Mac of Cygnet
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Posts posted by Mac of Cygnet
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3 hours ago, haggis said:
Nice to chat to the owners of Border Riever, fellow Scots at the foot of the staircase.
That would be Jimmy Turnbull & his wife Helen. He is universally known as Jimmy the Rabbit round here, having owned an excavation company.
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During my 14 years with Cygnet, I travelled between my home mooring in Sowerby Bridge and 'darn sarf' 23 times. The routes I took were:
HNC - 12 times
L&L - 4 times
Trent - 6 times
Rochdale - once
Says it all, really.
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From today's Times (or rather from 100 years ago today) in the archive section:
From The Times: September 13, 1923
The canals are relatively so small a part of the transport system of the country that a strike of canal boatmen — they enjoy the dignified title of captains — has gone almost unnoticed, though it has continued nearly a month.
The canal boatmen are a class very much apart from others. The conditions of their life set up a barrier of separation. They have a restless occupation and a moving home. They live on the boat, in the little cabin with the iron chimney at the stern. They stand on its doorstep to steer. It is the home not only of a man but usually of a family — the only home. On land they have no dwelling at all.
It is a roughish sort of life, inclined to be monotonous and devoid of ambitions. The “captain” has a crew. It consists of his wife and of the children who are old enough to lend a hand. If the man follows the horse, the wife steers.
The cabin is a crowded and stuffy place at night, when the shelves that serve as tables by day are converted into beds. As likely as not the children sleep on the floor. An instance of a man, his wife, and seven or eight children, living in one boat and sleeping in its narrow cabin was recently brought to light. The children have little or no schooling. They, too, live apart from others.
ADVERTISEMENT
During the summer the Transport and General Workers’ Union put forward what was called a national programme for canal boatmen. It included stabilisation of wages and the gradual abolition of the “living-in” system. Present wages range downwards from £2 a week. The union foresees that the discontinuance of living-in would require increases of wages to enable the men to maintain comfortable, fixed homes.But this programme is not now under discussion. It had scarcely been launched when the largest firm of carriers gave notice of a demand to reduce wages by amounts ranging from a penny to fourpence a ton each trip. The men worked this out to mean a loss to them of from seven to as much as fifteen shillings a week. They refused the terms, and went on strike.
About five hundred boats are idle. The canal transport industry is not in a prosperous state, but the men contend that they are being called upon to make too great a sacrifice. Efforts are being made to arrange a conference.
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1 hour ago, LadyG said:
Did you actually read the thread?
I don't know why you are posting here, unless it's some sort if twisted logic.
You don't appear to support this excellent forum, I donate a small amount, not only to help with finances, but slso moral support for the hard work done by those involved.
I suggest those who don't value the forum should not post, they should resign, and push off.
I've added pete.i to my ignore list so I don't have to be annoyed by his negativity.
I think you've misunderstood Pete. His post was in jest. He didn't add a 'tongue in cheek' emoji (is there one?). I've met Pete and he was very helpful to me, not at all negative.
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On my windowsill:
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14 minutes ago, Bod said:
Why are you looking for 79' boats?
This is an unusual length and will seriously limit any travel.
Bod
As the OP mentions 70' later in the post, probably 79' is a typo.
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There is a previous thread about this
I'm surprised Ditchcrawler didn't remember it, as he gave the answer then.
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I remember that when I visited Prickwillow there was a line painted about 10 ft up on one of the interior walls, labelled "Mean Sea Level". Is this really the case?
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1 hour ago, M_JG said:
Im open to correction but if they have a septic tank system like the ones in rural France they can go for years without needing emptying. That said of course it still begs the question of how it does get emptied when needed.
Our septic tank was last emptied 35 years ago.
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"Water supply from the canal" ????????????
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Ah, I thought you meant this one, but I see it's the wrong number. (They then progressed to my boat.)
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As an aside, Doug Moore also built a boat called 'Rosie' which we hired from him at Barnoldswick. We were one of the first to cruise it, and got as far as Castleford IIRC - everything was pristine, including the stove, which was a novelty to us as hirers. He was hiring it out to possible prospective buyers - little did he know that the asking price was more than our house was insured for! He was only a little surprised to be paid the hire fee in cash - the takings from our market stalls the previous weekend. We saw 'Rosie' a few times in later years, once looking a bit run down. I presume the boat is still in existence.
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12 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:
Are you sure it's floating?
Only just, apparently!
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No.2 Son has been helping out at the Eden Festival in Dumfries & Galloway and he sent me this pic of a narrowboat imported for the event, and a 20 metre long canal dug to float it. My reaction was "Weird. Why?", but he could only reply "Because they could".
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1 hour ago, PeterF said:
One issue on the Huddersfield Narrow when I was based in that area was one of the locations where two locks were close together with a short pound between. The lower lock had badly leaky bottom gates. When going uphill you would go up the lower lock, but due to the leak leave the lock and ground the boat on the upper cill. If you grounded the front of the boat on the cill, then as the bottom gates were leaking the water level continued to fall, the rear of the boat drops and goes under. You can not close the upper gate, the only way out is to try and let water down.
Similar effect to the boat getting the rudder trapped between the two bottom gates holding the stern down.
There is now a water level warning indicator above the top gate of that lock - an upside down version of the indicators below river locks, with green at the top.
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21 hours ago, sigsegv said:
Wait isn't that the best bit of swing bridges? Watching cagers pile up while you casually amble along in your life at 3mph?
Best 'pile up' I achieved was at Fool's Nook on the Macc - an entire classic car rally. I had actually owned three of the models. It was all very interesting.
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I quite often got passers-by to operate the L&L bridges for me. They were generally delighted to play with the electrified ones, but less keen on the manual for some reason, although I was quite gratified by the occasional ad hoc volunteer for these too.
Edited to say that I once almost decapitated a cyclist on the New Junction as he came racing through the closing barriers, head down, earphones in. He came off the bike quite spectacularly, but didn't seem to make much of it - perhaps it happened to him regularly.
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In the 15 years I had Cygnet, three summers were spent in East Anglia, I liked it so much. Including buying the boat at Calcutt, and taking her to Sowerby Bridge via Cambridge. The most magical mooring? Wicken Lode (but of course limited by Upware lock). I could have been back in the Middle Ages. There were some very ad hoc moorings to allow me to explore (and it did feel like exploration) some less frquented parts, but of course Cygnet was only 27ft. and I felt I could always turn round and retreat if necessary!
Edited to say that it was all very much less complicated regarding licences when I did it, including more than a month in the Middle Level with nothing to pay at all. I think I would hesitate to do the same trips today.
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The HNC is certainly getting some attention! Is there any other canal on the system so controversial? My dozen transits, from the early days when boats were pulled through in trains of four, to a latterday attempt on a personal best Standedge time (1 hour 15 mins) were all different, all more or less challenging, but all contributed to my boating technique, sometimes in very unorthodox ways.
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Looks like a good neat job.
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Well I've been on all the waterways depicted in the OP, but only ever aquired one plaque, which is conspicuously missing in the pic. It never got put up, languished under a pile of books, and was still there when I sold the boat. I wonder if you can guess which canal it was? I've mentioned it often enough.
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Woodlesford has always had space when I've been there, with frequent trains a few minutes to Leeds.
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38 minutes ago, Owls Den said:
V interesting link. Spent a while browsing the site and ordered a little fenland flag!
And it taught me a new word - vexillogapher!
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3 hours ago, Adam said:
Conflicting advice from CRT Maps / Nicholsons / Other Boaters / CRT C&H Boaters Guide. Has anybody got any up to date amendments / info to my list as i understand it below?
Services
- Full services at Sowerby Bridge (CRT services but housed in / near shire cruisers?)
- Water point only at Salterhebble (full services now removed?)
- Halifax Branch / Arm (full services apparently but i expect defunct many years ago?)
- Brighouse full services
- Shepley bridge (full services now sold off to marina?)
- Horbury Bridge full services (from memory this is in the old access to the river and for residential moorers there only unless this has changed?)
- Broadcut water point and bins
- Wakefield Flood Lock (states bins only now, sanitary station was removed circa 20 years ago)
- Fall ings, a water point possibly available from near the residential moorings
Marina Supplies
- Shire Cruisers (all supplies)
- Mirfield Boatyard, opposite lidl (unsure?)
- Shepley Bridge (no longer selling diesel / solid fuel?)
- SYBC (emergency fuel only)
- CV Marine, Saville town (all supplies)
This isn't exactly up to date, as I was last there in 2019!
Sowerby Bridge toilets/elsan opposite Shire Cruisers through the big glass door. Bins nearby in compound. 2 water points - in basin and round on the Rochdale.
Only water point at Salterhebble now above top lock.
No services on Halifax Arm.
Brighouse water/elsan next to Sainsburys, bins (skips) opposite lower basin.
Shepley Bridge water only AFAIK
Horbury Bridge services available but rather difficult to access.
Broadcut doubtful now all permanent moorers evicted.
Never noticed bins at Wakefield flood lock
Lidl is no longer opposite Mirfield Boatyard, and doubtful if you'll be able to access anything.
CV Marine Saville Town very limited opening
The Rochdale Curse
in Cruise Diaries & Reports
Posted
Are the C&H flood locks open again, then?