Neil TNC

They had to go through yesterday, as the Wed was cancelled. They were told it was a staff training issue and they trying a "work around"...what ever that means!

Is this going to end up a farce, like the Caldon river section non silting problem? Mrs TNC notes that the Standedge booking has been removed from the CaRT my little bookings page, she assumed they had their quota.

Interesting that NB Escapeology went through Standedge yesterday west to east, they had their booking brought forward.

We have just persuaded a Ginger Canal Cruising hire boat to go down.

Loads of boats have now been down and back through the silt bar now. We have just come back up and when we got in the lock I could not resist reversing back out and giving the remains of the silt bar a good blasting. NB Its Smashing came up behind us with no problems and that boat must be deeper draughted than the 2ft 3ins of NB Earnest. A couple of hundred yards down on the river section is a low tree bow sticking out. This was reported to CaRT ages ago. NB Yesdear has cut a good section off, so is now only a minor hazzard. If you are going down the Caldon, Cheddleton top lock is a pain to get a level. There is only the os top paddle working, the ns has a CaRT yellow bag over it, but seems stuck a quarter up...not helped by the os bottom hydraulic granny gear being out of oil.

Graham Thomas had a similar memory stick for Barge Maurice A, my memory has been purged of the bloody thing. (once a narrowboater, always a narrowboater)

Roving Caldon CaRT bloke said Oakmeadowford Lk 16 not padlocked, lesser draught boats will get through, said silting worse near lock landing. Also spoke to Disabled Tripboat Beatrice Trust, they reported the silting, said they still got through. No pontoons in Br37 works, so we got through 08.30, after filling up both Hazelhurst pounds. More worrying was long pound between Hazelhurst and Cheddleton was down 8ish inches, this was traced to the locked up and covered ns top paddle being stuck half up. Further water wastage, due to only one hydraulic bottom gate paddle working, took me to come up and give Mrs TNC help to open. Same CaRT bloke appeared, said he was going to let more water down and to see if he could get paddle down. Stopped for day at Bashford Bridge. Churnet up a bit, Mrs TNC will wander down later to check gauge, riverlevels.co.uk show peak 06.00 this morn, now going down.

We have just been through Star Lock, it holds water as well as any if the other Stone Locks, but the towpath side bottom gate is bulging out, near top. That is the least of our troubles, with no boat movements, CaRT have forgotten the Caldon below Hazelhurst, the silt bar in the river below Oakmeadowford Lk16 is blocking navigation. Ho hum yet another taxi to Froghall, so we can get our Saturday Lunch train on the Churnet Valley Railway. Same thing happened last year.

We have two bookings of 7 days, 6 weeks apart, inbetween booked Ribble Links, for Lanky, we may or may not use both. The later mooring, into July is still shown as no charge. It will be interesting to see if this says free, or CaRT come after us for another 70 quid. Mrs TNC will go home for a few days, when we are in Liverpool. We are setting off on 1st April, 24 years to the day when NB Earnest was launched. The ideal plan is to do Caldon / Macc / Peak Forest / HNC / L&L, of course any of this could fail, have stoppages, hence the two Lverpool bookings. From what we have heard from CaRT Standedge, the bookings for Standedge Tunnel will come on line mid March, with same frequency / days of the week as last year....that is if they have any more chaperones than poor overworked Trevor. In all my years of boating, if we have gone up north we have always done a trans pennine, the year that this does not occur will be the one when we decide to give up. Last year got close, with a rather fraught Rochhale, one of the last of the summer, when I say fraught, this was not due to lack of water, but complete abandonment by CaRT, once we were over the summit. getting back on topic....we do not particularly have a problem with the 10 quid, as we know the power is at least 13A, seeing as in the past, we have had the immersion on and also done the washing (same as Llangollen Basin), I do have a problem with booking it, only a week or so ago, and it being free, then to be charged for just changing pontoon.

A couple of weeks ago Mrs TNC made a 7 night booking for Salthouse. Last night she tried to change pontoon as with new puppy, we needed one near steps. Distaster. Now charged 10 quid a night as from April, ANY booking for pontoon now 10 quid a night, due to new regulations. Have we mised anything on this?...has there been any "consultation", like Llangollen mooring basin?

We caught the shanty singers, then the same bunch at the Ellesmere Depot open day. Another particularly good meal, was at the Horse and Jockey, Grindley Brook, no food monday eve.

I also have one of these, bought as a joke, when my ancient Electrolux expired. Found it very good, especially on blow mode, for blowing out deck drains and dust off engine, upolstery etc. I never bothered putting the wheels on, as it then took up twice the storage space. It does whack the batteries and only use it with engine on, starts fine from Travelpower or 3000w Victron Multi. I have found the two casing clips often fall off, and not expecting the hose to last a long time!

I only mentioned this, as Vetus use a different taper, 1:10 as opposed to the standard 1:12. When I was in Ireland, at Riversdale, Graham gradually changed the hire fleet from Vetus props to Crowthers. Crowthers did the Vetus taper for him. As with all of their props. Crowthers made to order. I would be interested to know what Crowthers did with all their pattens, that was inherited with the firm...lost forever? When Ashby Boat Centre took Earnest's prop off, earlier this year, they had to use a LOT of heat.....it had been on for 22 years!

John, just a thought, have you got a Vetus drip free bearing / stern gland, and is it a Vetus prop?

Hi John, thanks for waiting at Northgate! I can't remember if you said your XR&D shell had a "slipper stern"? Earnest is exactly the same length, 2ft draught, R&D shell, slipper stern with Beta 43. When first built, was fitted with 17 x 12, which certainly was an egg whisk! after a year, I complained to Ray, and he gave me an 18 x13, of unknown pedigree. That prop seemed to work fine with the slipper stern, especially in deep water, it pulled up Earnest in fine fashion. Possibly a tad over propped, engine would still rev to 2600, but fine for going past lines of moored boats (we never get complaints). Upon the "Great Refurbishment" last year, the prop was replaced with my spare, brand new "Norris" 18 x 13, fine performance, but at low revs, sings like buggery. Upon recommendations and the demise of Crowther I have purchased A Michigan Wheel 18 x 13 Canaline, from Midland (amazingly they found one in stock), these claim to have thick blades, with pronounced anti sing bevel. It is being fitted next week at Ashby Boat Centre, along with another bit of below the waterline work (welding up suspect below waterline raw water intake, used for raw water flush of macerator). I shall report how I get on. Piccy of new Canaline prop.

We did likewise.

http://www.fortimber.co.uk/ Richard Potter, in Nantwich, but will deliver. Good quality, old school timber yard.

Just come off, as long as you are an early boater, quieter than 2 years ago. We never queued anywhere. Even if you endue the basin, never full, over 2 days. Mont had average of 4 boats down there. Nav Inn, Maesbury open for food Thur, Fri, Sat eve and Sun lunch.....magic!

Fulney Lock, tidal lock on the River Welland, just downstream of Spalding. This lock was finished in 1955, along with the Coronation Flood Relief Channel. AFAIK the river was tidal through Spalding before this lock was built.

No, I did some research on this lock for the NB Ocean Princess Scilly Isles Cruise in 2003. They got permission from EA to come in on the level, but they carried on!

Scotts Float Sluice. Tidal entrance to the River Rother, in Sussex. New floodgates and double radial gate lock built 1984, downstream of original sluice.

Barmby Barrage Lock - new tidal entrance lock onto Derwent.

That was to be TNC 24 Hour Challenge. Start at bottom W21 at Midnight, then Spon Lane, Smethwick, Farmers Bridge, Aston, Perry Bar, Ryders Green, then out on the W&B. It was planned that way, so that W21 and Tardebigge done in the dark, when no other boats about. The challenge was stopped 24 hours before, due to the demise of W21 Lk20. Yes, the few remaining TNC Members are prob past it now.