A Grim Warning....
...about outboard motors, the invention of the Devil, from the always-entertaining-and-informative Invisible Workshop.Key quote: "To conclude: you’re much better off rowing."

Boats as street furniture
The Albert Embankment runs along the south bank of the Thames in Lambeth. When it was built by the famous engineer Joseph Bazalgette in the 1860s, a line of wharves was swept away but local rights to a slipway at the end of Black Prince Road, known as the White Hart Draw Dock, forced Bazalgette to build a new one, accessed through a tunnel under the road.

Mirror, mirror...
Robert Bells in British Columbia has also been messing about with mirrors. First, he attached a mirror to a metal stalk that carries a running light and is attached to the transom, but eventually replaced it with ingenious plastic one that appeals very much to my bodgemania, being assemble

Boating on the Box
You can tell the weather has been horrible - both this blog and intheboatshed.net have been watching the telly. Gavin links to a very splendid Channel 4 series that I missed, called Classic Ships, available to watch on 4oD. This episode focuses on pleasure craft, including the Thames skiffs and slipper boats that my grandparents used to have when I was a kid.

Noah oop North
Here's a tale of true Lancashire grit and determination from Stanley Holloway. If your Lancashire geography is a bit vague, Bury is on the River Irwell in the north of Greater Manchester. Blackpool is about 50 miles to the west.The clip was put up by Hawkmoon - lots more lovely stuff on his YouTube channel.