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Grand Union air draught


Bronco99

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8 minutes ago, john6767 said:


That one looks better though

A4126E69-A55F-4C6D-957D-AF68A32AAA3B.png.5d42ad9869257077770a5fb7bf1a0653.png

 

 

I still reckon Doug's is better:

 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/52°06'26.3"N+1°57'22.2"W/@52.1073349,-1.9566054,140m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m9!1m2!2m1!1sstratford+marina!3m5!1s0x0:0x0!7e2!8m2!3d52.1072965!4d-1.9561626

 

sankey.jpg.ee7fee36783c95bcd9e45eb9c42e34af.jpg

Edited by TheBiscuits
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3 minutes ago, Bronco99 said:

Brilliant little marina, Michael's place. Next to the Mill Club and the Avon Authority

 

Yeah, I know the office and the boatyard but not particularly well. 

 

As for the quality of the slipway, I can only offer as an excuse that the last time I cruised past it I was trying not to crash an ANT trip boat full of passengers, so I wasn't paying that much attention to the bankside! :D

 

IMG_20190720_144453674.jpg.f8e4a443dd56b03de6a9cd570a631f6e.jpg

 

That's not me steering, and it was taken at Pershore, but that was the tug and the broken down workboat!

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13 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

If I may suggest - the term 'towed' maybe misleading 'trucked' may be better.

 

Towing along the A45 (or whatever) may result in 'not a lot' of GRP being left by the time you arrive.

Yea, that is what prompted my original question - even if I was unsurprised by the answer, but there have been those on here who make incorrect assumptions about which canals they can navigate.

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We took our (allegedly) replica barge up to Braunston in 2018 and have since crossed the K&A to Bristol and beyond. We are 2M @ 3.25M with the wheelhouse down (6'7" x 10'8") and would say that the GU was more of a struggle than expected.

The condition of the canal below Stoke Bruene is very poor and overgrown. There are many narrow boats who don't allow for the fact that they are on a broad canal - I had to knock a couple of them out of the way rather than drive through trees - not an option for you with a cruiser.

As others have said the arch bridges are a major pain - many having reinforcing underneath or 'falling off' gunnite. We managed quite a few lengths with the wheelhouse up (2.56M) but every bridge was a challenge. Of the two tunnels, you should be OK through Blisworth (take an umbrella!) but Brausnton will be more difficult as it has a much smaller bore and the profile moves all over the place - you need to keep the revs on to keep steerage, which of course will then cause more damage if you loose concentration on the way. The other thing you'll encounter is much snobbery from the narrow boat brigade who feel they have a right of way - it wasn't much fun.

I've been boating around that area for a long time so know the canal well from Braunston onwards. The Blue Lias bridge is very low - but if you time your run to coincide with the hire boat fleet arriving from Warwick, you'll find the pound will run off enough for you to get through. There are a couple of other lowish bridges near the Avon aqueduct where you can't wait for low water though as you're on a sump pound. Don't even think about Hatton!!

In comparison the Kennet and Avon was a dream.

There are a few low bridges on the Avon as well that may well be an issue. We have never attempted Bideford, but the profile doesn't look good there. Also Eckington, although it has plenty of headroom in the middle, is set on an awkward angle and the flow of the river takes you sideways (similar to High Bridge at Reading).

Anyway - good luck if you attempt it. If it were me I'd go through Bristol and up the estuary - easier run and generally better waterways.

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2 hours ago, calara said:

We took our (allegedly) replica barge up to Braunston in 2018 and have since crossed the K&A to Bristol and beyond. We are 2M @ 3.25M with the wheelhouse down (6'7" x 10'8") and would say that the GU was more of a struggle than expected.

The condition of the canal below Stoke Bruene is very poor and overgrown. There are many narrow boats who don't allow for the fact that they are on a broad canal - I had to knock a couple of them out of the way rather than drive through trees - not an option for you with a cruiser.

As others have said the arch bridges are a major pain - many having reinforcing underneath or 'falling off' gunnite. We managed quite a few lengths with the wheelhouse up (2.56M) but every bridge was a challenge. Of the two tunnels, you should be OK through Blisworth (take an umbrella!) but Brausnton will be more difficult as it has a much smaller bore and the profile moves all over the place - you need to keep the revs on to keep steerage, which of course will then cause more damage if you loose concentration on the way. The other thing you'll encounter is much snobbery from the narrow boat brigade who feel they have a right of way - it wasn't much fun.

I've been boating around that area for a long time so know the canal well from Braunston onwards. The Blue Lias bridge is very low - but if you time your run to coincide with the hire boat fleet arriving from Warwick, you'll find the pound will run off enough for you to get through. There are a couple of other lowish bridges near the Avon aqueduct where you can't wait for low water though as you're on a sump pound. Don't even think about Hatton!!

In comparison the Kennet and Avon was a dream.

There are a few low bridges on the Avon as well that may well be an issue. We have never attempted Bideford, but the profile doesn't look good there. Also Eckington, although it has plenty of headroom in the middle, is set on an awkward angle and the flow of the river takes you sideways (similar to High Bridge at Reading).

Anyway - good luck if you attempt it. If it were me I'd go through Bristol and up the estuary - easier run and generally better waterways.

That's really useful thanks! To address a couple of your points more closely, I don't mind steering close to the far bank to avoid narrowboats as I have auto tilt which clears my sterndrive from danger which is my main priority and gliding through branches hopefully won't cause lasting damage (I'm happy to be challenged on this).

 

I'm 7' x 9' with the my wheelhouse off so may or may not struggle more than you with some of those bridges, being taller but more narrow. I'll get as far as I can with Calcutt slipway my target destination. ATM I've decided against risking Stockton Lane partly because Calcutt Marina are happy to let me use their slipway so I can get onto the Avon easily without the cost of a lift. If I find that I can't get that far I'll turn back to the nearest one.

 

The people I bought the boat from took it under Eckington regularly, not sure about Bideford but it was their cruising ground. Thanks for the tip.

 

Not sure what you mean by going through Bristol. I will be doing that. Starting in Evesham - Sharpness to Bristol - Bath - Brentford - Calcutt - by road to Avon at Stratford/Wyre Piddle - Evesham - then on to Bath again via Bristol where I live atm

 

I want to do this as a loop. Just wish the GU was a bit more accommodating and the wide link from Warwick to Stratford was there. 

 

Thanks for the luck. I'll certainly need it

 

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9 minutes ago, Bronco99 said:

That's really useful thanks! To address a couple of your points more closely, I don't mind steering close to the far bank to avoid narrowboats as I have auto tilt which clears my sterndrive from danger which is my main priority and gliding through branches hopefully won't cause lasting damage (I'm happy to be challenged on this).

It's more where they tend to moor opposite the many overgrown trees leaving maybe 1.5M channel if you're lucky. They don't have to do this - it's just plain rude and stupid - and to be honest I don't have any issues knocking them out of the way. Used to do the same when we encountered moronic behaviour when we were driving narrow boats in the 80's and 90's but it's got much worse as the canal has deteriorated. Also had big issues at Wyvern Shipping with the entire hire fleet moored right across the canal where the same hire fleet was responsible for the pound being about 1M down. 

 

Be careful with some of the trees - there was one on Tring summit that was like a spear sticking out well over half of the canal. Someone is going to get killed on one of these one day.

 

15 minutes ago, Bronco99 said:

Not sure what you mean by going through Bristol. I will be doing that. Starting in Evesham - Sharpness to Bristol - Bath - Brentford - Calcutt - by road to Avon at Stratford/Wyre Piddle - Evesham - then on to Bath again via Bristol where I live atm

Ah - didn't realise you were starting from Evesham. We were there last winter - now in Tewkesbury. The bridge here can be 'interesting' as well.

 

1 hour ago, David Mack said:

And you wonder why wide boats are resented on the GU?

Wide boats have every right to be on the GU given that it's a wide canal. We have to pay more for less of the system and expect the channel to be kept clear for us. There are plenty of narrow canals you will find you have exclusive use of.

 

Wyvern.jpg

Leighton.jpg

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12 minutes ago, calara said:

Also had big issues at Wyvern Shipping with the entire hire fleet moored right across the canal where the same hire fleet was responsible for the pound being about 1M down

Coming out of Bradford-On-Avon lock is my worst blackspot for this. Can barely squeeze my Norman 20 through sometimes the way the hire boats on one side and towpath moorings come together like Amersdam rooftops. The Companies should sort their houses out and either have the space or not have so many boats. 

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3 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

In both of those examples there's enough room to get your boat through. So why the big fuss?

In the first one the hire boat company have forced me into the piles. Because their fleet only ever goes downhill from here the pound is off by 0.6M and I'm on the bottom of the canal. There's tons of room on their wharf - they don't have to behave like this. (We also did plenty of training for them as they don't seem to show their customers what to do - not sure what's happened as these used to be a reputable hire company)

 

In the second one there's a narrow boat moored opposite an overhanging tree with substantial branches concealed within (you can't see these on the video) which are about to gouge their way through my wheelhouse. The lady on the narrow boat didn't understand what was wrong. This would be poor form on a narrow canal - bloody stupid and dangerous on a wide one.

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28 minutes ago, calara said:

In the first one the hire boat company have forced me into the piles. Because their fleet only ever goes downhill from here the pound is off by 0.6M and I'm on the bottom of the canal. There's tons of room on their wharf - they don't have to behave like this. (We also did plenty of training for them as they don't seem to show their customers what to do - not sure what's happened as these used to be a reputable hire company)

 

In the second one there's a narrow boat moored opposite an overhanging tree with substantial branches concealed within (you can't see these on the video) which are about to gouge their way through my wheelhouse. The lady on the narrow boat didn't understand what was wrong. This would be poor form on a narrow canal - bloody stupid and dangerous on a wide one.

What if the narrowboat had been a wide beam, you wouldn't have got by at all

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35 minutes ago, calara said:

In the first one the hire boat company have forced me into the piles.

No.The position of the moored boats may mean that you have to pass closer to the piles than you would have done otherwise, but it doesn't force you "into" them, and the gap available for you to pass through is at least as wide as the locks that you have to pass through anyway.

9 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Because their fleet only ever goes downhill from here the pound is off by 0.6M

 

And if the same fleet and been spaced out differently along the wharf that would have made a difference?

Anyway it's not true. I have encountered Wyvern boats south of the base so some at least do go the other way.

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2 hours ago, Bronco99 said:

That's really useful thanks! To address a couple of your points more closely, I don't mind steering close to the far bank to avoid narrowboats as I have auto tilt which clears my sterndrive from danger which is my main priority and gliding through branches hopefully won't cause lasting damage (I'm happy to be challenged on this).

 

I'm 7' x 9' with the my wheelhouse off so may or may not struggle more than you with some of those bridges, being taller but more narrow. I'll get as far as I can with Calcutt slipway my target destination. ATM I've decided against risking Stockton Lane partly because Calcutt Marina are happy to let me use their slipway so I can get onto the Avon easily without the cost of a lift. If I find that I can't get that far I'll turn back to the nearest one.

 

The people I bought the boat from took it under Eckington regularly, not sure about Bideford but it was their cruising ground. Thanks for the tip.

 

Not sure what you mean by going through Bristol. I will be doing that. Starting in Evesham - Sharpness to Bristol - Bath - Brentford - Calcutt - by road to Avon at Stratford/Wyre Piddle - Evesham - then on to Bath again via Bristol where I live atm

 

I want to do this as a loop. Just wish the GU was a bit more accommodating and the wide link from Warwick to Stratford was there. 

 

Thanks for the luck. I'll certainly need it

 

That's a bit far out of your way but I guess Devonians will be delighted to see you!

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5 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

That's a bit far out of your way but I guess Devonians will be delighted to see you!

Not at the moment. ;)

Anyway the bar at the entrance to the river is one of the worst in the country Not for inexperienced boaters.

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9 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

That's a bit far out of your way but I guess Devonians will be delighted to see you!

Nice one! More than welcome to a little piss take if it steers things back on topic ?

 

(I think Bidford-On-Avon was the meaning, I'm not familiar with the place)

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