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Hello!
Goodness me, is it time for another newsletter? I've been so busy lately, what with my own boats and filming on all sorts of other canal topics, that I'd almost let this deadline slip by! Ahh, just like my old days in journalism.
With milder days upon us and more hours of daylight, it won't be long until we're all out on the water, cursing that the canals are too crowded and why did everyone else have to come out at the same time eh?
Hooray for boating!
Cheers
David |
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News from the canal world.
*** Press releases or other news snippets can be sent to me at newsletter@cruisingthecut.co.uk ***
That sinking feeling
A narrowboat which sank in the middle of the north Oxford canal was apparently stripped of everything aboard by thieves before it went down.
The boat blocked the canal for almost five days before the River Canal Rescue organisation were able to refloat it and move it out of the way.
The owner then found that everything aboard had been stripped - engine, gearbox, clothes, personal items, even the toilet and basin from the bathroom!
RCR said they first sealed around the boat then used pumps at a rate of 60,000 litres of water per hour to bring the boat back up.
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2g5e95r74o
Memories are made of this
A project to capture memories of canal restorations across the West Midlands has been launched by the Canal & River Trust.
They want to hear from those who contributed to the restoration and revitalisation of the region’s waterways from the 1960s to the 1990s.
The idea is for people to share their memories, stories and pictures - whether that was working on the ground, helping restore historic structures, planning and overseeing the projects, or volunteering.
All collected stories will be archived for public access.
To get involved, there's an event being held at Dudley Canal & Tunnel Trust (501 Birmingham New Road, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4SB) on March 13th from 11am to 3pm, or you can email oralhistories@canalrivertrust.org.uk
More info at https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/news/weve-launched-a-project-to-preserve-stories-of-canal-restoration
Up the creek with a paddle
New dates have been announced for canoeing trips through the 3.5-mile-long Standedge Tunnel which runs under the Pennines between Marsden and Diggle.
The Canal & River Trust opened the box office for tickets just a few days ago (Feb 26th), with dates set as March 22 & 23, April 26 & 27, and May 17 & 18.
Further dates later in the year will be announced in due course. Tickets cost £110 per canoe (solo or tandem) and numbers are limited. Trips through the tunnel are escorted for safety reasons.
See more and book at https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/museums-and-attractions/standedge-tunnel/paddle-sports-at-standedge
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My recent videos
After an explosion of interest in my 'new' tiny aluminium narrowboat, it should be no surprise that most of the videos have been about that, including the survey process, a full and detailed tour, plus my first night aboard.
But as the "Question & Answer" video made clear, I have not forgotten my other boat (!) the fibreglass cruiser Twiggy which remains as a DIY project to be enjoyed over the spring, summer and autumn months.
Click the links below to watch these recent videos. |
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Book your perfect canal boat holiday! |
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What am I up to?
As mentioned in my Welcome note, above, I've not only been aboard my own boats this past month but also filming a couple of other boating items of interest.
Just a couple of days ago, I spent a morning in the company of narrowboat builder Ortomarine, who wanted to gain some real-world data about the effect of different propellers on electric narrowboats. Is bigger better? I will reveal the results once they've crunched the data.
I've also been back aboard two steam narrowboats which are having their boilers removed for refurbishment and re-certification, a process that is still underway as I write. Hopefully all will be tickety-boo and I'll have a video showing the process soon.
The plan for March is to spend a couple more weekends aboard Narrowboat "Gentian" so as to finish any immediate jobs such as the sticking throttle control lever cable (to be seen in an upcoming video) and do some short test cruises to check how the engine behaves over longer runs and generally see what it's like to stay aboard while cruising.
These will be along the Fossdyke navigation which runs between the River Trent and Lincoln. Once I am happy with everything, I will be able then to start bringing the boat down towards the Midlands which will occur over several weekends, with me hopping from marina to marina each time. At least, that's the plan. I haven't actually worked out the full trip logistics yet and it relies also on the weather being decent.
The trip (up the Trent, then the Trent & Mersey canal, onto the Coventry Canal, then the North Oxford and into whichever marina or mooring I decide on) should make for some lovely, "classic" cruising the cut, I hope.
Apart from that, I will also visit Twiggy so as to hopefully get the transom repair finished after which I can sand the hull and repaint with antifouling.
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Into the dusty archive...
Given my engineering work on Narrowboat Gentian, in particular the throttle problem and the intended solar panel installation, not to mention fitting an isolation transformer, I think an appropriate video from the archive would be on the same theme.
This one caused many a proper engineer to wince and scream and for that reason alone it's one of my favourites (and note, not once after I did this did I ever have a problem with the alternator again, so what I did, worked!)
It's the tale of how my alternator failed on Wreyland and how I went about replacing it.
Watch at https://cruisingthecut.co.uk/2018/01/19/vlog-124-current-events/ |
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My YouTube top pick of the month
They don't need any help from me in terms of subscriber numbers - they have over 640,000 already - but my friends Nikki and Jason at Gone With The Wynns recently spent some time at a boat show in Amsterdam and created a video comparing various sizes of electric outboard motors which is a useful snapshot of the "state of the art".
Even more recently, they've published a consideration of whether hybrid (electric / sail) is now a sensible and practical option or whether more development is needed.
Both videos are certainly worth a watch if you are curious about the way that propulsion tech is heading.
Outboards: https://youtu.be/mkFDp5ej03w
Hybrids: https://youtu.be/SWFzpqj6Wj0 |
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Final Thoughts
With March tends to come the first proper signs of Spring: daffodils poking their heads up, occasional sunny days, a general feeling of wellbeing.
I'm hoping that holds true this year too and that my plans for boating can come to fruition - and, if you have any such plans too, that your hopes and dreams are fulfilled also!
Let me know what you're up to by replying to this email; it would be great to publish a flavour of what newsletter readers are getting up to!
Regards
David |
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