Scholar Gypsy

Dear Ray, Nebulae Thanks - very helpful. I am just after a map or two to illustrate the route I took (via Northampton - I am planning to do the Wash next summer ...).

Dear Tim, John Thank you, I think a combination of these two ideas will work well for me.

Is it the one at Br 18 on the Northern Stratford.?

Did you use it to dipstick your poo tank as well ??

Update on 27/08/2014: Our contractor is currently bringing equipment to site to enable us to lift out the bridge and remove rubble from the canal. We hope to reopen the canal tomorrow, 28 September 2014, but more specific information will follow once known. (they mean 28 August).

I've never dipped my tank in the last 20 years. I just use the hour meter and refill every 80 hours, when it will take 120 litres to fill. I have measured the tank externally and the nominal capacity is about 170 litres, so I am confident I won't run out... I do occasionally pump some fuel out from the bottom of the tank (using an oil extraction pump connected to microbore copper pipe) to see if there is any water, crud etc.

I hope this is the right place for this question. I am doing a talk on canals and rivers next year, and as well as lots of photos of the trip concerned (Oxford to Cambridge) I would like to include some simple and fairly clear maps of the inland waterway network in England, ideally several at key dates (1790, 1830, 1950, today for example). Many of the maps I have seen in talks have been rather poor scans of rather over-cluttered maps. Ideally I would just like lines showing the canals & rivers themselves, and I can add place names as I need them. Does anyone have access to such maps? PDF or JPG format would be easiest, but all reasonable alternatives considered. I am very happy to make a donation to a suitable good cause in return. Many thanks

This is the one by the golf course I think. Hope someone can post a photo! Notice Alert Oxford Canal Starts At: Bridge 215, Caravan Lift Bridge Ends At: Bridge 215, Caravan Lift Bridge Up Stream Winding Hole: North of Pigeon's Lock 39 Down Stream Winding Hole: South of Baker's Lock 40 Tuesday 26 August 2014 20:30 until further notice Type: Navigation Closure Reason: Structure failure ________________________________________ Original message: The offside bridge abutments of Caravan Lift Bridge, 215, have collapsed. This has caused the brickwork and timber bridge to fall into the canal and block navigation. The canal is closed to navigation and the footpath over the bridge is also closed. We hope to get contractors on site as soon as possible on 27 August 2014 to remove the timber bridge and rubble from the canal, so that navigation can be reopened. Further information will follow when available. You can view this notice and its map online here: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/1558/caravan-lift-bridge-215-oxford-canal You can find all notices at the url below: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices _____________________________________

I agree with other comments, and am also a bit surprised the lock keepers did not advise having an anchor on the non-tidal Thames. There are still quite a few weirs with not much protection, beyond a large sign on a pole saying DANGER.

Dear George Yes, it was meant in jest. I must learn how to use the emoticon feature.... PS the discussion about the Dove pier barges reminds me of this re useage, it is the same in Bedford. Quite a few rowing boats, and me. Oh and the very fine John Bunyan trip boat, from the Bedford & Milton Keynes waterway trust, who gave me some good advice on where the head of navigation really is.

The buoys mark the inside of bends, so going upstream you have red from Putney to Chiswick eyot (Surrey bend for the rowers), then green through Barnes rail & towards Chiswick (middlesex bend) then red again to Brentford. There is a document that explains how this works on the PLA website, start at page 10. Also includes a photo of the rower-hating barge at Dove pier https://www.pla.co.uk/assets/THE_ROWING_CODE.pdf

There are hooks on chains that fulfil a similar function at St Ives on the Bedford Ouse. On a windy day it can be quite tricky to get both gates completely shut - which you must do to get the guillotine at the other end to work.

there are new C & RT signs for Brentford, but I think best landmark when coming downstream is Brentford dock marina, on the left just before the entrance to the creek itself.

Black Prince certainly do - see their website (link in an earlier post). For any boats that choose not to carry VHF, both VTS and the Coastguard can be contacted by telephone.

Thanks - interesting to know. I did wonder, while doing the New Bedford River yesterday, what I would do if the engine conked out. The lock keeper at Denver said about 12 boats have been along it this year, so I would have quite a wait for passing help. A: drop the mud anchor and then try to fix it, then call RCR! The neap tide was a bit pathetic : max stream about 1 knot, and only lasted for about an hour, to Welney. Some interesting views, lots of cows & birds. http://judgefamily.org.uk/2014/2014-08-18%2012.14.29%20nbr.jpg

Posted Today, 09:32 AM larryjc, on 16 Aug 2014 - 09:21 AM, said: To avoid confusing said member, I should point out that Larry is referring here to Lower Heyford. (The answer - perhaps I should say an answer - is a Banbury stick).

I don't think any of us know all the details of this incident. But: once a boat gets into this sort of situation, the right thing to do is to inform London VTS (or London Coastguard) immediately; it is then their call, after brief discussion, whether to deploy suitable boats to assist (the Lifeboat was very close, of course, on other bits of the river it might have been a PLA launch or the Police) if I was on board I wouldn't fancy sitting there for a couple of hours until I could get free under my own steam, wondering if the boat was going to tip over a bit and put the exhaust/air vent/etc under the waterline (and so converting a minor incident into a major problem).

I agree. Everyone organises roles and tasks on their boat differently, but I like to make a distinction between the helmsman, whose job is to make you don't hit anything in the next 60 seconds; and the skipper/navigator/lookout who is focussing on the five minutes after that - in particular making sure you don't get into the sort of situation that is not recoverable.

See PLA notice here. I have to say the green buoy is not as easy to see as its yellow predecessor. You need to know it is there and then look for it, whereas the yellow one was easy to spot (but on the other hand it was a little bit less clear what you were supposed to do in response). Black Prince do indeed do this from their base at Willowtree

Keep well to the left at Hammersmith Bridge, or this might happen. Video and photos. There is a large buoy just upstream of Hammersmith Bridge, to be left to starboard. It was changed a year or so ago from yellow to green,

Where (and how) do you measure the battery voltage?

I'd be happy to pass on any SMS alerts - I am registered. If you are interested please PM me your mobile number. I am watching the system very closely at the moment, as the boat is moving on the Bedford Ouse and I am in London!

I have been nine abreast in Limehouse basin - very sociable - but with CRT/BWML permission.

Yes it connected two halves of a factory, that I think was either part of BL or supplied it with parts. I used to go there for meetings of the local IWA branch in the 1970s. The electric bridge was operated by factory staff, and left open overnight and at weekends. Not sure when it was removed and replaced by the new bridge connecting to the housing development to the west of the canal. ETA: Unipart. See 1998 press article:

My sister has got as far as Holywell on the Bedford Ouse today, things seem to be calming down a bit. They have seen two seals there today (or maybe the same one twice). The water level was very high at Earith (tides as much as fresh), and this had led EA to issue a notice to remind people to make sure the guillotine gates at Brownshill are UP before they attempt to enter the lock.... Apparently someone (not my sister, of course) forgot to check, and came to a rather abrupt halt. ETA: Islip levels here