Victor reckons they should know the 'Method of Repair' by now

SURELY those contractors should have by now found the 'method of repair' for all those repairs that keep piling up.

After all they have been at it since 2012!

Yet time and time again they bodge a job, then have to come back to sort it out again—and again.  The latest being the poor Wood End Lift Bridge on the Peak Forest that needed four attempts, but I can't even calculate those on the 'Narrow' that warranted seven stoppages in a month, as you will no doubt have read.

But still they come tells our Keith, with CaRT blithely telling—and this takes some believing—Wood End Lift Bridge could remains closed for several weeks whilst a 'method of repair' is being investigated!

I just wonder what those boaters moored at the wrong side of this dead end navigation think of that?

And still they come

Still these silly reasons/excuses come, with CaRT getting us to believe that its 'maintenance team' is working on replacing the missing cill on Kilby Lock on the Leicester Section.

Maintenance team?  Surely 'maintenance' is to prevent all these stoppages, for which there has obviously been very little.

Ahh! this sounds a lot like a ploy—perhaps to make the people in charge of CaRT's purse strings believe that it is undertaking maintenance.

Exploring

We have been busy exploring Mercia Marina, with the help of Mary from the boat next to us, she pointing out the various things helpful for its boaters.

I had heard of 'Bring & Buy' but never 'Give & Take', that one building at Mercia offers.

This allows moorers to either leave items they no longer have any need for or take something that takes their fancy—with even an air fryer for anyone who wants it offered, with Mary telling of the useful items there is to take. That I should imagine is very handy indeed for the moorers either getting rid of clutter or wanting something off its shelves.

Further on our conducted tour there was another building and with the door opened to see the largest non-commercial washing machine ever.

Not too handy thought I, but was quickly put right by being told of three other laundries around the marina with full washing facilities—this one being just for dogs' blankets and other doggy items!

Both surprised me, and left me wondering what else was on offer, for these are two handy services that I've never encountered before.

Obviously we will have to get Mary out again to see what other 'goodies' are available.

Now it's 'damage'

Except for an occasional northern area that still insists on 'vandals' causing stoppages, most now resort to 'damage' as an excuse for failures. For this doesn't get any comeback as in the case of Wood End Lift Bridge where 'vandals' had the blame for a breakage, as reported, but it needed a crane to fix—that was impossible for vandals to even reach, never mind accomplish a breakage.

Then there's the Erewash stoppage blamed on vandals stopping the gates closing, yet the second stoppage notice tells—There is a persistent leak on the bottom lock gates and plans are also scheduled with our partner group to repair this. Not so much 'vandals' eh?

So now it's 'damage' that implies a third party instead of the real reason—usually a complete lack of maintenance.

Mind you, it would certainly be appreciated if CaRT told the real reason for all these stoppages—27 so far this month, plus those that are not reported.

Get to know your policy

I was amazed at the insurance regulations concerning Lithium-ion batteries, that are used in even normal everyday items such as tablets and mobile phones on a boat, that can explode then catch fire, burning everything in its wake.

Many boat insurance policies now include regulations concerning such batteries, with one containing 25 items regarding the charging and use of such, that if not adhered to will nullify your policy.

Such a battery can be triggered if it is stored or charged at temperatures that are too low or too high, that are only too common in such as a thinly insulated narrowboat. Each type of battery tolerates a different temperature, but worse still, fires can occur spontaneously while charging, though this is likely due to manufacturing defects.

However one rule is not to leave such a Lithium-ion  battery or anything containing such a battery left on charge unattended—or even in direct sunlight....

Perhaps those boat fires that all too often are regarded as caused by vandals are actually caused by Lithium-ion batteries left on charge and exploding and catching fire

These of course are the batteries used in electric bikes and scooters that are often reported as exploding and catching fire with 48 e-bike and 12 e-scooters going up in flames in London alone.

So better be careful, eh?

Victor Swift—telling tales for 23 years.