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droshky

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Posts posted by droshky

  1. Health warning:

     

    For the vast majority, wasp stings are minor nuisance. We’ve had issues with them having an organised go at our wooden stern rail, and obviously their sting hurts. However, careful! You’ll probably know all of this if you’re so afflicted, but Mrs D has had over the years a mild allergic reaction to  soft shell crabs, wasps and then suddenly without warning (potentially fatal anaphylactic shock) to a snake bite (an adder, not a cider based mixed drink). Most people don’t have this problem 

     

    Following the amazing response of the ambulance service in arriving swiftly at our remote location, swift application of adrenaline almost certainly saved her life. We had no previous indication of this issue, but have now been advised to carry epipens whenever snakes, wasps or other potentially dangerous situations may occur, and we do! You may never know until it happens that you or one of yours has this weakness, and most of us don’t. But she’s been warned that from now on she is more vulnerable. So if you’ve ever had an unusual reaction to shellfish or wasps… or of course snakes… be especially aware of the possibility of anaphylactic shock reaction causing your airwaves to tighten and act swiftly!

    • Greenie 3
  2. Re overplating… just to give you our example: 39’ flat bottom narrow boat with major wear on the bottom, seller (by then a boat yard) and examiner agreed to full replate at their expense.

     

    1. you asked about weight. They did the overplating and put the boat back in, but in the shallows on the mud at the edge of their marina, which was our mooring. But even off the mud we could barely move. Long story short, removing I can’t remember how many ballast bricks was hard. And we’re still a bit low in the water, though we have got round most of the system since then. If springers are lighter you’ll presumably have less ballast to remove. Compare weight of overplating to weight of ballast to see if it’s even possible.

     

    2. we had a couple of problems with the welding, the second of which almost completely sank the boat. Tbf this was 2 years later, and occurred following a pressure wash and blacking. But the reason was because they’d burnt a tiny bit of weld, which sat there carbonised until washed away by the power wash. Blacking didn’t quite seal it, and we were lucky to come back bang on the 14 days, with water lapping over the new hardwood floor! So enquire around about competence.

     

     

  3. No. Ireland and the uk have an agreement called a common travel area. Carriers such as airlines and ferries…any sign of that tunnel, Boris?…may (DO) insist on id but that doesn’t mean passports or the like.

    Anyone in either country may freely travel to the other, and stay as long as they like. Work and other entitlements are in theory another matter.

    You’re welcome, boys and girls, to be sure!

    • Greenie 2
  4. 3rd party ( gas co??) issue has apparently completely drained west side of Hudd narrow from 32w-24w, see crt notice, update due later today. Good luck

     

    Regarding the van accessing the service  tunnel, no they do not have guaranteed access. They have agreed access over network rail land on the west side, but that’s currently closed due to long term road reinstatement and underpinning. There is access over private property, which neighbours are permitted to use but specifically not CRT. The van currently accesses the tunnel courtesy of a short term agreements with NR to cross the safety restricted area on the East side (Marsden), but this may cease soon

    🤞

     

  5. Here’s another one, on the Hudd narrow near Marsden. Apparently going to be an extension to the adjacent hotel, but hasn’t been used yet despite looking ready.

    I asked how they got it between the trees, or did they grow around it? Cut and weld!

    Photo 2.93 somethings, so too big to attach, how do I shrink it?

  6. No. We were there last Wednesday when the issue of access for the safety guy in the van came up. Network rail had started (on the Tuesday I think) extensive resurfacing work which will prevent access from the top of the road for some time. No safety van, no tunnel passage.


    It’s not impossible that Escapeology was lucky enough to benefit from a brief reopening last Monday, but I dunno, and if so I would be, erm, disappointed!

     

    But like you, I spoke to crt yesterday and there was no mention of any movement soon. So it’s not that they’re booked up, it’s that it’s closed.

     

    There is another potential route to the access tunnel which crt are hoping to negotiate with a private householder. Fingers crossed, because if we don’t get that they can keep the curtains down for quite some time

    Aha, just read your latest… well, I’m flummoxed!

  7. Tricky for you. I’ve no boating experience of the Rochdale. A close call which is better maintained etc, I’d guess. If they can sort out the access then I’d say the Hudd is lovely but we’ve been hanging around for ages waiting to get through. Good luck either way

  8. 21 hours ago, droshky said:

    Nothing on the crt website yet, but both paddles on lower gate not working. A few did get through today Mon 10/4 but only by waiting 1 1/2 hrs+ for water to leak down out of the lock. Even then you’re a few inches short, so serious muscle needed. Repair has been booked, we’re told.

    …later, and a repair has been done. Pretty prompt, some talk about they may have to have another go at it. But such traffic as there is is getting through, so fair enough. To quibble, it must have been obvious from the first passage this year that the surviving 2 paddles weren’t going to last long. But small mercies, it’s done for now.

  9. Nothing on the crt website yet, but both paddles on lower gate not working. A few did get through today Mon 10/4 but only by waiting 1 1/2 hrs+ for water to leak down out of the lock. Even then you’re a few inches short, so serious muscle needed. Repair has been booked, we’re told

  10. 7 minutes ago, dmr said:

     

    oooh  did some of my replies get mixed up?

    Yes, Newton Heath has two claims to fame, one is upsetting boaters and the other is something to do with football 😀.

    Its pretty safe to leave a boat anywhere on the Yorkshire side, assuming you can get in to the side . Lots of shortish pounds so allow for level changes. "Mooring wheels" are a good idea, the Rochdale has a wash wall built of stones which is a bit uneven and has a gentle slope so its easy to get hooked up as the level falls.

    There are a lot of locks and all getting on a bit now so I suppose statistically there is an increased risk of failures, but in general the Yorkshire side is good. Running out of summit water is the biggest risk but there should be warning of this, and lower down there are several other feeds.

    Some paddle gear can be stiff so a longer windlass can be handy.

    Thanks dmr, again, the kind of sensible reply I was hoping for. Dunno how far we’ll get, let’s get into Standedge first (after 8 months and 2 optimistic climbs) and on down (what could possibly go wrong?) then we’ll plan a little further ahead.  Cheers

  11. 21 minutes ago, dmr said:

     

    We've had no trouble outside the Boat, but one boat reported having a couple of stones thrown. I have heard of a boat getting untied at the Rose, its all urban/.semi urban so there is always a small risk.

     

    A few boats stop in the Failsworth Pound on the offside outside the all-night taxi office. A boat recently stopped on the towpath side outside Tesco and had a window smashed. Unless its raining there are usually people on the patio outside the Boat which makes it feel fairly safe.

     

    Its a big modern busy urban eating type pub, sometimes with a bit of music, and is the eating part of the Travelodge. Its a place to stop but certainly not a top canalside pub. Sowerby Bridge, Hebden and Todmorden will be the places to get a beer. There is a canalside bar in New Islington Marina with decent but expensive beer. 

     

    Even in the thick of Newton Heath most locals will be friendly and might even give a bit of help with the locks, like everywhere there a few bad lads (and a few bad adults) who generate the bad reputation.

    Newton Heath? Good Lord man, we’re not going over the top…even if  our no. 2 son is a United supporter! No I just meant what’s it like up towards the summit, with particular attention to

    1. us part timers who abandon our craft for weeks (2 of em) on end and

    2. Reliability of lock, etc hardware.

     

    Scallywaggery is, I’d guess, less of an issue up there, though of course always with us

  12. 1 hour ago, dmr said:

    I'm biassed but I consider the stretch from a little above Todmorden up to the summit to be the most spectacular bit of canal anywhere, so I suggest you go all the way up to the summit.  There is a winding hole on the summit but the length of boat it takes does depend on the water level, otherwise the run down to Littleborough is pretty good. Both Hebden and Todmorden are good towns to visit.

     

  13. 1 hour ago, IanD said:

     

    We did the Rochdale/HNC ring in 10 days is 2017, trip report here:

     

    https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/92760-south-pennine-ring-trip-and-pubfood-report/

     

    Also the HNC only in 2013 in a week:

     

    https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/59716-ashton-to-sowerby-bridge-via-huddersfield-narrow-canal/

     

    The maintainance on both canals seems to have declined since... 😞

     

    Sure does….Standedge Diggle lock pretty much closed both ways after we eventually got through

     

    We had the expected low pounds on our way up to the tunnel but the very last lock 32W is out of commission, only one of four paddles working, I think in each case the mechanism having come loose from their paddles.
     

    Using leakage to empty it after a slow fill, the occasional boat is getting through but it’s taking a couple of hours to nearly empty then 3 strong men.. well 2 and me! to push 5/6 inches of water away. Repair booked but consider it closed till then. Boat behind us who has a Friday booking couldn’t get up, nor another one down, both stuck for now.

     

    Needless to say, we missed our slot for the tunnel, so 2 days’ delay. It is lovely round here when it’s not raining!

  14. Hi Adam, thanks again for your account. 
     

    We got to Uppermill last year, so had a different experience in the dry weather, more grounding (we’re a bit deep anyway, underplated which didn’t help) and then came to a full stop, missing the tunnel by a few days. Our booking was for august, they shut on the first. We enjoyed quite a few Pennine walks and bike rides, but don’t live aboard, so decided to wait it out.

    We had less issues than some seem to with the Hudd narrow (west), apart from water shortage.

    Eventually battery life meant we had to go back a bit and literally recharge over winter. So here we are back approaching tunnel mouth, with the pounds jammed full of water by comparison with last autumn , and going thru Standedge tomorrow afternoon 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

     

    more later

     

    dave

  15. 54 minutes ago, Adam said:

    Top paddle was funny with us, ring CRT they will likely assist you through if at all possible. They are very helpful that way over.

    Yes we’ve generally found them very helpful with that kind of urgent issue. But there’s a stop notice on there since Thursday, updated yesterday and saying that it’ll be dewatered for repair and next notice will be this monday3rd.

     

    Not looking too brilliant for Easter weekend, we can but hope. Nuisance that we can’t get to the cafe or wool rd moorings. Hopefully the imminent holiday weekend will concentrate their minds and spanners.

     

    I don’t think it’ll be passable if it’s still dewatered! But we’ll 100% make our way up to Uppermill and walk up to check it out. I guess once they can get at it they’ll be keen to get the job done. 🤞🤞🤞

  16. 25 minutes ago, Adam said:

    Top paddle was funny with us, ring CRT they will likely assist you through if at all possible. They are very helpful that way over.

    Yes we’ve generally found them very helpful with that kind of urgent issue. But there’s a stop notice on there since Thursday, updated yesterday and saying that it’ll be dewatered for repair and next notice will be this monday3rd.

     

    Not looking too brilliant for Easter weekend, we can but hope. Nuisance that we can’t get to the cafe or wool rd moorings. Hopefully the imminent holiday weekend will concentrate their minds and spanners.

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