Boating, well boats

Update on the boating situation 2023

It’s been a long time since we properly had time to spend a decent time on the boat, and it doesn’t look like Easter 2023 will be a boating time: so I’m just going to reminisce about what I’ve been missing and what a poor state Mostly Harmless has got in, after being neglected during lockdown.

So we took the stove out.

Currently the stove is out of the boat. We were going to repair it, but instead have left it in the capable hands of Graham Patterson at J & W Donaldson Caledonian Place, Church Gate, Moffat, DG10 9EG I know he’ll get it back to full working order.

We’ve then had some issues with water damage.

This is the worst place, but there are plenty of others. We think this is due to a leaking bathroom window, which is now sealed.

The answer to this damage was to paint the woodwork. We had quite a chat between Mr Physics and I as to what should be painted and set off to the paint shop with no concept of the paint scheme, except for some reason we didn’t want green. It was an amazingly simple and agreeable task and I’ve no idea how it came about. We stood over the paint display and after a few minutes I said “I like these two.” Mr Physics took the samples to the door, said he agreed and off we went!

So far we’ve done most of the back cabin and most of the bathroom. We need to do something more with some of the cupboards which still look a little water stained. We can check this out when we return.

We found some amazing stuff which undercoated everything, but it was harsh on the brushes

But between all the fixes we had some ready made entertainment, although we were quite concerned the poor animal had gone a bit doolally.

Unfortunately we now have a widebeam boat right next to us, so no chance of feeding the swans out of the side hatch.

Scottish Canals

Twechar and Bonnybridge Lift Bridges temporarily suspended to boat traffic


Scottish Canals states

Boat transits through Twechar and Bonnybridge lift bridges on the Forth & Clyde Canal have been temporarily suspended.
 The mechanisms of these bridges have been a cause for concern for some time but recent inspections show that they have now reached a point where we believe their operation could pose a risk to public safety. While we work up the technical solutions and source the funding required to implement the necessary repairs, we have no option but to temporarily suspend their operation.
 The vibrancy of the waterspace is of key importance to us and we will do all we can to generate the resources necessary to bring the bridges back to full operation as soon as possible.
 We recently met with a number of key stakeholders including the Lowland Canals Volunteer Group, Lowland Canals Association, and RYA and, as a result of their feedback, we will prioritise our works to ensure that Twechar bridge is the primary focus for reopening, with Bonnybridge second.
 Towpath access remains unaffected.

As promised a blog of our journey to our new mooring, although you’ll have to work backwards until I can fix this!

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