nebulae

If my memory of Coventry Basin is correct, we were not allowed to moor in the basin overnight. This was many years ago and the rule was still observed.althou gh any trade had finished by then.

Dredger "Augustus Gloop" has removeable float tanks each side. making a narrow dredger into a wide one As the Stroudwater is a wide canal (and Thames and Severn Canal) could the sunk dredger be modified in the same way (always assuming it can be salvaged.)

Back in 1971 ,Peel Holdings refused to repair the breech unless other sources of income were found. This resulted in the trust being formed ,as has been said earlier in this thread. I remember talking to Alf Hayman (Manager of the Bridgewater dept and sadly no longer with us) about this breech at the time. He did not consider repairing the breech as a inevitable. I presume the situation remains,that unless other sources of funding are found ,repair is unlikely. It would be interesting to know what is the insurance liability structure. Is insurance liability with Peel or the trust?

Is it on the St Helens Canal ,may be Sankey Sugar factory.

Had 11 years @ Hatherton Marina. Cars can park next to your boat. Electric bollards. No residential berths. Good security with gated access. Boat yard with crane and dry dock(under different management.) on begining of the Hatherton branch. S and W. Canal pleasant in both directios. Pub 10 mins from maina.(I timed it). Was a pub next to the marina. Dont know if it is still open, Info corect as of 2021

Looking at the canal from the new road,towards the lime kilns ,the Nags Head pub to your left,the canal is about 6-10ft above the old road. The ground rises to canal level by the old bridge at the very end of the canal. The red line on Tarboat Tims map would not cross the drive to Garthmyl Hall,or the modern Swedish type house.built by the then owner of Garthmyl Hall. It would cross the origional drive to the hall.(The origional gate house is next to the pub).The canal passes under the road to Montgomery(op. the Nags Head) with minimal clearance. Between the two bridges,the canal is filled in I doubt if a bridge would be possible as sight lines on the main Welshpool to Newtown road between the Nags Head and the drive to Garthmyl Hall would not allow the main road level to be raised

My understanding is that CART do not own Bridgewater Dock. They have a lease from the local authority? The canal is a fresh water supply to the town. Every bike that has been thrown in can be clearly seen. The ship lock has been filled in with a concrete barrier. Last time I was there,the barge lock was still there,but had been filled in with rubbish. The vehicle bridge over the dock appears to be out of use. The reason the barge lock is out of use is because it allowed salt water to contaminate the town water supply. The dock has always silted badly,which is why there are sluices into the river.The dredger which stired the silt so it could be run out of the sluices was at Gloucester museum last tine I looked. The pontoon moorings must prevent dredging I would have thought. I stand to be corrected,as I have not visited for a while.

New top secret plan by CART. Promoting wedding in a wet suit. Great saving as the wet suit can be used more than once, May be a white wet suit for the bride

The top of the Montgomery Canal above the feeder is empty of water and has been for many years. It is usefull, as the sewage pipe to the Newtown Sewage Works is laid in it. I doubt the water authority would be happy for the newly surfaced "tow path" to become a bridal way as the new surface on the tow path does not appear to be suitable for horses(Not CART property) The terminal basin is now housing and the canal between the basin and the pump house no longer exists. This is what happens when a canal is not open for boats. Have these people with their silly ideas of banning boats actualy walked the entire canal ?.

Many years ago we had a 30 foot steel narrow boat. It was built of 1/8 " steel and had no ballast. The bottom was flat,but had the center of the bottom 12" deeper than the outside of the bottom. This narrangement gave standing headroom in the center passage and lower each side. The advantage of this arrangement was stability (avoids a v bottom like a Springer),light weight less boyancy from each side which removed the need for ballast. The shape of the bottom gave strength and rigidty.It also acted as a keel,so the boat performed well on a windy day.Driven by a BMC 1.5 d. Dont know the weight,but it could be towed on a trailer behind a large 4x4. Although the boat looked like any other small narrow boat in the water the inovative design worked well,

The Volvo engine in your boat was a good unit in its day(50 years ago+). It looks like your engine has been under water and got water in the cylinder. These engines were direct cooled(so do not have a heat exchanger in a Mirror Ofshore) I have lited one with dificulty,but the engine space is very tight.I think from memory,the last of these boats came with an outboard from the factory. Nothing wrong with a Seagull as a back up. Cheap as chips and most parts available. Cant remember the mix. 8 or 10 to 1? Tends to clog its cooling duct if used in salt water and not flushed with fresh water.

I have the full set of Waterway Journals. I have not checked,but from memory,all the articles credit the authors .Those articles by people who are no longer with us,such as Alf. Hayman, Manager of the Bridgewater Department ,are now a widely distributed source, through the Waterways Journals. Alf had a lifetime of knowledge of the Bridgewater Dept,as well as access to the company archives. I am sure back issues are available from the usual waterways book sources.

I remember the Deepcut Dig. Still got the button badge somewhere. Am I right in thinking that the steam dredger used by the restoration is now in bits at Elesmere Port

Some of the locks on the Montgomery canal were(and some still are) fitted with paddles in the bed of the canal. These slide rather than lift verticaly. As they have been in use for many years and seem to work O.K. ,perhaps you could adapt the idea .A chain as per Pluto"s picture woud open the paddle. If the section of canal was drained,then the paddle could be pushed back manualy.

Last time I went past,somewhere on the B.C.N I remember two concrete narrow boats holding up the bank