MtB Posted August 21, 2021 Report Share Posted August 21, 2021 2 minutes ago, Slim said: I understand fully, and accept the points you make. Indeed, they have all been made many times in the past. My point was that this year the incidence of both 'dumpers' and lengthy stopovers for CCers seems to have exploded. I chose to mention 'dumpers' only. Had I chosen to include liveaboad CCers I could have reduced my number of mobile boats to 2. I'm one of the "dumpers". Although all my boats have home moorings, I've been out on one or another of them all summer, returning to work intermittently for a few days at a time and leaving the boat out there, "dumped". Am I doing my boating all wrong? I never realised... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBiscuits Posted August 21, 2021 Report Share Posted August 21, 2021 11 hours ago, Slim said: However it wasn't the numbers out and moving that caused my blood pressure to raise it was the number of boats that had obviously been left unattended at popular locations thereby denying spaces to multiple mobile boats. I don't see why unattended makes any difference. If you were sat there on your boat watching for three days you are part of the 'problem', as your boat was also taking up a space and not mobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted August 21, 2021 Report Share Posted August 21, 2021 2 hours ago, TheBiscuits said: I don't see why unattended makes any difference. If you were sat there on your boat watching for three days you are part of the 'problem', as your boat was also taking up a space and not mobile. 2 nights actually. When I left I went further down, turned, not at Aynho, and passed by later that day. Obviously and understandably the space I had occupied had been taken. All other boats remained the same and looked set to stay at least another night. Should add that someone off one of the boats was staying there until his water ran out whilst the other had even offloaded his petrol lawnmower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Todd Posted August 21, 2021 Report Share Posted August 21, 2021 14 hours ago, Slim said: I've just spent a couple of weeks out on the Oxford and yes it was busy. However it wasn't the numbers out and moving that caused my blood pressure to raise it was the number of boats that had obviously been left unattended at popular locations thereby denying spaces to multiple mobile boats. By way of a not unrepresentative example, Immediately below the lift bridge at Aynho there were 9 or 10 boats moored. Of these, there were, I think, 6 unattended for at least 3 days. This was over a weekend so there was every likelihood that they were left for at least 2 weeks. Can you remind me of the rule that says that when mooring you have to be aboard the whole time? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanD Posted August 21, 2021 Report Share Posted August 21, 2021 I'd have thought the bigger problem is not the boats who moor legally for up to 14 days (on moorings that permit this) and then move on as required, it's the boats who stay on 48 hour ones for a week or more and 14 day ones for a month or more -- and going by the boats I pass regularly, there are plenty of both... 😞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmck Posted August 23, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 After the madness between Wigrams and Braunston, we started up the locks towards the tunnel late morning on Sunday. Fairly busy, but not overly so. Just before 2pm, we reached the bottom of the Watford flight. A convoy of boats were just about finished descending and one boat was moored below waiting to ascend. The last boat descending stopped for water, then we were up. A further five boats were waiting at the top, but as this was Crick show weekend, it was surprisingly quiet. We moored up once clear of the M1 rumble and headed for Crick tunnel. Passed one boat. Stopped at the services in Crick and then stopped at the first mooring under the bridge for a coop shop.it was empty of boats, maybe three or four moored. Now at bridge 25. It really is not busy for August, apart from certain honey spots. Then it's mostly hire boats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 On 21/08/2021 at 15:11, IanD said: I'd have thought the bigger problem is not the boats who moor legally for up to 14 days (on moorings that permit this) and then move on as required, it's the boats who stay on 48 hour ones for a week or more and 14 day ones for a month or more -- and going by the boats I pass regularly, there are plenty of both... 😞 There's been a widebeam on the 24hr VMs here for about a year, sporting the mandatory "Broken down, awaiting engine parts" sign written in Biro in the window. It moved off about a month back and is now CMing in a prime spot about a mile way. CRT enforcement seems to have gone to the dogs since Covid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanD Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 16 minutes ago, MtB said: There's been a widebeam on the 24hr VMs here for about a year, sporting the mandatory "Broken down, awaiting engine parts" sign written in Biro in the window. It moved off about a month back and is now CMing in a prime spot about a mile way. CRT enforcement seems to have gone to the dogs since Covid. This one hasn't moved since January -- unsurprisingly since it's got no means of propulsion... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, IanD said: This one hasn't moved since January -- unsurprisingly since it's got no means of propulsion... How does it stay there? I can't see any maureen lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 23, 2021 Report Share Posted August 23, 2021 1 minute ago, MtB said: How does it stay there? I can't see any maureen lines. You need to go to specsavers. I can see 2, minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted August 24, 2021 Report Share Posted August 24, 2021 Only met 15 boats between Ansty and Sutton Stop, didn't count once on the Coventry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandering snail Posted August 24, 2021 Report Share Posted August 24, 2021 Seems all the Kate boats and other hirers are on the GU at Warwick, including the one who hit us head on at a lick because he wasn't going to wait any longer at an aqueduct and hadn't the skills to get through without doing a Tim and Pru. His women in the bow thought it was hilarious as I listened to things crashing to the floor inside the boat..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave123 Posted August 26, 2021 Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 Middlewich to the bottom of Audlem was heaving earlier this month. Really enjoyed being a gongoozler in Nantwich for the day I moored there. Having come round the Trent and L&L most of the summer I haven't seen many boats moving at all! Saw some interesting traffic jams by the aqueduct in Nantwich caused by boats trying to pass on the tight bend😂. Shroppie much quieter once above the first lock in Audlem though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doratheexplorer Posted August 26, 2021 Report Share Posted August 26, 2021 I've been moored on the North Oxford between Braunston and Hillmorton for a couple of weeks. Never seen any canal so busy. For long periods of the day there seems to be a boat past every minute. The queues at the locks must be pretty big at times. Luckily there's pairs at Hillmorton and the locks are quick. I suspect Braunston flight has been a nightmare at times. I'm slowly heading towards Birmingham via the Coventry canal over the next couple of months, looking forward to things getting quieter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchcrawler Posted August 27, 2021 Report Share Posted August 27, 2021 On 26/08/2021 at 09:57, doratheexplorer said: I've been moored on the North Oxford between Braunston and Hillmorton for a couple of weeks. Never seen any canal so busy. For long periods of the day there seems to be a boat past every minute. The queues at the locks must be pretty big at times. Luckily there's pairs at Hillmorton and the locks are quick. I suspect Braunston flight has been a nightmare at times. I'm slowly heading towards Birmingham via the Coventry canal over the next couple of months, looking forward to things getting quieter. We were traveling North on Sunday I I was meeting a boat every quarter of a mile I would say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty40s Posted August 27, 2021 Report Share Posted August 27, 2021 Just wait until Toad Hall, a 14ft x65 or 70 ft widebeam comes over the top, caused chaos around here today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MtB Posted August 27, 2021 Report Share Posted August 27, 2021 5 hours ago, matty40s said: Just wait until Toad Hall, a 14ft x65 or 70 ft widebeam comes over the top, caused chaos around here today. One of the nicest things about the Oxford is that (most of) it is a narrow canal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave123 Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Well this was the 48h moorings at the Fox and Anchor in Cross Green on the Staffs&Worcs yesterday. August bank holiday at 4pm and not a single boat on the rings! I can remember first coming here May 2012 and having to go right past round the corner before finding a space. I think what used to make a mooring popular is perhaps changing, for all sorts of reasons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmck Posted August 31, 2021 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 2 hours ago, Dave123 said: Well this was the 48h moorings at the Fox and Anchor in Cross Green on the Staffs&Worcs yesterday. August bank holiday at 4pm and not a single boat on the rings! I can remember first coming here May 2012 and having to go right past round the corner before finding a space. I think what used to make a mooring popular is perhaps changing, for all sorts of reasons? That was exactly our experience. If you planned a stop, invariably, you had no problem mooring, even in spots that previously had been very busy. There may be more boats on the system, but many must rarely leave their home mooring. Our current marina a case in point for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggis Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 We are on the Weaver and had a wee trip down to Saltersford lock with friends and we hardly saw any boats. When we came back the pontoons below the lift were full and there were a few boats moored on the bank. In Northwich the pontoons were full and we m.oored on the wall to shop (I had to be hauled up onto the edge by Iain and another boater 😀). After shopping we moved off the wall and as the moorings opposite the marina were full we moved on and moored with three other boats below Hunts lock. Haven't seen this area so busy before Haggis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthound Posted September 4, 2021 Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 Just back from a few days on the Trent and Mersey. First day put took two hours to get through Glascote 😣 After that it wasn't too busy except for Wood End Lock at Fradley. We shot up the first two locks, without queues, but found our selves 5th in a queue for Wood End lock, which only has one top paddle working (still). The defining thing on this trip was the lack of consideration by other boaters. Boats moored overnight on the waterpoint at Great Haywood. Strangely they didn't appreciate me mooring alongside to get water at 07:00. Boats moored overnight on lock moorings, boaters speeding past when we were moored and, on the way back, having to follow a boat on tickover from Huddlesford Junction to Fazeley Junction., who despite getting close to him and Mrs Hound asking nicely, refused to let us past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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