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Practical dimensions of Leeds and Liverpool canal


Tam & Di

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Someone asked about the possibility of moving his 60' x 14'9" boat from Knottingley on the Aire & Calder to the Weaver via the L&L. We did own L&L long boat Cadellis which was 74' x 14'7" as I recall but that only worked on the Liverpool end. I've provisionally told this guy that his is too wide - am I correct?

 

Tam

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Yes and no...why ask questions about something that just might be possibly when there is something that really isn't possible......unless he fancies the Ribble and round to the Mersey and up the ship canal that is 😀

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1 hour ago, Tam & Di said:

A bit irrelevant if he can't get it over the Pennines  🤷‍♂️

 

Tam

 

We are a tad over 14 foot beam and we made it from Newark to North Wales, but it was only possible to do it by truck, and, that was a truck with a trailer that could lowered down to 4" above the road so we could get under the motorway bridges.

 

We looked at going down the Trent and, going out onto the North Sea, up the coast, in and down the Caledonian Canal and then down to Liverpool, or out at Hull, down the coast, all around the South Coast then turn right at Lands End and again at Anglesey.

 

Truck was the cheapest, quickest and really the only viable route.

 

 

 

21-10-19t small.jpg

 

 

21-10-19v.jpg

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

Out at Liverpool onto the Mersey, in at Eastham and onto the Weaver? Or perhaps via the Leigh Branches and Pomona Lock (if big enough) to the Ship Canal?

Yes, Ive not got my thinking head on today, especially as we have watched boats going from Liverpool onto the Mersey from both of the available locks 😀

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1 hour ago, dmr said:

Yes, Ive not got my thinking head on today, especially as we have watched boats going from Liverpool onto the Mersey from both of the available locks 😀

Also depends on the dimensions of the Liverpool Link locks.

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The L&LC Company quoted 14 feet 4 inches as the maximum width. I do have various lists of dimensions going back to the 19th century, and the narrowest lock is given at Bingley 3-rise top lock at 14 feet 8 inches. It is always difficult to be precise with lock dimensions as it depends upon how the measurements are taken. The 14 feet 8 inches could well be the chamber width, with the lock gates reducing the available space. L&LC gates used to have wooden protective strips to stop boats from rubbing directly onto the gate structure, and these could have taken a few inches off any overall measurement. The 1890 sketches below of Wigan locks does show how the dimensions varied. They were made when the fall of the locks were being evened out to reduce water usage. Note the depth of the top lock at Aspull. It is now around 11 feet.

1890 Wigan locks 692.jpg

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Height is even more difficult to give advice on than width and length. It depends upon the type of bridge, ie whether it is a round arch or a flat beam, and then on the width of the boat. The maximum height of a narrow boat that can fit through a wide arch is more than for a wide boat, so you need to check the worst bridges before travelling any distance. I always used the old Leigh Bridge as a guide for arched bridges, though that has now been rebuilt, and Shipley for flat beam bridges: it was lower on the Leeds side than the Bingley side, though there may be other lower flat beam bridges today. 

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Around 1980 I took a Manvers size keel across the L&L. It had a beam of 14ft 8in and got stuck in Bingley 3 Rise middle lock. We removed the D section rubbing strike each side and got to Manchester.  Air draft was an issue in Foulridge tunnel where we stuck for 5 hours until the water level was lowered sightly. . On arrival at Wigan the Area Engineer came out and said 'this has been a one way trip! 

Shipley Bridge is very low. 

David.

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Even on wider canals, it leaves me bewildered when wide boats moor up where a boat their width would struggle to pass or have to run through a well established jungle on the off side to get past. It could be them having to crawl their boat past through the forest. I went past one this week and was wondering about their thinking. Is it lack of any awareness or knowing and not giving a sh**. 

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