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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/02/16 in all areas

  1. Personally, I have seen no evidence to suggest that CRT are not prioritising boating; their response to incidents in the North last year such as breaches, and this year to repair flood damage (which they have publicly declared is a current priority), has not seemed to lack urgency. Perhaps there is evidence of different priorities elsewhere, but I have found the CRT North West region to be communicative with boaters and issues raised have been addressed. To be fair, the way some boaters speak to the CRT representatives at meetings I wouldn't blame them if they had closed their ears to them. The main contention that I am aware of is against increased enforcement and this is from the group who want to use the canals on their terms and not within the rules. As some have said, I think the boating community have a problem speaking with a coherent voice as people have different agendas.
    6 points
  2. As usual I am out on a limb on this one. If I were in charge of CRT (now there is a terrifying thought for some of you) I am afraid for the first few years I would be doing more or less what CRT are doing. They have been charged as I understand it with making the system accessible as a national leisure resource. They know boaters are committed to the canals and will keep paying a license. However many of the rest of the nation aren't terribly aware of canals and their value. I would try to spread the message and get more people aware and using the canals in the early years. The advantages of this are a lever with government when they are trying to cut funding (as they undoubtedly will as years go by) more people realising they can use and enjoy the canals the more "friends" (OK I would prefer a membership system but friends = an income stream however small) As rgreg points out in #45 whilst not doing everything boaters want (how could they you couldn't get boaters to agree what needed to be done) they certainly aren't walking away from breaches etc. Having spread the appeal of the canals to a wider "audience" they can then start to deal with things on a more equal basis. I firmly believe that it is possible to have a canal system which is "all things to all men" (and women). There are ways to make the towpath usable to dog walkers, families cyclists and fishermen. The canal of course can be maintained and who knows even improved. It will be even more unpopular than my views above when I say I believe the enforcement process is part of the process I am outlining. It isn't possible to manage a system as large as the canals without control of ALL users which I think will come eventually. Currently boaters are the ones which are registered and therefore easy to target. Discipline s required from the users of any organisation. Right I have got my tin hat on, sandbags out to shield from the blast and flame proof overalls. I will retire to the bunker.
    2 points
  3. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  4. Welcome to the forum. No one thinks you shouldn't be here, I promise! Don't be put off by the odd post that seems a bit brusque. I don't know much more about this power generation business than you, but from what I understand and what others are saying, it does sound as if you might be struggling to power your TV and console 5 hours a day on top of the electricity that's already needed for lights, pumps and whatnot. I don't think it's the number of batteries that's your issue, but your ability to charge them back up after using 1000Wh+ of power every evening. Obviously you're not seeing this as so much of a lifestyle change that you want to give up your gaming (which is fair enough), but I wonder if switching to a handheld console might be a compromise you could live with - even if it's just during the winter months when solar power's not available? You could even be charging it up during the day at work or wherever. During the summer you might have much less of an issue - a 250W solar panel might well give you the 1000Wh a day or so you need for gaming, for instance.
    1 point
  5. So we all were. Didn’t you believe such as we existed? Of course, movement was under my control, and exit/entry times were restricted by tides as well, but there was truly never an issue. Boats did not need to cruise the canal either – they could choose to trip up or down the Thames, and when entering the Thames Locks on their return they just needed to explain to the lock-keeper that they were going straight into my dock. Of course the situation you postulate could happen [and doubtless does], but the same applies to portable unpowered craft, and to boats using slipways, or moored in backwaters. If caught, unlicensed boats would be subject to prosecution regardless of where they went subsequently.
    1 point
  6. What you do is use the device that CRT use to make sure the marina moorers have licence in the first place, but it will be used to make sure people don't leave the marina without a license. It will cost nothing to CRT to work it this way. CRT rely on the T&C's of the marina. in short, now, you can read in the NAA; the marina cannot deal with boats that do not have a licence. The marina, to protect the contract obligations, will do the work for CRT and make sure all the moored boats have a licence. Any boater there that feels they don't won't to buy one will be shown the proverbial door and kicked out onto CRT territory.
    1 point
  7. Yet again you expose your appalling ignorance of the real world.........the moorings I am talking about are not on a CRT waterway
    1 point
  8. The boat community is a very broad church, with room for everyone and a lot of love to give. Unless you run a generator (or an engine while moored) outside hours. It would be very boring if everyone was the same; some boats are very posh, others are very tatty. Some rarely or never move, others cover thousands of miles a year. Some use hardly any electricity, and some have a 32" TV running for hours on end. Most people on here are very helpful, and a lot are very knowledgeable about the various technical aspects of running a boat and will help you work out a viable solution. Please answer the various questions they'll need to ask to help them work out what that solution might be. Here are some questions which I think the experts may need answers to: How much will you have the use of a shoreline? If you're plugged into one of those in the evenings you can zap aliens or whatever to your heart's content. Do you have an outboard or inboard engine? Petrol or diesel? How is your boat heated? How much do you think you'll be cruising about? If one of your friends is more into boating than gaming they can be steering you down the canal with the engine+inverter generating power for the rest of you to enjoy a gaming cruise. If you won't have a shoreline, what hours will you have available to charge the batteries up? Can you moor up somewhere remote to run your generator without it annoying neighbouring boaters too much? Maybe somewhere so ugly and noisy that no-one else wants to moor near there? Under a motorway bridge? If you're concentrating on a video game with headphones on you won't care about the scenery.
    1 point
  9. You haven't read as much as you make out.
    1 point
  10. Higgs is promoting a principle, wherein holding a boat licence where not needed is based on free choice. Boats on the moorings I used to run had always been accepted by BW as needing no licences; a few boats maintained year-round licences so they could go on trips whenever the tide allowed and the impulse took them; some took out short-term licences when they wished to go cruising, others never bought a licence because they were fitting their boats out and were not in a position to go cruising – or had no wish to do so even if able. No real basis for confusion, MtB.
    1 point
  11. Why would I wade through 400+ posts before commenting? No-one else does!
    1 point
  12. some of these posts are really helpful guys but.. i'm getting the impression that due to my lack of knowledge on this subject i should'nt be here ? i just want to learn and the people helping me do that i thank you muchly (: x
    1 point
  13. Generators should not be run before 8am or after 8pm. There are advantages of living on land.
    1 point
  14. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  15. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  16. ordinary fenders between tyre and boat that can roll.
    1 point
  17. Utter tosh. Saying something for the sake of saying it. Thanks to people like yourself, we will see the canal system deteriorate into "Canal and river trust present a natural theme park winding its way through villages and cuttings". Oh well.
    1 point
  18. This is my impression too. as I find them, the waterways are in as good a general condition as they've ever been. Yes there are a mountain of problems but I reckon that mountain is smaller now than its ever been since the sixties. The problem with fixing stuff and making the cut ever easier to navigate, is that it raises boaters' expectations. No matter how easy it becomes to navigate the system there will always be demands for it to be made even easier.
    1 point
  19. CRT should just stick a load of anti-freeze into the cuts. That should do the job quite nicely.
    1 point
  20. You WILL kick yourself...! Ok here goes: "What do you call a man in a swimming pool with no arms, no legs, no head and no body?" Dick, obviously!! D:
    1 point
  21. Korrect! Now, What do you call a man in a swimming pool with no arms, no legs, no head and no body?
    1 point
  22. What nonsense we boaters can spout. Is this about only boaters can use the canal system or deserve to? It is very tribal to think only the group you belong to is contributing enough and deserve to use the canals. The fact is the boaters license is only a proportion of CRT's income of around 30% less depending on how you work it out. I am not saying boating is subsidised but that there are other significant sources of income. CRT do receive income from angling clubs and I know that some of those clubs also contribute volunteer labour to help improve towpaths from time to time. The canal system is a National resource it doesn't just belong to boaters and we should be happy to share.
    1 point
  23. My father in law ran a fencing business and I tore my hair out at the lack of debtor chasing, creditor control. I did spend a bit of time trying to set out the bookkeeping but when you're dealing with folks who get their hands dirty doing the work its incredibility difficult persuading them that when they take a tenner, legitimately, out of the petty cash tin they have to first leave an IOU then come back with a receipt and what they've spent it on. To be clear I consider my clean accountants hands infinitely inferior to those with a manual skill. I can help their business but my skill only kicks in once someone has got their hands dirty
    1 point
  24. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  25. Correct. There's no such thing as right of way (RoW ) in navigation. Instead, the vessel we would associate with having RoW in a traffic situation becomes the Stand On Vessel. This ensures both parties know what to expect and, if they both do what's expected, all will be well. If you're Stand On Vessel and it becomes clear that there will be a collision if you both keep doing what your doing, the Stand On Vessel is also expected to alter course and/or speed to avoid it. Far more sensible really and a lot of road accidents could be avoided if no-one thought Right of Way was an inalienable right they should fight and, if necessary, die for.
    1 point
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