Wanderer Vagabond
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Posts posted by Wanderer Vagabond
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Just now, john6767 said:
We use Marinas for short term mooring, say a month at a time, while we are out over the summer, we have done this ever since we got the boat 12 years ago. The only place where we had any difficulty finding somewhere was on the Lancaster, we’re there are few marinas. We did get sorted out at Barton Grange but it was a bit last minute. After retiring we also gave up the home mooring and used temp moorings and towpath over the summer in conjunction with a winter mooring for 6 months of the year. The pandemic put payed to doing that, and we made the winter mooring a permanent mooring, and we will probably stick like this, it just costs a bit more as you are paying for two moorings for part of the year.
We didn't try on the Lancaster, but then there were two excellent marinas on the Rufford Branch before you get there, where we left our boat whilst we went off to do other stuff.
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8 minutes ago, Goliath said:
Before I moved aboard permanently, I used to regularly swop marinas.
I think a lot depends on the length of the boat, at only 48’ I never have trouble finding a marina or boat yard to accommodate me.
Have a look at Fazeley Marina, with the M42, M6 and A5 it’s a doddle to drive to from which ever direction you come.You’ll be central to go off exploring the network.
Have a chat with them, they’re approachable and friendly.And they’re ABC so you can use their other bases short term if space available.
otherwise if you’re ok leaving the boat for a fortnight on a 2 day mooring, which now seems a popular option, then you’ll save a few quid 👍
I think just looking at one marina (Fazeley) is simply moving the issue to another part of the country. A few years before we bought we had a Timeshare with Canaltime. At the time they had ,I think,6 bases so that was at least 12 holidays without revisiting the same route. I kind of fell out with them when their number of bases plummetted and all we ended out being able to get was our 'home' base at Sawley. Reasonabley central, but it doesn't take long before you are just going over old ground all the time.
An alternative option is to get a mooring at a reasonably cheap marina/basin (mine costs £1.01p per month per foot) so you can have a home base to return the boat to at the end of the season, but put it into other marinas during the summer whilst still paying for your home mooring.
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1 minute ago, Tony Brooks said:
During our long summer cruises we always found a marina to leave the boat if for a week or so while we went home. Basically look at Nicks and phone around. I guess it would be more difficult in winter when the berth holders would tend to be back.
Yes, I think that during the summer the marinas welcome the extra income so you aren't likely to get refused unless you pick a small niche marina somewhere.
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27 minutes ago, robtheplod said:
Hi all
Despite trying we've not managed to retire as yet and have other commitments stopping us spending more that a few weeks at a time on the boat, so the boat has been at Ventnor Marina for a few years now. We desperately want to expand our cruising and explore more waterways, but the issue of always returning to base cuts our time in half. We had an idea of ditching the home marina, and booking other marinas we can use temporarily as we move about the system (ignore the car aspect we can get others to help with that). I've read on here this could be problematic with marina space/availability? Does anyone else operate this way successfully or is it just stress inducing? Not keen to leave the boat on the cut whilst were not on it for weeks at a time....
anyone got nuggets of advice? all gratefully received!
rob
This blogger (https://stillchuffed.blogspot.com/) (https://nbchuffed.blogspot.com/2022/)seems to be doing pretty much what you propose. We've met them a couple of times as we travel around and I know she has used Calcutt and Droitwich Marinas for leaving the boat for protracted periods, I'm pretty sure she has used others but the likelihood is that you will probably need to use the bigger marinas who have more moorings available.
The only time it's likely to be an issue is over the winter when everyone is back to base. We often leave our boat in marinas around the country during the summer whilst we go off and do other stuff and it's rarely a problem.
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4 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:
But 30 miles is only 2 or at worst 3 days cruising and well within the 'range' of a single cassette.
Not entirely sure on the maths around this one
. Since we are on a boat, rushing is what we don't do so for us 30 miles will probably be over 4 days cruising (7 miles a day). If that 30 miles included Hatton Flight or Wolverhampton 21 or Caen Hill it just might take us a little bit longer. Added to that, we don't tend to urinate in the towpath hedges (I know some do) so a cassette lasts us 2 days (which is why we have 3 cassettes).
Having said that, the only place recently that I thought might have been as issue was between Calcutt and Warwick because I thought the Fosse Wharf Elsan had been closed, fortunately it hadn't so we could make a more leisurely trip.
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16 minutes ago, RichM said:
Someone once told me boating is a contact sport. When I repeated the same comment to someone else, I nearly had my head bitten off! Just goes to show people look at it very differently.
That aside, I had similar issue with someone hitting my boat when mooring. I simply added a few more fenders and job done. My boat was sandwiched next to a finger pontoon, but it still worked fine. No point having a go at people, it will just make them more anxious and more likely to mess up next time!
I think the comment about it being a contact sport came from Timothy West (at least that was the first I heard it), it's not, but some contact is inevitable. How do you work a broad lock with two narrow boats and ensure that no contact will be made? unlikely I would suggest. Part of the reason we use the paint that we do for blacking (soft) is because some level of contact will be expected. In my own basin we all have to moor stern on so you have to squeeze between boats already moored to get in, it is done slowly and with adequate fendering. Once moored you then tie up to adjacent boats T-bars so it becomes a big raft. If a strong wind is blowing, you wait until a day when it isn't otherwise you will get into a right old mess.
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2 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:
Down the T&M surely?
OK pedant, up the country and down the T&M
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4 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:
About 2 years
That kind of makes sense it was 2019 the last time I passed through there. I went through Middlewich in 2021 but came up the T&M from Wheelock and turned up the Wardle so didn't go past it then.
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13 minutes ago, RB-T said:
I've been 20 years out here as a constant cruiser travelling pretty much every day, canals and rivers in all weathers and never hit a thing. There's no need to hit anything in my opinion. However some people don't take to piloting a boat quickly and you have to be understanding of that. However, sometimes when I'm hit, I'll come out and they'll look at me blankly without saying 'sorry', or make some lame excuse 'It's the wind!' (You can maneuver accounting for the wind, and even use it) or blame me ridiculously 'Well you shouldn't have been there!' But manners are the issue in a nutshell for me. Accept accidents happen, but they say 'sorry', or you give them both barrels, (you can do it without shouting in an unaggressive way that preserves your dignity) and if they do damage, they pay, which people weasel out of too. I installed cameras on my boat years ago.
And don't get me started on the etiquette of mooring up too close. 'Safety Parasites' I call them. If you haven't got the stones to moor up on your own out in the countryside at night, maybe this lifestyle isn't for you. But you'll just travel till you see a moored boat, without a thought for people that might want to be left alone. It's the reason some people do this lifestyle, for a bit of peace, to feel that wonder of being a million miles from everything. Even the guide book says 'if you see a boat on its own, maybe it wants to be left alone.' I could moor up on the moon and some pain in the stern would appear...and then put his engine on at 4 in the morning.
I would have to say that not to have hit anything involves a considerable element of luck. Some bumps are almost inevitable; anecdotally I hit another boat in Braunston Tunnel about 7 years ago. The boat was approaching with a very bright tunnel light that was totally blinding me, I could steer by looking along the starboard side and using the boat to shade my eyes, what I didn't see until I hit it was the kink 400 metres from the eastern portal which then bounced me into the oncoming boat. I have no idea if any damage was caused because tunnels tend to be a bit on the dark side. In the 7000 miles I've travelled around the system that is probably the only real shunt I've been involved in, although there have been some other near misses, again, no-one's real fault, just the nature of the beast (although I suppose if we want the blame game a boat moored on a blind bend might carry some responsibility for a near miss on an oncoming boat).
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2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:
That's the old Middlewich Narrowboats site, isn't it? It looks as though it is being operated as a co-operative after Paul Donnelly acquired the vacant site, it doesn't say when it re-opened for business though. I'm pretty sure last time I passed through there was only one narrow boat hire company operating in Middlewich, and it wasn't them.
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13 hours ago, nobow said:
I don;t want to be the newbie buecuse i am, the thing is if we are going to rammed because of family and friends of others i dont find that exceptable, no doubt i will clip others when trying to moor but i will be a lot moor considerate and also apologetic if hiting someone eleses home.
I'd be in agreement with others who say being rammed is indeed totally unacceptable. Just to clarify though, are you being hit by the bows of the boat as they go past? for which there is little or no excuse, or are you being bumped by the side of their boat? for which astute fendering would resolve.
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28 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:
Thats the one I was thinking of
CRT will claim there is one available at the boat yard (at a cost)
Is there? When I broke down in Middlewich I had to bike trailer my cassette to Wheelock to empty it. I think the boatyard only do pump-outs (since that is what is on their boats) but I'm willing to be corrected
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3 minutes ago, David Mack said:
Why did BW/CRT ever get into the business of providing showers?
Possibly to reduce the amount of shower gel /soap being pumped into the canals. If you've ever been up the Slough Arm you can see the effects from the permanently moored boats there.
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2 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:
You're maybe thinking about the rubbish point and tap at Barbridge Junction? The Shroppie around there is pretty good for facilities: it's not far between Nantwich and Calverley. I think the tap at the junction was nominally replaced with on above the first lock on the branch.
MP.
Yes you are right, I was thinking of the other end of the Middlewich Branch on the T&M. I can't remember an Elsan at Barbridge though, when we overwintered in the area (2017) we either went to Calveley or Nantwich. To be honest the water tap at Barbridge was always a bit in the way of the junction.
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7 minutes ago, tree monkey said:
Wasn't the one on the Shroppie just past the Middlewich branch removed as well, sorry forgot it's name
That was in a hire boat yard that closed down, I don't think it was one of CRT's. (Middlewich Narrowboats if I remember right)
Yes the one at Hurleston went, wasn't that a leakage problem (with the reservoir nearby
)
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8 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:
Interesting that CRT only maintain 65 Elsan points on the entire system. I wonder how many there were ten years ago.
I don't know, I can't think of one's that have been permanently closed (willing to be corrected). I thought the one at Fosse Wharf on the Grand Union (Bridge 32) was being closed due to difficulty of access for the septic tank, but passing through there recently it was still working perfectly. Have they actually shut any Elsan points down (is the disgusting one at Rugby still there?)
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4 minutes ago, malp said:
No Dracula? you must have been on your way back then
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1 minute ago, enigmatic said:
I liked Wast Hill because when I went through the other end was very clearly visible (and because it's wide, straight and empty you can motor to the other end at a relatively high speed)
At the other end of the scale, Saltersford is insanely cramped and crooked but enjoyable because it's short and the spots each end are nice.
Chirk Tunnel was nice going downstream (you know you're coming out onto the aqueduct and you have pedestrians for company) but a right pain going upstream as the current was determined to push my stern against the wall no matter how much I tried to alter my speed or position
I'm glad it's not just me that saw that and thought "huh... 16 minutes for a short tunnel"
Salterford, insanely cramped?? Your haven't enjoyed the benefits of Gorsty/Gosty yet then have you?
Saltersford is a positive arena by comparison (although I do like the kinky bits). As far as Brandwood goes, I think I could probably swim it in 16 minutes (if I wasn't so averse to contracting Leptospirosis
).
As far as Chirk goes, it wasn't the current that bothered me, more the fact that when going upstream you can't see bog all until you are almost into the tunnel ( a feature on several including Gorsty/Gosty). I'm also fascinated in Harecastle where you enter the tunnel looking towards the other end and then they switch the fans on and it all disappears in the 'fog'.
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27 minutes ago, Maffi said:
I have to wonder what the meaning is behind my teapot.
'spose it depends which way you are steering doesn't it?
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1 minute ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:
Yeah, I meant Gorsty Hill
Yes, I have to go through Gosty/Gorsty every time I go back to the basin, I regard it as my public service to get all of the crap around my prop so that others don't have to
.
I'd give my favourites as 1) Standedge, 2) Harecastle and 3)Dudley (although we had to go on the trip boat 'cos our tumblehome doesn't allow our own boat through).
Does anyone know who sets the timings for the tunnels on the advice board as you approach them? Today we went through Brandwood Tunnel which is supposedly 352 yards long. The advice board states it will take you 16 minutes at 2mph, WHAT!!!! By my maths 350 yards at 2mph should take something in the region of 6 minutes (we passed through in 4, but we were 'racing' at 3mph ). By comparison we recently passed through Husbands Bosworth (1166 yards) and Crick (1528 yards) and I cannot remember which one (perhaps someone coming that way could refresh my memory) but one of them said it should take 12 minutes,unless I can manage to get the boat up onto the plane there is no way I'd get through either of them in 12 minutes
12 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:Can't say I have a favourite, always relived to get out of Gosty Hill without getting stuck, we rescued this halfway through last time.
At least you didn't spend 24 hours in there, did you?
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9 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:
For me it's the boat who, on either a visitor mooring or out in the middle of nowhere, with acres of space, moors tight up against you and then leaves the engine running for hours while they lock up and go for a walk. Or there's the one with the blasted parrot shrieking in a cage on the front deck, who moored up two feet away from my back doors two days running.
Only 'cos the parrot had been trained to shriek,"Shoot the Trombonist, Shoot the Trombonist"
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5 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:
What gets me is the boat that moors one ring from the end of a row of moorings. First or last you could use the end ring
I'll agree with you on that! Whenever mooring and expecting to leave the boat for any period I will always try to be the one on the very end mooring, just to make sure I don't come back to find 'git gaps' around my boat.
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3 minutes ago, PD1964 said:
No been there for days from asking other boaters if there was space there. Long Sandall S&SY moorings. You can’t get a line of 60ft boats on there, two and a 30ft GRP max??
I think I'd still want to know what the mooring situation had been when he/she arrived. I once left our boat on the Nantwich embankment in a full line of boats. When I got back there were 'git-gaps' both in front and behind of my boat, left by others but it looked as though I'd created them (despite being away for a week).
As I said above one solution is to move into the mooring, either in front or behind and then tap on the boat and ask if they could give you a few feet more room. If you get no reply because there is no-one on the boat,then the other option (slightly more 'radical'), is simply to move it a few feet either way. If later challenged, either deny all knowledge ('Must've been someone else guv'
) or state that the boat had come adrift somehow or other and you'd simply retied for them and accept their gratitude.
Came across a similar situation when mooring at Castle Gardens in Leicester recently, a boat was moored in the middle of the pontoon on a single piece of string to the handrail in the centre. Another boater came and was trying to fit in the remaining gap and the obstructing boat seemed to then have been moved (can't think of how that happened
). When the boat owner returned later in the day he looked a bit puzzled, but said nothing.
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36 minutes ago, Tony1 said:
Last winter I passed a large flash on the left, just north of bridge 180 on the T+M.
I was pondering stopping for the afternoon anyway, and on the map this looked a likely spot.
As I passed it looked as if there were two spaces with mooring rings, and then a wide concrete bank that would have made it slightly difficult to moor.
But a single boat was moored right in the centre.
On one hand you could say 'ok, this person clearly wants some privacy'. And tbh I generally prefer to moor at least 50 yards away from other boats if I can.
But on the other hand, you think: here's this lovely spot, fairly isolated and very quiet, with a genuinely beautiful view over the flash, and two people could enjoy it easily, but this person has chosen to make a statement that they dont want anyone else to join them.
And as its winter, they could have been there for a fortnight or more.
So for me, even though I enjoy being alone in beauty spots, I would never deny someone else the chance to stop there by mooring right in the middle.
I like privacy, and I respect others' privacy, but for me that behaviour is just selfish.
My interpretation would be that if there are mooring rings, then it is visitor moorings and, as such, you can moor as close as is necessary to get in. I was thinking more of places where there is armco or even boats moored on pins. I wouldn't ask anyone on them if they could possibly more to let me in, but anything I would view as visitor moorings is, in my opinion (others are available) fair game. Mostly, when asked, people will agree to do so in my experience and can often be the precursor to a more general discussion. If they are *rsey about it, would I really want to be moored near them?
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Linear cruising for those not yet retired.....
in Moorings & Marinas
Posted
Yup, that was why we used it, we needed to get back up to Scotland to walk the Great Glen Way.