Leaderboard

The Moonraker is only good if you are Moored

Spotted this on tweeeeter, looks like Daniels boat?

Aint it? My boat is more important to me than it was when I also had an house. But that won't make my boat any more important to you or your's to mine. However, I will suggest my boat is perhaps much more important to me than yours might be to you because if mine sinks in a lock I'm in trouble.

All that is fine and I'm not having a go at you for being a slowcoach! My only thought is that I slightly resent this thing that one sees quite often these days, which is that "it's my home" and therefore more important than someone's boat that isn't a live-board. I don't see why your boat being your home makes it more important / valuable / delicate than my boat, which is only my "home" for the duration of my leisure time and holidays. Again, not having a "go" at you personally, it's just a proliferating trend that I rather dislike because it is yet another "us and them" divisive thing.

But if you go to the Co-op website you'll find yourself at co-operative (dot) coop! https://www.co-operative.coop/

Start here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/business-and-trade/boating-business/application-process-and-fees Richard

Yes, its baffling isn't it!

You have virtualy no hope of properly complying with all the necessary. If you don't comply the boat will not be insured and if Johnny hirer sinks it you will not only lose the boat but get a huge bill for recovering it. Forget it.

Mercury with a built in amplifier, available on ebay for around £20.

I lived in one of these outside a static caravan in Cornwall, it was very warm and cosy, and the owners weren't there for six months, so I used to sneak into the caravan and eat their chocolate hobnobs

Doesn't it smoke during any other liturgical seasons?

Or even the need to open the lock gates - just steer around the lock!

Let's just be very thankful that one of the bits of the GU most in need of dredging is actually getting some. I have no idea about value for money of the particular contract, but at least money is being thrown at something that desperately needed doing.

Whilst keeping an eye on the coolant level. It won't cool the engine very well if most of it is inside the calorifier.

We had two of them running on the NZ LPG mix (approximately 60% propane 40% butane) Lighting them after any prolonged shutdown was always a slow process. Ten minutes or more of holding down the top button then pushing the bottom button. After a while you would at least get a pop but several more attempts whould be required to get the top button to latch. I put it down to that, Ignition will not occur until every last vestige of air is eliminated from the supply pipework and secondly the heat sensing latch deteriorates with age requiring a longer heating period. Good luck. One 20yr old fridge had got to the stage when we doubted that it would ever light. Time then for a solar power installation.

No they are dire. There should be an option to not have them. I'm sick of seeing the same images taking up my desktop space. Also the poll should have another option - "I'd rather eat a bowl of scotch bonnet chillis than watch another preselected video or see the stills"

So what is taught for locks where there are only gate paddles and no ground paddles? Take the car instead? Wait for heavy rain?

That looks really good. It's not as though you were looking for a particularly complex paintjob. The original guy really ought to have been able to deliver that in the promised timescales.

You pride and joy in the lock, your rules. I'll offer to wind paddles, but only if you say so. My P&J in the lock, my rules. Offers of help usually accepted, but you check with me before you wind, please. Although I did offer a word of friendly advice this summer, about not leaving the windlass on the spindle, to the self-confessed novice crew of the boat which had been craned in about 200 yards away and who were doing their first lock ever. Seemed to be well received.

Gulper

Those were my thoughts too. I'm no supporter of the Tory Party, but I don't believe that a Policemans lot would have been a happier one with a Labour government. They can tell us it would have been, but it probably wouldn't, and we will never know.

Yes of course they learn. The question is about the balance between learning and safety. The same balance that needs to be struck with a "better safe than sorry" mentality. Distractions cause accidents. Copilot? Co-pilot? You're the expert but I thought words were generally hyphenated when there was a clash of sounds such as "co-operative" rather than "cooperative" (the shop).

The only times I have asked a fellow boater to do something different is if I see a windlass left on the paddle. This makes me really nervous as if the ratchet slips the windlass could go anywhere and cause lots of damage if it hit someone. I don't rant and rave though but from a safe distance explain the possible consequences and I think the other person usually thanks me as they hadn't thought of that. If they still leave the windlass on the paddle gear, I just stand well back :-) haggis

Same here. I'm not convinced they do much but still have them fitted. I expect man has fitted them to his boats since Jesus was about.... Anode Domini.

I think you'll be fine. You'll probably need to plan a little, such as staying at places where you can access an Aldi or similar, rather than shopping at the Co Op. Get a decent array of solar panels, you'll recoup the cost in 3 years. If something breaks don't panic and call in an expensive engineer, get on here for free help, have a go, most things are possible with patience. Maybe you can reduce coal costs with a little wood from around the towpath? Take advantage of free resources. I currently have 10kg of under ripe pears in dark storage, and 5kg of plums. Not stolen, simply harvested from land on the offside that's either public, CRT or owned by someone who doesn't care.

I'm glad to see this, as its not far off my income/expediture budget, I only splash out on clothes when I have "nothing to wear". I pretty much eat and drink what I like, that being a pleasure, I can always trim back a bit if I am over budget for the month. When [eventually] I am liveaboard, I will eat simply, [if not moored outside Sainsbury]. Fresh fruit and veg will keep for ages if stored properly. I have done a bit of crofting and offshore sailing, and its surprising how well you can eat, if you are too busy to plan your next trip to Tesco. You never starve, but always seem to run out of lemons for the G&T

The Sad Passing of Common Sense Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair, and maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children He declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Panadol, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by three stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I'm A Victim. Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

A very similar incident happened to me when I was skippering a passenger boat through a lock on the Medway. Half a dozen youths boarded the boat and started going through lockers etc. When I asked them to leave one little darling threatened to break my jaw for me! Fortunately they did leave without violence. However when I tried to get through to the police they were fairly useless - the 101 number just cut me off and the Kent marine police eventually said that they couldn't do anything about that part of the river because another lock was under repair and they couldn't get their boat through. Two thoughts about community service and national service: 1. I am also a magistrate and if someone is convicted of an offence then they may well get community service. However to make it compulsory for all kids regardless of behaviour is probably wrong - my own kids have plenty going on in their lives doing GCSEs etc without picking up other people's litter; and 2. The armed forces have no desire to have national service back - why would they want to become babysitters for tens of thousands of teenagers who are there because they have to be there, rather than training highly motivated volunteers who want a career? We should always punish criminal behaviour when we catch it but I don't think there is anything to be gained by treating whole generations as if they were criminals.

I had to smile when I read this post. When I was a child myself I had children and my sister used to say " Don't expect me to babysit you are barmy having kids this young " she was a " Career " woman and if you count finance as a major thing in life she did well. At age 39 she had her first and only child and my oh my what a tune changer that was I was back to freedom at a relatively young age and she was screwed till her lad left home when she was sixty

There are lots and lots of moorings but maybe not exactly where you might want to be. You don't need a residential mooring, many people live on leisure moorings but this means no postal address and you might need to keep a lowish profile and not upset your land based neighbours. The other option is to "continuously cruise" which means moving on at least every 14 days. If you just go up and down your favourite 5 mile stretch you will soon get into big trouble. If you travel all over the country life will be wonderful. If you want to travel just a little bit more than 5 miles then you can spend the rest of your life worrying, protesting, and trying to establish just how far is far enough. ................Dave