Minos

All the York Boats are kept on floating pontoons owned by the York Boat operator. He has several - in the city centre and elsewhere. When the river flooded in July I spoke to him about the possibility of using his floating pontoons as a refuge to keep narrowboats safe. His answer was as clear as an answer can be: he is not allowed to stop people using his pontoons when water levels are dangerously high and he is not operating from them. Even when the river is flooded, though, if the York Boats are operating he can and will remove any boats that use his pontoons.

I see I'm not the only person who thinks you're being a little bit blunt and unsympathetic about this. My comments do include the added point that you would need to be prepared to pay for a marina mooring to ensure that your boat is safe; if you choose to ignore that and bludgeon on with your challenge to it, it's not me who is being less than straightforward about this. The simple fact is that in my opinion, after more than a dozen trips up the Ouse to York in the last 18 months, it is not a safe place to bring a narrowboat unless your intention is to use a marina - and I advise people to that effect. You're entitled to disagree, but to suggest that I came to this conclusion without having done "a little bit of research" when you are clearly not even bothering to read what I have posted is a bit rich! I would also add that your implication that the two boats lost yesterday were crewed by people who had also failed to do any research is jumping the gun. Unless, of course, you know the two crews and have good reason to conclude that they were negligent?

I take your point, but personally I am inclined to be a little bit more sympathetic towards the two boat owners who had such a terrible time yesterday. York is the second most popular tourist destination in the UK, beaten only by the whole of London. Last July, nine narrowboats were invited to the city for the flotilla, and then left with no safe mooring when the water levels rose. In my view, telling people to use the nearest safe mooring, which is eleven miles upstream (Linton being far better in a flood than Naburn) is pretty inadequate. That's why I would advise people not to go unless they are willing to pay for a berth in one of the marinas.

The pontoons at Linton Lock are lock landings - about three narrowboats long. The pontoon at Naburn is the water point, and home to the patrol boat. That's one boat long when the patrol boat is there. Both locations are, as has already been said, several hours journey from York. We've seen the water levels in York rise by two feet in an hour. In spring this year the water was a foot below the towpath at 10pm, and by 5am we were floating above the towpath. Given that this can happen at any time, and you can't rely on flood alerts because the EA doesn't issue alerts until they think the water levels are going to be up to the pavement at Kings Staith, if you're going to stay in York and treat Naburn and Linton as your safe refuges, then check the water levels regularly throughout the night and be prepared to move during the night.

As someone who has been caught out by flooding on the Ouse more times than not, my advice is this: don't go unless you are happy to pay for a mooring at one of the marinas. When it floods, it is downright dangerous and there is nowhere safe. The only floating pontoons are privately owned by the hire boat operator - and he does not give permission for visitors to use them except in emergencies and when using them won't interfere with his business. Other than that, the marinas outside the city will happily charge you.

According to the York Press, a second boat may have been lost: And

I've just walked past that boat. The bench you can see in the photos is at the top of a steep embankment, with the towpath below it. I would guess that the stern is possibly resting on the towpath, and the bow on the embankment. We'll know when the water level drops again.

Fabulous pictures! We definitely passed you at some point - but in spite of looking out for you, we missed you. Must have been the rain in my eye... Either that or it was when Circe & I nipped below to warm up by the stove and left the dog on the tiller.

Do be warned, though, that if the lock chamber is left full after the day's activity, the residents of the cottage often empty it after dark. If you're not expecting the sudden current in the cut below the lock (and it is quite strong when the chamber is emptied) this can be quite a surprise. They weren't there last week! The big difference (from my perspective) between Keadby and other similar locks is that there is a strong current at Keadby up to about five metres out from the lock - but once you are past that, the flow drops off sharply. This means that if you turn into the current too far away from the lock, you'll find yourself stationary relative to the land but looking at a strong flow between you and the lock. Getting in to that flow without letting it turn your boat round is interesting... That is part of the reason why I don't like to approach locks like Keadby & Selby 'backwards' any more. We gunned it - but that was because it's not fun standing on the back of a trad in horizontal sleet. The Southbound leg was was broken by a day at Torksey because of the weather, but the lock staff there are outstanding. Total journey time from Keadby to Cromwell was 6 hours, but spread out over 3 days. The return leg was faster, but we had the river flow on our side - we made it from Castle moorings in Nottingham to Torksey in 9 hours. The only problem we had was some idiot in a cruiser who was coming the other way and decided he wanted to pass us on our starboard side. This was the unanimous opinion of the lockies we met, apparently because the water level would be too low for anything other than a hovercraft to enter the lock when you reach Keadby.

Much respect to ANY "disenchanted 'erbert" who can establish their comment so well that it attains the status of "given truth" in a local community. Sounds to me like a troll's wet dream...

We do a lot of boating on the Yorkshire rivers which have electric locks, and they won't let you have your key back until all the gates and sluices are closed. As a result of this, my default assumption is that everything should be left closed unless explicit local instructions require otherwise. If it's about personal inconvenience versus the system-wide need to save water, then I have to say it's a bit of a no-brainer. It's not because I assume that what is right for Yorkshire is right for everywhere - it's just habit.

We used the S&K a couple of times recently on our trip down memory lane (Circe & I met in Nottingham, so a cruise down the Trent had to happen sooner or later.) This is the bridge in question. Anyone who has cruised the S&K will know it is not exactly a tourist attraction: exposed to the wind, straight, crossing featureless countryside, inadequate shops and insufficient pubs. It's quiet and easy on the eye, but there's not much else to say for it. Thorne Lock is an awkward bugger at the best of times, and that's when it doesn't refuse to give you your key back (thanks to MJG, by the way, for your help there!) The footbridge under the flyover, however, is the stroppiest and most uncooperative piece of machinery I have encountered since I last owned a Windows PC. Which brings me to my point: I used to work in the area and know quite a few people who live there. Local lore is that the bridge machinery is 'sabotaged' (for want of a better word) by boaters in order to force engineers to leave it locked open, allowing boaters to pass through without delay and forcing locals to use the flyover. What has caused this damage to the relationship between the boating community and a town which is host to two boatyards and a sizeable marina?

If the OP is a troll, he's come to just the right place to feed him. 90 responses for a question about an unspecified crunching noise from an OP who admits he can't even find his filters. I am in awe of this guy.

If you're that far out of your depth, then get a professional to deal with the problem. If you ask for advice over the internet you're not going to get a definitive answer. You are definitely not going to an accurate diagnosis. And worst of all, you're going to get some suggestions that may point you towards doing something that causes even more damage.