Monthly Archives: June 2019

what lies beneath?

our waterways chaplain

what lies beneath?

I took Easter Week out with my two brothers and our wives on the Shroppie, aboard one of Chas Harden’s hire fleet based at Beeston Castle. It was great and all we did was head the very few miles into Chester and pausing there before the short hop to the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port. I did not go as a Chaplain, although I did make a point of wearing my Waterways Chaplain baseball hat.

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wiring batteries

what is the right way to wire a battery bank?

Before we start, some terminology. When connecting batteries together to form a bank the cables between the batteries are called loops.

The best way to connect batteries together is a way that makes sure that the power is drawn from and sent to all the batteries in a bank identically, so that all the batteries get used equally and charged equally and live their full lives. Incorrectly wired banks cause batteries to have a shortened life.

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summer camps

iwa word on the waterways

summer 2019

Now that the weather is warmer, our thoughts happily turn to spending more time outside. For many of us, the lure of the water is strong and we look forward to taking time out of our hectic lives to relax on or by the many rivers and canals across the country.

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sound ship and take to the boat

dawncraft chronicles

sound ship and take to the boat

I have just come back from Crick boat show so bouncing full of new ideas, but something struck me looking at all the boats with some superb fit outs that are better standard than our own cottage. We are not a house we are a boat and things can and do go horribly wrong and we need to be able to “sound ship” and in a hurry.

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fiddlers ferry area

inter tidal zone

3: fiddlers ferry area

This time the Inter tidal topic is all about a true inter tidal zone in the North West of England, with Canal and River and walking and cycling and an historic Pub! Accessible from the River Mersey and PART of the Sankey Canal and road and Trans Pennine Trail. I say part of the canal, as unfortunately the canal is not linked end-to-end to the canal network. Arguably the oldest canal, but still suffering from the ravages of earlier 'filling in' and disuse in parts.

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canal & river trust announces changes to short term boat licences

Following the national licensing consultation last year, the Canal & River Trust is announcing changes to the short-term licences the charity offers to visiting boaters.

The Trust will continue to offer short term licences for visitors and those who have boats off the water and will remove the daily licence. The revised prices are available via the Trust’s website.