Jump to content

CRT facilities, so few of them

Ricco1

By Ricco1
in General Boating

 Share

Featured Posts

Ricco1 Rising Star

Ricco1

Posted
Posted

I'm currently at Bosley on the Macclesfield. Very nice it is too. CRT have a block here with all the facilities you might need. Can't fault it at all.

 

But...

 

When I start cruising north I have to go to Marple to be able to empty my cassette toilet. That's probably, I'm guessing, around 15-20 miles. OK there is a public toilet at Higher Poynton but that's not CRT.

 

I'd guess that many continuous cruisers do not belt around all over the place. That's putting it mildly :)

 

So I'm wondering a couple of things:

 

1/ Why are there so few CRT facilities? Is 20 miles with nothing typical?

 

2/ I'd imagine cassette toilets are regularly emptied behind hedges at night. Is that so?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FadeToScarlet Veteran

FadeToScarlet

Posted
Posted

I'm currently at Bosley on the Macclesfield. Very nice it is too. CRT have a block here with all the facilities you might need. Can't fault it at all.

 

But...

 

When I start cruising north I have to go to Marple to be able to empty my cassette toilet. That's probably, I'm guessing, around 15-20 miles. OK there is a public toilet at Higher Poynton but that's not CRT.

 

I'd guess that many continuous cruisers do not belt around all over the place. That's putting it mildly :)

 

So I'm wondering a couple of things:

 

1/ Why are there so few CRT facilities? Is 20 miles with nothing typical?

 

2/ I'd imagine cassette toilets are regularly emptied behind hedges at night. Is that so?

 

If you think that's not many facilities, come to the Middle Level.....

 

....even on the more populated Great Ouse, facilities are still few and far between. There is one pump-out station here in Cambridge, but if that breaks- which it does frequently- the nearest alternative is 19 miles away. Same with cassette toilet emptying and water points.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Timleech Veteran II

Timleech

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm currently at Bosley on the Macclesfield. Very nice it is too. CRT have a block here with all the facilities you might need. Can't fault it at all.

 

But...

 

When I start cruising north I have to go to Marple to be able to empty my cassette toilet. That's probably, I'm guessing, around 15-20 miles. OK there is a public toilet at Higher Poynton but that's not CRT.

 

I'd guess that many continuous cruisers do not belt around all over the place. That's putting it mildly smile.png

 

So I'm wondering a couple of things:

 

1/ Why are there so few CRT facilities? Is 20 miles with nothing typical?

 

2/ I'd imagine cassette toilets are regularly emptied behind hedges at night. Is that so?

 

How often do you need to empty your toilet? Do you expect elsan points every couple of miles?

 

I have no idea what an average distance is, but 20 miles doesn't seem totally unreasonable to me. I doubt that Poynton-Marple is that far anyway, I used to cycle it easily on the towpath when we lived in Poynton, admittedly I was a fairly fit young man then.

 

Edit - OK, you did say Bosley to Marple which is 16 miles but there are facilities at Higher Poynton.

 

Tim

Edited by Timleech
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ricco1 Rising Star

Ricco1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well I need to empty my cassette every 5-6 days, and that's just me on the boat. Divide the days by 2 for a couple.

 

I was planning on a slow journey, a week or two in each place en route to Marple. I'm in no hurry to get anywhere. A spare cassette seems the obvious starting point but even so, that will be woefully insufficient.

 

Those continuous cruisers who don't 'bridge hop' but make a slow steady journey, as allowed under the rules, who don't have a pump out toilet, what do they do with their 'stuff'?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Timleech Veteran II

Timleech

Posted
Posted

Well I need to empty my cassette every 5-6 days, and that's just me on the boat. Divide the days by 2 for a couple.

 

I was planning on a slow journey, a week or two in each place en route to Marple. I'm in no hurry to get anywhere. A spare cassette seems the obvious starting point but even so, that will be woefully insufficient.

 

Those continuous cruisers who don't 'bridge hop' but make a slow steady journey, as allowed under the rules, who don't have a pump out toilet, what do they do with their 'stuff'?

 

A bit of planning around where they can empty, as well as the spare cassette. Don't expect everything on a plate to suit you, life's not like that.

 

Tim

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Starcoaster Veteran

Starcoaster

Posted
Posted

Have spare cassettes, plan their big jumps for times when they want to move a few days running, etc.

The system is set up how it is; that won't change, and is not new. You have to work within it, plan your journeys or moves, and work out how to manage traversing the places where there are gaps between elsans, or water points, or rubbish points, or shops, or whatever, rather than expecting the system to bend to suit your cruising pattern! There is much more rural canal with not many facilities for long-ish distances than there is 'hub' canal with two elsans within a mile of each other!

 

Boating makes you think about things differently, and moderate your plans and expectations to make sure you can fulfil your needs. This is something you have to account for. Water doesn't just come out of the tap endlessly unless you live in a house, and your bog is no longer 'flush and forget.' It is what it is, you have to make it work or throw in the towel!

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well I need to empty my cassette every 5-6 days, and that's just me on the boat. Divide the days by 2 for a couple.

 

I was planning on a slow journey, a week or two in each place en route to Marple. I'm in no hurry to get anywhere. A spare cassette seems the obvious starting point but even so, that will be woefully insufficient.

 

Those continuous cruisers who don't 'bridge hop' but make a slow steady journey, as allowed under the rules, who don't have a pump out toilet, what do they do with their 'stuff'?

 

Just buy another cassette and don't come across as stupid.. Edited by The Dog House
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ricco1 Rising Star

Ricco1

Posted
  • Author
Posted

OK, thanks.

 

It's something I hadn't thought about too much before I started living aboard. I've already learned to economise with electricity and water. I've got a motorbike on the back, I've identified several points where I can get it off the towpath so shops are not a problem. The toilet though, at least for now, is!

 

I guess what I can do is stay at the various places I had in mind and do return journeys to the elsan points, having bought a spare. Saves running the engine without load I guess!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Starcoaster Veteran

Starcoaster

Posted
Posted

I can only go nine days without having run out of bog provision, and also, water in the water tank, which works out neatly. So the max time I can stay anywhere is nine days, or less if I am more than a day from the next facilities. Not counting when I am on a paid-for mooring with all bells and whistles!

 

Spare cassettes are awesome. I also keep a couple of collapsible water containers that can each hold 20 litres, and use these for the cold water part of washing up rather than draining the tank. When I fill the water tank, I fill these, the rinse tank of the bog, the washing up bowl, and everything else I might need for water for that day so I get the max out of the tank water I take on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Neil2 Veteran

Neil2

Posted
Posted

Maybe you are more "regular" than the rest of us, but we've found on extended cruises that one spare cassette is fine for two people. A solo boater should have no trouble at all.

 

You can of course empty a cassette down a nearby toilet but make sure it is connected to a public sewer first.

 

Believe me, compared to travelling by road, the canals are very well provided as far as sanitary facilities goes, though the quality often leaves a lot to be desired.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AndrewIC Rising Star

AndrewIC

Posted
Posted

Buy a spare cassette. Or two. We reckon on ~6 person-days for a 20 litre cassette before it becomes too full to be, erm, usable for all requirements, so a solo boater should be able to manage a fortnight easily with the same setup, more if you go to the pub. Or the supermarket. Or anywhere else with a bog! Plan ahead. Sometimes you will be emptying a cassette only half full half because you will need the capacity later, but so what, it's free.

 

Don't empty it into the cut, or behind a hedge, or anywhere else antisocial!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Two people on our boat, two cassettes normally equals two to three days. The only place I use other than the boat is a CRT sani station as they are spotless normally.

 

Some may chose to use pubs, bus station and fast food restaurant toilets to eek a bit of space out in their toilets but that's not for us thakyou.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

So would you happily walk into anywhere that had a toilet, say, a supermarket, petrol station, pub, half staggering under the weight of a full cassette. Really, without buying anything and/ or asking first?

 

No, where was that suggested?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.