Captain Pegg

So the motor exits the lock and the gates close against the fenders, but don’t trap them or rip them off? And the fenders also successfully prevent the rudder getting trapped? Then the gates close against the cross straps, but don’t trap them? (It would be easier to use a line which probably could be lifted above the closing gates having gone slack and in reality by far and away the majority of pairs would have been loaded going uphill here). Then the butty passes through the gates that are under pressure but the gates still manage to pass over the anser pins without damaging them or ripping them off. Next comes the tunnel hooks and they don’t get damaged either. Then somehow the helm manages to pass through without getting trapped or damaged. It’s not going to happen is it?

I agree it’s probably legend but I think the counter argument was that the motor was stuck in the top gates and the butty stuck in the bottom gates. Not that the flow through the top gates would cause the bottom gates to close in any case.

I struggle with the idea a motor and butty could execute such a trick. Where exactly does the 25 tonnes of laden butty go while the motor forces its way through the top gates? Is it braked by the closing bottom gates? 🤔 My fiver says it never happened. ETA - I guess it would be braked by the influx of water but it’s still something of a trick that I struggle to see that even if possible would save time on just operating the lock normally. Sounds like a legend that’s grown out of perhaps an idea or a one off attempt.

Am I missing something in relation to the story about the boat stuck between the top gates; why not just close the bottom gates to extricate it? Not sure I believe this really was a thing.

It’s a bit of an optical illusion due to the way the side plate is painted.

No. There’s no secret about the location, it’s at Tyseley on the GU, and I think interior photos have been posted on previous adverts. I don’t see this advert as a scam, the boat itself is a con though. It’s a standard shell with bits added, and other essential bits removed. JP

I was thinking a dead end canal of 7 miles in length and 12 locks on the fringes of the system makes a lot more sense as an integral part of a wider system rather than a stand alone entity. Politically I was thinking CRT may not ultimately have the ability to say ‘no’ even if they wanted to. It’s not a good message to send to their paymasters given they were set up for that very purpose. JP

The Droitwich Canals Trust didn’t directly restore the Droitwich Canals single handedly. It was one of the bodies that formed the Droitwich Canals Restoration Partnership. British Waterways were another, as were local councils. I suspect the Cotswold Canals have similar arrangements. Personally I’d be surprised if CRT weren’t obliged to take on the restored navigation. JP

It may not be required but it’s seemingly impossible to avoid. Having waited for four hours to ascend Foxton and two hours to descend Watford a few weeks ago I’d sooner book so I knew what was in store. JP

As above. Normal tapered windlass is required but the three locks in Kidderminster - Town, Caldwell and Falling Sands - all have the anti-vandal handcuff locks on them. The boat should come with them supplied as boats from the Autherley base will regularly encounter anti-vandal gear. JP

I once did very similar in a midweek hire but from Stockton Top. However, the OP suggested four hour days which would probably only get them to Welford, even from Weedon.

Highly debatable that a knot isn’t metric. Don’t be confused by the use of the term ‘mile’ in nautical mile. It’s got nothing to do with the imperial statute mile. A nautical mile is derived from the distance at the Earth’s surface of the chord between two radials separated by an angle of one minute at the Earth’s centre. Degrees, minutes and seconds while not SI units are recognised measures under that system. A nautical mile is internationally acknowledged as being exactly 1852 metres having been standardised to the SI unit for length. Therefore a knot is 1.852 km/hour. And back to topic, can I point out that the term “shiny boat” is as much metaphorical as it is literal. Not all boats that shine are ‘shiny boats’. JP

Well obviously but that’s not a method, it’s a guaranteed cock-up. It’s essentially what did happen but I’ll wager it wasn’t done deliberately.

They were descending. How is that done?

I’d say if that is the route they prefer to do then there is no reason why they shouldn’t do it. It was their stated intention not something the forum has advised. I’m wager they won’t be the only first timers to do the Stourport Ring this October. The problem with all the alternative routes that don’t include the Severn is the sheer number of locks required to get anywhere, all of which you’ve got to do again to get home. However, if the Severn is shut - and they’ll likely know if that’s going to be the case before they leave Stoke Prior - in addition to the above suggestions there is also an option of a partial ring going to Lapworth via the North Stratford and then back to Birmingham along the GU and Camp Hill and up Farmers Bridge to central Birmingham and return down the Worcs & Bham. JP

It’ll be on 2nd November I suspect and OP’s trip is 17th-24th October. It’s hard to know what the current opening hours are from notices as the last one said normal summer hours were recommencing after the reduced arrangement for Covid. I don’t think Hanbury to Stourport is too difficult but it will need an early start and would probably mean not stooping in Droitwich. As an alternative a late morning stop in Droitwich and overnight Hawford/Bevere works nicely and on as far as Wolverley at least the next day.

Did this article refer to the Botterham sinking? I pointed out at the time it appeared not to be a conventional cilling and involved water leaking out of the bottom of the pair of staircase locks resulting in them making a joint level lower than normal and the level continuing to drop as the boat transited between the chambers leading to it cilling and sinking. I haven’t seen any reports confirming the cause but it did appear that an undetected slightly raised lower paddle may have been the cause. Even so that isn’t CRTs fault or indeed something that could generally directly lead to a sinking. JP

Putting aside the issue of whether the Severn will be open I think there’s a danger of over complicating things by worrying too much about locations for the overnight stops. The Stourport Ring is a comfortable one week cruise via Worcester but given it’s a novice two person crew then going via Droitwich is sensible. Note that CanalPlan default times for Tardebigge/Stoke locks and for the River Severn are conservative. Hanbury Junction to Hawford Junction via Droitwich is about six hours cruising and the trip up the river to Stourport from Hawford is about two hours so the second day should be 8 about hours net cruising time. You’ll need to ensure you are in time for the last lock on the Severn at Lincomb, which is close to Stourport. I wouldn’t anticipate queues at Stourport in October outside of half term week. The broad locks have more capacity than the narrow locks anyway. If you can’t make it off the river the best mooring is probably the pontoon between Holt Fleet bridge and the lock as it’s one of the few public places you can tie up without being against a high piled wall. It may be signed as the lock landing but that’s OK outside of normal hours. If you were to tie up above Bevere lock there’s a climb up a ladder involved to get off the boat. Stourbridge and Delph locks combined are arguably harder work than Tardebigge as they are much deeper and have a larger combined fall than Tardebigge. That makes for harder work deposit there being fewer locks. Kinver to the foot of Delph locks is a straightforward enough day and you can moor below Delph or alternatively in the arm above the bottom lock. Not the greatest of spots but it’s OK. If you like ale it’s also a must do as it’s the nearest spot to the Bull & Bladder/Vine - Batham’s brewery tap. JP

I think so. I saw one with a Stanley Ferry builders plate on it recently and was a little surprised as I’m used to seeing them all say Bradley. I’m sure it was a new replacement too. What material would you 3D print them using?

That reminds me that unrest in west Africa has disrupted supply of Greenheart in recent years. I too believe CRT use oak and that probably explains why modern gates don’t last as long, if indeed that is the case. I also thought that CRT manufacture all the gates for the renewal programme at their own workshops, one of the issues being that every gate is unique. It doesn’t follow that using oak is less cost effective than tropical hardwood as it will be cheaper to source. Tropical hardwoods are used in engineering for their strength properties more so than their longevity. JP

Hardwood doesn’t need protecting from the elements. It’s common to find untreated hardwood in construction. I presume the origin of the practice of painting the ends of balance beams and other fittings white was to make them more visible in hours of darkness. I think in some cases volunteer groups paint new gates post-installation.

I’d be surprised if they were galvanised due to the size of them. Quality of supply of large sections of structural hardwood is an issue, many of the traditional sources are not FSC certified. Whether this affects lock construction I am not sure as I didn’t think in the UK it needed exotic timber. JP

We should lose any assumption that a steel gate needs to look like the standard design for narrow locks of the 1970s. Steel gates - or at least balance beams - are not uncommon on broad locks. I seem to recall they are universal on the Erewash. If the detailing of the fabrication is done sympathetically, such as having 45 degree chamfers rather than square edges then they can be fairly indistinguishable from timber beams. Composite construction certainly offers solutions as may synthetic wood which is becoming available as an engineering material. JP

How does that work considering the Beeston and Nottingham canals are fed directly from the Trent and are pretty much an artificial channel of a river? I cruised both ways throughout a month ago and there was plenty of water. One defective paddle at Meadow Lane which did result in difficulty in the lock making a level. How far did you actually go? JP