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Fun and games at Somerton Deep lock


Rob-M

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21 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

methinks they're disenclined, for fear of getting a mouthful

Any boater with any real experience / knowledge wouldn't use narrow locks with fenders down.

 

There are an ever increasing number of people (boaty or not)  around  spouting 'I know what I'm doing' when (obviously) they do not.

 

Perhaps I'm getting old..

Time to change the logo again.

 

Hire companies should warn people, but they often don't.

 

Lockies should warn people, but they often don't.

 

Experienced boaters should warn inexperienced ones, but they often don't.

 

The boat that got stuck at Foxton were liveaboards who'd had the boat three weeks -- so the lockie told me with an eye-roll. Perhaps it would have been better if he (or one of his colleagues) had warned them...

 

Everybody starts off inexperienced, and I've usually found that friendly helpful non-condescending advice is gratefully received. Going through Welford lock there was a boat coming the other way who hadn't got a clue, they'd just borrowed the boat off a mate and it was their first lock, so I helped them. Same with a boat on the Soar who'd just bought the boat that day and were on their first trip -- they tied the boat up to a bollard going down a wide lock, luckily I spotted this just as it was pulling tight and alerted them to the problem, then explained why doing this was a bad idea. They said thank you, which was nice.

 

If you offer helpful advice and it's rebuffed then shrug it off, they're being a tw*t, some people just are. If you don't offer advice when it could have helped and then look down on them as they get into a mess, you're the one being the t*at... ?

Edited by IanD
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55 minutes ago, IanD said:

Everybody starts off inexperienced, and I've usually found that friendly helpful non-condescending advice is gratefully received.

When I was very, very new I grounded the borrowed boat on a collapsed bank on the offside. I was rocking it and revving the engine trying to drive over it when a chap moored by the towpath offered “Would you mind if I make a suggestion?”  He then explained that I might be better off reversing off the silt instead of trying to motor through it. Obvious now but as a newbie I appreciated the advice.


Oh, and I came straight off :)

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20 hours ago, Rob-M said:

We have been quite surprised at the state of the Oxford given the number of boats moving. Very limited mooring, very hard locks and quite shallow in places. Not sure we will be returning to the southern section any time soon.

I agree the vegetation is worse in some places of the South Oxford, but it was always pretty wild and had sections of reeds making it single channel eg below Northbrook and Allen's locks 10 years ago even. But it still has plenty of moorings? Or did you mean moorings were busy? Its not like the K&A or Huddersfield narrow where you can count the moorings on one hand?

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1 hour ago, Dave123 said:

I agree the vegetation is worse in some places of the South Oxford, but it was always pretty wild and had sections of reeds making it single channel eg below Northbrook and Allen's locks 10 years ago even. But it still has plenty of moorings? Or did you mean moorings were busy? Its not like the K&A or Huddersfield narrow where you can count the moorings on one hand?

In a lot of places the bank was fairly rough so didn't look like it was worth trying to moor.

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5 hours ago, IanD said:

Hire companies should warn people, but they often don't.

 

Do hire boats have fenders, Canaltime use to have those plastic brick like things on each side and instructed the users to keep them deployed at all times. This was from a more experienced user who removed them as soon as he was out of sight

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44 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Do hire boats have fenders, Canaltime use to have those plastic brick like things on each side and instructed the users to keep them deployed at all times. This was from a more experienced user who removed them as soon as he was out of sight

Most of the hire companies I've used have small rubber pipe fenders, either hanging from the handrails or cleats on the gunwales. Useful when you're moored up against concrete/stone/steel to stop banging and crashing at night if it's windy, or when shiny boats come past too fast when you're cooking breakfast or dinner. Or if you keep them down all the time, handy for hanging up in locks...

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17 hours ago, Rob-M said:

In a lot of places the bank was fairly rough so didn't look like it was worth trying to moor.

Well it isn't wall to wall armco like some midland canals granted, but if you think the Oxford doesn't have much mooring don't ever go to the K&A?

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We have come all the way down the South Oxford, well excluding the bit into Oxford.

 

When we arrived at Somerton Deep there  were 3 boats waiting to go down and a boat stuck in the lock unable to get out.  This was 11am and it turned out he had been stuck since 9am.  Not really sure what was going on, yes the gate did not fully open, but a few good shoves on it and he was ably to get out, and the other 3 boats and us got through fine.
 

Offside vegetation not fab, but no worse than in other places I thought.  In general CRT need to have a concerted effort to sort this out of course, it only going to get worse by next summer.
 

A couple of dodgy locks with one bottom paddle out of action, and very rotten beams, that looked like a stoppage waiting to happen.

 

Dukes Cut has more scruffy boats than usual, but the upside is they have cleared the vegetation to be able to get to the side.  Once you get onto the mill stream though there are some trees down that really need attention, so EA are also ignoring vegetation issues it seems.

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1 hour ago, john6767 said:

We have come all the way down the South Oxford, well excluding the bit into Oxford.

 

When we arrived at Somerton Deep there  were 3 boats waiting to go down and a boat stuck in the lock unable to get out.  This was 11am and it turned out he had been stuck since 9am.  Not really sure what was going on, yes the gate did not fully open, but a few good shoves on it and he was ably to get out, and the other 3 boats and us got through fine.
 

Offside vegetation not fab, but no worse than in other places I thought.  In general CRT need to have a concerted effort to sort this out of course, it only going to get worse by next summer.
 

A couple of dodgy locks with one bottom paddle out of action, and very rotten beams, that looked like a stoppage waiting to happen.

 

Dukes Cut has more scruffy boats than usual, but the upside is they have cleared the vegetation to be able to get to the side.  Once you get onto the mill stream though there are some trees down that really need attention, so EA are also ignoring vegetation issues it seems.

Yes those locks would be Roundham and Kidlington Green. Roundham is in an appalling state but is scheduled for complete replacement in Nov. Kidlington isn't. A wooden bollard on the upstream landing has also snapped off here. 

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2 hours ago, Dave123 said:

Yes those locks would be Roundham and Kidlington Green. Roundham is in an appalling state but is scheduled for complete replacement in Nov. Kidlington isn't. A wooden bollard on the upstream landing has also snapped off here. 

I can't remember which lock it was but I strapped the boat in to the lock mooring and the wooden bollard lifted clean out of the ground.

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On 30/08/2020 at 15:33, Rob-M said:

Spent about an hour this morning trying to get Roach out of Somerton Deep lock. Bottom gate wouldn't open right back so he was wedged trying to exit the lock. Tried to pull him out with our boat but didn't work, then had to try and push him back in the lock. All this finished up with me slipping off our bows whilst removing the ropes between the two boats and I ended up wedged between the boat and the bottom gate just saving myself from a head first dunking. Two guys jumped down on to our boat to grab me and pull me back up.

Roach then went back up the lock and moved out the way so the queues could clear and phoned CRT to come and sort the gate out.

Who is Roach? Your dog? Or a fellow boater?

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