DHutch

Earlier messages clearly fell the other side of a site update and are now longer displayed on the stoppage page, however there is link to an system migration archive document, which is a bit hard to read between the formatting html, however I have extracted the below for interest. ### 2025-01-03 During a planned inspection undertaken in preparation for boats to use the lift today, we experienced a fault with the East river gate. The fault requires further investigation and sadly means that we are unable to operate either caisson on the lift until those investigations and any recommendations are complete. Further investigation will begin this morning as specialist contractors assist our teams to make sure we can reopen the lift as soon as possible. Our Customer Support Team will be contacting and supporting all those customers who have booked passages that are affected by this temporary closure. We expect to be able to update with further details on Monday 6th January. ### Following our previous update, we have continued to evaluate the problems with the East river gate at the Anderton Boat Lift. The fault requires further investigation and sadly means that we are unable to operate either caisson on the lift until those investigations and any recommendations are complete. Further investigation will begin this morning as specialist contractors assist our teams to make sure we can reopen the lift as soon as possible. Our Customer Support Team will be contacting and supporting all those customers who have booked passages that are affected by this temporary closure. We expect to be able to update with further details on Monday 6th January. ### We'd like to provide an update on the ongoing closure of the Anderton Boat Lift. During routine planned maintenance, a lifting wire on the East aqueduct unexpectedly failed. For safety reasons, the lift remains closed while we investigate the cause. This involves external testing so its taking some time to complete. We understand how frustrating this is for those affected and apologise for the inconvenience. While we don't yet have a definitive reopening date, we're working hard to provide more clarity. Our next update will be shared on 7 February 2025. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to ensure the long-term safety and reliability of this iconic, historic structure. ### The nature of the current challenges and consequential closure of Anderton boat lift require an investigation which has statutory requirements. The detailed assessment requires investigation and evaluation by specialist engineers and will take approximately a further 6 weeks. These vital investigations are required to identify the repair and refurbishment requirements before we can complete the work required to reopen the boat lift. The investigations are already underway and we expect to provide our next update on 28 February 2025 ### Investigations at the Anderton Boat Lift are progressing well, with specialist engineers continuing their detailed assessment in accordance with statutory requirements. These investigations are essential in determining the next steps needed before reopening can proceed. We expect to provide a more detailed timeline in our next update on 14 March 2025 ### The engineering investigations at Anderton Boat Lift have confirmed that additional works to the gate operating mechanism are required for safe operation of the lift. Specialist engineers are urgently progressing with the works required and developing the programme to undertake the repairs needed to re-open the lift. We apologise for the inconvenience and for being unable to give a clear timescale for reopening at this stage. Sadly, the lift is unlikely to be open for the Easter holiday. We will provide a further update on or before the 28th March. For customers planning upcoming travel on our other waterways, alternative routes are available via Marsh Lock and along the Manchester Ship Canal. Details and bookings can be found.... ### Following our last update, specialist engineers are continuing to progress the necessary works on the Anderton Boat Lift to ensure its safe operation. As part of this, a full design review of the entire lifting system, which operates the vertical rise gates forming part of the two caisson lifts, is being carried out. We can now confirm that the works required will take a number of months and that consequently and sadly it will remain out of service for the Summer. We appreciate this will be disappointing for those who had already planned to, or were planning to visit the boat lift this year. We will continue to provide regular updates while we work to bring this vital historic structure back into operation. For those looking to visit the Weaver or our other waterways, passage via Marsh Lock and the Manchester Ship Canal remains available. To support boaters unfamiliar with this route, we're hosting a Manchester Ship Canal Information Day on May 16 at the Anderton Boat Lift. This event will provide guidance on navigating the canal, booking requirements, and what to expect. You can find more details here. If any local boat clubs would like to discuss holding a similar event over the summer, please get in touch. If it's your first time traveling on the Manchester Ship Canal, or just want a reminder, you can find out some very useful information at www.theriverweaver.co.uk Our next update will be provided on or before 25th April. ### Update 1 May 2025, 9:16am Over the last few weeks our engineers and specialists have been carrying out inspections of the structure and have now been asked to come up with several options to allow us to bring the boat lift back into service. Once each option has been carefully reviewed, we'll be able to move forward with the next steps to repair the lift. Unfortunately, we're not yet able to confirm a reopening date. We're still in the early stages of exploring and reviewing the possible repair options. Once we move into the detailed design and installation phases, we'll have a clearer idea of when the lift can reopen. We do know that the lift will remain closed throughout the summer. We'll continue to provide regular updates as we work to bring this vital historic structure back into operation. For those planning to visit the River Weaver or our other waterways, passage via Marsh Lock and the Manchester Ship Canal remains available. To support boaters unfamiliar with this route, we're hosting a Manchester Ship Canal Information Day on 16 May at Anderton Boat Lift. The event will offer guidance on navigating the canal, booking requirements, and what to expect. You can find more details and register on our Manchester Ship Canal (Ellesmere Port & Marsh Lock) Bookings page, or by contacting our North West customer service team on 0303 0404 040. If it's your first time travelling on the Manchester Ship Canal, or if you'd like a refresher, you can find helpful information here Manchester Ship Canal | Discover the River Weaver Navigation. Our next update will be shared on or before 23 May. ### Update 23 May 2025 Since our last update, our engineers have been developing several potential solutions to bring the boat lift back into service. Each will require careful review to ensure the best long-term outcome for this historic structure. This process will take time and significant investment, but it's important we get it right. While we're still in the early stages, we'll move into detailed design and planning once an option is selected. At that point, we'll have a better idea of timelines. For now, we do know the lift will remain closed throughout the summer. We'll continue to share updates as progress is made. If you're planning to travel on the Manchester Ship Canal, bookings for Ellesmere Port and Marsh Lock can be made online via our Bookings page, or by calling our North West customer service team at 0303 0404 040. First-time travelling or need more details? Visit: Manchester Ship Canal | Discover the River Weaver Navigation. Our next update will be shared on or before 27 June.

For future reference: Update 20 June 2025, 2:52pm After a lot of detailed work behind the scenes, we've now scoped options and selected a long-term repair plan which will replace all of the gates on the lift something we're confident will make the Anderton Boat Lift safer and more reliable for the future. The chosen solution will replace the original rope and pulley lifting mechanism with a more resilient actuator-based system to lift and lower the gates. This modern system is more precise, easier to maintain, and will help avoid many of the issues we've experienced with the older rope setup. While this is a really positive step forward, moving to the new system will require significant investment and careful planning, especially given the historical importance of the lift. We're now developing the detailed designs, working closely with our heritage specialists to ensure the lift's unique character is conserved. This work is being progressed in advance of the wider Anderton Boat Lift refurbishment project, and we're also considering how any new systems will integrate with the broader programme. With all this in mind, we can now confirm that the Anderton Boat Lift will remain closed throughout 2025. We understand this isn't the news anyone was hoping for, but we want to provide as much clarity as possible, particularly for customers who may now need to plan alternative routes via the Manchester Ship Canal. If you're planning to travel on the Manchester Ship Canal, bookings for Ellesmere Port and Marsh Lock can be made online via our [[Bookings page]](https://licensing.canalrivertrust.org.uk/?_gl=118u97fm_gcl_auMTQ3MTE5NzY0MS4xNzQ1NTc0MzUwFPAU*MTQ3MTE5NzY0MS4xNzQ1NTc0MzUw), or by calling our North West customer service team on 0303 0404 040. If it's your first time travelling or you'd like more information, visit: Manchester Ship Canal | Discover the River Weaver Navigation. We'll continue to keep you updated as things progress, with the next update due on or before 29 August 2025. In that update, we'll also share further details about an on-site Information Day, where you'll be able to learn more about the works and repair plans.

I make that £38 in todays money. Interesting. Its these little details that are fascinating. There are also little wedges, tapered infill pieces, between the gates at the river level. Which I believe are to adjust the level at which the lower caisson 'docks' at the bottom, because while the canal level is very well maintained including a huge weir just above the visitors centre, the 'river' level will fluctuate depending on flow and operation of the sluices etc. Yes, certainly either way you slice it, it doesn't matter if its £5 or £35 each way, its likely to fall short of the total overall annualised costs of keeping it in service. Much of which will be fixed/sunk costs rather than relating to the number of times it is operated. At which point keeping the barrier to use low and increasing the number of boats a year to use it, greatly improves the value of keeping it open as well reducing the 'cost per passage' figure. The original article suggests that 3000 boats a year use the lift, an average of more then 8 boats a day over the whole year, maybe double that over summer if you take into account the colder months being much quieter. This seems a surprisingly high figure to me. Sadly this announcement has not aged well. The lift has been shut all year, following a failure of the upper west gate lift cable in early Jan, and the major renovation is postponed until further notice as the funding not longer cover the increasing costs.

Yes. That might well be an option, and something the forum could automate and apply to anyone who's notlogged in for over 1 or 2 years. Yes. While it's not the first term I would use to describe someone who was known to have died, it's potentially one of the better options for this particular application if we do implement it. Yes I have seen this too , and or something which flags up the thread is old. Either a ribbon at the top of the thread why you go to read it, as some newspapers now do, and or a pop-up as you go to start writing a post. Again we would have to look up what options there are within the software we use.

This is a very old thread. So while the suggestion are likely a good starting point, if you want to discuss specifics after trying some of them, I would suggest starting a new topic thread. Thanks Daniel

For clarification, the times we have changed a users name, was not in the case of them being deceased! Yeah. Look like a member status/type sort of thing as I proposed. I presume this is regarding 'John Orentas' in the recently resurfaced 19yo engine vibrations topic.

Doh. I guess it's clever algorithms noticed you where interested in boat fires. Shame it took down all three boats.

Its technically possible to change the account name, however its rare that we do so, and to date we have only ever done so if the user has requested it personally. A better solution might be too change there member status (the bit that says member, patroen, etc) to something like 'deceased' but then the initial questions comes back to, how would be know, for sure, etc. Daniel

@Tony Brooks one for you I belive.

Potently fair enough then?

Looks like a copy and paste response of some sort? Certainly somewhat odd.

Moved to general boating.

Thanks as always.

Since this thread was started, there has been a review of pinned topics, and a significant number of older or less valuable threads have been unpinned. Obviously its constantly open for review, and always happy for people to 'report' posts for pinning or un-pinning but broadly I think we are a reasonable place currently.