Liverpool to Manchester

[Dannyc_06]

Hi, I am in the process of designing a widebeam boat, and ill mainly be looking to travel from Liverpool to Manchester. I'm trying to work out what is the largest widebeam I can build that will make this journey.

 

I have looked on the websites below but it still doesn't sound too accurate as it mentions if it is wet or dry weather.
I was hoping someone will have better information from experience.   

 

https://canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/canal.cgi

 

Thank you 

[David Mack]

Why do you want the biggest possible boat that will fit? That will be a pig to negotiate, for you and for every other boater around you. The official dimensions are indicative and to be used for guidance. You may well find pinch points which your theoretically possible boat won't actually pass, particularly with regard to water depth, but also bridge headroom, where the available height through arched bridges is dependent on the width of the cabin top.

 

Is this boat going to be kept on a permanent mooring? If not are you familiar with the rules on 'continuous cruising'?

 

If you design your boat to just fit between Liverpool and Manchester then what happens when you are not 'mainly' boating on this section?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Welcome to the forum.

Is this travelling on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal and the Bridgewater?

Going there via the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal you can have a much bigger widebeam.

By John Eyres - https://www.flickr.com/photos/32865578@N02/3418179672/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16394014

Edited April 22, 2021 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Alan de Enfield]

40 minutes ago, Dannyc_06 said:

I have looked on the websites below but it still doesn't sound too accurate as it mentions if it is wet or dry weather.

 

 

Are you planning on having a permanent mooring and just going out for odd days, or are you going to move every couple of days (continuously cruise) and not have a mooring ?

 

What you need to remember that the dimensions given in these guides do not cover the same boat.

 

To explain :

 

The height given is the maximum height, but not at the maximum width so a high widebeam cannot go where a high narrowboat can go

 

Hopefully the picture explains.

 

That if you have a widebeam then your height is restricted, if you have a high boat then your width is restricted.

 

 

 

[Dannyc_06]

Hi thank you for your reply, some good information so far. 

 

Yes, ill be permanently moored in Liverpool and I just need to travel to Manchester for a trade show once a year. 

 

I will be living and operating my business from the vessel and that is why I was looking to see the largest boat I can build to accommodate work-life balance and make the trip to Manchester and back.  
 

Thank you

[BrumBargee]

In theory you could do it in a 70ft x 14ft boat but as some have already mentioned it's not always a good idea to build to the full dimensions. 14ft widebeams can get stuck in certain locks that have subsided etc.

 

Consider a 62ft length if you can make it work, it will allow you access to a lot more of the Northern waterways. Although your plans are to stay in the marina, you might feel differently about it in the future. The beauty of living on a boat is if you get the itch to move, you can.

 

We've lived in Liverpool Marina for the past year. We had planned to stay longer but we are going back to continuous cruising a lot sooner than expected.

[dmr]

I think you could maybe just manage 74 foot by 14 foot as I think the L&L locks are generous, though not sure about Poolstock. A boat this big might have very limited resale value.

 

Where will you want to get to in Manchester? Castlefield basin gets shallower every year and turning a big boat at the end could be difficult.

 

...............Dave

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, dmr said:

I think you could maybe just manage 74 foot by 14 foot as I think the L&L locks are generous, though not sure about Poolstock. A boat this big might have very limited resale value.

 

Where will you want to get to in Manchester? Castlefield basin gets shallower every year and turning a big boat at the end could be difficult.

 

...............Dave

And if you wand to get up the Rochdale 9 its a new ball game

[Dannyc_06]

This is amazing help thank you, I only wish I had found this sooner. 

 

For Manchester, I was looking at something in a pretty central location.

 

My original thought was to build 65ft-12ft, by the sounds of it... this is a better purchase than 70ft-12ft.

Thank you 
 

[dmr]

32 minutes ago, Dannyc_06 said:

This is amazing help thank you, I only wish I had found this sooner. 

 

For Manchester, I was looking at something in a pretty central location.

 

My original thought was to build 65ft-12ft, by the sounds of it... this is a better purchase than 70ft-12ft.

Thank you 
 

 

12 is a good maximum, you can still get through locks if silt prevents the gates fully opening etc. Some Rochdale locks have subsided (and might never get fixed) so 14 foot is impossible.

If you could get down to 57 foot then you have a "Northern go anywhere" boat as the Calder and Hebble locks are only 57 foot.

 

You need to do more research about Manchester, including walking some towpath to get a real understanding. Much of it is inner city stuff where many people would not leave a boat unattended. Castlefield is the only real central mooring and most of it has been given over to long term residential boats, turning up and finding a spot can be tricky, especially with a bigger boat.

 

.............Dave

[Liam]

There's no real length restrictions on the Bridgewater apart from winding holes which are fairly generous, and the west of Wigan is suitable for the Leeds & Liverpool long boats such as Ambush & Viktoria at 72 x 14ft.

 

What you will need to keep in mind though is air draft through bridge holes. The sticking point will be Leigh Bridge. If you design a boat that will fit through that you won't have any problems elsewhere.