What a brilliant weekends cruise. No major issues, slight bit of attention needed to the harry potter ignition system - after a perfect shakedown cruise last weekend Dusty decided the contact beakers and rotor arm would need a clean (despite only having been done a few hours previous) along with overheating the ignition coil for good measure. The points were cleaned with a business card. The rotor arm with a nail file. The coil became water cooled when I dunked it in the river!
She will get a second coil fitted next week so as its only a couple of wires to swap over if it gets hot and bothered again.
Dusty behaving herself on the way to Alwalton.
Fairlight was perfect bar for having to clean the toilet joker valve as flush water was not staying in the bowl.
We spotted this old girl hiding in the hedge downstream of Pat Buckles yard at Stibbington.
She had a 4hp Yamaha nailed to the stern and a big old Perky looking engine sat on the rear deck with a rather dodgy looking amount of lifting gear attached to it. Kris's wee hiab look's a far better proposition!
Of the Knobhead? Shiny boater hogging a water point to clean his boat. The lock in question isn't an ideal place to moor anyway, cruiser with a not very full water tank, big dog, small child and difference in gunwales height meant it was easier not to bother. A bit of chat revealed he was a pudding and didn't really think he was doing anything wrong. Oh well, All part of life's rich tapestry!
We hit the bottom on a few shoals following the winters flooding. The big one at Alwalton is gone though.
A lovely warm welcome at Peterborough Yacht Club, it will be too short a stay as we are off and away across the Middle Levels bright and early next Saturday.
As for the weather:-
Please remain fair, please remain fair.! Skin is waterproof but the Levels are a nicer place with the sun on your back!
Yea it was good, second boating weekend running were the weather has been perfect!
The poor old Yam looked it's only current means of motive power! It looks very much work in progress, the good news being work does look as though it is progressing! A fair old task it looks too!
Yea it was good, second boating weekend running were the weather has been perfect!
The poor old Yam looked it's only current means of motive power! It looks very much work in progress, the good news being work does look as though it is progressing! A fair old task it looks too!
Good to see that you had an enjoyable w.e. gazza, too bad that people like the knobhead at the waterpoint seem to be of a kind of abusers (intented or not) that you'll encounter more and more, they don't care much about others, as long as they're alright, and get what they think they need.
I like the old Dutch barge, and admire the people that take on fairly big projects like that, often with very limited financial means, but still maintaining their independence to move with an old 4HP Yamaha, I wish them the best of luck to finish their work on the old girl.
On the waterpoint thing you are perhaps being a little harsh. Obviously your “chat” left you with a bad impression, but is using a water point to clean your boat forbidden somewhere? Is there a fundamental difference between being on a water point to fill your tank vs to wash your boat? Perhaps the latter lasts a bit longer but either don’t seem too unreasonable, compared say to just mooring there and going to the pub (ie not using the water point, just blocking it).
On the waterpoint thing you are perhaps being a little harsh. Obviously your “chat” left you with a bad impression, but is using a water point to clean your boat forbidden somewhere? Is there a fundamental difference between being on a water point to fill your tank vs to wash your boat? Perhaps the latter lasts a bit longer but either don’t seem too unreasonable, compared say to just mooring there and going to the pub (ie not using the water point, just blocking it).
It's not a great idea when the landing stage has only 10' spare before the lock mouth. Remember, this is a river with much infrastructure that was originally intended for <40' boats. Filing your water tank no issue, washing and polishing your boat at one of the few taps available on the river? not so much. It's a big waste of water too - remember, every drop counts....
A few buckets out of the river and a mop was normally enough.
Spending a morning inconveniencing others to keep your pride and joy tip top is not really cricket. As Peter points out, sadly there are many more who think it's acceptable so I guess we are stuck with it.
On the waterpoint thing you are perhaps being a little harsh. Obviously your “chat” left you with a bad impression, but is using a water point to clean your boat forbidden somewhere? Is there a fundamental difference between being on a water point to fill your tank vs to wash your boat? Perhaps the latter lasts a bit longer but either don’t seem too unreasonable, compared say to just mooring there and going to the pub (ie not using the water point, just blocking it).
It's not a great idea when the landing stage has only 10' spare before the lock mouth. Remember, this is a river with much infrastructure that was originally intended for <40' boats. Filing your water tank no issue, washing and polishing your boat at one of the few taps available on the river? not so much. It's a big waste of water too - remember, every drop counts....
A few buckets out of the river and a mop was normally enough.
Spending a morning inconveniencing others to keep your pride and joy tip top is not really cricket. As Peter points out, sadly there are many more who think it's acceptable so I guess we are stuck with it.
I think it’s just a matter of degree. Yes an entire morning spent on a water point is pretty unreasonable, but 1/2 hr spent washing one side of your boat I suggest is not. Do you actually know how long he was there for? I am as against selfish behaviour as you are and on the rare occasions we have washed our boat on a water point (midlands canal water being less clean than the Nene!) we have chosen quiet moments and/or would move off if someone wanted water, but it is easy to regard anything that slightly impinges on our plans as “selfish” - sometimes a dispassionate analysis is required!
Is it a waste of water? The water probably came from the river in the first place, and is just being put back. Perhaps my view is clouded by living in Scotland where one thing we don’t have a shortage of, is water! Water for Aberdeen comes from the Dee a few miles inland. Any water not extracted from the river flows into the sea shortly afterwards, as does extracted water.
No lack of water in the river maybe, but it seems to be more and more difficult to produce good quality drinking water. If this guy was using water from the river there was even less reason to squat a waterpoint that's there to fill up peoples watertanks, and not to wash their boats. A couple of buckets from the river and a mop is all that's needed, like gazza said already. Our ideas about this may (and surely will) differ, but I see this as pretty selfish behaviour.
Extraction does take place out of the Nene, there is a pumping station at Wansford that feeds both Grafham and Rutland reservoirs.
A little known detail about extracting from the Nene is that fish studies have shown the high levels of estrogen pissed into the water system by the women of Northants on the pill are causing some fish to become dual sexed.
On the waterpoint thing you are perhaps being a little harsh. Obviously your “chat” left you with a bad impression, but is using a water point to clean your boat forbidden somewhere? Is there a fundamental difference between being on a water point to fill your tank vs to wash your boat? Perhaps the latter lasts a bit longer but either don’t seem too unreasonable, compared say to just mooring there and going to the pub (ie not using the water point, just blocking it).
I may be wrong here but I seem to remember that there was a license condition or perhaps a bylaw that did expressly state that water points could not be used in this manner..was a few years ago so stand to be corrected,anyone know for sure?
Those that think they know everything are truly irritating to those of us that do
A thought. Would it be possible to carry a Y fitting so if somebody is using a water pint then fit the Y and you can both use the same point ?
Not sure how the hose is fitted to the points but fittings are generally universal.
The pressure is usually crap so a Y piece just ends up taking forever.
The biggest issues at this particular water point is its on a very short lock landing.
Ideal for those actually using the lock as you have to wait to fill it going downstream or tie up and empty it before heading off if travelling upstream, sticking the hose in while the lock sorts itself out is a great time saver.
Plonking yourself on the lock landing to use it for valeting is pretty selfish, along with the waste of fresh water - considering the river is full of water. still it wouldn't do to use on posh paint I guess.
On the waterpoint thing you are perhaps being a little harsh. Obviously your “chat” left you with a bad impression, but is using a water point to clean your boat forbidden somewhere? Is there a fundamental difference between being on a water point to fill your tank vs to wash your boat? Perhaps the latter lasts a bit longer but either don’t seem too unreasonable, compared say to just mooring there and going to the pub (ie not using the water point, just blocking it).
I may be wrong here but I seem to remember that there was a license condition or perhaps a bylaw that did expressly state that water points could not be used in this manner..was a few years ago so stand to be corrected,anyone know for sure?
I thought so too. Possibly on the Thames?
As far as I am concerned washing a boat at a public water point is completely unacceptable and anyone doing so should be taken out and shot.
I'm not bothered about wasting water but its just inconsiderate and inappropriate and in-something else.
I hate it.
Why does a boat need washing anyway ? And why wouldn't canal or river water do the job?
On the waterpoint thing you are perhaps being a little harsh. Obviously your “chat” left you with a bad impression, but is using a water point to clean your boat forbidden somewhere? Is there a fundamental difference between being on a water point to fill your tank vs to wash your boat? Perhaps the latter lasts a bit longer but either don’t seem too unreasonable, compared say to just mooring there and going to the pub (ie not using the water point, just blocking it).
I think there is. I will use a water point to wash my boat, or to do my clothes washing if there is nobody else waiting to use it but I would consider it impolite to cause another boater waiting to fill his water tank to be delayed while I did so.
This is simply good manners, something one is taught when one goes to proper school.
Tony Dunkley is a first class engineer, semi-retired now, but a lifetime of experience, and Works trained at Listers. You could not do better.