As we hunker down under Storm Dave you might well wonder where Spring has gone! This messiness of seasonal change emphasises the way we tend to think about life and the problems that arise when things don't fit into prescribed categories. The old idea of borrowing days helps us navigate this 'untidyness' in a a different way.

https://www.noswpod.com/borrowing-days/

#podcast #weather #spring #canal #narrowboat #boatlife #nature

I read that using groups is more effective than hashtags for wider circulation in the fediverse.

A new FediGroup is now live. It's for any toots concerning the UK's navigable waterways, whether #canals or #rivers managed by the #Canal and #River #Trust, the #Environment #Agency, the #Broads #Authority or other body.

If anyone mentions the address:
@ukwaterways
in a post, it will be boosted to everyone who follows the Group.

You can follow the group at:
https://fedigroups.social/@ukwaterways

Public posts and replies are boosted. Private messages to the Group are rejected.

Please boost!

#boat #boatlife #boating #boatsthattoot #canallife #ukcanals #norfolkbroads #broads #sailing #yacht #cruiser #narrowboat #widebeam

For the stern hatch, I bought much larger, sturdier, brass sliding bolts.

Oak is hard wood, so it took a chisel and mallet, drill, hacksaw, and screwdriver to mount them. But it wasn't difficult.

Opening the hatch takes only 2 seconds—faster than I imagine it takes to open an airplane's emergency exit. It's satisfying to have a decent locking mechanism on the hatch that doesn't block emergency egress.🔥

#CanalLife #canal #boating #boat #narrowboat #safety #security #lock #bolt #FireExit #hatch

Travelling Girl

Bartimaeus is still on dry land, but there is still some travelling to be had.
https://bartimaeus.blether.org.uk/travelling-girl
#Narrowboat #LiveAboard #BoatsThatToot

In England, canal companies preceded railway companies. Canals were dug along a level route. Later tracks were often laid alongside and overtop of canals.

I managed to get a photo of the Oxford North canal near Hillmorton, just as an oncoming train pushed into the frame. It's all high speed, and amazing that the canal itself is in focus.

In contrast to the trains, boats on the canal travel at 3 miles per hour.

#Canal #CanalLife #train #rail #railway #boating #narrowboat #boat #speed #velocity

I'm scheduling people to join the boat next week. We'll fare well along a stretch of tree-lined canal that has a few locks to operate.

They'll be relaxing days of enjoying the sights, the waterway, and the wildlife (ducks, coots, moor hens, geese, and swans). Oh, and there will be stimulating intermissions from all that relaxation: winding lock paddles up and down, filling and draining lock chambers, and pushing lock gates open and closed.

#canal #CanalLife #lock #boating #narrowboat #boat

It is time to prepare the boat for boating. After all, it's not only a home and a (slow) mode of transportation, it's also a boat—a source of entertainment.

#canal #CanalLife #boating #narrowboat #boat #UK

Fragile Thing

Watch where you go and beware of birds.
https://bartimaeus.blether.org.uk/fragile-thing
#Narrowboat #LiveAboard #BoatsThatToot

May The Long Time Sun Shine Upon You

Blessings, blossoms and serendipity.
https://bartimaeus.blether.org.uk/may-the-long-time-sun-shine-upon-you
#Narrowboat #LiveAboard #BoatsThatToot