Tzusjourneyhome

Thanks for the kind words and as suggested I'm back with news of Tzu's travels as a temporary inland waterways boat. Before i do though, a thank you to those who contributed with something meaningful. I might not have read all the posts as it seemed to get a bit silly somewhere! Anyway, sailed up the NE coast, turned to port up the Fort of Firth and overnight at Port Edgar Marina. A fantastic view of the Forth Bridges at dawn on the Friday morning and up the River Carron. Mast down at the ex BW crane pontoon at Grangemouth, under the Kerse and pipe bridges then left (not 'to port' as we are now a canal boat) into the sea lock. We were held at the new facility at The Helix with a nice view of The Kelpies (google them) till 08:30 the following morning when nice men from Scottish Canals arrive to escort us up the 20 locks to the summit level. SC staff do all the work at the lock, swing bridges etc. all we have to do is drive the boat and pass a couple of long mooring ropes. Once at the summit level we stopped adjacent to one of the few pubs on the canal. Unlike English canals there are few pubs on the route. I think this is due to the canal closing in the 60's with pubs on the route becoming redundant and closing. Stayed one night then met another crew at the top of Maryhill flight of locks on the outskirts of Glasgow for the trip down to the coast. En route stopped at the sail through fish and chip shop moored in the canal in the centre of Clydebank shopping centre. You really do stop at the drive thru window, order and pay then motor on to moor. They bring the food you and it was delicious! At the end of day two (Sunday) we were safely moored next to the Clyde at Bowling Harbour for an overnight stay before putting the mast back up the following morning. The mast crane itself is operated by SC staff but actually handling and fitting the mast done by ourselves. On the downhill side we got to use the Dalmuir drop lock which took us under a main road, computerized and automated and costing millions. Unlike the 100+ year old design stuff on the rest of the canal it didn't work and need a manager to be called to override the computers and put it on manual. Overall a brilliant experience and a nice view of inland waterways. Nice scenery, some history, 3 nights mooring and a saving of at least a week compared to going 'over the top' The 4'6" deep keel touched the ground lightly a couple of times, the mast sticking out the front was something to be mindful of but didn't cause any problems and I could have done with more fenders but a pretty easy trip as well. Oh, and we appear to have been only the second boat to have done the transit this year and saw only one other boat moving. If your interested there are a couple of pictures on my Facebook page "Tzu's Journey Home".. A bit of sailing boat stuff in there as well. NB.. Due to weather and tides Tzu's currently sat in Peel, Isle of Man; I'm hoping to finish the trip this coming bank holiday weekend.

Becausei thought there was a decent chance of getting better information here. the observation about the Rochdale seems to support this. please feel free to ignore me

Thank you all.. wasnt too bothered which route and Liverpool only thrown in as an example. I do know that the shallowest point on the Rochdale canal is 4'5 - Canal & River Trust staff on the relevant section are saying they may by able to increase the depth in that bit temporarily and enough to get me through. Manchester ship canal is also possible. Obviously i wouldnt want to have to turn round having invested a week in getting that far.

Hello, I need to bring my new-to-me boat home from the North East to the Welsh coast in April. Plan A is to sail around but use the Forth and Clyde as a shortcut. But would it be possible to enter the system at, say, Goole and exit it at Liverpool? I have 1.4 meter seawater depth - this is likely to equal about 1.45 m in fresh. The masts will be dropped and fixed along the roofline so will extend the current 31ft to probably about 35ft. I've looked on line and can find plenty of routes that look possible with regard to length and breadth but some don't seem to show depths or air draft. Anyone care to give me their thoughts? Even a list of parts to definitely avoid would be appreciated.