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Why is it so hard to buy diesel?


nicknorman

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On 01/09/2017 at 09:35, WotEver said:

I had a similar situation (although with far less severe potential consequences) in the car once. I was driving my late father-in-law from Keighley to Nuneaton and had every intention of filling up at a services en route. Nattering away I missed every one and watching the 'miles left' on the dashboard display I said 'We MUST stop at Leicester Forest East or we won't get home'. Needless to say we missed that too and I phoned the missus (hands free!) to say that she might have to come out to us with a can of fuel. I pulled into the next petrol station just as the dashboard display switched to 'Range: 1 mile'. 

 

I did this too at Napton many years ago, except the BD3 spluttered to a stop 80 yards from the diesel pontoon. I poled the boat the last few yards there and filled the tank to the brim. Only 90 litres! So not all narrowboats have sensibly large tanks.

I then spent the next four hours learning how to bleed the fuel system. 

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N

29 minutes ago, WotEver said:

I had a similar situation (although with far less severe potential consequences) in the car once. I was driving my late father-in-law from Keighley to Nuneaton and had every intention of filling up at a services en route. Nattering away I missed every one and watching the 'miles left' on the dashboard display I said 'We MUST stop at Leicester Forest East or we won't get home'. Needless to say we missed that too and I phoned the missus (hands free!) to say that she might have to come out to us with a can of fuel. I pulled into the next petrol station just as the dashboard display switched to 'Range: 1 mile'. 

I went one further than that in 1991.

For the first 12 months after a job relocation I had to work in Slough while waiting for office space to become available in Oxford. I had a hire car whilst waiting for a company car and hated refuelling it so much I used to drive it until the tank was very low. On the way to work one morning, somewhere on the main road between Wallingford and Maidenhead, I realised I had overdone it when it ran out of fuel. I knew there was a petrol station about a half a mile to a mile ahead and as I was going downhill at that moment I put it in neutral and coasted. As the petrol station came into view I noticed the road ahead levelled out and then started to climb. I crossed my fingers and kept going and the momentum carried me along the very short uphill bit before the forecourt and the car came to a halt about 10 yards from the pump.

 

Phew! (or words to that effect).

I've been much more careful ever since and have not run out of fuel again.

 

 

Edited by Lily Rose
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 All this as Nick had a couple of unpleasant and unnecessary experiences attempting to purchase fuel.

i have bought stuff in a great deal of areas of the country over the past three years or so. In the main, good experiences. However, there are those that just want a pieceful life and find that cuctomers are an added nuisance to this pieceful life. In these instances I have managed to buy,if available, all that I wanted. Not always at the price I would have preferred to pay. I have bought from the majority of the places mentioned and the only place my own diplomatic skills saved the day was Fenny Compton before the 'big lady' went somewhere else to sing. My wife's diplomatic skills failed miserable on a number of occasions. The hire base in the Stratford,can't remember the name, was one such place where staff were far too busy to even tell me that the pumpout was duff even though I had been waiting over 90 minutes with their knowledge. This was a Friday,change over day, and yes they were busy and behind with their cleans, customers waiting for their hire boats etc. I was told pumpout won't be fixed until Tuesday. Eventually someone took me to one side and suggested I moor on the tow path and he'll let me know when the Pump out was fixed. It turned out to be about ttwo hours later. I don't actually believe it was broken at all. Why didn't they tell me to bugger off until they'd sorted themselves out. I would have offered to help clean a couple of boats,refuel or whatever. We just needed our tank emptying. In the end we bought diesel as well. DIM.(did it myself).

We all need to be more tolerant. We,sadly, live in a me,me me environment,me,I live in a whenever environment. Things do wind me up, I very rarely lose my rag. It's their loss that they didn't get to chat to me and allow me to bore them still with my stories of sea and canal.

please excuse my gobbledegook post. I'm having a nice day. Off to meet an old shipmate at lunchtime that I haven't met since 1979 ish. We are both bigger than then, he has no hair,I have grey. He has been married,I think three times, I have only suffered been married once. Wish me luck.

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31 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I did this too at Napton many years ago, except the BD3 spluttered to a stop 80 yards from the diesel pontoon. I poled the boat the last few yards there and filled the tank to the brim. Only 90 litres! So not all narrowboats have sensibly large tanks.

I then spent the next four hours learning how to bleed the fuel system. 

Reminds me of our first trip on Midnight. Craned in at Selby went up to Skipton and headed back to Leeds. Coming past the services at Apperley Bridge the engine sputtered and died. Floated up to the diesel point and refilled. It took ages to find the Beta finger-pump (I still struggle to find it even though I painted it white) . Only excuse was I had only previously hired so never needed to fill up - or was it 'cos I'm a tight Yorkshire pud.

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No,no,no. No beeer until I have permission. Request is in and being carefully considered. I'm going to be lucky to get away with a noon start.

Im having a nice day as I don't need to buy anything for the boat from a miserable grumpy canal trader.

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I've run out of petrol in all the best places. In the Mersey tunnel in a Minivan where the Mersey tunnel police turned up in their red Land Rover with a gallon which cost me more than all the petrol I'd used to get from London to Liverpool, I couldn't afford to stop for a few pints after that.   A sudden squall snapped our mast off whilst sailing an old home built Lysander sailing cruiser in the Thames estuary off Southend pier. Talk about wreck of the Hesperous, the whole rig had blown over the side, managed to cut it all free in true Charlton Heston style.  Powerful wind against tide conditions, no maroons no life jackets, whiskey all gone, half drowned with salt spray, fags kept getting extinguished, matches sopping wet, even the gulls were flying backwards in the fury of the gale. We needed to get back under the lee of Canvey Island where the mud berth mooring was, or under the lee of something to escape the raging elements. After a big struggle we managed to coax the old Seagull outboard into life as we were broaching too badly, very dangerous in the very short mountainous wind against tide conditions off the pier on which we could see folk drinking and pointing at us.  We struggled on westwards looking longingly at land and safety on our starboard side, especially longingly at the green roofed Halfway House pub on the Esplanade, we kept looking thirstily back at that pub for a long time until it faded away into the gloom. And then the Seagull coughed and spluttered as it was also getting thirsty. We had about a quart of petrol in a can so proceeded to top it up whilst under way, spilling most overboard. Then the Peterboat pub loomed up to starboard at Leigh-On-Sea and we knew we were almost safe under the lee of Canvey point. Good old Canvey, trouble is they only sell lager there. With the tide still ebbing we were popping merrily along approaching the mooring trots when the Seagull spluttered and finally expired for want of more petrol, which we didn't have. With the boat hook I reached out full stretch and just managed to hook onto the stern rail of a moored boat, which we clung onto for dear life until the tide turned when we paddled up to our mud berth mooring. I hasten to add that we'd left the anchor at home which would have been useful for that last bit.  We spent the rest of the day in the Hoy and Helm in Benfleet where they sold decent beer. 

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14 minutes ago, junior said:

Is Rose narrowboats the place where they always leave the bloody swing Bridge closed?

Yes, but on the last two or three times we've been through someone from the yard has actually pushed it open for us from the towpath side.

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The bridge gets left how it gets left, i.e. open by a boat, closed by a pedestrian. Given that we cross it far more times in day than boats pass through statistically it is likely to be closed more often than open.

Anyone who finds it a problem to operate needs, I respectfully suggest, to brush up on their boating skills - even hirers can do it!

That said, anyone who works for us will always swing it if we see a boat approaching and we are able to. (some of the ladies who work for us don't have strength to work it from the wrong side) 'cos we're nice like that, even to the ones who never wave.

1 hour ago, bizzard said:

I've run out of petrol in all the best places. In the Mersey tunnel in a Minivan where the Mersey tunnel police turned up in their red Land Rover with a gallon which cost me more than all the petrol I'd used to get from London to Liverpool, I couldn't afford to stop for a few pints after that.   A sudden squall snapped our mast off whilst sailing an old home built Lysander sailing cruiser in the Thames estuary off Southend pier. Talk about wreck of the Hesperous, the whole rig had blown over the side, managed to cut it all free in true Charlton Heston style.  Powerful wind against tide conditions, no maroons no life jackets, whiskey all gone, half drowned with salt spray, fags kept getting extinguished, matches sopping wet, even the gulls were flying backwards in the fury of the gale. We needed to get back under the lee of Canvey Island where the mud berth mooring was, or under the lee of something to escape the raging elements. After a big struggle we managed to coax the old Seagull outboard into life as we were broaching too badly, very dangerous in the very short mountainous wind against tide conditions off the pier on which we could see folk drinking and pointing at us.  We struggled on westwards looking longingly at land and safety on our starboard side, especially longingly at the green roofed Halfway House pub on the Esplanade, we kept looking thirstily back at that pub for a long time until it faded away into the gloom. And then the Seagull coughed and spluttered as it was also getting thirsty. We had about a quart of petrol in a can so proceeded to top it up whilst under way, spilling most overboard. Then the Peterboat pub loomed up to starboard at Leigh-On-Sea and we knew we were almost safe under the lee of Canvey point. Good old Canvey, trouble is they only sell lager there. With the tide still ebbing we were popping merrily along approaching the mooring trots when the Seagull spluttered and finally expired for want of more petrol, which we didn't have. With the boat hook I reached out full stretch and just managed to hook onto the stern rail of a moored boat, which we clung onto for dear life until the tide turned when we paddled up to our mud berth mooring. I hasten to add that we'd left the anchor at home which would have been useful for that last bit.  We spent the rest of the day in the Hoy and Helm in Benfleet where they sold decent beer. 

Sounds like another application for the rescue elephant. I was getting quite excited about replacing all our Isuzus with elephants, but on consideration I think they might bash their heads on the bridges round here.

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21 minutes ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

The bridge gets left how it gets left, i.e. open by a boat, closed by a pedestrian. Given that we cross it far more times in day than boats pass through statistically it is likely to be closed more often than open.

Anyone who finds it a problem to operate needs, I respectfully suggest, to brush up on their boating skills - even hirers can do it!

That said, anyone who works for us will always swing it if we see a boat approaching and we are able to. (some of the ladies who work for us don't have strength to work it from the wrong side) 'cos we're nice like that, even to the ones who never wave.

Sounds like another application for the rescue elephant. I was getting quite excited about replacing all our Isuzus with elephants, but on consideration I think they might bash their heads on the bridges round here.

When we came through from the south last week someone emerged from the left, long before we reached the bridge, swung it open for us, then disappeared back from whence they came.

I looked out for them to give a wave when we got there but they were nowhere to be seen. So to whoever it was, thank you.

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1 hour ago, Just Heaven said:

We filled up from Dusty at the top of Clayton last year, so they obviously go north of Cropredy 

Steve

 

That's what I like about CWDF. Compare and contrast post no. 37, which categorically and authoritatively states the exact opposite.

(Unless they have stopped going there since last year of course).

Original Dusty (Mark Boardman) never went as far as Claydon because that was another fuel boat's pitch. He used to turn at Forge Farm and head back South.

12 minutes ago, Canal Cuttings said:

We were wondering - how DO you close it if you are on the wrong side?

 

 

RoseNarrowboats.JPG

ER...you get off your boat to open it. By opening it you will be standing on the side where the swung part ends up (left-hand side in your picture).  Unless there's another boat coming, you then close it and step back on board.

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21 minutes ago, Athy said:

That's what I like about CWDF. Compare and contrast post no. 37, which categorically and authoritatively states the exact opposite.

(Unless they have stopped going there since last year of course).

Original Dusty (Mark Boardman) never went as far as Claydon because that was another fuel boat's pitch. He used to turn at Forge Farm and head back South

They said that they were only going up to deliver to the liveaboard community by the feeder bridge (142 ?), then turning back.

Steve

 

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25 minutes ago, Just Heaven said:

They said that they were only going up to deliver to the liveaboard community by the feeder bridge (142 ?), then turning back.

Steve

 

Good Heavens! I never knew what that bridge  (looks like an old canal arm but doesn't go anywhere) was, thanks for the info.

Goodness knows where they will turn to go back - there's an unofficial winding hole, which we have used, not far from that bridge, but lately there have always been two boats stuffed into it, rendering it useless as a turning point.

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49 minutes ago, IanM said:

They have a long thing with a hook on the end :)

Thanks - I guessed as much but it seemed like hard work, especially if you had just popped across for a couple of minutes and found a boater had left it open.  BTW, I was thinking of staff at Rose Narrowboats rather than narrowboaters!

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4 hours ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

The bridge gets left how it gets left, i.e. open by a boat, closed by a pedestrian. Given that we cross it far more times in day than boats pass through statistically it is likely to be closed more often than open.

Anyone who finds it a problem to operate needs, I respectfully suggest, to brush up on their boating skills - even hirers can do it!

That said, anyone who works for us will always swing it if we see a boat approaching and we are able to. (some of the ladies who work for us don't have strength to work it from the wrong side) 'cos we're nice like that, even to the ones who never wave.

Sounds like another application for the rescue elephant. I was getting quite excited about replacing all our Isuzus with elephants, but on consideration I think they might bash their heads on the bridges round here.

Special features of and disposition of elephants.   Big, heavy and powerful, beyond arguing with, though quite nimble despite their size.  Can spray water as well as fuel long distances, ideal for cooling down the roof of your boat as well as you on a hot day. Big ears which will also cool you when flapped. Can refuel boats by the transfer method. Can tow heavy things like boats like they weigh nothing. Clever, cunning, nosey and can be very disobedient. Terribly frightening when angry. Hurts when they tread on your toes. They're toe nails need clipping and teeth brushing regularly. They get stuborn and won't budge in the morning until you've wiped the sleep from they're eyes. They like to wear pajamas and night cap in bed and wear fluffy Moon boots and electrically heated trunk bag in the winter. They tend to wander about willy nilly, so whilst towing your boat they might spy juicy foliage up on a hill, divert and drag your boat up after it.  They don't get lost, they're too big but can be coaxed back with cream buns if they do. Can stampede in utter panic at the sight of a circus or zoo, or even the mention of Billy Smart or Chipperfield.  Bit big to take to the pictures and pubs or as a companion in kyak. They like nothing better than climbing up onto your lap in the evenings to be cuddled and stroked.

Edited by bizzard
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1 hour ago, bizzard said:

Special features of and disposition of elephants.   Big, heavy and powerful, beyond arguing with, though quite nimble despite their size.  Can spray water as well as fuel long distances, ideal for cooling down the roof of your boat as well as you on a hot day. Big ears which will also cool you when flapped. Can refuel boats by the transfer method. Can tow heavy things like boats like they weigh nothing. Clever, cunning, nosey and can be very disobedient. Terribly frightening when angry. Hurts when they tread on your toes. They're toe nails need clipping and teeth brushing regularly. They get stuborn and won't budge in the morning until you've wiped the sleep from they're eyes. They like to wear pajamas and night cap in bed and wear fluffy Moon boots and electrically heated trunk bag in the winter. They tend to wander about willy nilly, so whilst towing your boat they might spy juicy foliage up on a hill, divert and drag your boat up after it.  They don't get lost, they're too big but can be coaxed back with cream buns if they do. Can stampede in utter panic at the sight of a circus or zoo, or even the mention of Billy Smart or Chipperfield.  Bit big to take to the pictures and pubs or as a companion in kyak. They like nothing better than climbing up onto your lap in the evenings to be cuddled and stroked.

Round our way they paint their toe-nails red so they can hide in cherry trees without being seen.

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