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Yesterday we left Manchester Piccadilly Basin and headed for The Rose Of Lancaster, several times on the way I had to get down the weed hatch to remove plastic bags and various items of clothing. Then I got to lock 66, which I think was the lock where a boat had some problems with youths a week or so ago, and my engine stopped instantly. I went down the hatch again only to find a blue nylon rope and some kind of material had completely wrapped itself around the prop . After about half an hour of trying to get this stuff off, a young guy on a bike approached me with a junior hacksaw and asked if it would be useful, I thanked him and said I'd give it a try. He then took off saying he hoped it would help and to hang onto it. I gave it a try but I was really struggling to get anywhere. I decided to ring Canal and River Rescue and put the kettle on. After a while I rang them back and the engineer was still on another job and they couldn't say how long he would be. It was decided to pull the boat into the next lock and tie up to the boat we were travelling with. On pulling the boat, I became grounded and couldn't move, we didn't want to risk the other boat getting grounded by backing out of the lock and at this point three young lads who were fishing saw me struggling with the rope and asked if they could help. They grabbed the front rope and back ropes with me on the centre rope and between us we managed to get the boat free and into the lock. I would like to say to anyone who is contemplating this journey, the amount of rubbish in the canal from Manchester to The Rose of Lancaster is ridiculous however the locals were very friendly and very helpful.

It's when he uploads it to pootube that you've got a problem

Do not run the engine with low oil pressure. It will cost you ten times more than identifying and fixing the problem. If the oil has gone grey it's not diesel fuel in the oil, it's water.

The British cycling organisation is a dick.

or: First past the post "hasn't" been working for centuries?

Will you be able to cure my canalcoholism?

I read that very different!

Here's my pride and joy If you're on the Union or Forth&Clyde say hello and maybe give it (and the ugly git on the right steering it) a wide berth for the next couple of months

Won't that pick up a lot of weed up front?

Having been involved in the narrow boat part of this series, I was duly impressed with the attention to detail and the demand to get facts right or as near correct as is possible. I do hope the same diligence has been used for the other chapters. Well done BBC.

The problem is all too often that a 1.5m space would indeed be available if motorists were prepared to wait, instead of squeezing past to rush headlong to the next red traffic light!

The safeshore ones with LED status monitor should be pretty decent, as Tony says Sterling do an ABYC standard one but I don't know if they have an LED status monitor, if not I'd rather go with one that does. Personally I'd only mandate an isolation transformer over a GI for a narrowboat where the boat will be left unattended on shoreline for months on end, with no one to keep an eye on the GI status LEDs. As for the OP, maybe there's a reasonably knowledgeable friend/neighbour that could help install a galvanic isolator if not confident to do the job herself, that said the safeshore helpline seems to be pretty good by all accounts, maybe worth phoning them up and see what they say? Something worth mentioning in passing is that a boat built from poor quality steel is going to be more vulnerable to rust, and an iso transformer or GI isn't a cure-all for that.

The Sterling ones comply with the ABYC specs I believe, and as the best specification around I’d only consider one which does.

Vehicles like buses, huge great brutish SUV's, stupidly wide luxury cars Like Audi A6's , in fact all cars are getting wider and wider, ridiculousely wide, with big wide threatening tyres and wheels half stickin out, all lumbering around with headlights blazing in broad sunny day light whilst the country lanes, most B roads and many A road and single cabbage-ways don't-can't get any wider, ridiculous and absurd. Bad for both cyclists and pedestrians alike. Especially the pedestrian who wander about willy-nilly glued to their mobile phone-tablet thingy.

Normally, I cycle ~1m out from the kerb - roughly the line taken by a car's near side wheels. Occasionally, I move to the middle and block anyone from overtaking too close, for example at pinch points. My safety is more important than a few seconds of someone's time.

Are we allowed to approach him about ones that are so intensely irritating that they need taking down?

Provide adequate ventilation through out the boat.

There is a some truth and wisdom in what you say, but boaters and fisherman are already subject to many rules whilst cyclists, the fastest and fastest growing section of canal users, are subject to no rules at all and can travel as fast as they wish, in large groups, and pass as close to pedestrians as they wish. Boaters and fishermen generally agree (often begrudgingly) to share the canals whist some cyclists believe they have right of way. Reluctantly I feel this needs to be controlled. The media is always hysterical, thats what they do, but there is a growing problem that does need to be addressed. ...............Dave

Yes quite. As you and I both know if we all start using the term " season " when there clearly isn't one as boating is and always was a 365 day per year persuit the powers that be would love to close down for six months and call it the closed season. Winter boating is way better than summer and many of us don't want to lose it. A much more sensible approach would be a maintainance programme over the full twelve months printed 12 months before to give hire companies chance to alter bookings. Hire companies do manage bookings through the winter anyway. If work was done in better warmer weather many aspects could be done to a greater standard and in a shorter timescale anyway. Of course there are always going to be emergency stoppages at whatever time of year.

perhaps you do not understand the UK parliamentary system? Her Majesty's Opposition and the House of Lords do indeed 'get a say'. First past the post has been working for centuries.

Is it raw water cooled ? if yes is the water pump bolted to the engine & driven from the motor rather than by 'V' belt, if it is, it could be the pump seal allowing water into the inner motor through the driveshaft there is a seal on the pump where the drive for it protrudes from the pump body

Not quite, but Close - 2017 General Election proportion of all votes cast :- Conservative - 42.4%. Labour - 40.0%. Lib Dem - 7.4%. Others - 10.2%.

Yes but Skipton is in Yorkshire

Here here for this topic! I have had 30 years as a boater, owned my own boat that some of you would call a yogurt pot, i sold my boat and now i hire, i know the rules of the river/canal and yes i could afford to buy a boat again but mine and my wife's job dictates otherwise at the moment. We have had the comments, the looks, the ignoring and the private owner steering towards us and you know what? I steer right back at them because number 1 it aint my boat and number 2 it's their no claims bonus up the swannie and number 3 i won't be intimidated by an idiot. I can not believe with all the troubles in the world today that so called grown up people want to behave in this way. we all know the speed limits and what to do when passing moored boats and we all know that it is not just hirers that break the rules, to the culprit (and they know who they are) you are a disgrace and shame on you! There, rant over.

Stop blubbering.