Midnight

Looks like some poor boater left their boat tied up in Milby cut. The river was up yesterday. https://www.harrogateadvertiser.co.uk/news/canal-barge-spotted-submerged-in-yorkshire-1-9929197?fbclid=IwAR0RkbXGHGp67RauVw9cD6zvNr1pl_n3B3GoIe5ZpTFhTOObvZhPCbXxM8s

Where did you get that idea from? I was answering the question ".... what is to say that another engineer, not via RCR, would have the right theory?" There's no guarantee that anyone would give the right diagnosis and there's just as much chance RCR would/wouldn't as an independent engineer. There's a boatyard engineer with a good reputation not too far from our mooring, but recently there's been a few issues with work he's done so shows nobody is infallible.

Nothing, but you wouldn't have been paying out lots of money for the previous X number of years

Yes I agree for some "it is the practical benefit of someone definitely attending"

Yes I agree for some it's peace of mind. I did briefly rejoin when my son took the boat for a few weeks, but for me it's too expensive, too many caveats and too many horror stories.

I may (or may not) be "clearly a prescient expert" but at least I can spell Whaley Bridge

^^^^^^ this and bring back lengths men lengths persons allowing them to maintain and fix things. Get rid of the bean counting middle managers, endless hangers oners and call centre staff who know next to nowt about waterways and recruit from within the organisation giving staff a chance to climb the ladder. Most of all I would give priority to navigation... ...but then my mam said "wake up son it's time to go to school"

Close enough for me but you miss the point! True I never started boating until the 80's but even so it's not just about maintenance. I asked for opinions on how CaRT will be generally regarded by the powers that be in the aftermath of the Whaley Bridge incident. From a boaters point of view - mine in particular - the system has seriously declined to the point where fellow forum members talk about selling up and many like me worry when setting out on holiday if we will get back. Looking at the situation without considering navigation I think CaRT have been successful. My understanding was they are supposed to be a navigation authority but it's clearly not the case and was wondering what the future holds when the funding stops.

I think this is the point. If you put your £175+ membership fee into a savings account after a couple of years you will have enough to cover most repairs. I was a member for about 5 years only called them out once for a broken gearbox cable. Now I carry spare cables, fan belt, fuel filters etc. for minor breakdowns and would simply call a local boatyard for anything major. I can fully understand those with little mechanical know-how joining but for the rest of us it's an expensive insurance policy with lots of get-out clauses.

The Whaley Bridge incident has launched CaRT into the public eye and national media and they will no doubt come under scrutiny from high places, but in the end will they be judged a success or failure? From their Articles of Association The Trust’s objects are: 2.1 to preserve, protect, operate and manage Inland Waterways for public benefit: 2.1.1 for navigation; 2.1.2 for walking on towpaths; 2.1.3 for recreation or other leisure-time pursuits of the public in the interest of their health and social welfare; Thinking about the navigation I guess a lot of us here would say they are a dismal failure. In my opinion the waterways have never been so unreliable and in such poor condition. But boating apart they seem to have made a success of walking and cycling on towpaths - albeit the lycra speedway brigade may prove the opposite in the long term. And likewise for recreation, health and social welfare with picnic areas, statues, lock poetry, well-being campaign etc. Their record on maintenance will no doubt be highlighted by any scrutiny committee in the aftermath of Whaley Bridge and do I wonder if another organisation will be handed control of reservoirs. With only 3 years to go before the government funding runs out there's little prospect of becoming self-sufficient so it's unlikely all things maintenance will improve. I wonder in the aftermath will CaRT survive or will there be big changes to the way the waterways are managed.

If it's just a vandalism thing why not just use a BW watermate padlock at each end?

On that video it looks quite steady but about normal for a spring with no fresh. (Look at the beginning where the tides goes past the bridge piers) I came down a couple of days later on the last spring and it was about same. It's quite steady over on the lock side. However as I said even with 3 metres of fresh when I just a foot or so below the lock it wasn't very much different just a bit faster. To add pressure that day I had a fellow boater with me who wanted to come along to see how it's done. Glad to say it all worked as normal. Agree - Stockwith on the ebb coming from Torksey got my pulse racing

I guessed so which is what prompted me to post this. It was a spring 6.70m https://tides.mobilegeographics.com/calendar/year/3469.html No fresh Flood water takes awhile to drop because tides push it back up river after it's dropped above Naburn. Last year when Cawood Bridge had to be opened there was just half a metre in at York but almost 3 metres on the tidal . This method works for me on all states of the tide and flood.Th idea is to put your bow into the slacker water by the jetty and work the throttle to keep the boat at the right angle. If you get it right there's no need to power into the lock. Obviously when there's fresh it all moves faster than in the video. It's never troubled me in 15 years but I didn't suggest that bit - actually the manoeuvre was indeed 'expert' - have you done it ?

During our recent re-visit to Ripon I met a first time visiting boater who asked for advice on how to get into Selby lock on the return passage from Naburn. Having done the trip both ways many times, on all tides and twice with so much fresh that Cawood bridge had to be opened (VHF channel 9 recommended) I explained how I do it. This method was suggested to me by Nigel the Lockie about 15 years ago and has proved to be 100% trouble free in all conditions. The chap videoed it all and put it on You-tube and sent me the link asking for marks out of ten. https://youtu.be/HfjXHTEzNmY Maybe turned a bit too early (I usually wait until I reach the high jetty at the end of the flats) but other than that I would say 'expert level'. Something to bear in mind though. It all starts at Naburn Lock. I suggest trying to be first boat down. If you're second boat, when you reach the Hovis factory you need to let the boat in front get ahead by enough time to make their exit. Third boat - when you get to Turn Head you really don't want to see any boats in front as it's about 25 minutes to turn the lock around. Fourth boat - see second boat etc. I'm not suggesting this is the only option some go past the lock and come up against the ebb, but for those interested or perhaps making the journey for the first time this video maybe useful.

At this moment in time I think Mr Parry's position in a little bit vulnerable. All of a sudden CaRT are in the spotlight and he didn't do very well. Questions will be asked and his record on infrastructure maintenance isn't going to help. It's just been announced to the kingdom that structures like dams are in the hands of a charity. What will the proverbial man on the London omnibus make of that, let alone the good townsfolk of Whaley Bridge, who must be in a living nightmare at this time.