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Fat boats on the North Oxford


Dr Bob

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My understanding is that the widebeam limit at Berko was dreamt up by BW and not something the GUCC came up with.

I remember at least one widebeam with a mooring "north" of Berko until the late 90's

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9 minutes ago, Loddon said:

My understanding is that the widebeam limit at Berko was dreamt up by BW and not something the GUCC came up with.

I remember at least one widebeam with a mooring "north" of Berko until the late 90's

 

I believe that's correct. As a result of there being limited wide beam movements north of Berkhamsted the dredged width of the deep channel was (and may still be) 27' below Berkhamsted and 21' north thereof; this being the origin of the restriction on wide beam craft above Berkhamsted. The nominal width of the canal - excepting the tunnels and Tring cutting - is 42' throughout.

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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2 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

"They" being the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company.

 

The Grand Junction canal pre-existed the GUCCCo by approximately 125 years and a small number of horse drawn wide beam boats did operate to Braunston on that canal prior to the existence of the GUCCCo.

 

Photo: Waterways World

Wide boat Stoke Bruerne_0001.jpg

Edited by Ray T
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4 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

My understanding was that having trialled taking their prototype widebeam boat to Birmingham, they decided the trial was unsuccessful and limited widebeams to south of Berkhamstead

Both the GUCCC and FMC trialled wide boats on the widened GU between Braunston and Birmingham, before deciding to continue with narrow boat pairs instead. But were wide boats actually banned north of Berko? Or just not used?

2 hours ago, Loddon said:

 

I remember at least one widebeam with a mooring "north" of Berko until the late 90's

I can remember a clinker built lifeboat conversion that was about 9 ft beam that moored above Knowle Locks in the 70s. It can't have been the only one.

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9 hours ago, David Mack said:

Both the GUCCC and FMC trialled wide boats on the widened GU between Braunston and Birmingham, before deciding to continue with narrow boat pairs instead. But were wide boats actually banned north of Berko? Or just not used?

I can remember a clinker built lifeboat conversion that was about 9 ft beam that moored above Knowle Locks in the 70s. It can't have been the only one.

Scout moored at Cowroast, never went anywhere, it couldn't. I think  it ended up at Winkwell and was broken up.

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14 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

I believe that's correct. As a result of there being limited wide beam movements north of Berkhamsted the dredged width of the deep channel was (and may still be) 27' below Berkhamsted and 21' north thereof; this being the origin of the restriction on wide beam craft above Berkhamsted. The nominal width of the canal - excepting the tunnels and Tring cutting - is 42' throughout.

 

Travelling southwards from Braunston to Brentford, the difference in the canal (let along the structures) marked at Berko is striking. Whilst wider boats may well have been allowed to travel northwards when it was infrequent, the impact was minimal. It is a question of frequency - coping with an encounter with a wide boat (let alone two, one each way) is acceptable if it happens once in a blue moon but when it is every half hour it becomes a bit of a downer.

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I found the attached article in the March 1990  Waterways World reflecting the debate at the time. It cites Robert Aikman no less as protesting at official attitudes to wide beams north of Berkhampstead even in the 1950s and then goes onto record that in 1954 the BTC considered abandoning the canal north of Berko. 

 

The overall tone of the article is that enthusiasts are (or should be)up in arms at the idea of restricting wide beam access north of Berkhampstead, mainly for reasons of historical propriety rather than that many people would want to do it. Sometimes when I read articles like this, written about contemporary issues 31 years ago, I wonder what they would have said if they knew where it would lead.

20210824_172358.jpg

20210824_172550.jpg

20210824_172541.jpg

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  • 9 months later...

I received this text from a friend yesterday...

 

"We got half way to Willoughby and got forced up the bank by a wide beam called " miles away" (remember him)... we ran aground and got a load of vegetation wrapped round the prop.. 
Limped to Willoughby wharf so stopped for the night. "

 

Looks like he's still at it then, 9 months after he hit my boat by the waterpoint on the North Oxford at Braunston.

 

NOTE: this latest incident was on a sunny Saturday at half-term in late May That's surely asking for trouble!
 
Has anyone else seen Miles Away out and about creating havoc recently?
 
Edited by Lily Rose
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4 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

I received this text from a friend yesterday...

 

"We got half way to Willoughby and got forced up the bank by a wide beam called " miles away" (remember him)... we ran aground and got a load of vegetation wrapped round the prop.. 
Limped to Willoughby wharf so stopped for the night. "

 

Looks like he's still at it then, 9 months after he hit my boat by the waterpoint on the North Oxford at Braunston.

 

NOTE: this latest incident was on a sunny Saturday at half-term in late May That's surely asking for trouble!
 
Has anyone else seen Miles Away out and about creating havoc recently?
 

Hopefully your friend also reported the incident to CRT as I don't recall seeing a notice for this trip so they aren't following the guidelines for traveling this section and if it goes unreported then it will just keep happening.  If enough reports if incidents are made then maybe something might be done.

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8 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Hopefully your friend also reported the incident to CRT as I don't recall seeing a notice for this trip so they aren't following the guidelines for traveling this section and if it goes unreported then it will just keep happening.  If enough reports if incidents are made then maybe something might be done.

I have suggested he reports it. I had a reply from Matthew Symonds last year so I have just replied to his reply letting him know that it's still happening. The more people reporting Miles Away to CRT the better I reckon.

 

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6 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

I have suggested he reports it. I had a reply from Matthew Symonds last year so I have just replied to his reply letting him know that it's still happening. The more people reporting Miles Away to CRT the better I reckon.

 

 

 

How in detail would one report it? The easier it is to report, the more likely people reading this thread are to do it. 

 

I can't imagine calling the national CRT number resulting in much other than a message being passed on "To the relevant department",whatever that is.

 

Is there an email address to Matthew perhaps? Or a formal "complaint report" form on the CRT site? I've never noticed one. 

 

I'll certainly report if I see the boat from my bike on the towpath again.

 

 

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3 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

How in detail would one report it? The easier it is to report, the more likely people reading this thread are to do it. 

 

I can't imagine calling the national CRT number resulting in much other than a message being passed on "To the relevant department",whatever that is.

 

Is there an email address to Matthew perhaps? Or a formal "complaint report" form on the CRT site? I've never noticed one. 

 

I'll certainly report if I see the boat from my bike on the towpath again.

 

 

There is an "Incident Report form " on the CRT site

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

There is an "Incident Report form " on the CRT site

Reporting an incident, accident or near miss | Canal & River Trust (canalrivertrust.org.uk)

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Incident Form | Canal & River Trust (canalrivertrust.org.uk)

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13 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

How in detail would one report it? The easier it is to report, the more likely people reading this thread are to do it. 

 

I can't imagine calling the national CRT number resulting in much other than a message being passed on "To the relevant department",whatever that is.

 

Is there an email address to Matthew perhaps? Or a formal "complaint report" form on the CRT site? I've never noticed one. 

 

I'll certainly report if I see the boat from my bike on the towpath again.

 

 

 

 

I believe it's no secret that emails sent to  firstname.lastname@canalrivertrust.org.uk   will reach their intended recipient. You just need to replace firstname.lastname with a name of your choice.

 

 

1 minute ago, Lily Rose said:

 

Edited by Lily Rose
Missed .uk off the email address
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2 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

‘Miles Away’ is sadly not miles away. We have come across him twice now and the impression I get is he is an arrogant, ignorant couldn’t careless piece of so and so.

 

That's the impression I got as well when Mrs Lily Rose and I both spoke to him separately last year.

 

All the more reason to complain!

 

I might not have done had he been the least bit apologetic.

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Oh dear, how canal boating (well mebe inland waterway boating) has changed.....

 

Perhaps I should be glad that we've given up.

Anyone want to buy a 60 footer on the Thames - it's not at a Thames price.... 

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3 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

I received this text from a friend yesterday...

 

"We got half way to Willoughby and got forced up the bank by a wide beam called " miles away" (remember him)... we ran aground and got a load of vegetation wrapped round the prop.. 
Limped to Willoughby wharf so stopped for the night. "

 

Looks like he's still at it then, 9 months after he hit my boat by the waterpoint on the North Oxford at Braunston.

 

NOTE: this latest incident was on a sunny Saturday at half-term in late May That's surely asking for trouble!
 
Has anyone else seen Miles Away out and about creating havoc recently?
 

 

Miles Away moors in our marina, just behind where we are. He regularly takes his boat out for a trip down to Braunston on a weekend. He says the CRT aren't bothered anymore taking details of a trip ....."just give us a phone call in the morning if you are going out" ......to "It's not worth ringing them anymore". The marina management dont seem bothered at all ......and dont seem to know about the restrictions for fatboats so there is no chance of any change unless the CRT enforce the requirement for notification and then issue a CRT notice to other boaters (has this been dropped?). I've not seen a notice in the last 2 years.

We have been out since April so cant comment on his movements this summer but I will ask around to find out how much he is going out at the moment.

Sean, where are you this year? We're heading north - Chester ish.

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