NABO meeting with CRT August 2022

Mike Rodd and Anne Husar met with Matthew Symonds and the new National Boating Officer, Eleanor Bridgwood-Hill, on Wednesday 24th August for their regular catch-up meeting.  Key issues at this session were… The boat licence increase – CRT are predicting a £7m shortfall but assured us that the published winter programme would go ahead in […]

CRT launches first ‘BOATER CENSUS’

The Canal & River Trust is launching the first ever Boater Census and is asking every boat licence holder to take part and help paint a picture of who boats on the charity’s waterways. The Boater Census has been designed with input from boater representatives on the Trust’s Council to help understand the different needs […]

Happy 30th, NABO

Happy 30th, NABO Although formed in 1991, last year’s pandemic distracted everyone from NABO’s 30th anniversary. Here’s a belated summary of some of the issues facing NABO 30 years ago. Formation Phil Bland and Jon Darlington formed NABO, joining forces with Syd Beacroft and Dave Green, who had called a meeting to form a boaters’ […]

April National Users’ Forum

National Users’ Forum The April forum had poor attendance, with more CRT staff than other group representatives.  Water resources – due to reservoir issues, the Chesterfield, L&L, Macclesfield and Peak Forest, and Huddersfield Narrow canals will probably all suffer to some degree from restrictions this ‘season’. Review of works – 13 winter stoppages have overrun […]

CRT South West Annual Public Meeting – Thursday 7th April

A not a very well-attended meeting with only some 24 folk present (including numerous CRT people) but still a useful and well-structured session. The Regional Director, Mark Evans, gave a slick summary of the past year and of course highlighted the difficulties caused by the storms etc. He also emphasised the significant amount of non-boater […]

CRT’s 2021 Annual Lockage Report

2021 Annual Lockage Report After Covid restrictions were lifted, most places recorded lockage counts that were close to pre-pandemic levels, although there was little boating in the first four months of 2021. Using 178 comparison sites, the report shows a 39.4% increase in total lockage from 2020 to 2021*. The estimated total lockage of all […]

Crick Boat Show

Crick Boat Show Advance tickets are now on sale for the 2022 Crick Boat Show, saving up to 15% on the entry price. The event will be held across the Bank Holiday weekend celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee (3rd – 5th June), with an extra ‘Trade & Preview Day’ on Thursday 2nd June. The Preview […]

Basic antifreeze maintenance for your engine

John Devonald has some tips on a topic rarely considered. This short article is really one I should have written before winter set in, but I am still getting queries from people about issues they are having with their cooling systems. Here are a few points and tips to, hopefully, help anyone who is unsure […]