Trafalgar Marine

Happy new year from Paul and Michael Dawson at Trafalgar Marine Services. We're pleased to announce the launch of a new short throw aluminium windlass. Take the strain out of cruising with a lightweight cast aluminium windlass. produced locally and exclusively for Trafalgar Marine. These windlasses are good quality and lightweight with double head to fit all standard lock gear. http://www.trafalgarmarineservices.co.uk/detail/113/windlass-aluminium-short-throw/ To celebrate the new launch Trafalgar Marine are offering 10% off everything we sell from rope fenders, to mooring ropes, shackles to decking fittings, windlasses to side fenders. Just enter the code: happynewyear at the checkout. Valid until the first of February 2016

We're looking for a fender maker to come and do a few months work this summer while I'm on paternity leave. May well become an annual job if we can find the right person though. Must know how to rope fenders and splice rope. We're based at New Mills on the Peak Forest Canal (Derbyshire). There are plenty of mooring spots around the area. If you're interested (or know someone who might) call Michael Dawson on 0781 6664352 or email michael@trafalgarmarineservices.co.uk Thanks, Michael

The 14th annual Whaley Water Weekend Festival will be held from Friday the 7th till Sunday the 9th of June 2013. The local festival is held at Whaley Bridge Basin on the Peak Forest Canal, Derbyshire (SK23 7LS). During the weekend there will be free boat rides, live music, craft stalls and much more. Information about the event can be seen on the W3 website or the W3 Facebook page.

The 13th annual Whaley Water Weekend Festival will be held from Friday the 8th till Sunday the 10th of June 2012. The local festival is held at Whaley Bridge Basin on the Peak Forset Canal, Derbyshire. During the weekend there will be free boat rides, live music, craft stalls and much more. Information about the event can be seen on the W3 website.

Alan's first post is spot on. We moved a 30ft springer that had sunk on the Peak Forest Canal. When I talked to the engineer at the boatyard we reckoned it would cost around £3,000 to over plate. Springers do have a V shaped hull that makes over plating more difficult and therefore expensive, might be something to think about. You would be better buying a boat that doesn't need or has already been plated but it all depends on budget.

My parents have been with Towergate Mardon for around ten years as both leisure and then live aboards with no trouble. Our day boat insurance is with Towergate but is registered through Michael Stimpson who has been very helpful over the years. Might be worth a phone call.

AquaQuero www.aquaquero.co.uk AquaQuero is a free marine directory website for companies based around the canals, rivers and coastal regions of the UK. There is also a waterways directory with useful information for boaters such as number of locks, dimensions, connected waterways, locations (cities, towns and villages), local attractions, services and facilities, public moorings and warnings. If you run a marine based business or attraction near to a canal or river you can signup to AquaQuero free of charge. You can add your company description, website address, contact details, VAT/company number, logo and up to six other images. Pick your business type(s) from a list of categories (e.g boat builders). Add any products or services you offer (e.g red diesel). You can also choose the waterway(s) you do business on (e.g Peak Forest Canal, Macclesfield Canal). Once you have signed up you will be able to add the details of any boats you have. The boats you list can be either for hire or for sale.

I was talking to a guy yesterday about having his boat be crained in. He could not get in at Furness Vale because of the waiting list. He's actually found something opposite Braidbar boats at Higher Poynton but this is on the Macclesfield.

SATURDAY 12 JUNE 11am-7pm LORENZO - our famous DJ, making a return visit to the Water Weekend, welcomes everybody to Whaley Bridge's premier community event. Throughout Saturday, lots and lots of music to go with lots and lots of fun, BOAT TRIPS: Catch a boat ride from a choice of vessels. And it's free! Just grab a ticket and wait (queues at busy times) for your boat to come in, then take you through the beautiful greenery along the canal. There's a longer heritage trip to Bugsworth Basin, with commentary. MUSIC, MUSIC … • Lorenzo provides perfect, summer background sounds. And … • Acoustic Collective are here again, with their relaxed, folksy songs • Local classical musicians will be doing their thing, as will… • Parallel Jacks, a youth rock band • Local groups on stage, leading up to Big Screen World Cup. See adjoining column. DANCE, DANCE … • Powderkegs, Whaley's very own border morris dance group, will be performing today in their vivid outfits which reflect the explosive origins of their name. • SPECIALS! MEERKATS HERE TODAY… • The Petting Zoo from Chesterfield, making a return visit, but this time with something specials: direct from Namibia, positively their first appearance in Whaley Bridge, the meerkats! There are also cuddly rabbits for the kids to love and touch, plus snakes, spiders and .. . da, dah … MEERKATS. One day only. OTHER THINGS TO CATCH … • The steamroller from DSPC restorations of Chapel en le Frith • Ju jitsu demonstration • Peak Paddlers canoe club demonstrating their skill • Fire Service visit, showing how not to set the kitchen on fire • Toddbook Sailing Club SUNDAY 13 JUNE 11am-4pm LORENZO - a Sunday morning welcome to Whaley Bridge's biggest community event, from our DJ. He'll keep you going all through Sunday, providing lots of bright music, laughs and introductions to the artists on our stage. BOAT TRIPS: Catch a boat ride from a choice of vessels. And it's free! Just grab a ticket and wait (queues at busy times) for your boat to come in, then take you through the beautiful greenery along the canal. There's a longer heritage trip to Bugsworth Basin, with commentary. MUSIC, MUSIC … • Lorenzo's perfect, summer background sounds. And … • Acoustic Collective are here again, with their relaxed, folksy songs - appearing in their marquee and on the big canalside stage • Whaley Bridge Band, under musical director Marcus Jones, are playing 'at home' with that great traditional sound for an outdoor event • Local groups on stage • The Whaley Choir DANCE, DANCE … • Feet First, the clog-wearing, Appalachian dancers from Derbyshire who were such a hit last year, make a return visit to the Water Weekend. Bound to set your feet tapping! CLASSIC CARS DISPLAY • Proud owners bring their gleaming cars to this display. It is organised by the Hare and Hounds Classic Vehicles Association, whose Peaks and Dales Run, finishing at Buxton, is on Sunday 25 July. • Look out for the steam engine from Chapel en le Frith - hard to miss, at several tons in weight, whistling and blowing steam high into the air. • Old engines of a different size - stationary ones, fuelled by petrol, and once used on farms for everything from dairy milking to corn grinding. STALLS, STALLS • All around the site, for a good browse and maybe a bargain. TEEN SPECIAL: ENGLAND ON WORLD CUP BIG SCREEN THE Water Weekend committee, helped by a few outsiders, is delighted to present a World Cup, big screen spectacular for our young people. England's opening game in South Africa, against the USA, is to be shown in the Mechanics' Institute on Saturday night, 12 June. It's for under-18s only - boys and girls - and it will be free. Even more, there will be soft drinks and snacks to make it an even more special evening. The show starts from 7pm, right after the Water Weekend. From 5-7pm, local groups will be playing on the stage at the canalside as World Cup fever mounts. W3 is also planning a Friday evening film show for the youngsters in the Mechanics' Institute, starting at 8pm. Watch out for more details. WEEKEND ATTRACTIONS • Boat trips free - see under Saturday and Sunday details. • Classic cars on show round the Transhipment Warehouse • Funfair on both days at the car park. Priced attractions • Punch and Judy, the children's favourite - both days • Food and ice cream on sale around the W3 site • Stalls, stalls, stalls … add a bargain to your weekend

My diesel storage heater wouldn't work on Monday at about -7 or 8. The diesel did look more viscous than usual. It did get going after midday when the temperature had risen. My liveaboard parents haven't had any diesel problems yet but they have been leaving their deck boards up so warm air is circulating around the engine.

With winter already here machine mart have a sale on cast iron stoves. More information on their website http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/categori...urning-stoves-2

To give you an idea of the difference in rope strength; Staple spun 3,050 Polysteel 4,300 (strong polyprop rope designed for fishing industry) Multifilament (soft black) 2,560 Synthetic hemp 1,775 Polypropylene no guaranteed breaking strain All figures are for the breaking strain in Kg of a 14mm diameter rope. This should be used as a rough guide only. Different manufactures will not make the rope to the same specifications.

Email from Rod Auton - on behalf of the Chesterfield Canal Trust and the Chesterfield Canal Partnership "Dear Madam/Sir, I would like to invite you to come to our Festival next summer. It is being held as part of Bassetlaw Arts Fortnight. This means that there will be a big marquee with exhibitions and performances going on continuously as well as the usual stalls, rides, boat trips etc. It also means that Bassetlaw will do lots of publicity including delivering a leaflet to 50,000 homes about Arts Fortnight including our Festival. We will of course be doing our own publicity as well. We are hoping to have some boat builders there which will bring a whole new complexion to the event. We are holding it at Worksop Rugby Club which has huge fields bordering the canal at Morse Lock. It is 200 metres from the A57. Car parking will be on site. It is a ten minute walk along the towpath from the town centre. About 9,000 people attended this year's Festival which was on a small site in a remote village. This year we expect at least 10,000 to come, lots more if the weather is good. Outside pitches at a standard size of 3m x 3m are available at £45. We have a limited number of inside pitches at 3m x 2m for £55. Electricity is available inside for £10. We can of course accommodate other requirements but will work them out individually with you. If you would like to come or just want further information, please email me back and I will forward our entry form, terms and conditions etc. Thank you. I hope that we will see you in July."

Most of our customer prefer 10 metre 33ft ropes front and back and 15 metres 49ft for centre lines. It's worth remembering that you will lose up to 3ft when splicing. ninety odd per cent of people now buy black multifilament rope which is UV stabilised. Hempex is the next popular with few people asking for nylon or staple spun. Hempex is indeed made from polypropylene as is multifilament (soft black) rope. Staple spun is also made from standard polypropylene but its construction differs from standard direct film polyprop (the horibble blue stuff) which is not UV stabilised. Using a thick polyprop tow/lifting rope is fine. Many barges and smaller ships use eight braid blue polyprop at around 40mm.

A new website devoted to capturing a photographic record of the canals of England, Wales & Scotland and the narrowboats and other craft that use them. Very good layout and design. This site has only just started but the owner Robin has high hopes of creating a photographic record of the canals, narrowboats and waterways infrastructure as it is now. Also planned is a free waterways directory for businesses. I think that this site has huge potential and will grow larger and larger over the coming years. Good luck and happy snapping to Robin. http://www.canalandnarrowboat.co.uk/

I was told by BW mooring staff that the moorings from the junction to Whaley basin are up for renewal and the boats will be staying. There are few moorings in the summer which will be compounded when the new taxi service eventually turns up. Buggsworth is a much better bet. Marple, Strines (after 2nd lift bridge) and Furness Vale (before carr swing bridge) are the only other really good moorings to my mind. The A6 bypass isn't that loud at Buggsworth. Thanks to Ian Edgar and the IWPS for the road not being built over the canal/basin.

PRESS RELEASE FROM WHALEY WATER WEEKEND (W3) The tenth Whaley Water Weekend celebrates its first major anniversary on Saturday and Sunday, 13 and 14 June, with an opening evening on Friday 12 June. The event promises to be the biggest and best yet. The committee has worked hard to arrange FREE boat trips over the weekend. Last year, unexpected grants created enough funding to to introduce the free rides. They were immensely popular, with nearly 800 people taking a canal journey. Chairman Barrie Walker said: "In this of all years - our tenth event, in the middle of the recession - we wanted to do something special for the people. Free trips is our way of saying Enjoy the Water Weekend and give the children happy memories for all their lives. The vast majority of our attractions are free, a great help for families." Once again, New Horizons, the canal boat which provides thousands of trips a year to disabled people, will be taking passengers on the Heritage Trip from the canal basin to Bugsworth and back. There will be full, live commentary. Shorter trips will be on Phoenix and Comet, as far as the canal junction past Tesco's - a perfect trip for children, and leaving plenty of time for all the other activities. A W3 favourite also makes a return - Punch and Judy. For some youngsters, W3 has given them their first glimpse of this traditional English entertainment. Other highlights include Nature in Focus, another W3 favourite. Children get the chance to examine through microscopes the wild life from the canal - more than you would ever imagine! But music, music, music will keep the party going, rain or shine. (Organisers feel it is their year for glorious weather, after some challenging weekends in recent years.) DJ Lorenzo is once again the presenter. From a stage near the canal, he will introduce Werneth Swing Band and Riverboat Days, a jazz band on the Saturday. And on Sunday, New Mills's music tradition will dominate the day: the United Co-op New Mills Band, with a strong group of young players, will alternate with the Groove Diggers, a New Mills based trio bringing rhythm and blues to the party. Acoustic Collective, playing at their fourth Water Weekend, will be playing on both days. Other musical treats will come from Manchester Morris Men on the Saturday, and Feet First Dancers on Sunday. A commercial fairground is present over the weekend on the Tom Brad's Croft car park. Attractions here are paid for. W3 information line: 01663 733224. Kate's balloon race at W3 WHALEY BRIDGE student Kathryn Pollard will be bringing extra colour to the Water Weekend, selling balloons for a race to raise money for an international children's charity. Kathryn, 20, who hopes to become a vet, is studying animal science at Nottingham. She is taking part in charity expedition with 250 fellow students who will climb Kilimanjaro in parties during the summer. Kathryn's expedition is in September Kathryn hopes to raise £2,200 for Childreach International, which works with the poorest communities in Africa. Buying a balloon can help Kathryn towards her target. You can contact her on 0786 75 45 35 6 Choir and railway talk to open W3 Whaley Water Weekend opens in the Mechanics' Institute at 6.45pm on Friday, 12 June, with the choir of Whaley Bridge Primary School entertaining for the second year. The choir has raised thousands for Children In Need. At 8.30pm on Friday, there is one of the highlights of W3 - a talk by John Morten : from Whaley Bridge to Cromford along the old Cromford and High Peak Railway. The line, starting from the canal basin, was completed in 1831 and finally closed in 1967.

The 2009 Marple Locks Festival will take place in the Memorial Park and down the flight on Sunday 5th July from 10.00am to 4.00pm. The first Locks Festival in 2004 was held to commemorate the bicentenary of the building of this historic piece of heritage and was so successful that Marple Locks Heritage Society decided to hold the festivals bi-annually. The theme of this years event is traditional crafts and pastimes, we hope to have demonstrations of such things as lace-making, pole lathe wood turning, morris dancing, folk singing along with local societies promoting their interests. There will be guided walks down the flight with a free bus service to return walkers to the park. We hope to have some traditional boats present, some of which will have been actually built at Jinks' Boatyard, Top Lock and are part of the heritage of the area. So come along and join the fun!

Whaley Bridge in the Derbyshire Peak District calls itself Water Town, because of the canal and rivers which flow through the narrow valley. It is also home to the Water Weekend, a two day community event around the historic canal basin at the head of Peak Forest Canal. The 2009 date is Saturday 13 June and Sunday 14 June. Music and fun events, most of them free.

I would like to inform any previous customers of our address change; Trafalgar Marine Services Victoria Works Woodside Street New Mills, High Peak Derbyshire SK22 3HF It's behind the old mill, directly opposite New Mills Marina. Paul and myself hope the move will make it easier for both canal and road traffic to visit us. Many thanks, Michael

THE ATTRACTIONS Boat trips The main attraction at W3. Boat trips all day Saturday and Sunday: Astra and Comet from the Whaley Basin to canal junction, £2; Phoenix, Heritage Trip with full commentary to Bugsworth Basin and return, £5. Craft stalls All day, Saturday and Sunday, a variety of stalls to browse among. Maybe a chance to buy that elusive gift. Kids' fun W3 is a children's and family event. Many of our activities are free, including Nature in Focus (Saturday only). On both days, there is Punch and Judy, a Petting Zoo, Big Bird - all are free. Acoustic Collective Our folk group friends have been coming to W3 for three years now. Hear them around the site on both days. Welldressing The Whaley Bridge Welldressing preparations start at W3. Look out for the marquee, and see the colourful 'flower pictures' develop. The Blessing is on Sunday 29 June. Fair Once more, the commercial fairground will be running alongside W3 at Tom Brad's Croft car park. Plenty of rides and fun (charges.) For more information about the Water Weekend, phone the Information Line on 01663 733224

As someone who hires out a day boat I would actually prefer there to be a limit. We have had a couple of "incidents" where the person in charge of the boat is in no fit state. We make our customers sign a realese form but at the end of the day they can (leagally) get as pissed as they want. If a limit does come in at leaset we can cover our own asses with paperwork. Personally I Can't see police officers walking up and down the towpath, even if they get a tip off.

Hi, received the above information from Jane Thompson at waterways. No details of what will be happening on the day though Anyone know what's going to be happening?

After living on my parents boat Bosworth (colecraft shell/warble fit out) I would recommend colecraft to anyone. Nice lines, welding etc as per other posts. To be honest I reckon they are booked up so far in advance they don't need any extra enquiries a website redesign would bring. It is quite bad though. Michael