Services on the cut

Although there are many marinas along the canals and rivers the mobile services providers offer a good service especially in winter when a lot of boaters are moored for longer periods than summertime. Having been confined to a section of the Grand Union for what seems years we have used Phil on Hyperion for diesel twice.

 Phil charges at the moment 87p per litre which is fairly competitive. I did see 85 pence per litre at a marina but that was without tax so was in fact 4.5 pence more than displayed.
Phil covers an area stretching from Cowley up to Stoke Hammond. 07415 298 381. He accepts payment by cash, cheque or if you bank on-line, money transfer.

Now as you know we have a composting toilet but for those with a pump out here`s a new service just recently started. A mobile pump out service that services boats between Packet Boat( just south of Cowley) and Leighton Buzzard. It is currently passing through every 2 weeks and the cost is £15. Not sure of charges at marinas but this of course being mobile could be very useful when you want to moor up and not have the worry of a filling waste tank. Warren can be contacted on 07779 114 956.

 Already posted before but deserving a mention are Jules and Richard on Towcester who cover the Grand Union from Hemel Hempstead northbound and beyond their Stoke Bruerne base. 07740 487 222. The picture shows them alongside in heavy rain when I had just had the cancer operation and was moored up for almost 3 months.

Also worth a mention for those like me that have a chainsaw on board is a canal side dealer that has given me excellent service.
Olivers, 01923 265 211, have everything you need including repairs if needed and are very close to the canal. They are practically opposite Kings Langley station and the best access from the canal is bridge 159 next to Home Park lock (70).

If your like me you will add these numbers to your notebooks. Don`t add them to just your phone because you might be one of many whose phones end up in a watery grave.
I have a list of all sorts of contacts that I record when reading of other boaters dealings. Batteries or fuel boats even spare parts for anything boaty that has been purchased away from chandlers but is still convenient to the canal towpath. Now is the time to write them down.