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Anderton Boat Lift going to reduced operation times from 4th Oct 2021


frangar

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1 minute ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

You don't.  Next available passage is free. 

I tried to book one over the summer like that….near impossible on the day. The trip boat seems to use them….. Why should there be a charge anyway??

Edited by frangar
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4 minutes ago, frangar said:

I tried to book one over the summer like that….near impossible on the day. 

 

So you got a slot then?  I got passage both ways free in  mid-July.  There weren't any available slots the day I turned up so I went the day after down the lift.  Coming back up I got a slot the same day.

 

If you absolutely must transit at a specific day/time then booking in advance seems reasonable, as does CRT charging for this convenience.

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7 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

So you got a slot then?  I got passage both ways free in  mid-July.  There weren't any available slots the day I turned up so I went the day after down the lift.  Coming back up I got a slot the same day.

 

If you absolutely must transit at a specific day/time then booking in advance seems reasonable, as does CRT charging for this convenience.

Nope. Couldn’t get a slot for the day I wanted. I wasn’t going to pay on principle…what next? Paying for Harecastle/Standedge….paying to pass through Cromwell or Keadby? 

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2 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Always seemed reasonable to me. If you want to turn up and take your chances on the day then there’s no charge. If you want to book ahead and reserve a slot then a  payment’s required. Is it still £5?


 

Why reasonable? It’s all online now…you don’t even take up any staff time with the booking…it’s turning the system into a theme park in my opinion.  The excuse I’ve heard is it dissuades people from booking and not turning up…well if that was the case far better to charge £50 if you don’t cancel a booking and don’t show. 

1 minute ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Paying for locks and miles.  Gauged on displacement, obviously.

 

You can't really claim it's a new idea!

That would be ok if the licence was scrapped…..

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1 minute ago, Goliath said:

I’ve never booked I’ve always turned up and got a slot. 

Booking is an option not a must, if you don’t want to pay don’t book. 

 

That seems reasonable. 
 

Was there once a time when you could book in advance for free?

I too have previously turned up and spoken to the nice lady in the office and got a passage...however there now seems to be less slots online than previously available in person for whatever reason with most of one day taken up with a maintenance window....when the office did the booking you could get a passage once the maintenance was completed......however the computer doesn't know such niceties so locks out the whole morning. I just feel the Weaver is getting sidelined along with reduced lock openings and some locks closing at very short notice....hardly encouraging its use....I also can see the charges creeping in for other bookings...once again the boater paying more directly over other users.

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1 minute ago, frangar said:

I too have previously turned up and spoken to the nice lady in the office and got a passage...however there now seems to be less slots online than previously available in person for whatever reason with most of one day taken up with a maintenance window....when the office did the booking you could get a passage once the maintenance was completed......however the computer doesn't know such niceties so locks out the whole morning. I just feel the Weaver is getting sidelined along with reduced lock openings and some locks closing at very short notice....hardly encouraging its use....I also can see the charges creeping in for other bookings...once again the boater paying more directly over other users.

Seem to remember that after it was reopened in 2002 after a 20 year closure that it cost £35 to use the lift!

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1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

How about in the winter months when its booking only, do you have to pay then?

 

No, unless its changed, we spent half a winter on the Weaver with a fair few ups and downs the lift. It needs booking but I don't think we paid, the locks need booking in the winter too. In summer we have always just turned up and got a slot the same day. We've been up the ship canal too and that needed a booking to get onto the Weaver and that was free but considering this ties up two CRT staff for a couple of hours maybe a small charge would be reasonable?

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2 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

No, unless its changed, we spent half a winter on the Weaver with a fair few ups and downs the lift. It needs booking but I don't think we paid, the locks need booking in the winter too. In summer we have always just turned up and got a slot the same day. We've been up the ship canal too and that needed a booking to get onto the Weaver and that was free but considering this ties up two CRT staff for a couple of hours maybe a small charge would be reasonable?

Or maybe that’s why we pay a licence fee!! 🤦🏻‍♂️

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4 minutes ago, frangar said:

Or maybe that’s why we pay a licence fee!! 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

Its a difficult one. As I said we spent half a winter on the Weaver whilst still sort of continuously cruising and so used a lot of CRT staff time getting us through locks. A small charge might be ok but the the beancounters have a nasty habit of silly accounting and might conclude it costs £1000 to get a boat through a lock.

Don't quote me but CRT did say that they would turn a blind eye if we found a quiet spot and did a bit less moving 😀.

Maybe boaters like us who make very heavy demands on the system should pay just a little more????

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Make it boater operated for free passage. How many turns of your windlass on the hydraulic spindle does it take to lift a caisson?

This is what your £5 is paying for. A very knackered Blue Shirt CaRT person to crank the hydraulics.

hydraulic.jpg.6d58fa8961a9f29c97bdec21e776f8ae.jpg

Edited by Jen-in-Wellies
  • Haha 1
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Similar to when we were on the G&S, we would go out for a trip which would involve passing through 4 or 5 swing bridges and then turn round and come back again. We just expected then to be manned when we wanted to go through, sometimes we wouldn't see another boat moving so an expensive business if paying a full time staff member to sit at each bridge on the off chance a boat should come along.  When they started requiring booking last year it was a pain and curtailed some of our boating as there wasn't sufficient time slots to book all the bridges in one day but I could understand with reduced staff not wanting them sat around doing nothing.

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I have to say I’m shocked and disappointed at some of the replies on here…to my mind the canals are for travelling and navigation…for which we are the only user group that directly pay as well as indirectly …sadly it seems others don’t think this or have the means to pay for the privilege….

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