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DandV

By DandV
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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)

On or about this day 2001:

 

Fulbourne having gone solidly aground a couple of hundred yards below the bridge at Kempston Mill, pictured above, we returned to the centre of Bedford, and moored up for the night.

Next morning, not only were we moored up with the Wilderness Boat Owners Club, but we found it was also the day of the Bedford Triathlon, and the river around us was filled with 237 swimmers.

Ouse57.JPG

Edited by David Mack
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John Liley Community Regular

John LileyDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

While ropes are not much used in locks on the English canals, in mainland  Europe they are absolutely essential. As are substantial, accessible bollards, the larger the better, to provide the friction by which the vessel is stopped..

 

It may not be clear in the photo, but the line from the shore leads around the forward of the two bollards, with Tom, our matelot at the time, putting the turns on the second one of the pair. Using a solitary bollard on its own can, and often does,  lead to disaster.

 

Once the boat is halted an extra turn, or maybe two. with a figure of eight to follow will leave the line secure. It's a time-honoured system, using the pins on one bollard to provide a lead to the other. Anything else - and there are some weird arrangements on modern leisure boats - gives me the abdabs, I fear.

DSCN4348.jpg

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, John Liley said:

While ropes are not much used in locks on the English canals, in mainland  Europe they are absolutely essential. As are substantial, accessible bollards, the larger the better, to provide the friction by which the vessel is stopped..

 

It may not be clear in the photo, but the line from the shore leads around the forward of the two bollards, with Tom, our matelot at the time, putting the turns on the second one of the pair. Using a solitary bollard on its own can, and often does,  lead to disaster.

 

Once the boat is halted an extra turn, or maybe two. with a figure of eight to follow will leave the line secure. It's a time-honoured system, using the pins on one bollard to provide a lead to the other. Anything else - and there are some weird arrangements on modern leisure boats - gives me the abdabs, I fear.

DSCN4348.jpg

And unlike us ditchcrawlers you don't run the rope from the boat round the lockside bollard and back but have the eye on the lockside and the tail on the boat

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haggis Veteran

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Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

And unlike us ditchcrawlers you don't run the rope from the boat round the lockside bollard and back but have the eye on the lockside and the tail on the boat

That's how they do it on the Crinan and Caledonian.

 

haggis

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Tam & Di Influencer

Tam & Di

Posted
Posted

A view echoing John's description of rope handling that Ditchcrawler will recall of trainees under instruction.

 

I was just on a modern repro barge with beautiful shiney stainless bollards and the owner had beautiful silky lines to go with his shiney boat. The problem was he had one end of his line tied to one of the bollards and then wrapped round and round it to stop it coming off and making it unusable for anything else. He was taking the line from the boat, round a lockside bollard and back in locks, so he then only had the other one of the pair to take turns of line on to hold the boat steady. He'd had to cut a line the previous day as it jammed when he was going downhill, and that nearly happened twice more while I was with him. He was from a sailing background and had only had his barge for a week. He was unable to understand what I told him that would minimise the odds of getting lines jammed and seemed to think it was a normal part of canal life. I fear he is going to get through a lot of rope before he learns.

 

Tam

DSCN1420.jpg

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Athy Veteran II

AthyDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 21/08/2021 at 18:47, PeterScott said:

On this day in 2017

 

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Three Holes Junction Middle Level  Junction of Sixteen Foot River, Popham's Eau and Middle Level Drain

We drive over that bridge quite often as it's only a mile or so from home. It's a dramatic view. So that boat was already moored there four years ago; it's still there, and appears never to have moved during the intervening time.

Trivia note: the name derives from the original bridge which had three arches.

Edited by Athy
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John Liley Community Regular

John LileyDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 hours ago, Tam & Di said:

A view echoing John's description of rope handling that Ditchcrawler will recall of trainees under instruction.

 

I was just on a modern repro barge with beautiful shiney stainless bollards and the owner had beautiful silky lines to go with his shiney boat. The problem was he had one end of his line tied to one of the bollards and then wrapped round and round it to stop it coming off and making it unusable for anything else. He was taking the line from the boat, round a lockside bollard and back in locks, so he then only had the other one of the pair to take turns of line on to hold the boat steady. He'd had to cut a line the previous day as it jammed when he was going downhill, and that nearly happened twice more while I was with him. He was from a sailing background and had only had his barge for a week. He was unable to understand what I told him that would minimise the odds of getting lines jammed and seemed to think it was a normal part of canal life. I fear he is going to get through a lot of rope before he learns.

 

Tam

DSCN1420.jpg

 

 

One further tip regarding bollards: painting the tops of them is fine, but be wary of doing the sides: the paint will grab the rope, rather than let it wind round smoothly. Such was an early experience of myself. Things ran properlyly once the paint wore off (which it did very quickly).

Liley 20 2.jpg

Edited by John Liley
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PeterScott Veteran II

PeterScottDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

On this day in 1993

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Stanground Sluice 

Middle Level 

 

Compare

16Aug2007 

6Aug2018 

 

Local children had been using matches around the farmer/lockkeeper's hayrick, with the inevitable result. Firefighters dampened it down, and recommended leaving it to burn out. Nobody was injured.

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