billh

I fear you may have your clockwises wrong Mr Bizzard. On the SRs in my experience it's opposite. Could result in Daniel struggling to start it with it in the stop position or trying to stop it in the excess fuel position.

According to Peel Ports,Coastal Deniz has just been replaced with a bigger vessel for the container run to Irlam , not intimidating but most impressive. You will probably see even bigger ships moored at Stanlow- when these move they have a tug fore and aft and progress along the canal is very sedate. Some years ago we had just left Weston Marsh and heading downstream, as we passed a slow moving Stolt tanker, giving her a wide berth, the suction put us briefly on the bottom, maybe for 2 or 3 seconds. The lesson there was we should have passed closer to the ship- there was no visible wash.

Is there not still a legal requirement for CRT to maintain this waterway to the commercial standards pertaining in 1968? I know there have been recent moves to re-introduce freight carrying from Winsford, apparently stymied by BW/ CRT intransigence and probably lack of money. I recall sharing locks with a coaster bound for Anderton in 1977- no doubt the H & S lot would throw a wobbler at that now!

CRT Enforcement team were on the case by Monday June 2nd following complaints from boater(s). So, unless there is an internal communication problem in CRT ( quite likely) permission had only have been granted for the week-end 31st May/1st June. HBS would be aware of the problem by Tuesday,3rd but apparently chose the do -nothing option until the move to Middlewich next Friday 13th, aggravating probably quite a few more folk besides you and the original complainant(s) Bill

Completely agree with you Nick! This from one of the people that re-built and still maintains Maria. We lend the boat f.o.c. to that organisation on an annual basis because we agree with the aims of the HBS in promoting traditional boating . Mooring on a water point is not very traditional is it? Allegedly, when the crew were about to leave Maria at Wheelock, the error was pointed out to them: " oh it will be Ok." was the reply. Words fail me. The CRT enforcement team have been in contact with the owners , they were referred on to the Chairperson of the HBS . On behalf of the owners of Maria, may I apologise for any inconvenience caused? We wrongly thought the boat was in responsible hands. Bill PS: I hope you were referring to the HBS sign for fuel on 5/11/14, not Maria....... And it's too late in the day for popcorn,goodnight.

The other end of the canal, at the top of Lancashire Hill above Stockport Town Centre, is far less obvious. The terminus was behind me, but even the dedicated believer would have difficulty discerning it. Albion Mills, pictured, were once canalside, they were served by the canal. The lorry is about where the canal would have been Albion Mills are still served by canal! The raw material is loaded at Seaforth and brought by barge to Runcorn via MSC, thence forward by road.

Slight remains of the Beat Bank branch (never completed or in water) exist near the M60 motorway in Denton- a shallow ditch and a line of trees. The aqueduct over the GC railway at Gorton dates from about 1904 and is a replacement , required when the railway was quadrupled between Ardwick and Hyde Junction at that time. The Gorton (lower) reservoirs were built for the Manchester Corporation Waterworks and had no connection to the canal . The canal supplied water via a half mile pipeline to the boating lake at Belle Vue amusement park, for which the GC and later LNER received annual payment. The Stockport Branch was still regularly dredged between the Junction and the Gorton canal depot, about 1 mile, well into the 1950's but the depot closed in 1962 and the canal infilled soon after. Interesting to see that the aforementioned aqueduct has not been infilled and looks in good condition inside and out. Bill

Yes. I tried an economy version the other week: Tesco Hudl tablet with "Navfree" App. Shows the boat's position very accurately , updating every few seconds. It does try to put the boat on the towpath though and if you put a destination in , it will say things like "turn right in 200 meters" , that would be at the next road bridge! It uses google maps and manages to get the name of the canal right with plenty of detail. There is a speed indication as well , though not accurate.Can't see the screen too well in bright sunlight- not a problem today.

What's "very strange" about it? Joel isn't wide at the stern , or anywhere else for that matter, 'cos it's a *Narrow* boat and can get to places like Huddersfield on the Huddersfield *Narrow* Canal,something that many wider *Narrow* boats can't do. There was a potted history of Joel on a display board atop the cabin on Sunday

No commitment from CRT about depth. Plenty of commitment from owners of deeper draught boats to force a passage through regardless of what "standards" have been set. Ask the heroes who run the diesel & coal boats about depth problems on canals in the north west. 'Twas always thus- Robert Aickman ,1948,HNC........ some things never change

The last phrase of this line WAS a work of fiction. I don't think there is any official waterways dimensions info these days. On the HNC, all dimensions can only be described as "variable"- see other threads about stuck boats and boats refused passage of Standedge Tunnel after having passed through previously.

This lock has had problems of leaking gates/cills/ paddles /walls ever since the canal was re-opened( in 2000). In combination with a very short pound in need of dredging, it has created a dangerous situation. Many of the other locks on the HNC are in the same condition- emptying themselves from full in a matter of 20 mins or so, fortunately with somewhat longer pounds between , leakage is merely an inconvenience rather than a danger. CRT need to fix the leaks, scrap the hydraulic paddle gear and sort themselves out pretty quick. Would this situation be allowed to continue at ,for example, Audlem? No it wouldn't . So why does it persist here? There are examples of HNC paddles that have not worked for years. How much water (and time) is wasted trying to fill a leaking lock with one puny ground paddle?

If you are thinking of returning to original engine type and can find out what it was , post on here and let us know. We have a few ancient petrol engines from boats,mostly in need of TLC. Kelvin, ST , a couple of very odd American side-valve engines etc. A very rare Stuart Turner 2stroke twin DIESEL lurking somewhere as well. Bill

I will run a location search on our stock control system ( actually, it involves me shifting other "items" , armed with a torch ) and send you a picture.( of the capstan,not me).Won't be today though.

Hi, We have two Hunslet locos fitted with RFS2 engines. Also 3 derelict RFR4 marine versions. The two cylinder RFS2 is very easy to work on , compact for the power output (20HP at 1200rpm) and very reliable. These engines have not been made since 1960 so spares are a problem, I did get some engine parts from Hunslet at Leeds years ago but I doubt any available now.If the engine is in good condition and well maintained you may not need spares anyway- cross that bridge when you come to it!

Tim, How about a hydraulic powered capstan? We have one in "stores" somewhere here and I gather from our recent chat that you have high pressure hydraulics available on board. From memory the whole unit is about a foot cube and can be mounted any way up.(upside down would make it difficult to use ) A deck mounted foot operated valve would be convenient to the operator warping a rope on the drum , it would not need to be reversible. Originally it was a "cable pulling winch" mounted on a BT lorry and should be able to exert 2 or 3 tons pull. Bill

You still have to book. Passage is only on 2(possibly 3?) days a week . It's a bit of a palaver but not half as bad as it used to be when boats were towed through. There is no fee involved. If you haven't done it before, self steered, the hardest part is concentrating on it for near two hours. You are accompanied by a CRT person to provide guidance but they won't steer in case they damage the boat and you make a claim. ( it's fine if YOU damage your boat!) Bill

Enfield diesel 16HP at 1800(?). Many were used in small navy boats. They were available about 10 years ago, ex-Admiralty , overhauled and crated up for around £250. We have a couple of them here: one ex 48ft narrowboat, electric start, alternator built into the flywheel, marine gearbox etc. The other is a hand start on a portable(!) DC arc welding set- an absolute pig to start but once it's going it's brilliant . We have some of the ether starter canisters somewhere too, look like those Sparklets CO2 cartridges for making soda water, remember them? I am not suggesting making fizzy water using ether......

Fred Carter- been up at Standedge since Pontius was a pilot. He used to look after all the HNC reservoirs (12 of them) before they were sold off by BW. He also worked on the restoration and re-opening of the Ashton canal over 40 years ago which is when I first met him. As you say, top bloke with a wonderful local accent. I think he said he was retiring this year- that will be a sad loss for all us tunnel users. Bill

With my towpath task force volunteer hat on , this project kicked off in Newton Heath last month. The volunteers removed various items from the canal then the "Artists" arrived and took pictures from different angles of the said items. Much discussion by the artists of the creative possibilities for a cash register, a kids bike, a commercial big red wheely bin and a few unidentified items. I 'm not sure , but I think CaRT CaRTed the stuff away for disposal. Also, I don't know if anyone's getting a grant for this project- the canal cleaning team certainly weren't. ETA, read the story now, someone is getting a grant