LadyG

When the LA. In Ayrshire first provided dog poo bins and nice green litter bins, they sent a lorry and both bins were emptied in to lorry. I did query this with the binmen, they shrugged shoulders. I think most, or possibly all LA now do this, and take it to the sorting depot, which for many years was just a shed and a tractor which filled a bigger lorry, which then went to " The Coup"

I do t understand the cynicism regarding a survey , if I sell the boat and want a premium, I'll have it out first for a clean up, and touch up of gunwales and hull, so I'd sell it as invgood condition, and if asked to prove it, I'd show them the survey. Do you imagine I would be li,ely to ring round to find a dodgy surveyor, how would I phrase it.? ?

I did have a bag of white powder, but it had no name on it, so after carrying it about for twenty year I eventually binned it. The Gorilla Wood glue is perfect for models, behaves perfectly and v strong.

You can post a link if you like, but expect some real criticism. This is a forum for folks who a fairly clued up, not the guys who hired a boat for a stag weekend. Many of the forumites have extensive knowledge of boats, and boating..

There are also Regulations which depend on the year of commissioning. The boat should have some paperwork, not always a Bill of Sale, so you need to be sure the guy claiming to be the owner is indeed the owner. Read the RYA Bill of Sale proformer , and have him sign it off if you intend to buy the boat, as this makes it a bit more legal. I bought my boat without survey, but others think this is madness, I had my reasons. If the BSC is due in the next six months ask for it to be renewed. You can offer less than asking price, (or more!).

You can ask for an oil sample and have it tested if you are worried about it. You may know about old diesel engines, but its the mountings, the electrics, the water cooling system, the heating system, and always check the calorifier! You have to assess the owner, he may be clueless , but that does not mean the boat is useless. You can put people like Boating upNorth on ignore, I assume there are always people trying to impress on these forums. You should be aware that buying a boat is a nerve racking business. Let the owner show you round and ask a few questions as you go. If it has sat in a marina for a long time the batteries might be shot, ask about that. Ask if he did the electrics himself, ask when it was last blacked / surveyed etc. .."

There is a problem in my mind when I am confronted with people who are paid to ask the passing public for donations , particularly subscriptions. I generally donate to someone who is a volunteer, because that seems to me a cheap way of collecting cash and raising awareness, but I am not going to support the idea that people with no invested interest should be recruited and paid in the hope that the money they raise will exceed the money they cost. The cost of these temporary employees (chuggers?), has to include the cost of recruitment, which could be significant. How many staff are employed in order to recruit more staff, it's something that is unlikely to show on the balance sheet as a separate entity.

I often have the centreline attached to a pin, but slack, so if it comes in to operation, either the bow and stern pins have moved or the side wind has increased. Also if scrotes were to likely to interfere with mooring ropes, I think they are less likely to bother with three ropes. Where I was moored the other day, the ground was so soft I had five pins out, and still had to hammer them in during the day due to widebeam trip boat.

I suspect that Biffa don't have glass collection at some refuge sites because it is uneconomic at that site. However if people are encouraged to use towpath, then inevitably the litter problem will increase. Every bin removed should have had a notice explaining the reason, and the user told to take his litter home. Education is the key but children would be at risk if asked to collect litter, which includes dog poo, needles, glass etc. I'm taking dry waste to shops that I buy from, but they don't want glass or general rubbish.

With reference to the Friends idea, I think that it should be targeted at users, so a small, informal information / paypoint pop up at the junction of canal and its access point would be better than random locations offsite. In the tradition of many before, ask users to stop and complete a very brief survey, and hand them a leaflet with a quick payment method suggested, then send a brief email to them thanking for donation.

Obvio6sly , well not obvious to all, but am talking about CRT owned land. Its in General Boating

I think you will find, as I did, that one has to purchase a particular item from a person with a delivery account, which is normally for goods outgoing from a business. I got my glues, using the Ebay system, but had to find a retailer who had the Ebay Drop Off account, the Amazon goods were sent to the local PO which had an agreement with Amazon, ie its an Amazon Counter, a place where your parcel is delivered. Some items will not be eligible for Amazon Counter drop off, but could have been be delivered to a standard address. For one off deliveries, I assume DPD is just behaving like Royal Mail. You have to go to a location, and hand it over, they tell you when it has reached the designated delivery location. I settled for Gorilla glue wood glue, very easy to use applicator, it's a small bottle, also the small Bostic pva has a small nozzle, and I have brush on ca glue, these are not so specialist, I think they cure fairly quickly. This model boat building is harder than i remember from my last build (circa 1980) which was balsa wood, tissue, and dope. I did once assist in refurb of an early glider, real dope, my job was to keep the hanger well ventilated.. The Artesania instructions are detailed illustrations the parts are numbered, staring with #1.

So, since the removal of CRT litter bins, surprise surprise, litter situation getting out of hand IMHO. Yesterday was moored outside Aldi , there is a seat on the grass. I picked up dry litter and put it in the Aldi bin. Two hours later I had to pick up more. I dont know which bean counter thought removing all the bins would make life better by water. The cost of replacing those bins would probably exceed the cost of emptying them for a couple of year, and will be a more difficult decision than removing them . I haven't mentioned dog shhht. If you are going to remove bins, be aware that they will either not pick it up at all, or drop it in a conspicuous place which does not make for a pleasant experience either way. I will be complaining about this, however I need support from others, as my last complain't about the state of the Dewsbury Arm (mattresses, duvets, plastic) was met with a request for location, preferably what three words. I'll write to Parry. I would rather pay £50 per annum extra to replace the bins than suffer these offences. I assume the local CRT bod is aware of the state of the Dewsbury Arm, as far as I could tell, its pretty much impossible to navigate in a narrowboat.

If your existing set is in good condition, then i would live with it till it starts to flag, in the meantime get your solsr installed. I am a liveaboard with 2 solsr psnels, so minimal interferance with centreline hsndliing which is important if singlehanded. My plan is to move twice a week to keep charging batteries in winter. I check the battery voltage every morning, snd charge for an hour if low. I try never to let them go low as i have nominsl 600ah., and a 70amp alternator. I replaced all batteries four years ago, so they dont need topping up. I use a tablet not a TV, and hav a 12v fridge, so invertor rarely used. I use a launderette. My CRX65 hss helped a lot, its smaller than stsndard domestic fridge, it keeps a few frozen items between shops, or can be converted to a larder fridge which is more energy efficient. I buy filtered milk which lasts a week, and all my cooked meat is sealed dated packs, ditto bacon.