Victor: Getting worse

SO IT looks like we are going to get 'Little Hitlers' strutting their stuff up and down the towpaths at the visitor moorings, making life even more fraught for boaters.

The latest craze from Canal & River Trust is for volunteer Visitor Mooring Rangers, but they have to have knowledge of IT, which means that not only will they be checking overstayers, but licences too and whatever else takes their fancy.

The old British Waterways had resident wardens looking after visitor moorings, and obviously doing it very well too, but it meant they had free moorings as part of the deal. But Canal & River Trust quickly ousted them and flogged the mooring off to the highest bidder.

I wonder, should head enforcement honcho Paul Griffiths be losing his team, to be replaced be volunteers? That's how CaRT managed to get rid of so many lock keepers, so watch out Paul.

Waiting to happen

Looking at the state of the boat that caught fire at Fradley, it was obvious its wiring would most likely have left a lot to be desired. All too often I have been in boats where wiring has been dragged down across the 'gunnel' and obviously trapped.  Really a fire waiting to happen with the constant movement. (Photo by Ralph Freeman.)

And not even a fire alarm, that the fire people will give for free.

The only really safe way is to have all wires in conduit, so no way can they get trapped. And keep the 12 volts away from mains 240 volts wiring.

They pick the easiest locks

One of the places you see volunteer lock keepers is at Fradley Junction, with the exception of course of Shadehouse Lock—the gates are far too heavy, having been wrongly installed.

Met a lady there once who try as she might, just could not move a gate, so hastily offered her help. Needless to say the male member of the crew was chuntering away down below, but from what she told me he will not be chuntering much longer—she had had enough!

Mind you, our Ralph tells that Woodend Lock gates are a big improvement, they have been properly balanced.  So as there still is someone who knows how to do it, why not adjust the lot?

Okay for tunnels

So the new £150 millions main contractor for the Trust is Kier—that in addition to a tower block or two and a few hospitals is a contractor for the massive Crossrail project.

What its people will know about locks and other canal infrastructure is anybody's guess, but it should be fine repairing our tunnels.

Oh dear!

One boater had more than his fair share of problems on the Huddersfield Narrow according to my old mate from Pennine Waterways, he managed to sink his boat—twice!

Once at Lock 23W when he caught the boat's stern on the cill, to be rescued by CaRT, and then carried on to Lock 22W with too much water in the boat that took on still more and sank, this time to be rescued by River & Canal Rescue.

Martin told that the boater was 'clearly upset'!

Away

So that's it for a fortnight or so, we are all off on a slow cruise around the Leicester Ring yet again.  Mind you, there is a laptop on the boat, and Thomas has his new Wi-Fi toy, so who knows...

Victor Swift