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Navigation blocked by boat yards


Oddjob

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Yesterday while moving south on the Oxford came across a hire company who thinks its ok to moor their boats 3 a breast leaving just a single channel open for navigation, and then at top of Hillmorton locks boat yard thinks its ok to moor a NEW boat on the lock landing. Also to rub salt into a sore spot on the other side a boat was moored on that lock landing as well, who had stayed overnight as he had a can over his exhaust pipe. I thought if coming down I would have moored against the new boat minus fenders and then see the reaction from the boat yard!

This I've found is a problem with hire fleets they just take up all the navigation as there God given right and then get bent out of shape if their boats get bumped while navigating passed them.

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If you are still moving south on the Oxford wait until you get to Lower Heyford!! There is often only 8 feet there to get through but its fun seeing how good or otherwise you boat handling skills are getting through lol.

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I have never had any great problem getting a full length ex-working narrow boat drawing 3 feet past a hire base on turnaround day. So I can't see why it should be a particular issue for smaller craft.

53 minutes ago, Oddjob said:

thought if coming down I would have moored against the new boat minus fenders and then see the reaction from the boat yard!

They probably assumed that is exactly what you would do.

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1 hour ago, mrsmelly said:

If you are still moving south on the Oxford wait until you get to Lower Heyford!! There is often only 8 feet there to get through but its fun seeing how good or otherwise you boat handling skills are getting through lol.

8 feet is all you need but at least they don't moor on lock landings

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5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

I've often wondered how people who can't get a narrowboat through an 8ft gap manage to get into locks.

 

 

Bump, Clang, Dang, there go the wine glasses. Oops, the dinner plates are all over the floor.

At least that is how it was when I was learning. If a particularly loud bang woke the cat up she would march from the sofa to the rear hatch and complain about the rubbish steering.

 

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17 minutes ago, MoominPapa said:

Suggest avoiding Wootten Wawen on a day when they're using their engine crane, which is over the aqueduct.

 

MP.

 

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At the end of an Anglo Welsh hire we got told to leave our boat just there! To be fair it was wet Wednesday in December and there was very little traffic about.

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If it's south Oxford it will be Oxfordshire Narrowboats for sure.  It may be OK to get through the gap, but try and wind in the official winding hole and you could be stuffed. They also moor along the towpath moorings north of the narrows and the 48hr visitor moorings south of Bridge 206.  Was a damn sight worse when their fleet from the Thames was in for winter, but of course thy now have Black Prince[Death] boats there as well.

Just had a thought, Is that Clifton Cruisers by chance?

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I just treat it as a challenge, and if I whack one I don't worry about it. The ones moored on a lock landing don't bother me either, I just tie up to them and climb over - I assume that's what they expect you to do. It's usually fine as long as there isn't a gale blowing you sideways and someone you hadn't noticed or had just come round the corner trying to come through the other way. We are, after all, quite narrow.

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4 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I just treat it as a challenge, and if I whack one I don't worry about it. The ones moored on a lock landing don't bother me either, I just tie up to them and climb over - I assume that's what they expect you to do

 

Maybe you aren't as precious about the working bits of your boat as some are.

 

I think it's what guard irons or rubbing strakes are there for.

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I only found the boat that was loosely breasted up right next to the bridge at Clifton the only mildy irrating bit. The front just kept coming further and further out. Though to be fair a 70ft Barry Hawkins does tend to pull em out a bit ?

@Oddjob Did you happen to pass a White Goat going for a walk with a Golden Retriever- somewhere near approaching Barby?

Made me laugh anyway-the owner was about half a mile behind with two collies.

20210307_104033.jpg

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Black Prince at Stoke Prior can be a bit rammed as well, and they are also often moored on both angles of the winding hole just past their hire base. It just focusses the attention a bit when winding, but I work on the assumption that their boats probably get a lot more knocks and bangs out on a hire than I would cause by rubbing one if I get it wrong!

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5 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

they are also often moored on both angles of the winding hole

 

My usual steering skills often drop right off when boats are moored in a winding hole.  It must be coincidence that I accidentally hit them about 100% of the time! ;)

 

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It's not the 8ft gap that is the problem, it's the fact they are often loosely moored and the gap suddenly shrinks to 6ft9, that and the towpath side is always about 4" shallower than our boat ?

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3 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

My usual steering skills often drop right off when boats are moored in a winding hole.  It must be coincidence that I accidentally hit them about 100% of the time! ;)

 

 

i feel we should seek National Lottery funding to further research this phenomena, couple of mill should do it, possibly look at brewery sponsorship too then we can cover off the “influenced” angle. What do you think Prof. Biscuits?

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