Dave123

Oh right...Will keep an eye on junk email. Thanks

And I expected this thread to be about the closure of Marple services/bins😂😅. Turned out to be much more entertaining.

I wonder if this breach had to be given higher priority as it was on a river not a canal? Possibility it could have impacted management of flood water if not repaired?

I've never had a diesel stove, always solid fuel. Judging by the steady trickle of Facebook posts on the subject over the years, it seems diesel stoves are a bit more prone to issues and breakdowns plus I just don't like the idea of relying on fuel hidden out of sight in a tank for heating. Bags of coal and wood are so much simpler and easier to source and carry.

Apparently this is actually going to be open before xmas. Quite surprised and fair play to CRT

No experience of the Rochdale yet (outside of the Rochdale 9 in manchester) but another vote for Droylesden, its totally secure/locked but might be full up this time of year of course. Otherwise even the bottom of Marple locks would be ok, some nice armco the manchester side of the opened out tunnel (rose hill I think?) or anywhere at the top of them.

Gas fired central heating on a hire boat sounds unusual! It's normally a diesel system or even better - some hire boats have stoves.

Thanks for that, prices not up on the CRT website but will try just selecting it on the online licence renewal page. Now just need to hope for a dry(ish) spring to be able to get on the river soon

I think by the 1930s widening electric back pumping was available so presumably water wastage wasn't such a concern.

Granary wharf is the only nice place likely to have space in Leeds. The river pontoon by the services was pretty battered by the floods and hadn't been fixed (in June at least). Only 2 boat spaces in Clarence dock and they are always full. Granary wharf is nice and hardly any extra journey from the Armoury/Clarence dock. Leave lines loose when away though, as despite the back pump levels can drop a bit. Apparently people do sometimes overnight at Kirkstall, seen one of the hire companies (and hotel boat I think) post about this but they were probably not leaving boats unattended. The brewery there is fab and I really considered it but had teamed up with another local boat and they wanted to push on to Rodley, which is the standard thing to do.

Ah right, thanks. I changed back to a standard CRT licence this year as I was mostly up north but it's the same start date as a gold so I guess I'll just wait a bit longer. Glad to hear they are still offering it. Obviously also emailed CRT about this but as I expected, got a faster and probably more informative response on CWF😁

Oh right! They only have a month left or people won't have a licence?😅 happy to pay more

Trying to get a gold licence for next year. Notice that neither EA or CRT have the price list up yet nor will the online system let me buy one. Did I miss the discontinuation of gold licences in the EA licence change consultation?

I think there were 5 that still opened the old way, Chisnell, Shipton, Drinkwaters, Wolvercote and St Edwards? It is being replaced and will be hydraulic now (the correct term that I should have used)😂. Will actually make more effort for single handers and crew as it can't be left raised and will be slower to open and close.🤷‍♂️

Just occurred to me that from this winter I believe all of the lift bridges on the South Oxford that aren't permanently locked in the raised position, will be mechanical (either with a windlass or electronic buttons). I.e. you won't just push them up or down anymore. I haven't read any discussion on this anywhere. I cannot make up my mind if this is for the better or worse. It means some that are almost always left raised will presumably always be lowered, so a bit more effort, but I have wondered how much of a safety issue they are when raised without a mechanism. Some do wobble a bit in high winds and Shipton can be a pain to get it to stay up if it's been wet and there aren't crew to sit on it... And also is it lost "heritage" in that they will no longer open and lower using the original simple balance mechanism?

CRT have patched up a few holes in the towpath around Aynho but a lot of it is still very poor. Does reduce cycling at least😂. I have also reported 3 seperate streams flowing from holes in the canal wall at points around Somerton/Heyfords🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Facebook might be a better place to advertise this,boat moving seems to be a growing industry there!

Apparently they dropped the level of the whole pound to fit through the previous low bridge! Possibly they tried the same here and have gone aground as a consequence? They look to be at a slight slant?😂🤦‍♂️

Probably explains why reading is so unwelcoming to boats and bats😅

The K&A fb group will let anyone in I'm pretty sure. It's a pretty nice group although sometimes members need reminding the K&A goes further east than Devizes, posts about rivers are always assumed to be the Avon😅. I wouldn't be considering trying to join the K&A from the Thames at the moment, I doubt they will fix the breach until Spring. Breaches usually take months. And I imagine being a river makes it harder? Or perhaps there is increased priority? As this breach must make it hard to control the river levels? I'm pretty sure the Kennet has moveable sluices along it's length as it never seems to rise or fall in response to rain, it only changes its flow rate... Not my photos, lifted from fb

Some people commented on Facebook about this, apparently the farmer has been in discussions with CRT for a year or more about this. They claim it's not coming from the canal...

Sorry, not my video so this is the only way to share it. But mostly just made the thread to inform boaters this has happened... And anyway, if you want to see videos of this sort of thing Facebook groups are the place to be. I've noticed over the years less and less stoppages get a thread on here, even long term ones like this looks to be.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/178384468913736/permalink/4430706040348203/ Video here of the river flowing through an alternative course to the side of the original weir just above Burghfield lock! Not sure how serious this is, presumably it's permanently dropped the levels above Burghfield and sped the river up below? Will it mess with flood control downstream?

Perhaps they just mean the flow past the heel post of the bottom gates is so significant they were worried the gate might completely collapse whilst full?

Going to be some big queues there...a lot of Wyvern and Gayton ABC boats still out!