Dav and Pen

Ernie Kendal told me once that they could go from Braunston to the jam ole without using reverse gear. We decided to try this with the loaded Jaguar but in “Henry’s”lock on the Buckby flight Nicks rotten stern rope snapped and the bottom gates were truly duffed. Good job Henry wasn’t about.

Went last Wednesday the day before they started food and all the hand pulled was independents. Had a pint of Titanic. Expect tiger will be on by now.

I liked the bit in barging into Burgundy where he left the barge at Roanne (now a big pleasure boat port) and gave the lock keeper some stamped addressed envelopes so he could sent reports. On returning he gave the chap some marmalade which was dismissed as orange jam. Great set of books.

There was a canal from the other end of the Briare canal north of Montargis that went to Orleans where it joined the Loire River. This is derelict now but the junction is still there and I believe a lot of it is still visible and is cycle able.This would have cut out a lot of the shallows and sandbanks on the river. the orleans canal was 74km long with 27 locks but was closed in 1954. Opposite Briare on the lateral canal there is an arm that goes down to a basin and old lock which was the route across the river before the aqueduct was built.

Mooring on bends are now part of the sport

Think this is possibly a missed edit and it should say gear wheel which was the normal set up either with a speed wheel or lever.

There are some things that are unique and should be seen. The Ronquieres plane and the Strepy boat lift in Belgium. There are trip boats that do both of these and the 4 old lifts are next to the Strepy. one of my favorite routes is in the Ardennes on the river Meuse in Belgium and France and in England the Thames above Oxford.

People with plywood cruisers like the Dolphins certainly panicked when we were ice breaking and we understood that but a steel hull should not be affected in any way and if it is it should be on the bank. If you want to see the effect of ice google ice river Hudson to see what flowing ice on a river can do. There’s a big trip boat jammed under a railway bridge after being swept from its moorings.

This is ice breaking the summit to Braunston dock for a survey didn’t need to pressure wash the waterline.

Actually they used a crane the bank at Stalin’s is probably 20ft high. The boat was tied to a no parking sign.

It just floated ofwhen the trailer got deep enough. This chap was absolutely fearless. He had my 50 narrow boat from Stockton to Sallins near Dublin overnight and in the water before we got off the fast ferry in Dublin the next day

It all depends on the size of th op’s barge. When we were in Ireland with our narrow boat there were a couple of small tjalks that had been sailed across from Calais to the Thames through the k and a and then across the sea to Wexford and into the canal system. The locks on the r.barrow will decide if this is viable. whilst we were there an Irish haulier, actually the one we used, brought a Sheffield size barge over and backed it down a slip at Bannagher into the Shannon.

Hi, no we have n ver been right down south and for the last few years have been based in Burgundy. The reason for not going south was the shear number of boats and my wife being told that the eclusiers didn’t help with the ropes and the semi circular sides made it difficult to get ropes off. Anyway it’s hot enough in the centre of France.

Strangely enough we are doing the opposite and selling our barge because at 77 and 79 we are finding it harder to cruise and do the maintenance.

Yes spell non checker should learn to read before posting.