Jump to content

The Trent claims another boat


luggsy

Featured Posts

11 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

The EA river levels website shows the rise in river levels at the upstream and downstream monitoring stations.

 

Colwick.jpg

 

FARNDON.jpg

 

The rain was forecast well in advance so it is a bit of poor judgement from the owners really. Still must be gutting for them though.

Hummm...not so sure. I think I keep an eye on the situation and i wasn't aware that heavy rain was forecast or had fallen.

It's difficult to be aware in Nottingham as there's a hydro scheme at Beeston then colwick is opened to keep the levels low through the city so the river is hardly up at all. 

The Trent has been low all winter compared with previous years when it has been shut to navigation for months at a time. 

All reasons why could get caught out.

As others have said, it does happen not infrequently. Always sad.

I gather the boat is currently being raised. I really feel for the owners. Just good noone physically hurt.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The boat is now raised 

 

The rain was well forecast and had been for several days.

 

The river has been low with below average rainfall which does mean that when we do get rain it runs off the dry ground and into watercourses more quickly rather than soaking in. So the rivers react more quickly.

 

Hopefully the insurers sort it out quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

The boat is now raised 

....................................

Hopefully the insurers sort it out quickly.

How are the costs of things like this covered by insurance    ------ is it in the minimum required by CRT ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Flood at Weybridge.  We found this convenient mooring structure where the Wey meets the Thames.  Did stay aboard though.

We had been trying to keep ahead of the flood, but it caught up with us here.  Not taking any chances with only 20 hp. and a part load, going downstream.

 

 

Weybridge.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Horace42 said:

How are the costs of things like this covered by insurance    ------ is it in the minimum required by CRT ?

No. The minimum requirement is to be covered for the cost of any damage that you may cause, similar to "third party" car insurance. Most boaters choose to pay a higher premium to cover the cost of damage to their own boat, such as in this case, similar to "comprehensive" car insurance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, luggsy said:

I am moored at the top side of hazelford lock if things went really bad I would go in the lock , the nearest floating pontoon to me is 1/2 mile away don't know if it's private or not 

Mrs T and I had to take our boat into Sileby lock some years ago when the Soar staged one of its frequent rapid rises.

On that occasion there was so much timber in the water that I abandoned engine power and we bow hauled the 20 yards or so. On the Trent I imagine that would be impracticable, but then I doubt there would be the concentration of debris we experienced.

The question then would be whether the boat had the power to make headway into the current prevailing & reach the lock safely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It may well be an insurance write off as it is an easy way out for the insurance company, repair may still lead to claims for items damaged many years later and a write off closes the risk. This happened when my car got caught in a flood we got it going with new oil etc but the insurance decided as all the electrics etc had a thin film of mud on them which would hold moisture, items would have a severely shortened life. Watch out for this boat for sale soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, trackman said:

Mrs T and I had to take our boat into Sileby lock some years ago when the Soar staged one of its frequent rapid rises.

On that occasion there was so much timber in the water that I abandoned engine power and we bow hauled the 20 yards or so. On the Trent I imagine that would be impracticable, but then I doubt there would be the concentration of debris we experienced.

The question then would be whether the boat had the power to make headway into the current prevailing & reach the lock safely.

They could have gone to the downstream lock floating pontoon instead. Or onto the high walls in the lock cut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Mrs Trackman said:

Hummm...not so sure. I think I keep an eye on the situation and i wasn't aware that heavy rain was forecast or had fallen.

It's difficult to be aware in Nottingham as there's a hydro scheme at Beeston then colwick is opened to keep the levels low through the city so the river is hardly up at all. 

The Trent has been low all winter compared with previous years when it has been shut to navigation for months at a time. 

All reasons why could get caught out.

As others have said, it does happen not infrequently. Always sad.

I gather the boat is currently being raised. I really feel for the owners. Just good noone physically hurt.

There's also a hydro system at Holme Lock, though I believe it's out of order, having its own problems with the Trent!

It has become difficult at times to judge the true state of the river at Beeston, and this will apply wherever such schemes are working.

The trad red/amber/green boards are not an adequate guide to river flow, as they only reflect water levels. Hydro schemes like that at Beeston can draw the water down significantly, putting it into the amber or even the green when it ought to be in the red.

Not directly relevant to this mishap, but worth knowing about when deciding whether to venture out onto a river.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, trackman said:

There's also a hydro system at Holme Lock, though I believe it's out of order, having its own problems with the Trent!

It has become difficult at times to judge the true state of the river at Beeston, and this will apply wherever such schemes are working.

The trad red/amber/green boards are not an adequate guide to river flow, as they only reflect water levels. Hydro schemes like that at Beeston can draw the water down significantly, putting it into the amber or even the green when it ought to be in the red.

Not directly relevant to this mishap, but worth knowing about when deciding whether to venture out onto a river.

I tend to 'worry' more (maybe apprehensive would be a better word) on the Trent than I do on a 3000 mile trip on the Lumpy Stuff.

 

The dangers are everywhere and 'so close' - if an engine fails at sea you can have 100s of miles to drift whilst fixing it - on the Trent you may have a 100 metres before you are over a weir and capsized.

Our Rivers are not treated with the respect they deserve, and boats & crews are not always suitably prepared.

  • Greenie 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are unsure, ask.  Lock-keepers, boatyard owners, other boaters, the older the better.  I know the Thames, but was always wary on a river that I didn't know. 

But don't be put off, rivers are much more fun than the 'Stagnant Ditch'.  Your boat will tell you that.

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Chris Williams said:

If you are unsure, ask.  Lock-keepers, boatyard owners, other boaters, the older the better.  I know the Thames, but was always wary on a river that I didn't know. 

But don't be put off, rivers are much more fun than the 'Stagnant Ditch'.  Your boat will tell you that.

So very true!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

No. The minimum requirement is to be covered for the cost of any damage that you may cause, similar to "third party" car insurance. Most boaters choose to pay a higher premium to cover the cost of damage to their own boat, such as in this case, similar to "comprehensive" car insurance.

Some insurance companies won't accept comprehensive cover for old boats with rusty hulls, even fire and theft are excluded from the basic cover.

Is there a 'special' wording used to ensure salvage is included in basic cover.

 

Like "wreck salvage" being spelt out - as mentioned by carlt  #41 above,

hat  .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Detling said:

It may well be an insurance write off as it is an easy way out for the insurance company, repair may still lead to claims for items damaged many years later and a write off closes the risk. This happened when my car got caught in a flood we got it going with new oil etc but the insurance decided as all the electrics etc had a thin film of mud on them which would hold moisture, items would have a severely shortened life. Watch out for this boat for sale soon.

Yes, I worked on a fire damaged building. The real cost was in repairs to electrics caused by water damage - not due to the the burnt bits.

But isn't fire and theft excluded from basic CRT insurance requirements.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/03/2019 at 16:04, Horace42 said:

How are the costs of things like this covered by insurance    ------ is it in the minimum required by CRT ?

It is possible to insure against all risks

The minimum requirement from C&RT is third party only £3Mliion cover. However that would not include any loss to your own boat.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/03/2019 at 12:43, luggsy said:

I am moored at the top side of hazelford lock if things went really bad I would go in the lock , the nearest floating pontoon to me is 1/2 mile away don't know if it's private or not 

I have missed  seeing this thread.

If you are still at Hazelford - the floating pontoon upstream is a private mooring but it is possible to stay a s visitor if there is enough space . At a cost of course.

 

I would say you are pretty safe in the upstream cut and as you say in the lock where the gates/walls are taller . If the river rises above that we are all doomed.

 

The river level has peaked just now at Farndon. I have seen it a lot higher .

Keep safe.

 

 

 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I have missed  seeing this thread.

If you are still at Hazelford - the floating pontoon upstream is a private mooring but it is possible to stay a s visitor if there is enough space . At a cost of course.

 

I would say you are pretty safe in the upstream cut and as you say in the lock where the gates/walls are taller . If the river rises above that we are all doomed.

 

The river level has peaked just now at Farndon. I have seen it a lot higher .

Keep safe.

 

 

 

Err... there's a lot more to come yet. According to the E A site, the Trent is currently higher at shardlow than the peak last Thursday. 

And more rain forecast tonight. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok you clever tinkerers.  How about knocking up a simple pole, rather like a scaffolding pipe, that has a float mechanism and a means of sending a text message to your phone.  You hammer it in when you moor, note the current water level on your phone app, and it messages you when significant level changes begin.  Then you can panic and rush back to the boat. And it needs handles so you can extract it when you move off.  I suggest you call it a SmartPole.

I haven't got time to do it myself, I'm busy trying to run my engine remotely, and anyway I don't do rivers very much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.