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Can I escape from Sheffield and get far in a narrow boat or only a grp cruiser?


Polly Perkins

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8 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

I don't do that sort of thing any more, if I can help it. Now have a bike trailer for the big shop as I was concerned about the cumulative spinal damage!

 

Jen, please.

Please.

Don't tell me about spine damage- what about the damage that could be done to half a dozen innocent cans of beer by being jostled about in a bike trailer? 

 

(and my apologies Polly- I wont spoil what is a very informative thread with any further nonsense)  

 

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21 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

 

Cheers Jen, I use a monstrous 65 litre hiking backpack for shopping, so if I had to get petrol for a GRP boat (or, God forbid, I had to fetch diesel for my own boat), I could certainly do that.

 

I routinely carry 30kg of shopping in the backpack on my bike, so 20 litres of diesel wouldn't worry me at all.

But I suppose in a GRP cruiser you'd want to have a dedicated fuel rucksack, because no matter what you did, I bet the smell would permeate it, and make it no good for shopping.

 

 

 

65 litres of waterproofs and underwear is very different to 65 litres of liquid. We once moored at Pewsey Wharf (K&A) and walked into Pewsey village and purchased about 30 litres of beer (and other drinks) and I barely made it back to the boat, and I was younger in those days.

 

Ocado, Waitrose and Tesco now deliver the beer and dog food right to the boat, I wonder if they do diesel? 😀

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3 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

65 litres of waterproofs and underwear is very different to 65 litres of liquid.

 

I feel your pain bro.

 

I've tried hauling 30 litres of beer in preparation for a long period of off grid spiritual contemplation at Whixall Moss, and I think I was damaged psychologically.

My poor bike may never be the same again.

 

I never underestimate the challenge of transporting large quantities of beer. 

 

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9 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

 

I feel your pain bro.

 

I've tried hauling 30 litres of beer in preparation for a long period of off grid spiritual contemplation at Whixall Moss, and I think I was damaged psychologically.

My poor bike may never be the same again.

 

I never underestimate the challenge of transporting large quantities of beer. 

 

This reminds me of a trip many years ago, Easter 1996 I think. This was the first of the post-University trips at Easter where a group of 12 of us hired a 70' boat, on this occasion 'Great Britain' from Union Canal Carriers at Braunston, and did some fairly serious miles in it over the course of a week or two. We took a keg of beer along but by the time we had got up to Fazeley Junction we had run out so I was detailed to cycle into Tamworth the following morning and get some more. I had a large rucksack and the aim was to fill it with cans of beer, and a loaf of bread. I put the rucksack in the trolley at Tesco and filled it with cans as I went along, to work out how many it would hold, the answer being 56, and then I went back the other way around the shop to get the bread. The thing was, the store security man had seen this bloke in his early 20s with a long ponytail and decided that loading all the beer directly into the rucksack was highly suspicious, but he became completely confused when I went the opposite way to what he was expecting to get the bread, which actually managed to lose him. He came hurtling down to the checkout, where he found me unloading cans onto the conveyor belt at the checkout, whereupon he slunk off again. Once loaded up I hoisted the rucksack on my back and walked out of the shop. The next problem was how to bend down and unlock the D-lock on the bike without toppling over! A kind passer-by did it for me and I was away, at a very stately pace back to the canal. The beer proved to be sufficient fortunately.

 

Alec

Edited by agg221
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16 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

 

I feel your pain bro.

 

I've tried hauling 30 litres of beer in preparation for a long period of off grid spiritual contemplation at Whixall Moss, and I think I was damaged psychologically.

My poor bike may never be the same again.

 

I never underestimate the challenge of transporting large quantities of beer. 

 

 

We had an Ocado delivery at Aynho, which requires a 100yard walk to the boat. A passing boater took it upon himself to help carry the bags of bottles. He thought we were having a party, what could I say?

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14 minutes ago, agg221 said:

This reminds me of a trip many years ago, Easter 1996 I think. This was the first of the post-University trips at Easter where a group of 12 of us hired a 70' boat, on this occasion 'Great Britain' from Union Canal Carriers at Braunston, and did some fairly serious miles in it over the course of a week or two. We took a keg of beer along but by the time we had got up to Fazeley Junction we had run out so I was detailed to cycle into Tamworth the following morning and get some more. I had a large rucksack and the aim was to fill it with cans of beer, and a loaf of bread. I put the rucksack in the trolley at Tesco and filled it with cans as I went along, to work out how many it would hold, the answer being 56, and then I went back the other way around the shop to get the bread. The thing was, the store security man had seen this bloke in his early 20s with a long ponytail and decided that loading all the beer directly into the rucksack was highly suspicious, but he became completely confused when I went the opposite way to what he was expecting to get the bread, which actually managed to lose him. He came hurtling down to the checkout, where he found me unloading cans onto the conveyor belt at the checkout, whereupon he slunk off again. Once loaded up I hoisted the rucksack on my back and walked out of the shop. The next problem was how to bend down and unlock the D-lock on the bike without toppling over! A kind passer-by did it for me and I was away, at a very stately pace back to the canal. The beer proved to be sufficient fortunately.

 

Alec

 

We passed one of their boats (with a large male crew) last week at Hillmorton. I complemented them on the impressive collection of empties in the semi trad, they sheepishly replied "what you see is just the tip of the iceberg"

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24 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

 

Can I ask Tom- do you use a bike to get to petrol stations? And how do you transport the fuel?

I ask because I had to fetch diesel from a petrol station last Sept in order to keep my new boating buddy moving, and they said over their forecourt loudspeaker that I was only allowed to take 10 litres, although my jerrycan could hold 20.  

I made two visits to the pump in the end, but it was hassle that I could've done without. 

If I'd had to go further I'd have used my bike, but can you carry 10 or 20 litres of petrol in a jerrycan within a backpack? Do they allow that?

 

Tony - I'm a leisure boater and on the boat I have a 12-litre demountable tank with carrying handle, and two 5-litre plastic petrol cans. These are manageable enough for two of them to be carried full, and there are two supermarket filling stations within a 10 minute walk of the towpath. One is 7 hours cruise from the marina.  The other is four hours in the opposite direction. So far, I've managed to do all my cruising within the range that these two filling stations allow.  But now that my ancient outboard is being replaced with a brand new one (tomorrow) I expect to be covering greater distances and will have to be prepared to walk for longer to get petrol.  I'm thinking of getting one of those lightweight, folding sack trucks.

 

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2 minutes ago, Tom Morgan said:

Tony - I'm a leisure boater and on the boat I have a 12-litre demountable tank with carrying handle, and two 5-litre plastic petrol cans. These are manageable enough for two of them to be carried full, and there are two supermarket filling stations within a 10 minute walk of the towpath. One is 7 hours cruise from the marina.  The other is four hours in the opposite direction. So far, I've managed to do all my cruising within the range that these two filling stations allow.  But now that my ancient outboard is being replaced with a brand new one (tomorrow) I expect to be covering greater distances and will have to be prepared to walk for longer to get petrol.  I'm thinking of getting one of those lightweight, folding sack trucks.

 

 

Tom, if you're going to be travelling further afield, and given that the petrol stations wont let you take more than 10 or 15 litres anyway, why not get a bike and a rucksack to carry the jerrycan?

It would allow you to reach any petrol station within 5 miles, and you could get there a lot faster than on foot. 

 

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11 minutes ago, Tony1 said:

 

Tom, if you're going to be travelling further afield, and given that the petrol stations wont let you take more than 10 or 15 litres anyway, why not get a bike and a rucksack to carry the jerrycan?

It would allow you to reach any petrol station within 5 miles, and you could get there a lot faster than on foot. 

 

 

I suspect the 10 litre limit imposed by a petrol station on a poster upthread might have been more to do with the bicycle he arrived on, than what the law says may be purchased. 

 

Should a cyclist filling up a can at a pump elect to just cycle away without paying, there is naff-all the petrol station staff can do about it as the CCTV will not have recorded a registration number to trace the 'drive-off'. Limiting a sale to cyclist to 10 litres, limits their potential loss in the case of a theft to about £14. 

 

 

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5 hours ago, Polly Perkins said:

I've got 15k now but expect to have 22-25k v.soon. I'm wondering if I'd be better off starting with a cheaper small GRP to see if I fall in love with the water in the first instance and saving for grander schemes in a few years. I'll hire something soon for a week. 

Sheffield has a really nice community of luvaboards that I think I'd enjoy being around but I'm planning, for the moment, just short to medium breaks. 

Bed, cooker, toilet, sink and table are all I'll need in the short term. 

How do you know Sheffield has a really nice community of livaboards? Don’t be fooled by any b@ll@x you here from the pub down there or what has been recently written in the press.

  I have moored in Sheffield the last 12 years and know the place better then anyone, so don’t listen to any one that drinks in the pub calling themselves a boater, the ones that drink there have never done any boating and have little knowledge of boats. The place has changed over the last few years with more people coming down, there is no security down there and more people are drinking around the boats and around the Quays. The Marina operator has no interest in his Marina and is rarely there and there is no manned office as such and has hade himself very un-contactable with telephone numbers. The moorers are left to fend for themselves and there is a lot of discontent down there actually. You would be better off mooring at Eastwood, Doncaster, Long Sandall, Bramwith, Stainforth, Thorne or somewhere where you have not got to use the Tinsley Flight, as you can’t just go out when you please and when the river is in flood everything locks down. The flight has not been maintained well over the years so is now paying the price with repairs and stoppages, like the one at the minute.  Also remember it is not a manned flight but assisted, so you have to do the locks yourself unless there is a volunteer on the day. If you know what your doing and are quick you can get to Doncaster in a day if all goes well, but it’s two days to get back to Sheffield with the opening times of the flight. So no good for a day out, unlike moorings around Doncaster that I mentioned. 

 I would not and cannot recommend mooring in Sheffield anymore as there are better places close to Sheffield, which are proper Marina’s that look after their moorers and have more facilities and are far better suited if you want to use and explore the Northern canal system on a regular basis. 

  Have you been down and actually talked to anyone that moors there? and I’m not talking about people in the pub.

Edited by PD1964
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I'm from Sheffield as well, I've also had a narrowboat for 10+ years. I've never had the boat on the SSYN. Unfortunately for me, Sheffield (my beloved home city) is on the arse end of the system. Ie it's a dead end and a very long dead end with limited cruising opportunities.  My boat has always been in the Midlands.  I used to be moored near Rugeley and it was only an hour and 10 mins by car (not at peak times), Sawley Marina where I was moored many moons ago, was only an hour.....

 

Where I'm moored at the moment is approx an hour and twenty mins to an hour and forty mins away from home depending on traffic / time of day.

 

My advice would be, if you're not planning on living aboard,  is to NOT have the boat moored in Sheffield.

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8 hours ago, Polly Perkins said:

 

I have to be in Sheffield most of the time still,  but can take long breaks and work from away enough to make it worth it. I'd like to take regular 4 days breaks, on my own or with 1 other. 

I've only ever been a passenger in an NB and a GRP so I'm looking for advice on how to sensibly get started.

How old are you if you don’t mind me asking? Also are you living on the boat?
A lot of people find the Tinsley Flight hard to do, you do not get people going out for 4 day stints, it’s just too much hard work for that short of time.

Also 4 day breaks from Sheffield would not get you far, you would not get much further then Doncaster and back to Sheffield in that time with relaxed days cruising.

  With your budget and the way narrowboat prices are going and your talk about GRP’s I would get a good GRP and try to get a mooring at Strawberry Island, Doncaster, they have a good club set up and you could get out to places far easier with the majority of locks/bridges being electrically operated, so far easier to go some distance to half decent locations and back in 4 days.

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9 hours ago, Tony1 said:

 

I feel your pain bro.

 

I've tried hauling 30 litres of beer in preparation for a long period of off grid spiritual contemplation at Whixall Moss, and I think I was damaged psychologically.

My poor bike may never be the same again.

 

I never underestimate the challenge of transporting large quantities of beer. 

 

The problem is having the beer in a rucksack. If the beer were transferred to the stomach before cycling back, it will be closer to the centre of mass of the body. People who drink a lot of beer tend to have a lot of centre of mass around the stomach, from what I've seen! You will also be nicely aneathetised and won't notice when you wobble in to a ditch, the cut, or the path of an oncoming artic.

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I’m in a similar, er, boat to the OP so have been reading with interest, although I’m just down the road in Nottingham rather than Sheffield…

 

Given work, family etc. I’m only ever going to have time for relatively short trips away so I’ve pretty much made up my mind that a GRP cruiser will suit me fine. Also, given the range that I can travel in a fatter boat from Nottingham, I’m not that fussed about it being a narrowbeam. There are some lovely looking boats for £25k ish although, from talking to a few brokers, it seems like GRP boats are also selling like hot cakes right now. 

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11 hours ago, Neil2 said:

Bear in mind that once you get beyond Tinsley you are on a river navigation and beyond Rotherham the locks are massive - this might be a bit intimidating if you have little or no experience.

spacer.png

 

Eastwood is the first lock beyond Rotherham, picture from yesterday afternoon. (Some more here)

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12 hours ago, Tony1 said:

 

Cheers Jen, I use a monstrous 65 litre hiking backpack for shopping, so if I had to get petrol for a GRP boat (or, God forbid, I had to fetch diesel for my own boat), I could certainly do that.

 

I routinely carry 30kg of shopping in the backpack on my bike, so 20 litres of diesel wouldn't worry me at all.

But I suppose in a GRP cruiser you'd want to have a dedicated fuel rucksack, because no matter what you did, I bet the smell would permeate it, and make it no good for shopping.

 

 

I use a small sack barrow with a collapsable handle.Bought from a garden centre.

Fits nicely under the fwd deck.

 

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1 hour ago, PeterScott said:

spacer.png

 

Eastwood is the first lock beyond Rotherham, picture from yesterday afternoon. (Some more here)

I think I can count on one hand the number of GRP’s moored at Tinsley & Sheffield. They just don’t go there due to the Flight, most are moored at Tulley’s and beyond. They just find the Flight hard work and I don’t know of any boats that go out for 4 day or short trips on a regular basis, like the OP thinks she is going to do, it’s just hard work due to various factors, booking, flood levels, maintenance and stoppages. Hopefully the OP will do her research and moor in a more appropriate location if she wants to use her boat on a regular basis for short excursions.

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17 minutes ago, Mad Harold said:

I use a small sack barrow with a collapsable handle.Bought from a garden centre.

Fits nicely under the fwd deck.

 

 

I do have one of those trolleys, but I only used it to fetch coal when I was the marina last winter. 

I most often moor in quieter spots, and that often means being a mile or three away from shops, so I dont often shop on foot for groceries. It seems to be almost all by bike.

I think my longest shopping trips were at Whixall, when I had to cycle about 7 miles to the Whitchurch Sainsburys. 

So I'm finding that a trolley/trailer towed by a bike is more useful, for more of the time. 

With that said, I didn't want to tow the trailer for 14 miles. I would worry about how much bouncing around was going on down those rutted lanes. , and what state the beer and groceries would be in after that kind of trip- so I still tend to use the bike plus rucksack.

 

 

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16 hours ago, enigmatic said:

The other possibility if you want to test your love and patience for narrowboats with lots of breaks would be buying into a boatshare. You don't get as much choice of which days you spend away, but you do get access to a nicely maintained narrowboat within your budget.

 

The only problem with shared ownership.(I had shares from 1992-2014) is that it is almost impossible to get days or weeks away in the summer at short notice, because all of the co-owners take their pre-booked holidays then. However it is a different story in winter when extra breaks are often available.

 

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It's a lot of information to take in when you're new here. What's most likely to happen though, is that against your situation and some practicalities you are just going to fall in love with a boat you see online, or view in person, as most of us did. Like with house hunting, you know when you're home. What I'm saying in essence is yes take a considered approach, it's smart to do so, but don't feel overwhelmed and enjoy this process shopping for a boat getting on lots of them and looking around. A lot of it will happen naturally. 

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