Wittenham

It was fun pulling our butty through there with the kayak yesterday [from the other thread]. Shortened the rope and made a paddle powered bow thruster

Have you seen the size of my biceps.... As it was a nice sunny day yesterday, quite a few boats were out and about, and lots of comments. My favourite 'are you doing this for a charity?'.

an update: that was easier than I expected... boat moved from Agenda 21 mooring to a few hundred metres the other side of Duke's Cut. The main propulsion was a sit on kayak, with a bit of poling from the back. For the short stretches where there were not moored boats, we dragged our boat with lines at the stern and bow. All in all, it took a couple hours to move a kilometre or so, including through the lock. thanks all for the suggestions, I had no idea I could pull something that big behind a canoe.

Yes, last night. It worked, although the pump kept leaking water into the bilge. We have stopped all repair work until we get the boat to a yard and have it surveyed [subject of another thread]. It was a blindingly obvious solution... [just not to me].

I don't really know the neighbours yet, but could have a chat. Most of the boats there look like they have been in situ for a very long time. I am happy to ask a passing nb to tow me, but I assume I need to some ability to keep the boat pointing where I want it to go... would it not be at risk of a sideways swing with no ability to steer it? There are two very narrow swingbridges in the ~kilometre or so between where the boat is moored and where it needs to get to, so side by side would not work without a lot of tying/untying [and perhaps a problem if we met someone coming the other way]. How about: grab a lift from a passing nb, drag it backwards past the moored boats [assuming I do not need to fear the boat swinging]. Once it is clear of the moored boats, I can drag it by hand with lines at the stern and the bow. That would still leave one of the narrow gaps to get through. I like that idea. Another one of my dumb questions : would a couple canoes [with canoeists in them...] in the water be of any use in controlling the boat?

Can I check the view: can the butty be dragged by hand stern first to Duke's Cut? There are many narrowboats along the towpath, at least for the first few hundred metres, it is much more clear after that. There is no reasonable way to drag it from the other side of the canal [not without lots of chain saw work first]. The rudder has been jury rigged, per below [but would be at the 'wrong' end]. We could be picked up at Sheepwash/Thames, but Dukes Cut is a shorter distance for the tug [and therefore cheaper].

I do mean Sheepwash and the Thames. Dukes is much closer, but not sure dragging (or towing) a boat by its stern is very do-able. Unless the experts here tell me otherwise, I am planning to take the boat to Sheepwash/Thames, turn it around and then get it to Dukes Cut.

I like it... part of the leak is the water pump itself but I will see if it works well enough to do as you suggest.

Any view on my options? I think the water in the bilge is coming from inside the boat, so would rather nail it at source than waiting for it to get into the bilge. The tank sits below the water line so syphoning is not an option and I have been unsuccessful in googling for suitable hand pumps. I earlier tried a drill powered pump to empty the bilge but found the thing not very useful.

To update: Oxford Cruisers at Eynsham will tow us to their yard and haul out for survey. We just need to get the boat to Dukes Cut as their tug will not fit through the lock. Rotting rudder rescued from tow path and repaired roughly. And then then I realise the boat is pointing the wrong way. So... down the Oxford Canal to where it meets the Thames above Osney Lock. Anyone know if there is room to pivot a 72 foot boat at that space? Seems plenty big when I paddle a canoe through it....

I found him on eBay a couple weeks ago. Very easy to do business with.

The butty is made of steel and I found the rudder leaning against a fence, gently rotting away. I quite like like the idea of pumping some kind of sealant into the inside of the boat and just leaving it. But I will try to get it out of the water for a proper job.

The boat is Promise, but you can't tell that from looking at it. It is the first boat north of the lock at Godstow Road [assuming it has not sunk...]. We thought about hauling it manually, but I didn't realise there was anywhere close enough. I will try to find College Boats. thanks!

More or less you recall correctly. I paid a few pennies less, and also got a van full of tools. I think the 95k one is struggling to shift, probably not helped by the high monthly outgoings (they get to pay council tax on top of CRT).

Given the amount I have to pay CRT for the right to the permanent mooring I bought with the boat, I will be very disappointed if they are not happy! It is a 72 foot butty, once paired up with whatever the engined boat that tows a butty is called. I have no reason to think anything bad about the bottom, other than the boat has sat at the same spot for ~10 years. And before I get into the re-working of the interior, i want to be sure the bottom is in shape. I would happily replate it and then park it for another ten years. I agree on the Thames... I paddle kayaks and canoes on it regularly. Devizes - Westminster was on my bucket list, and for a number of reasons, after beginning training, we did not go ahead this year. I walked past the Thames on Good Friday, saw the speed of the water and thought 'record breaking year if the teams can keep the correct side pointed at the water!'. Turns out they stopped the race at Reading.