edge, and like a snowball rolling down the mountain just got worse and worse (bigger and bigger)

By the time C&RT took over the whole network was tetering on the edge and for the last 15 years I think that pretty much the whole network is held together by string and sticky-backed plastic.

 

As a whole I'd consider in now worse than it was in the 70s/80s

 

Its now 5 years since we gave up and left the 'muddy ditch' as too much hard work and unrealibilty.

At least the sea gives you plenty of room to 'go around' problems.

 

Back in the early 70's a Tifor winch and a weighted tarpaulin were considered essential equipment to get you through some locks.

 

 We still haven't reached that state yet.

 

 

 

9 minutes ago, wakey_wake said:

Hmm. At first it sounds like top-heavy management, where money is sucked out by expensive people, to allocate the inadequate remaining funds in some way that suits their goals.

 

There would be obstacles of all sorts, including statutory, but what could a user buyout look like?

 

Very expensive!

 

The canals have been starved of sufficient government money for the last 30 years and now it is beginning to show.

 

Unless the government suddenly agrees to proper funding, then the most viable option would be to cut off the most expensive to maintain and little used parts of the network, thus concentrating the limited funds where they will do the most good as well as increasing revenue by increasing licence fees for boating, water abstraction and drainage.

 

 

Edited March 30 by cuthound
To add spaces between merged posts

[mrsmelly]

36 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I started boating in the early 70's and the condition of the canals today hasn't quite matched that level of neglect yet 

 

However in many cases it is more visible today, for example the external framework holding balance beams on and the yellow 'CRT Aware' bags over faulty paddles.

Everything has declined since the 70s. I moved onto my first full time live aboard in 1973, at the time there were around c150 working boats all painted grey and in mainly good order ready to deploy. Look at the farce that has faced that lot in recent weeks!! Successive governments of all colours have overseen the decline. The 80s and 90s were great inland but declined steadily since the turn of the century 😕