Travelling in a 10ft wide boat from Doncaster to London

[Noviceboata]

Hi All,

Thinking of buying a 10ft wide boat and crusing from Doncaster to London and was just wondering how far i could get before the canal becomes too narrow (So I've heared) and  have to crane the boat out of the water? Also, also, where would be the nearest place I could put the boat back into the water so I could continue the Journey to London? I heard it is Watford

[howardang]

7 minutes ago, AndrewKyiv said:

Hi All,

Thinking of buying a 10ft wide boat and crusing from Doncaster to London and was just wondering how far i could get before the canal becomes too narrow (So I've heared) and  have to crane the boat out of the water? Also, also, where would be the nearest place I could put the boat back into the water so I could continue the Journey to London? I heard it is Watford

You may find this useful to plan your route. You can set the boats dimensions etc in the settings.

 

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

 

Howard

 

[Alan de Enfield]

16 minutes ago, AndrewKyiv said:

Hi All,

Thinking of buying a 10ft wide boat and crusing from Doncaster to London and was just wondering how far i could get before the canal becomes too narrow (So I've heared) and  have to crane the boat out of the water? Also, also, where would be the nearest place I could put the boat back into the water so I could continue the Journey to London? I heard it is Watford

 

There is a short section of narrow canals (7 foot limit) in the 'middle of the country' (imagine a line roughly across from Leicester to Birmingham)

 

You can see the 'narrow canals' on these maps

 

Points A, B & C on the 'white' map show the restriction points between North and South

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Alan de Enfield

[Tim Lewis]

On inland waterways Foxton in Leicestershire is as far south as you will get though you will have to investigate where you can get it lifted out before getting that far.

 

You don't need to go as far as Watford get back onto wide canals, anywhere on the Grand Union from Braunston South where you can find a crane will be fine.

 

Best get advise from an experienced crane/lorry company such as Tuckeys or Ray Bowern

 

If you do want lifting in at Watford P & S at Cassiobury are are the go to place to get a boat lifted in near London on the Grand Union

 

If you are in a hurry I imagine that the cost of moving the boat from Doncaster to Watford by lorry will not be considerably more than the trip to get around the restricted Leicester section!

 

Tim 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Tim Lewis

[ditchcrawler]

40 minutes ago, Tim Lewis said:

 

 

If you are in a hurry I imagine that the cost of moving the boat from Doncaster to Watford by lorry will not be considerably more than the trip to get around the restricted Leicester section!

 

Tim 

Probably less than the diesel the OP will burn doing the trip

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Also, some wide beam canals will be a hassle. Saddington Tunnel, between Leicester and Foxton for one. Blisworth Tunnel on the Grand Union too. Both will need booking with CaRT to ensure you don't meet a narrowboat coming the other way while underground. All depending on where the boat is lifted out and dropped back in.

[Barneyp]

From a financial point of view trying to find the shortest the 2 closest places to take the boat out and put it back in probably isn't sensible.

You're likely to have to pay for a lorry for a whole day and the fuel cost is only a small part of that.

The cost of taking out and putting back in to the water are likely to be high, and you may well be able to significantly reduce them if you lengthen the road journey.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Barneyp

[Jen-in-Wellies]

2 minutes ago, Barneyp said:

From a financial point of view trying to find the shortest the 2 closest places to take the boat out and put it back in probably isn't sensible.

You're likely to have to pay for a lorry for a whole day and the fuel cost is only a small part of that.

The cost of taking out and putting back in to the water are likely to be high, and you may well be able to significantly reduce them if you lengthen the road journey.

Cost of lifting boats varies a lot from yard to yard and as with most things boat related, it tends to get cheaper as you go north, Yards that have their own crane will likely be cheaper than yards that have to get one in. Also, a 10' boat is likely to be heavy, so it can limit lifting capacity and reach that a crane can handle. No substitute for a lot of ringing around. Be honest with the likely weight of your boat when getting quotes. Cranes have load cells on them and they will know if it is too heavy.

[ditchcrawler]

46 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Cost of lifting boats varies a lot from yard to yard and as with most things boat related, it tends to get cheaper as you go north, Yards that have their own crane will likely be cheaper than yards that have to get one in. Also, a 10' boat is likely to be heavy, so it can limit lifting capacity and reach that a crane can handle. No substitute for a lot of ringing around. Be honest with the likely weight of your boat when getting quotes. Cranes have load cells on them and they will know if it is too heavy.

When I launched I used Calcutt as they have their own lifting equipment but I don't know if they can handle wide beam. They were reasonably priced and it didn't matter what time the lorry turned up so made planning easier.

[john6767]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

When I launched I used Calcutt as they have their own lifting equipment but I don't know if they can handle wide beam. They were reasonably priced and it didn't matter what time the lorry turned up so made planning easier.

Calcutt don’t have their own lift at the moment, did that actually take a wide beam anyway?  They hire a crane in to lift off a truck.

[Alan de Enfield]

It is surpring how large a crane you need.

 

Our Marina hires in a 100 tonne crane at a cost of £2000 for the day ad it will lift out ~30 boats on 'lift-out day'.

 

We weigh 11 tonnes but because of the reach needed we actually set off his overload alarm and he had to reposition.

 

I cannot imagine that a crane to lift a widebeam will be cheap if it is being brought in to do a single lift.

 

 

 

[GUMPY]

Lift it near where it is, drop it back near where you want to be, cost will be much the same as boating with a short distance lift if you take into account the diesel used whist boating.

That's what I did with Parglena from Hebden Bridge to  Berkhamsted

[PeterF]

8 hours ago, AndrewKyiv said:

Also, also, where would be the nearest place I could put the boat back into the water so I could continue the Journey to London? I heard it is Watford

I think you are confusing Watford locks with the town of Watford. Watford locks are in Northhamptonshire, not in Watford and are the first narrow locks if travelling northwards.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

27 minutes ago, PeterF said:

I think you are confusing Watford locks with the town of Watford. Watford locks are in Northhamptonshire, not in Watford and are the first narrow locks if travelling northwards.

Watford locks are next to Watford Gap Services on the M1 and the small village of Watford, in Northamptonshire, so a fair distance from the other Watford.

For boat yards with cranes nearish to Doncaster, Newark Marina has one that I know has lifted wide beam boats. Three days or so trip from Doncaster, but uses the tidal river Trent, so ambitious in a new to you boat.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

For boat yards with cranes nearish to Doncaster, Newark Marina has one that I know has lifted wide beam boats.

 

Lift out is (was) £13.20 + VAT per metre length. If it needs to 'hold' in the hoist awaiting a truck there is an extra hourly charge.

 

We are 14' beam and it lifted us easily :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Alan de Enfield

[jake_crew]

Going up the Trent is not a trivial exercise.

 

Its tidal until Cromwell - near Newark.

Edited May 29, 2022 by jake_crew

[Momac]

18 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

 Also, a 10' boat is likely to be heavy, 

That's possible.

The OP didn't say what the length , draft , air height or construction of the boat is. 

22 minutes ago, jake_crew said:

Going up the Trent is not a trivial exercise.

 

Its tidal until Nottingham.

The R.Trent is non-tidal above Cromwell.

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by MartynG

[Jen-in-Wellies]

10 minutes ago, MartynG said:

That's possible.

The OP didn't say what the length , draft , air height or construction of the boat is. 

If it is light in weight, then the crane at Viking Marine in Goole might be suitable. An easier trip and probably the closest place to Doncaster with an in situ crane. It doesn't have the capacity to lift a steel narrowboat, for example, being more suitable for plastic gin palaces, but if the OP's boat is a light grp wide beam, then it could be a possibility.

[Momac]

56 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

...........plastic gin palaces..........

I feel  sure you , and others,  wouldn't like it if I started using offensive  terms to describe narrowboats .

[Jen-in-Wellies]

4 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I feel  sure you , and others,  wouldn't like it if I started using offensive  terms to describe narrowboats .

Sewer tubes. There you go.

It is possible to feel sure, but still be wrong.

Edited May 29, 2022 by Jen-in-Wellies

[jpcdriver]

Isn't there a crane at Nationwide Narrowboat Sales, Thorne now? Although it think it was fairly limited in weight capacity.

[ditchcrawler]

24 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Sewer tubes. There you go.

 

Who go ditch crawling.  How about that?

[Barneyp]

31 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I feel  sure you , and others,  wouldn't like it if I started using offensive  terms to describe narrowboats .

I own a 50+ year old grp Norman 23, if some one called it a "plastic gin palace" I'd take it as a compliment.

[Momac]

36 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

 

It is possible to feel sure, but still be wrong.

Yes it is . Many things are possible.

It is always possible to be polite.

 

 

 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

I retract "plastic gin palaces" and replace with "yoghurt pots".