mykaskin

As an aside - there is a useful tool for downloading iplayer content (without any DRM): https://github.com/get-iplayer/get_iplayer

Having a deep drafted historic boat, and now dragging a butty around makes it somewhat harder to moor up. The butty is deeper than some modern narrowboats, so end up needing to push a lot of water out of the way. Going astern on the motor to bring the pair to a stop easily ends up pushing you back out, even if someone has managed to get off the front. Sometimes, it's possible to jump ashore before the whole lot gets pushed out again. When mooring with the motor alongside the bank, especially at lock landings, having the boat moving slowly forward and strapping with the back end rail line works a treat. When there is no such luxury, I've often found it's easier to reverse into a spot. The forward thrust to bring the boats to a stop help suck the boats into the bank better. Obviously, every mooring is going to be different, so size it up on a time by time basis.

Ship canal from Flixstowe to DIRFT - could be commercially viable, and provide a link from the main canal systems to the Broads and Ouse and GU. Also a convient link to the Grand Contour Canal (my 2nd suggestion). Suggestion the third, River Trent improvements to get 1000 tonne coasters upto the M1 at Sawley. Again low cost, envirmonmentally friendly, and possibly commercially viable also! A more wild one: A link between the Derwent/Pocky Canal, going via the Market Weighton Canal, and through to the River Hull would be interesting, and useful. To say I've thought about this before would be an understatement...

I met Jim and Annie on Elizabeth when I first got Victoria - I was breaking the ice back south along the GU and they followed. Then met up again at Ellesmere Port that Easter and became good friends. Elizabeth is a very interesting boat, and I do hope it goes to a good owner.

It's a embedded youtube player with a large preview image. This is the direct link: YouTube clicky Cheers, Mike

You'll find with a lot of fresh coming down the incoming tide at Stockwith will be quite gentle, and the outgoing flow will be quite fierce I'd say. To give you an idea of a flooded tidal trent at that end watch this video about 2 mins in: Cheers, Mike

You don't get Aegirs when there is so much fresh in the river, you're lucky to get any upward flow and certainly not above Owston Ferry.

My money is on: https://www.google.com/maps/@52.5642076,-1.0670117,3a,15y,81.19h,88.48t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sMdfi85M5Yi5yMbz3VIV8Gw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Newton Middle Lock: https://canalplan.eu/place/ro8g Mike

Enjoy a drone trip around the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct: Pontcysyllte Aqueduct Youtube Clicky

There wasn't much still water, and the back of the boat was in the main stream. I have a video from the bank too, which I keep meaning to edit together with this one. You can see my Dad has a much easier job with 50 foot modern boat. I later had to do the same turn mostly loaded on a much bigger tide, but without a winch it wasn't going to happen, so had to wait for the tide to finish running so hard.

Last time I went that way I turned Victoria just above the lock, went ahead to get some speed through the water, and ferry glided the boat towards the lock turning full into it just before reaching it to get the boat pointing in the right direction. It's a little more problematic with an empty motor as the stern is deep in the water so catches the flow where the front isn't. but it does swing easier. Selby is an easy lock compared with Stockwith on a raising tide. Mike

Don't get me started on whats wrong with it - in fact it's easier to say what is right, and that is that it floats!

It's a poor quality copy of a royalty boat, and 'borrowed' a name from the fleet. Fake rivets on a swim? That tells you all you need to know! Mike

Surely it's unlikely to weigh any more than two narrowboats? Just because it looks big, doesn't mean it displaces more water. Most of the interia of a widebeam is open air!

Multiple gates can cause confusion as to which part of the lock is going to be used:

All the levels on the GU quite adequate from Braunston to Berko, but levels around Dudswell Locks could have been better thanks to replacement new lock gates at Cowroast not letting a flow of water down to overcome losses on other locks further down.

I happened to be filming in Braunston Tunnel yesterday, when I found myself coming to a bit of a stop. The wiggle got us! Click for the fun and games! I don't like them wiggles, they jump out of nowhere Cheers, Mike

Long-lining (proper) is only used on flights, where the line goes between locks. What was probably meant is that they were using a long line to tow the butty into the lock from the motor. If so it's possible to drop the line and let another boat through, but it then involves moving the motor boat out of the way, getting the other boat in, and then reversing the motor back into the lock mouth. By the time this has happened you could have got the butty through anyway. They would know (hopefully) which locks leaked, or which sections were river fed. Anything lower than Sewer Lock usually has plenty of water, though I try and shut the locks that only go up to a non-fed section. In a perfect world, with all gates shut, all locks should fill, as the top weir on these locks is set into the ground paddles, and then into the locks. However where the bottom gates leak badly this doesn't happen. There are a couple of examples where locks do leak so badly at the top (and this needs more local knowledge than most have) so it's not possible to assume bottom gates can always be left open.

I nearly always slack off when passing boats, so good to know it was common practice. A pity that others don't, it drags the butty around as they pass, pulling it forward, so I often put the power on again just as they are passing to try and counter act it. I've seen the Port Revel stuff, not seen this one I don't think. I've always dreamed of sizing these up to narrow boat sort of dimensions then you could have some fun on the canals with them too - though the bigger ones are probably not far off. However when you think the power to weight ratio would be less then a fully loaded Victoria with the JP barely turning... Mike

Well indeed, and not knowing the full details I can't say how much was down to handling or awareness. I think while it might be taught, it's only people who deal with it on a constant basis (like that found on confined waters like the Humber and Trent) that tend to deal with the effects on a regular enough basis to be able to expect them, and deal with them without even thinking. Knowing something doesn't always mean you can deal with it when it happens. Victoria is always in a state of sucking herself up the bank on most canals. Even on the Aire and Calder you could see the water dropping at the bank side a little!

From what I gather from comments on the 'net about incidents where these effects were a factor - it seems that the masters weren't aware of it - especially in confined waters - the ship squats more in a confined channel, and other effects like getting sucked towards the bank if you get to close to it seem to evade even regular users of such waters. ps. Canal boaters have been aware of it for over a century!

Squat as they call it on ships is a relatively new phenomenon to the captains and pilots of such vessels. They don't understand close water interactions like canal folk do. It is sometimes used to get under low bridges believe it or not!

I think he just means for the posed photograph as shown.

This video should give you an idea of what it can be like: Most of the narrow boat splashing happens later in the video. It's rare for it to be any worse than this, and most waves will be momentary and not constant. Get your crew member to check the front now and again to ensure there isn't any issues with water ingress as you go along. Cheers, Mike

Richard Horne - a member of the Commercial Boat Owner Association CBOA - does his best to get commercial contracts for the boat, and has had a few one off loads over the last few years. As you said however, it's usually a publicity stunt but at least hopefully it will make people think about water transport. More than you'd give credit for in London at the moment - though mostly maintenance/building type loads plus the Camden Market rubbish traffic to Powerdays.