Steve Manc

I did not purchase a plank last year. Booked to go onto the Lancaster Canal this summer. I have purchased the Lancaster Trust book which recommends boat users have a plank. Has anyone traveled the Lancaster the canal and used a plank? Does anyone have a plank, if so what length is it and why? I am thinking of purchasing a scaffolding board from B&Q and cut it down to six foot 6 inches. This website, posted above, recommend support every 1.2 to 1.5 meters / 3 feet 11 inches ish https://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030113949 . We will used it in an emergency and not every day use so I will take the risk Thanks

Hi Thebiscuit Are you a long term moorer in the docks? Have you stayed on the visitor moorings in Salthouse Dock if so do you know if boaters can hear the noise of the city at night?

Re: Harnser's blog - This was our trip from Liverpool and Leeds http://nbharnser.blogspot.com/2018/05/melling-saturday-may-5-2018.html Opening sentence : 25th May 2018, Last night was the worst night we have had in the Docks for disturbance, loud music until gone 1-30 am and then police helicopter and sirens until 3-30 am Is it normal to be able to hear the noise of the city whilst in the Salthouse Dock?

Hi what is it like mooring M58 side of bridge 11 ?

interesting read 😁

Have you found there are a lot of mosquitos at night in the area due to the large number of lakes / flashes?

They offered me 7 or 22 at the time of booking. Happy with what I have at present. 😁 looking forwards to it, lets hope we have a summer like 2018.

Thought this may interest you. He was being interviewed on Radio 2 Good Moaning France: Officer Crabtree's Fronch Phrose Berk https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Moaning-France-Officer-Crabtrees/dp/1909976598/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1552405114&refinements=p_27%3AArthur+Bostrom&s=books&sr=1-1

Hi Plan of the moorings on the last page of this document https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/38057-liverpool-canal-link-skippers-guide-may-2018.pdf

Interesting thread, for anyone looking to do the trip into Liverpool please find the latest info March 2019. On the last page there is a diagram of the pontoons in Salthouse Dock. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/refresh/media/thumbnail/38057-liverpool-canal-link-skippers-guide-may-2018.pdf

Alan Re: I would respectfully suggest that this should be the last consideration of your 'list'. In the event of 'the worst has happened' and your anchor has potentially saved your life, and your boat from being destroyed by rolling over a weir, you are concerned about recovering a £300 anchor ? I was talking about practicing deployment of the anchor. I wouldn't want to loose an anchor each time I practiced! Agree if anchor deployed in an emergency and I saved the boat but loose an anchor that is a good result for me.

Re: What I think is that, for almost every narrowboat pilot, fitting or finding a decent strongpoint, flaking the rode in a way to ensure tangle free deployment and having the anchor already rigged somewhere it's readily accessible and easy to deploy from, even simply by dropping or throwing, is a difficult enough. I agree with this statement. I have seen anchors stored on narrowboats on fixed positions and locked at the rear or just placed on deck or the roof but with no chains or ropes in sight. Which is understandable if they are not required because they are on a canal. If you are able to safely lower your anchor from a narrowboat, pay it out under control and set the length of rode deployed to suit the "anchorage" I think that's great, and if you practice it I applaud you, and if you can still do it that way whilst your boat is out of control I take my hat off to you... but, and this is my point, you're very much amongst the few exceptions. Re: Practice safe deployment and secured to a fixed secure point on the narrowboat is something I have thought about. The weight on ones back and arms, 20kg anchor + 5 meters of 10mm chain 10.5 kg + rope x kg, then the drag weight of x kg. Not something I would look forward to. Then becomes the issue of will I be able to recover the anchor if it becomes fixed in the river bed? The rope will have to be cleaned and safely stored to ensure it will deploy when required. Already I am thinking where can I store the anchor when not required, which is probably over the rear end. The chain and rope may go in the gas locker but will this break boat safety rules? The debate between Seadog and Howardang has been useful and has made me think further than what should I buy.

Anchor chain & Rope To comply with the River Thames, if I ever get there, I have decided to purchase 5 meters of chain and 25 meters of rope. What rope do you recommend for an anchor? i.e. 10mm, 12mm or larger https://www.ropelocker.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_17&products_id=474 Is there types of rope that sink or float? I am sure I have read this some where! Thanks

Thanks for the replies, I should have added info when I posted which you get when making the booking. UP is north & DOWN is south. Info in the skipper guide: anchor, chain and rope a minimum of 30 meters. Which is roughly two lengths of my 50 foot boat. As recommended by Iain anchor to be lowered in and then play out the chain and line. Please ensure you are at the meeting points: UP Passage - Lock 8 Tarleton Lock, Rufford Branch where you must arrive 2 hours before high tide to ensure your safe passage on the day DOWN Passage - Ribble Link Basin, Top of Lock flight where you must arrive 4 - 4.5 hours before high tide to ensure your safe pasasge on the day Skippers guide: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/30529-ribble-link-skippers-guide.pdf Tide times and depths here, sorry I had info and hadn't taken it in https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/39486-ribble-link-passage-times-2019.pdf?v=6c0de1

Lets assume everyone has the correct anchor type for their boat. I have booked my 50 foot narrowboat on the ribble link this summer. 1, Using the following website what tab / section of the River Douglass and River Ribble do I use to monitor the river levels? https://riverlevels.uk/levels/lancashire#.XIKYpvn7TIV 2, What is the maximum depth for the rivers when the tide is in but not in flood? 3, What length would you set the chain and rope before securing it to the front of the boat?