Recent content by Quandary

It was 2016, I was 76 and up the 15m. mast all day with spreader templates setting up the discontinuous rig of our Finngulf 33, my wife was below on deck winding the winch i was swinging on, when I eventually came down my arse was numb, my arms were aching and my arthritic fingers had stopped...

I have some genuine burma teak in the loft over my garage, I fitted out an Achilles 24 hull in 1974 and purchased a sleeper 10"x6"X 10' (hardwood was imperial then), and had it sawn up and planed to make the various sizes of strips I needed for battens, shelves lippings etc. I did not need it...

Chris, Not sure that you are correct here, I have never experienced the Cairnbaan Bridge being restricted by the operation of either of the bridges in Ardrishaig (or elsewhere on the canal). However the two bridges in Ardrishaig, at the sea lock and over lock 4 are controlled with only one open...

The canal is over 200 years old and one of Scotlands Ancient Monuments, while it has had a lot of money spent on it recently it has not been improved, some of the new sluices do not work and the new gates and sluices are heavier, the sluice pumps are not powerful enough, are positioned out...

Took a boat through yesterday so this is my report on how SCs target to assist all boats to transit is going. The intention is there but like in the past it is let down by their inability to man all the flights particularly in the morning, at Cairnbaan yesterday there was only one guy...

She is open right through from today, the locks are all manned by SC and three boats have gone west in the rain this morning.

The problem last year on the new gates at 12 and 13 was that some of the new sluices did not work and also with the leaky gates above they were often overtopped making them very difficult to break. The old timber gates and sluices have a built in tolerance which allows them to move when under...

It looks as if Mackenzie expect to get her open by the end of the month as promised. Ardrishaig end is already operating. With so many new locks, (which are much harder to operate than the old ones) Scottish Canals are looking to increase the manning to the extent that the early starters each...

Just to add to a very long thread, Crinan Canal- (I live in Ardrishaig) If the contractors finish on time or close to it it will be the first time they have achieved that, they were put under pressure by locals and responded to it with the earlier date. However, in the harbour here just outside...

There have been signs advising two person operation on the extraordinarily heavy upper gates on lock 6 for something like ten years now, it meant I could not sue them when it took my left knee cartilage; a few year ago when 5 got really bad they put similar notices on it, I am surprised that...

I am intrigued by this idea of a 'pilot' (what a grandiose term for a mundane job) providing insurance that will benefit the boat owner. What risk do you guys imagine that I should be insuring you against. I have been doing this regularly as a service for about 15 years, before that my wife...

I do not claim to be insured so the responsibility lies with the skipper. I only give advice and help, not instructions and I do not need to board your boat. I would be very interested to learn what form the insurance 'pilots' claim to carry, what protection it offers and how it relates to...

It looks as if the contractors are clearing up and that this year the canal will re-open as predicted on the 3rd April. It will nice to see the boats going past again. Scottish Canals website for the Crinan no longer carries a list of private pilots but carries an instruction that boats with...

Loads of stuff these days comes in airtight plastic buckets, bird food, garden fertilizer etc. so I have a plethora of different sizes. For a while I used a small C'gas cylinder as backup and put it in the locker protected from impact by such a bucket.

That's her, From Carrick she went up into Belfast for a week but last night she was under way again, this morning I found her tucked up in Dun Laoghaire, she should soon be seeing temps. above zero when she is doing her night passages.