gbclive

This vlog which was posted today, increased my appreciation of how quickly things can go wrong, and the dilemma that can exist if lock keepers take control but fail to communicate or act in a safe way.

Probably the fist person ever to be relatively pleased with a tyre around the prop??

Due to personal circumstances, Peter did stop working for a while, but he was then able to restart his work. I’m not sure of his situation now, but I have his contact details if you PM me.

5 steps above the water line and 3 steps below the waterline. To be fair, I did finish with “Or am I missing something?”? Thanks for explaining what the something was, so succinctly?

That’s a neat design, but I don’t think it helps with the problem of your feet disappearing under the hull as you start to climb, so that you end up with most of your weight taken by your arms? Unless of course, you have a very deep draught with a vertical hull surface to rest the ladder against? Or am I missing something?

Hi Mark. PM sent.

Thanks - I can see that would be useful and I have used such a knife in the past to deal with a mooring line from a buoy on a lumpy water boat. Our trouble was not being able to make any progress between each clearing and not knowing if and when it would improve, so I was a bit reluctant to try and push ever deeper for fear of making any retreat even more difficult?. Re you photo, is that hair algae? Interestingly, our hair algae had tough stems of perhaps a mm or so diameter which rapped tightly like thin string, with an abundance of fine filament hair growing off it.

Thanks for that!? I’m having a hard time recognising what sounds like an occasional casual intervention with a boat hook. Each time I had to dive down the weed-hatch, it required quite a few minutes of winding the prop around whilst gradually loosening and unwinding long strands of tightly packed weed algae from around the shaft between the stern gland and the prop. as well as from the prop itself. I must have been in some sort of parallel universe?

Thanks. So perhaps a little sympathy for my little J2??

That’s good to know?. What engine does it have?

Thanks - all points added to my notes. It’s amazing how soon a “never again” nightmare experience turns into perhaps a challenge to consider for the future?. I think I would still take into account any feedback from deeper draught boats though.

I can understand what you mean but having a deeper draught, I think we were hoovering up more weed than we could cope with. We really were stuck! Quite how much this was down to the weed or perhaps also being aground, I will probably never know. I shall file all this useful info away for the next time!? Glad you made it all the way without any major dramas. i think I will replan to visit another year, but somewhat earlier in the season before the hair algae has a chance to feed on sunlight for so long.

Thanks for that Simon. I think that is sound advice, especially as @BEngo who has a similar engine and clutch to Duke also recommended the technique. Unfortunately, at least in this context, sprinting in not one of Dukes party pieces? A combination of a heavy boat and a relatively small engine that is somewhat over-propped, results in low acceleration (and braking) rates compared to other boats I have experienced. Normally I really enjoy the challenge of managing the inertia, but in this case I believe it compounded the problem. I’m having difficulty in visualising how I could have achieved any significant sprint like speed as once we finally came to a standstill, both the prop and the shaft ahead of it fouled up massively and almost immediately in both forward and reverse, so we literally unable to move using the engine. I don’t think I would have been brave enough to have repeatedly poled astern then rammed into the weed without some confidence that things would improve reasonably quickly. Also, I must confess that on reflection, I think it’s possible that we were aground without realising it!?. Incidentally, this is the Google maps ref. of the furthest we managed to get: WP3F+8Q Long Eaton, Nottingham

Thanks @Captain Pegg and @Cheshire cat for comparing notes etc. For completeness, Dukes prop is now 20” x 13” (I’ve had the pitch reduced from 16” but its probably still a tad too much). So looking for any obvious stand out differences that may be relevant: ▪️Duke has the deepest draught by 6” or so (and is probably the heaviest). ▪️Duke has a conical clutch (and 1:1 reverser box) which becomes difficult or inoperable if anything jams between the stern gland and the prop. ▪️Otherwise it just leaves myself / technique as a factor?? The conical clutch was definitely a significant part of my problem, but so too was the weed rapping around the prop to the extent that propulsion was effectively lost. I hope that between us we have provided enough of a picture to help others make their own judgement. Glad you both had a much better experience than we did - any thoughts?

That’s excellent news. It will be interesting to compare notes sometime.

As does Matty40s rather clever “Little weed” ? May the force be with you tomorrow - good luck.

I think that’s duck weed which was not a problem for us - it petered out after a mile or so to be replaced by hair algae which proved to be our nemesis☹️ Description Lemnoideae is a subfamily of flowering aquatic plants, known as duckweeds, water lentils, or water lenses. They float on or just beneath the surface of still or slow-moving bodies of fresh water and wetlands. Wikipedia

I’m not 100% confidant about any single factor, but my sense is that my engine / prop / RPM were significant. As mentioned, two years ago I had a similar experience on the Mid Levels, also in mid July. A more modern and powerful NB towed us clear, seemingly without having any insurmountable problems himself. This week, was the same, although it was back through an area that I had successfully navigated, all be it with increasing difficulty. I suspect it might have been might have been a different going forward though. Also, BEngo has the same engine and commented above of experiencing a similar problem with blanket weed in the past. However he was able to navigate through successfully. Hopefully, It will become a little clearer when Captain Peg and / or others report back. This was my impression looking ahead from where we got totally stuck. The exceptional water clarity allowed visual confirmation that the weed was both dense and present throughout the water column. (Incidentally, the water clarity also allowed a fine view of multiple piles of old bricks that had seemingly been dumped along the edge of the canal bed at that point. This happened to be adjacent to a current housing development☹️).

Thanks, that’s most interesting. Of course the weed may have got much worse with all the sunshine there has been recently, but I suspect there were several other factors that probably contributed to the magnitude of my difficulties. For instance: ▪️My particular hull and draught (63’ and about 32”). ▪️A relatively low powered vintage engine (22 HP when new in 1948) ▪️Low RPM (normal cruise 400 - 500 RPM with max achievable somewhat less than it’s 1000 limit. ▪️No reduction gearbox, so one to one gearing. ▪️Technique as mentioned by BEngo in post #2. I almost regret the dramatic nature of my original post as I’d hate to think that it might have caused anyone unnecessary anxiety and perhaps caused them to change there plans. It will be interesting to hear how Captain Peg gets on. In the mean time, can I ask how your boat differs from mine? I must agree the clarity of the water was spectacular and the fish and flowering lily pads were very beautiful.

Thanks John and good luck? It’ll be interesting to hear how you get on.

This is not the cheapest option, but would be great fun?

Thanks Athy - I see what you mean?

Thanks stagedamager - however, the fact that there you have highlighted that many boaters successfully survived the weed means one less excuse, so does not exactly make me feel any better! (But a tranquil rest day on the T&M and several large mojitos does?)

Thanks for your thoughts Nigel. I must admit I was probably concerned about digging myself even deeper into the weed thus compounding the problem? We will never know what might have been, but I’ll certainly consider sprint and drift next time. However, plan A is to try and avoid any such traumatic dramas in the future? Embarrassingly I had a very similar misadventure on the Mid levels two years ago when I had to be rescued by the mid level commissioners in the morning, and a helpful boater in the afternoon! Perhaps I should take up knitting?

For context, our boat is a bit of weed magnet. Perhaps due to our relatively low power and slow revving vintage Kelvin J2, with its lack of weed chomping power compared to more modern engines. Also, if anything wraps around our prop shaft between the stern gland and the prop, our conical clutch won’t work as the shaft needs to shift in and out an inch or so. It’s worth noting we now understand there has been little traffic on the Erewash since lockdown was eased. Anyway... yesterday (10.8.20) we ventured forth onto the Erewash. Initially the weed was mainly of the inconsequential duckweed variety. However as we progressed uphill, there was increasing amounts of, at least for us, the more troublesome hair algae. Unfortunately, the increase was most noticeable after we had passed a convenient winding hole, so I decided to press on in the hope that things would improve. Alas, this was a very poor decision, as after a further two locks with ever more frequent dives down the weed hatch, we eventually got completely stuck between Dockholme and Sadiacre locks, effectively blocking the canal. We were saved from the horrendous prospect of a lengthy and sweaty stern hauling session by the incredible kindness of Ken, a local boater, behind whose garden we had become parked. Amazingly he volunteered to “fire up” his shallow draft diesel electric narrowboat and tow us backwards through two locks to the afore mentioned winding hole. Suffice it to say, this ignominious experience was still a very long, hot and challenging exercise. Eventually we waved a very grateful goodby to our saviour and limped back to the Trent and sanctuary above the Sawley locks, where we drowned our sorrows and treated our dehydration in the time honoured way? I’m not suggesting most other boats would get stuck, but rather just something to consider as there is a lot of weed.