A BAD day on the South Oxford ...........

[bargiepat]

Hi, Today was not good......................... Whilst coming out of Aynho Weir lock going north I lost one of my engine room doors ! As you exit the lock onto the short river section there are some very large rubbing guard rails that stop you being swept under the towpath bridge when the river is up. These have suffered some damage and there was a section of the 10" x 8" rubbing rail that was sticking out about 2". There was a boat about 25 meters away waiting to come into the lock so I put on a bit of power to get myself off this rail. Unfortunately the extra power caused my gunnels to drop below the rail and the open engine room door caught the protruding rail which was now running very near the cabin side . Horrendous graunching noises and I looked over to see the door being ripped from the hinges. It was still hanging on the top hinge but as it dropped back to the vertical the hinge gave way and it slipped into the water .

I reversed to the scene of he crime and was prepared to go into the water to find it but when I tested the depth it was a good 6ft and deeper further out. The boat that was waiting to enter the lock lent me their magnet but no luck with that. With a depth of 6ft the door could have aquaplaned to the bottom and maybe have gone a good 10 Ft from where it went in . It probably landed on the river bed with the timber side up . I spent another half hour scraping around with a long punt pole with a hook on the end but nothing.

I am now in Banbury and will try to phone BW to see if they have a diver that could go down and find it . The worst bit is knowing that it is down there !!!!!

Here is a pic of where the door once was ........

 

 

Bye for now Patrick.

Ps. Yes if I did not have a 30" draught the door may still be on my boat!

[magnetman]

I should be in that area in about a week, i have an underwater cctv system and some wicked magnets so if you still don't have it back i'll have a good look for it.

[bargiepat]

I should be in that area in about a week, i have an underwater cctv system and some wicked magnets so if you still don't have it back i'll have a good look for it.

 

Hi, That will be great........ I will cycle back and take a pic. of where it went in and will keep you posted on any divers etc.... Thanks Patrick.

[sueb]

If it was BW's fault that you lost the door you can try asking them to pay for the costvof the replacement. Sue

[Sir Nibble]

If it was BW's fault that you lost the door you can try asking them to pay for the costvof the replacement. Sue

Is that a signature or a suggestion?

[Ernie]

Hi Patrick, sorry to hear about your misfortune.

I am moored about 100 feet behind you on Ten Bob Note. I popped along a short while ago to see if I can be of any help but you were not around.

Please feel free to come and give me a shout if you need any help with anything. I will be here for at least a few more days.

I have power tools (grinder, saws, drill etc.) and mains power to run them if they are of any help to you.

Cheers

Ernie

[bargiepat]

Hi, Well today was certainly a better than yesterday..............

When I phoned BW and spoke to the manager for the South Oxford he was sorry about my problem but he had no access to divers and said that the weir may be environment agency's problem. He was due to have a meeting with them sometime.

I then set off for the 5 mile cycle along the towpath back to the scene of the crime. I took some pics and then asked a skipper of a boat going into the lock if he had a magnet? Yes , a Sea Searcher that he had never used. I then stood on the back of his boat and went fishing. After about 15 mins. and 2 old windlass and random nails etc ............. I caught something seriously heavy, the door. With the help of Tim ( skipper ) we managed to raise it very slowly and got it onto his boat . The pic shows where the magnet caught the door side. It must have landed on the bottom with the wood up. The other pics are of the weir barrier and the protruding rail.

I had to wait about 45 mins for a boat going back up to Banbury and they carried the door on their boat and I cycled ahead to work them through the locks. Got back to my boat with the door at 14.45.

Regards Patrick. Ps. I met Ernie when I got back. Thanks for your offer of help.

 

Aynho weir

 

Projection

 

Sea searcher

[Supermalc]

Sorry to hear of your problems, but what a heartwarming story in the end