ranworthbreeze

Hi Gary, Not all but going by the posts we have on the various topics a lot of us are ex BT or electrical engineers. The company I worked for would not make me up an Approved Electricial when I was 25 ( a difference in those days of 2P per hour from £1.23 to £1.25 per hour) so I left and worked as a service engineer for a fruit machine operator (rather than taking the job as the works engineer at Crosby Kitchens) for 5 years until I went self employed in 1980, the rest as they say is history. When we were in the Dublin Post Office we needed to speak to a supplier in the UK and the exchange engineer showed us how quick he could monitor a line (a bit against the official Secret act that every BT employee in this country had to sign). Tan used to work in BT sales and my father in law was high up in the drawing office. Regards Alan

Hi Gordon, They were electric start, on mains failure both started and one took the load and then the second one came on line when it matched phase rotation. These were dirty great big units with 7 foot square radiators, the bed framework was in fact the fuel tanks. Regards Alan

Don't we all! The issue is if the likes of Ebay & Amazon are not safe, we already know all Government sites are not totally secure so where does this leave us all? Regards Alan

Hi Keith, I guessed that you were talking about the Llangollen Horse Drawn boating company. For everyone here is a link to their website:- http://www.horsedrawnboats.co.uk/aqueduct-trips.aspx And for self drive as Keith suggests on the same site. http://www.horsedrawnboats.co.uk/self-drive.aspx Regards Alan

Part of Ebay has been hacked containing members password: :norty: for details please follow the link:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-27503290 Regards Alan

Hi Mandy, A word of warning, the first time we went on a narrow boat holiday we thought it would be an idea to hire two bicycles, our reasoning for this was so if we had to go shopping for the odd item two people could venture further away from the canal to get to any shops. The plan was sound but in practice the bikes were a pain, if we went out for the evening for a meal then the bikes were locked inside the boat at night the same. During the day out came the bikes which were put onto the roof, of course as you have all guessed down came the bikes at every bridge and there is so many on the Trent & Mersey Canal. By the end of the week we had mussels like Garth, grazed chins and hardly any cloths left without grease on them. Never again. Regards Alan

Hello Martin, John is away for a short while acting as a support driver for a charity fund raising event. Regards Alan

I remember those banks of batteries, but with me they were in the Southern Island P.O., I worked subcontract for Tomas Ward's of Sheffield, our company made the control panals for the twin Dorman Detroit Diesels that were installed into the basements of the Post Offices over there in the early 70's. I had to commission the installation (with the diesel fitter) and load test the two 3 phase half megawatt generators. These genorators were mains failure units that started and were on load within 15 seconds. The cost must have been enormous even for the time and just to keep charging the batteries. Regards Alan

Hi Strowager, In the case of domestic or single phase commercial supplies in most modern installations the neutral is bonded to earth on the incoming supply. Regards Alan

Hi Mark (mbird) If you do not have a battery box fan I suggest that you think about installing one. On Ranworth Breeze the rule is put the battery box fan on before starting the engine, this is then run whilst we are in motion. Batteries and charging of them has always been a problem in any confined area. Hi Mark, glad that you are ok, it must have been a shock. Regards Alan

Hi Mark, I totally agree. Tan & I went on our own we were so impressed that we went with our Narrow Boat crew later in the year. If you go on utube there is a video showing the passage going through the tunnel and over the aquaducts. Regards Alan

Hi Mark, I thoroughly recommend the Llangollen Canal, Yes there is a few lift bridges but not than many locks, a good tunnel (Chirk just after you pass over the aquaduct)and two of the most famous aqaducts on the canal system (Chirk & Pontcylite), loads of scenery with a capital S. We went with the following company who had a base near to the start of the canal. Marine Cruises www.marinecruises.co.uk 01244 373911 http://www.facebook....123474227669325 The marina they are in is quite new with plenty of parking

Boulters (horning) is selling diesel over the bank holiday weekend for £1 per litre while stock lasts. Might be a queue while it lasts. Regards Alan

Hi Jane, What's worse than being in a broad lock with a grp cruiser is sharing a narrow lock with a grp cruiser. In our early days on the canals when a number of locks on the Trent & Mersey still had lock keepers we were put into a lock with a 18 to 20 foot cruiser and our hire boat was 48 foot and the smaller boat was in front of us. Regards Alan

Hi Stuart, We have never hired on the Broads other than day craft to get beyond Wroxham. At 9 foot 8 inches with the canopy and masthead down Ranworth Breeze is unable to get under Ludham Bridge. There is around a foot variation on the tides at Ludham Bridge but this all depends on how much rain we have had, I have known people that who have their moorings above Ludham Bridge who have stuggled to get back there when their clearence is tight. Have a look at this link regarding tidal variation on the bridges:- http://www.norfolkbroadsboathire.biz/Navigating%20bridges.asp Regards Alan

Hello Stuart, Welcome to the forum from Tan & myself. Regards Alan

Hi Geoff, Are you going up the Falkirk Wheel for a visit to the wheel or a full holiday on the Union & Clyde Canals. If you are hiring on the canals then you need to put together a plan of where you are going to stay and what lift bridges and locks you are going to go through, these are controlled by Scottish Canals and passage has to be booked and adhered to. Once you have gone up the wheel and passed through the flight of locks onto the Union Canal then you are free to your own devices until you return back to Falkirk. We enjoyed our holiday despite the weather but did not enjoy that we had to plan each days passage to arrive at the bridges and locks at set times and say where you were headed. The Scottish Canals staff were very good but it took the spontaneity out of our visit our crew are used to fending for ourselves and we tended to miss the operation of the locks. With the lift and swing bridges passage through these are limited to certain times on very busy roads (one could only be opened three times per day at set times). We are glad we went on the Canals and we wish you have a good holiday up there. Regards Alan

Hi Dave, Looking at the Oulton Broads webcam there is some indication that workmen and some skips on site at the side of the lock. As far as I am aware that the locks are still being manually operated at the moment. As soon as I get notification from the Broads Authority I will post a message. Regards Alan

Hi 10B, If Jon got up any earlier he would be like "The four Yorkshire men" of the Monty Python fame. Regards Alan

Hello Mandy, My advice would be to try a canal that only has 7 foot wide locks (narrow locks) such as the Trent & Mersey which after the first four locks (from the River Trent) goes down to narrow locks. For your needs I would suggest a four berth boat of around 42 to 48 foot (we find that if we allow for two more berths than we require this gives a bit of breathing room) and maybe more than one toilet (if you get two on that size of boat one is a bathroom and one is just a toilet & sink and very small). The latest specification seems to be electric flush toilets the only trouble with this can be that you may have to have a pump out during your stay being has they use a lot of water. As with the Broads you need to fill the fresh water tanks with water. We also take bottled water for tea and cleaning teeth (use the small bottles in the bathroom and one of the gallon bottles for filling the kettle which can be refilled from the waterside taps. We do the same on the Broads, because the never know where the hose pipe end has been and on some boats you can taste the cleaning solution in the water from the tank. Narrow boats are quite easy to steer but you push the tiller the opposite way to the direction you wish to go, as with the Broads boats what ever way the front turns the rear goes in the opposite way. Most of the heating on narrow boats is heated by diesel (there are some on gas) and usually domestic radiators down the walkways and in the bathroom. Cookers and fridges are the standard size, we tend to get the boatyard to remove the microwave being as we can use better use of the space it takes up. We take plenty of food with us but try to use the pubs, but if there is no space to moor or your plans do not allow for a pub meal then there is nothing better than your meal cooking in the oven and the smell being smelt from the tiller. All the boats we have been on have had two sets of waterproofs in case you do need to travel in the rain to get back to the boatyard. I have had to plenty of that from the upper deck of Ranworth Breeze to get to safe havens such as Loddon and Ludham during bad weather. If you go for a trip on the canals then let us know what you think of it. Regards Alan

Hello Mandy, We have been hiring Narrow Boats since 1974/1975 (those two years of very hot summers) and having a boat share on the Norfolk Broads since 2001. We like both which are totally different but both equally relaxing in their own ways. With regards to hiring a narrow boat always go with the option of a boat that has a front opening door and preferably the type that has glassed double doors. If you sit at the front of a narrow boat you are gliding through the water and are unable to hear the noise of the engine at all, you are completely with nature and only able to go at a walking pace (4 mph the same as some of the broads). When we go these days there is six in our crew, this makes going through locks a lot easier and in flights we can split the crew to get locks ready which speeds up our passage through them. The three men in our crew all love buildings, bridges, tunnels and appreciate the construction of the canals and the way they wind their way throughout our countryside and towns. The ladies all help with the locks, swing and lift bridges, but tend to stay in the cabin when going through tunnels. Narrow boats or cruisers are basically caravans on water it is just a case of what floats your boat. On the canals if you wish to stretch your legs you just step off the boat at a bridge and walk until you have covered the ground you wish to travel or you reach a lock. Unless you walk very slowly you will always be in front of the boat. Like the Broads there is many pubs canal side or further afield if you wish to venture. Unless you wish to moor in a village or near to a pub you can moor up anywhere as long it is on the tow path. These days however there is a lot of the tow paths that are being used for long term private moorings at some locations. Some of our forum members would love the real ale that is on tap on most of these rural pubs, most allow a small sample of their brews in many of the pubs we have been in. Unless you need to press on you can of course stop for a lunch and end up staying the night. A number of you will be used to the effect of being on the boat on the broads for a week and have difficulty finding your land legs ashore, you get the same effect on the canals. After you have been relaxing at 4 mph the only problem is getting back into the car at end of your holiday. I would urge any of you to try both types of holiday. Regards Alan

Hello John, That was on David's other post. new member says hi to all, I have a Carebbian in Boats and Items Wanted Started by Doco, Yesterday, 07:12 AM In this post David's pictures of the plane would not open, I copied them from his other post and posted them on this topic. Regards Alan

Hello Jane, Welcome to the forum from Tan & myself. Hoveton Little Broad is quite small and the entrance is narrow, I is only open for the season. My favourite board to mud weight on is South Walsham Broad, just on the edge close but not too close to the trees. If we mud weight overnight I use an addition mud weight attached to the aft rails or cleats to stop the constant turning you get with one weight. As John says it is usually quiet on the Southern Broads, but keep it to yourself we don't want it too busy. Regards Alan

Hi Andy, Thank you for posting the video. I guess you did not have to pass through Yarmouth at slack water? Regards Alan

Hi Ian, Looking at the video this morning they were all huddled in one corner next to the wall, it was only when I looked at the still photo that I knew there were four of them (I know there were four eggs, but was unsure how many had hatched) they were just a fluffy ball of eyes. If you go into our webcams listings you can click onto a direct link to the website. Regards Alan