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Actually, I think it's the original premise that's wrong - most of us, CCers or home moorers, pay our licences and don't really worry too much about those who don't. I've never heard anyone, in thirty years of boating, kick off about unlicensed boaters though I have heard loads of moaning about dredging, lousy mooring practices, bust facilities, broken locks and thoughtless driving. It's one of those nonsense subjects that raises the hackles of about three people who make a lot of noise. The rest of us just quietly get on pottering about.

There are, in reality only two classifications of boaters, those with, and those without a home mooring. There are some 31,000 boats licenced with C&RT, of which approx. 3,500 have no home mooring, and, 27,500 have a home mooring. Your figures show that there were 232 licence evaders amongst the population of ‘no home moorers’, and 545 licence evaders amongst the population of 'home moorers'. This shows that indeed the ‘non-home moorers’ have a licence evasion rate of 15.6% whilst the ‘home-moorers’ have an evasion rate of 1.98%. Say again - who are the ‘baddies’ ?

It included 7 pictures of BW vessels moored on lock landings and visitor moorings(and one IN a lock), when they were saying there was congestion everywhere.

I couldn't give two monkeys if they have a home mooring or not, you pay your licence, end of. Nit pick away.

I dont mind dogs in cafes and pubs....but I do mind if they are not under control. Yes, I dont think dogs are too detrimental to health, and we never died owning them....but they need to be behaved in public places....and that goes for children as well!!!

No, I'm a muppet.

I've never seen flexible rubber mounts on these marine engines, but they are-were available, part no 366-00111. I have seen them on an SR2 generator engine and as far as I can remember they looked quite squat and looked very hard rubber, I doubt if they made much difference to any vibration. I doubt if the more modern adjustable rubber mountings would stand the pounding of an SR for very long. Ford Granada propshaft doughnuts make excellent flexible couplings and much cheaper than fancy marine ones.

Yes and that is a good thing, different plans different type of boats similar scores, suggest to me a good scoring scheme that gives everyone a chance.

All this about licences is all very well, but isn't half the cause of complaints from some quarters the fact that SOME CCers abuse the system by actually CMing? In those cases not only is a licence fee being avoided but also the cost of a mooring of whatever sort. George

yes in my case i went for dinner in mercia then returned to the same place as i had 3 days left there but they came back and logged me which in their eyes was 17 days lol but as i said i got it sorted in the end and note removed.

You need your head examined

Pleading the fifth.............. I know. But it's been that way for 6 years with no ill effect.

i have only ever had one overstay notice and that was in error which steve cropper removed from my notes, anything else you would like to know? please get your facts right before throwing stones eh

Go on, I'll bite, exactly how long were you moored outside Mercia marina mid October to start of November. ...??? .....and you still get more overstay notices than me

For the record this was the fleet of new build hire boats from Isaac Pimblotts as delivered to Hillmorton in the early 1970's:

Whilst looking for something else I came across this in an Austin Vehicle website. http://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/23rd-may-1958/41/new-7-tonnei-n-austin-exhibition I had heard talk about this before but mainly as a push tug operation on the BCN involving delivery between two factories. This appears different?

would that make you a Continuous Moorer

Given that a successful Magistrates Court prosecution under the General Canal Byelaws could serve as a prelude to C&RT recovering, through the County Courts and at zero cost, all outstanding licence fees from the owner of every unlicensed boat recorded as being on their waters, one has to hope that the opportunity to recover such a sizeable sum was not passed up.

The (2017) scores are in! (Now where have we heard that before? ) I still reckon there should be a prize for coming second last. I mean any pillock can come last (no offence intended Laurie!) but to come second last require great skill and judgement.

I'd like to know who was speeding? Should be named and shamed. Ha ha. I wonder if they can hold the title for disqualification ?

My experience on the Ribble Link is the same. Preston Docks Harbourmaster monitors CH 14. The nearest Coastguard station is Holyhead on Anglesey which has relay masts at Liverpool Bay and on the Fylde Coast, however, Savick Brook is in the shadow of both of them. Tarleton Lock on the River Douglas (L & L Rufford Branch) is supposed to monitor CH 74 around high tide but I've never heard a squeak on CH 74 in the area. To be legal, the answer is 'yes'. I would go ahead and do the course anyway. You'll learn a lot more than how to press the PTT button !

Each year the scoring/point system changes, so not sure if finding the highest points gained would prove the best ever winner A highest score of 700 one year might not be comparable with a highest score of 500 another year. (I think) I understand it changes each year to improve fairness and to encourage the reworking or replanning of successful routes, and therefore encourage more and different parts of the BCN to be explored. But it would be interesting to have some figures from over the past 50 years. And just to see names of boats too. Which has competed the most times etc see which winner had the biggest lead between them and second? see how often Tawny's come first and Clarries's come last?

the fact is there are more evaders on home moorings than CCrs despite you nit picking the percentages, of course the CCrs percentage will be higher because there are fewer of them.

I am moored on non CRT water, I don't have to have a licence but I do - so I can go on CRT waters when I like. I pay to be moored on that water. It's private, there are only 8 boats. But to be honest I wouldn't say if I didn't have a licence I was evading it. I don't legally need it?

Not only dogs for egos, although dogs carried in hand bags seems to be on the increase, there are the aggressive dogs that some people breed and keep for sport and fighting. Still it all adds to the joys of towpath walking. Friendly, or not so friendly, dogs; not so friendly geese or swans, dive bombing land gulls and rogue cyclists are all part of the challenge.

I cannot, in all honesty, see what difference all the gobble de gook figures make. Bottom line is that there are a significant number of people on the canals scamming the system at the expense at the expense of those that don't.

So from your figures 6.6% of CC and 5.1% of marina dwellers are unlicenced. Seems as usual marina dwellers are the good guys. Did you mean evaders? That's 1/3 of the total number of boats on the canal. Also figures have changed.... To help your case? Still makes it 6.5% so still less

An ecofan is your friend.

Isn't that why the public are not allowed to carry guns and knives, buy high %age hydrogen peroxide or take certain items on aeroplanes?

True, but then Shardlow is probably 3 to 4 days from our mooring so we might just get to Kneadby in a weeks holiday, then we can't go any further north, and we'd have to leave her there till we could manage another weeks holiday. This is why we decided not to worry about a go anywhere boat. That and the fact we wanted her as a holiday boat to go with friends and their children. 12 berths was more important to us than being able to do the northern canals! We don't regret it at all, and when we finally retire we can either change her for a smaller boat to do the northern canals, or even hire a boat to do them. Sue

Is the back boiler circuit also passing through a calorifier? On mine it is and I find that from cold, most of the heat from the Squirrel is being used to heat up the cauliflower. Only once the water is warm do the rads heat up and the stove itself seem to significantly radiate heat. When at work I'll keep the stove banked up with the vents stopped down low to keep the water warm, otherwise the boat takes hours to heat up with a roaring fire. If you are on a land line another way may be to use an immersion heater in the calorifier to keep the water inside warm with the fire out. You would need to have the circulation pump off, or the radiators will be trying to cool the calorifier and lead to more expensive electric use of the immersion. Once you are back on board, then turn immersion off, circ pump on and light the fire. Alternatively, if you can't use an immersion, then just turning the circ pump off with the fire out could help conserve the water temperature in the calorifier and need less energy to heat it up again. Beware of running the squirrel with the ash pan wide open unattended. It can lead to a runaway condition where the increased draught leads to more combustion which pujlls in more air and so on. I've seen a Morso glowing red hot from this. It is why they started installing the safety catch. Lots of people still run them without ok, but the risk is there and could lead to flammables nearby catching light and a boat burning out. The runaway effect is probaby more of a risk in house installations with the tall flue height available. In the cold winter 2010 to 11, I changed the blinds on my bus windows for thick curtains. Made a huge difference. Also fitted a floor to ceiling set of curtains between the living room with the fire and the galley. My boat is reverse layout. This shrank the volume to be heated and again helped make it snug. Since then the dividing curtains haven't been needed and are just tied back. If the top halves of the rads are warm, then they don't have air in and don't need bleeding. A rad with air in will be cold at the top and warm below. Having the top warm and the bottom cooler shows they are working, with what heat there is is being given up to the room. Either low flow rate, from sludge as suggested, or a tired pump, or the water not being very warm in the first place. Keeping the stove in during the day only takes a couple of minutes if it has been kept in overnight. Riddle the grate, check the ash pan level and a couple of shovels of coal on top. Whatr are you burning? Jen

I think the problem here is what 'inconveniencing others' means to a dog owner and a non dog owner. I would agree with Nick it is a problem and that a big proportion of dog owners do not know what is an 'inconvenience'. We've been dog owners for 30 years but not for the last 15years as sailing took over. For the past 3 years I have regularly (5 days per week) been to our local nature reserve taking photos of birds (big lens, monopod - like the footy photographers). I walk around for 3 hours or so and get sick of dogs bounding up to me (not on leads) and plastering my legs with muddy paws. "Oh, fido is just playing..." says the owner. Rubbish! My trousers are now plastered in mud. The local dogs have learnt - as they get a smart smack in the face with my monopod - so now dont come near, but my wife spends a lot of time fending these dogs off. I would estimate over half the dogs do this and their owners do not think it a problem. Why should a dog be allowed to jump up and dirty my trousers? Having owned dogs for most of our lives, I am sympathetic with current owners but times have changed. Ok, only a very small sample of UK dogs but typical of so many places. Maybe we should follow the Singapore model, no dogs off leads in public places!!!!

We have enough boat for luxuries like a cruiser stern The worst feature of it is that it draws people out of the cabin, who then stand in front of the steerer Richard

Enough said. They are already then knackered. On handover of a boat with the mighty " Trojan " battery installed the previous owner should have informed you of the name and sex of each battery and what sort of bedtime stories they liked. Having not cuddled them each night and not tucked them up in bed as per your admission then they will simply now be beyond saving.

Skriking was a word in common usage when I grew up in Lancashire in the late 50's to mid 60's. It means crying.

It's nothing to do with experience and skill, and all to do with luck and who's watching. The other day for example, I reversed back to the water point, 300m past about six boats and through the bridge 'ole, in one go without stopping. very pleased with myself but the reason I could do this, is I was lucky that no-one was watching.

For Christs sake don't leave the porridge, next thing you know they will be sleeping in your bed!

The SUC boat was steel hull "Cutlass"brand name with a wood cabin I fitted the engine,one of the first SR2's it was built for an early canal enthusiast Dr Roger ? & on delivery named "Rose of Sharron this was the 2nd RofS the original was a ply cruiser the Original "Cutlass" hulls had a square transom stern with just rounded off corners the later class had a rounded stern & the explorer class had GRP cabins the later hulls were built at Norbury by Seamus Walsh ,the originals were built by SUC director John Stothert

WOT! No Head of Better? < With apologies to W1A > "What we need to do is identify what we do well and do less of it better"