Dfasham

Hi i live in Cumbria and may be able to help you learn how to use the locks safely and develop a single handed technique that works for you, presuming you intend to travel alone normally. This could be done on a trip down the Glasson Branch. You may also find other moorers at Tewitfield that you can get to know who would be happy to go out with you for a trip down to Glasson (20 miles and 6 locks each way) as I am fairly busy for the next 4 to 5 months. I would also suggest you spend a good bit of time cruising up and down the Lancaster canal to get a feel for how the boat handles and steers particularly in bad weather as you are going to be pretty committed once you get started on the Ribble Link.

Ferrous has been through twice in the last few years, I think once pre pandemic and once since from South to North can't remember exact dates but from memory both times gauged at the south portal on the evening before. When I took Ferrous 2022 I wanted to go from North to South, we could get around the first 1/3 of the boat through where the cabin is higher and thinner but towards the middle where the cabin spreads is where the radius of the gauge was catching. They were in two minds about going through knowing the history of the boat going through multiple times with no issues but I could see the skipper of the support boat wasn't happy and didn't really want to push it on that occasion. There was a lot of talk about water levels being high but to be honest in my experience of the Wolverhampton Level it wasn't particularly high. Gauging Rivets to go through can be quite tight!

Experience of the gauging of Dudley Tunnel is that it needs to be done from the Southern Portal. Ferrous which is a very low boat and easily fits through the tunnel cannot get through the gauge at the Northern portal but will fit through with room to spare at Park Head. Our experience of getting volunteers to crew the support boat from the Tunnel Trust has generally been very good and always willing to accommodate wherever possible.

Just talked to a new potential crew mate for a fairly historic boat (If 60+ years old counts). Looking at some different possibilities with routes this year (i.e. not necessarily maximising points but still going for a good haul)

Rivets 5000 enjoying the weeds and a near sinking of the butty on the Walsall. Just seen 1 other boat on Walsall locks (sorry can’t remember the name) just getting towards Tame Valley and Ryders Green now.

Noticed a bit of discussion about this boat a few years ago. Some more recent pictures from the BCN.