Martin@75

You may find this and other items this of interest from our 2018 trip down the Nene & over the ML and up the G Ouse and its Lodes. https://braggaboutlife.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/whittlesey-dyke-to-the-great-ouse-via-well-creek/

You make some interesting comments Re Spalding: I did this trip in 2016. Check out, Braggaboutlife: River Welland to Spalding & Crowlands with the IWA Also the TNC did a trip up the Welland in 2001 which you should also be able to find on line. But that said Simons info is the best and most up to date. You will have to hold at Fosdyke Bridge Marina (Good food at Pub) to coordinate with the tide at Spalding Lock. You will also need to book access with the EA. Unfortunately the local EA are very unreliable. Both the Welland and the Glen have very good moorings and the EA maps are on line. To get up to Crowland you will have to get under the 6'-0" headroom in Spalding but its not the problem people say. Re Black Sluice: You are dead right about the size of the navigation window from the Black Sluice lock and I have never understood why this is not used as a start point for making the crossing as it has great moorings, a good Pub and a Pump Out. With regard to direction: If you go South to North mooring at Fosdyke Br should not be as time dependant as Boston, as the pontoon moorings are all states. I would also be interested to know how breaking up the trip by making a start from Sutton Bridge Marina works out. This little development needed all the help it could get, but it did not seem to feature in many boaters plans so the local council is getting stick for spending money on boating but not getting any money back into the community. Good Luck

Engine started losing water, no oil in water, had new gasket and head skimmed by RCR (as you say) when on the Lancaster. Week later still losing water. After call out No3. Final straw was when we went back up the Douglas (horrendous trip) and just as we got back to the Sea Lock the engine alarm went off. Got a tow into the lock and up to the transit moorings. Where we found a nice little mix of oil and Water. Now she who must be obayed has refused to go on tidal water, and after that trip I can't say I blame her. So back in the main system we bit the bullet.

If you do not have a copy of Richard Deans BCN map it is worth getting hold of one, as it covers both existing and lost arms, it will put them in context and helps identify locations in the other 60 miles.

Cylinder head went on my 42 this year. Just over 8,000hrs not considered a lot for a 42 Over £1300 to CRR for so called repairs (We were SILVER) Then a further £8,000 to put a new engine in from a reputable boatyard. Not our best year on the cut.

Has anybody done the trip from Bowling Basin up the R Clyde through Glasgow and the Glasgow Half Tide gate (similar to Richmond on Thames but no side lock) and up to the wharfs at Rutherglen. How much further than Rutherglen Bridge can one go with 2’-6” draft? I understand 70ft Ex working boats go up each year but I can’t find any guides. Unusually this navigation is not given on the CanalPlan site. Peel Ports map only go’s up to Broomielaw Pontoon.

A lot depends on what you need to know. Nicholson's are often out of date on things like water points and time dependant items. You will need to know how to get from your boat to main roads, shops, and other non waterway locations. Plus locations to park a car, if you have one. Before you get to it. Nicholson's maps give some of this but often miss the bit you are looking for. E-canal maps give all local roads as well as canal stuff. You may also like some eclectic information so Pearsons is the way to go. Anything that relies on an electronic signal can not be relied on. We use ECM for street/canal maps, Pearsons where we can and Nic's as a last resort. You will also find that you visit the same waterway often, so you should also mark up your guide for next time you visit an area.

I took part in this I think! Very poor questions and it seemed to relate to only one waterway at a time. So it seems that if one had a bad experience on more than one waterway the 2nd was lost. No provision for the very poor manning levels on the leaking and dangerous L&L staircase locks which the on site staff all know about but CRT ignore. It gave me the impression that it was a PR stunt. I could be mistaken, but I don't think so.

Great walk through. Thanks very much. I did it some time back before this work started, I have been trying to make sense of the work program from a distance for some time. It will be interesting to see how the mooring rings work in practice.

That IS interesting. I am surprised the old wharf did not flood. I suppose what I am asking is, was it just run off, held back by the two town bridges and lack of dredging above them or was Witham water contributing. I wound suspect a combination of both.

Is that below the town? How did the town get on ? One has to ask if the pointy doors worked, if the Witham & Skirth were at the same level?

If I am correct the sluice is within the building group just off the flood map at 9 o'clock. Below the P in Priory and just left of the words saw mill on the OS map.

Any Pic's Simon ?

It is at the end of an old mill pond & leat which runs parallel to the canal through part of the town. To be responsible for the operation of such a structure I would have expected CRT to know the ramifications of NOT opening it just as much as opening it. After all, such sluices were deliberately put in to avoid a mill pool and its feed from flooding the surrounding area. The NEW bus station which had its doors damage is just to the right of the art deco building, as is the New library.