nine9feet

I have read the doom mongers claiming that the canal system is slowly falling apart; the discussion on the maintenance shortfall; the lack of preventative maintenance; the error of removing the lengthsman; the ineffective CRT management and their contractors. The list goes on! Mostly I have ignored this, probably because I have not been much affected by broken infrastructure. Yes, the odd paddle here and there that does not work (lots on the Huddersfield narrow!), leaking gates, etc. However, I have been watching the stoppage notices of late and today these three have arrived: Notice AlertRochdale Canal Starts At: Lock 84 Dale St Ends At: Lock 92 Castlefield Tuesday 26 August 2014 16:15 until further notice Type: Navigation Closure Reason: Inspection Original message:A problem has occured with a cill at Lock 91 on the Rochdale Canal. The lock is currently inoperable and the canal is closed. We will not be able to carry out an inspection of the cill before tomorrow morning, in the meantime we are working to clear the area of boat traffic so that we can take the water out for the inspection. As soon as we have any more information we will update. In the meantime we are closing the flight from Lock 84 to Lock 92, which will be lock. Notice AlertStaffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Starts At: Stourport Narrow Lock No 4 Ends At: Stourport Narrow Lock No 1 Tuesday 26 August 2014 16:30 until further notice Type: Navigation Closure Reason: Structure failure Original message:Due to a structure failure at Narrow Lock No. 4. It is necessary to close all Narrow Locks from 4 to 1 with immediate effect Entrance/exit to the River Severn can be obtained via the Broad Beam Locks. An update will be issued tomorrow with further details and timescales for repair works to be carried out. Notice AlertOxford Canal Starts At: Bridge 215, Caravan Lift Bridge Ends At: Bridge 215, Caravan Lift Bridge Up Stream Winding Hole: North of Pigeon's Lock 39 Down Stream Winding Hole: South of Baker's Lock 40 Tuesday 26 August 2014 20:30 until further notice Type: Navigation Closure Reason: Structure failure Original message:The offside bridge abutments of Caravan Lift Bridge, 215, have collapsed. This has caused the brickwork and timber bridge to fall into the canal and block navigation. The canal is closed to navigation and the footpath over the bridge is also closed. We hope to get contractors on site as soon as possible on 27 August 2014 to remove the timber bridge and rubble from the canal, so that navigation can be reopened. Is this just CRT having a bad day or indicative of the future as predicted by the doom mongers?

In recent years items described as art have popped up all over the waterways, including poetry on lock beams and oop north the Kelpies, various types of sculpture and those mainly colourful murals under bridges and on walls. According to a Telegraph article it seems we can expect much more in the future, especially as the intention is two cover everywhere twice (5000 miles!) :-) Extract: "Down on the towpath, Up And A Wave is just one of a burgeoning and eclectic range of on-the-water offerings around Britain’s 5,000 miles of canals that are, some claim, fast transforming them into the country’s largest arts venue." Article : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/outdoor-activities/11055072/From-art-shows-to-films-our-canals-are-awash-with-culture.html

For those who do not frequent Facebook ( ) I copy below an item by Will Chapman (Save Our Waterways) posted to the Narrowboat Users Group a couple of days ago. Note that I do not know what is fact and what is speculation. It is up to the reader to decide! "Will Chapman OK here, in a nutshell, is what I have found out primarily unofficially. First, don't blame the Festival organisers; they are only following instructions that are being driven by Natural England following a complaint from a 'nature lover' from the area. Many observers point out that the Shackerstone Angling Association has been complaining about the festival for a number of years because they 'can't fish over the weekend' and it is rumoured that they are the source of the complaint to Natural England (NE). NE seem to have gone overboard on their demands and CRT, the Festival, Ashby Canal Association are trying to accommodate them with measures that won't interfere too much with the Festival and normal boating. Whatever they decide, I hope that it all goes to consultation as It is understood that NE have produced a list of 9 conditions which they require to be satisfied before CRT could issue a licence for the Festival to take place. Most of the issues are related to damage to the reed bed on either side of the canal and that explains why double-breasting has been restricted. I understand that NE have also expressed concern about 14 day moorings and the discharge of grey water from boats. Rest assured that CRT Central Shires, the Ashby Canal Association and the Festival committee are on the case. So lets support the Festival in whatever way we can - which doesn't mean boycotting OR blockading it. Personally, as I said in my earlier post, this looks to me like a knee-jerk reaction that whatever it's merits or otherwise should never have happened this year. This event has been going on for more than 20 years; what point is there in rushing into a load of 'rules' that are only going to effect the waterway for a few days. What is needed here is a proper consultation based on carefully reasoned recommendations that pragmatically consider all users, boaters, walkers, cyclist, anglers and wildlife."

Thanks Ken. That helps explain a little. I still don't get why he did not use tiller and engine as well though, so that the thruster was "assisting" the manoeuvre (Oxford Dictionary def: "A movement or series of moves requiring skill and care") :-)

I can imagine the response from certain quarters if this happened on CRT waters rather than the Thames. "River police evict 17 boats moored illegally in HamptonA total of 17 boats, moored next to Thames Water in Lower Sunbury Road, were served eviction notices on Friday, August 15, which required the vessels to be removed from the riverbank by Tuesday, August 19. The eviction was carried out by officers from Hampton local policing team and the Marine Police Unit alongside the Thames Water enforcement team. Acting Police Sergeant Michael Somers from the Hampton local police team, said: "This is part of an ongoing operation where the Metropolitan Police Service is assisting land owners to remove boats moored without permission." From : http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/11422604.River_police_evict_17_boats_moored_illegally_in_Hampton/

My boat doesn't have bow thrusters and I have never steered a boat that does. So I have a question prompted by what I saw yesterday. I approached Autherley Junction from the north and turned in,as a boat had just exited the Shroppie. Unfortunately another boat was about to enter the stop lock. I ascertained they would be turning north on the S&W so I backed out and reversed south and waited. The boat slowly exited under the bridge and stopped with the counter still just on the Shroppie. The boat must have been nearly full length. Whilst holding the tiller straight the steerer then operated the bowthruster to turn the boat north which is slightly greater than a 90 degree turn. He kept the tiller straight while the bow turned and did not apply power or steering until the boat was almost pointing in the right line. I did not think that I would use a bowthruster like that! I had the idea that normally it would be used with short bursts of power and not continuously. Does it depend on what sort of thruster it is (electric motor, hydraulic)? Just interested, like :-)

Thank you Tim. Much appreciated!

I would be grateful for an electronic copy if possible. I bought a copy a couple of years ago through Abe Books at a cost of £17.50! It is not exactly in pristine condition and is easily damaged. Thanks!

OK, I've checked again. The info I was given by EA last summer was : length 12.4m, width 3.7m. My Andrew Hunter Blair guide "The River Great Ouse and Tributaries" gives : length 12.0m, width 4.0m Jim Shead gives : length 40ft 4in, width 12ft 0in The gov.uk site shows for EA (published 1 April 2014) : length 12.4m (40ft 6in). width 3.7m (12ft 1in) .waterwayroutes.co.uk has : length 39ft 4in Take your pick :-) (Or pick your own dimensions lol)

Has been mentioned earlier in the thread :-) Remote waterway is Brandon Creek or The Little Ouse, tributary of The Great Ouse (Fenland waterway). Lock is Brandon Lock which has length of 40ft 6in HTH

The first blind person I met who used the internet back in the mid 1990s had a device he called a Braille reader. I seem to recall it put a line of text at a time and raised pins to identify each character to the blind person's fingertips. The next model he had also had a keyboard with some special command keys. I assume these are still in use?

According to IWA at this page : https://www.waterways.org.uk/waterways/canals_rivers/middle_level_navigations/middle_level_navigations Lodes End is 68ft and "Welches Dam Lock (currently closed awaiting funding for major repairs) along the Forty Foot Drain limits navigation to boats under 47ft (14.3m)." Brandon Lock is actually 40ft 6ins :-)

Interesting opinion! What draft do you think an empty working boat has under the counter? Cheers

It's worth bearing in mind that not every boater can keep the bridge open for you. If single handed, once the boat is through the bridge it is tied to the bridge/offside somehow while the bridge is closed. So the boat would be blocking your way through! Another issue is where the bridge is electrically operated the key is usually locked in the control box until the bridge has been lowered.

And another! I, for one, enjoy unravelling the meaning of Nigel's posts ;-)

Depends on how you work locks solo :-) Are you going up or down? Did the flight 3 weeks ago going up. My usual technique when going up is, wherever possible, to step off the boat at the tail of the lock and let it drift in. Most (all?) the Marple locks do not allow for this, so had to drive into each lock and climb the ladder out. I put the boat against the top gate and was careful raising paddles. Had no problems with the boat moving in the chamber. Biggest problem was lack of water. I did a lot of walking up and down the flight letting water down. Worst was the pound between 9 & 10 which was so far down a shopping trolley on its side was exposed at the entrance to lock 10! The bank at this pound increases in height as you progress, so no chance of getting off the boat if I got stuck :-( The passing pedestrians must have realised this as I eventually had an audience of about 30! I'm sure whilst most were willing me to get into the lock, there were some who were hoping I would fail! Did get stuck a few times in this pound but using the usual techniques eventually scraped over the lower cill! By the time I was in lock 12 a CRT chappie arrived to let water down as a hire boat had got stuck in the difficult pound 'twixt 9 & 10 :-) From a brief conversation it seems to be a known problem. Took me over 5 hrs to do the flight! HTH

+1 :-)

This is the price I paid 2 days ago at a boatyard. First time I have been asked "is it a bottle from Calor Gas?". They said they would not exchange for a full bottle if the empty was not so marked.

Sorry for late response - been away for a few days. Did not discover the cause. Mainly because I was keen to get the boat out of the lock asap and find out how much water had gone in the front doors. The answer, luckily, was only a small amount - easily mopped up with a cloth off the steps. Perhaps I should have investigated further but didn't. The point of posting was to find out how others deal with the AV locks on paddle gear. Thanks.

After further searching and reading of the forums I think Nick's post just about sums it up. I would add one other point I spotted which is that there are fewer cells to check and top up than equivalent total AH "leisure" batteries and the caps are bayonet. All good stuff. Just have to see what adjustments are needed to battery box :-)

I used the search and found that you are correct - there are recent threads I missed. Don't know how that happened as I usually look at everything related to batteries and electrics :-)

Recently went over the Rochdale and back via the Huddersfield Narrow. A lot of the locks on these canals have anti-vandal devices fitted on the paddle gear. The devices on gate paddles can be opened quickly as it just requires a twist of a "handcuff" key. Ground paddles, however, often require a fair amount of unscrewing a locking bolt which takes time. At one lock on the Huddersfield narrow I nearly sank the boat :-( The bow got caught somewhere and held down while the boat was rising in the lock. It wasn't anywhere near the gate and I couldn't see any problem with the front fender and the cill, but it happened. And it happened very quickly. Fortunately I only had one paddle partially open so could close that quickly and as the lower gate paddles did not have any AV locks I could open them quickly and prevent a disaster. What particularly bothered me was that it all happened so quickly - just a few seconds between normal rising in the lock and then a near sinking as water poured into the bows. This got me thinking. If the other paddles had had AV locks on I would have wasted valuable time undoing the AV lock. When I have watched other boaters going through these locks the norm is to close the AV lock as soon as possible. In future I will be leaving them all undone until ready to leave the lock. What do others do?

I'm intrigued :-) Many people who have opted for deep cycle wet batteries have and/or recommend T-105s. Is there a particular reason for choosing this battery? Why 6V rather than 12V? What advantage do the 6V versions have? Perhaps it all comes down to size and cost? :-) So, why choose T-105s?

As GoodGurl said, however the locations have been more around the junction/museum on the Caldon rather than the T&M. In my case it was a broken window :-( However many others have moored in these same places without any bother.

First issue was Spring 1972. Then followed monthly from October same year. I have copy in my hand :-)