Canal Maintenance

[WARLEY WALKERS]

I note that CRT have changed contactors for the maintenance of the canals

 

Reason I noticed the change is the current state of the towpaths (West Midlands area) since April has dropped off  the scale.

 

Grass not been cut and trees left where they fell.

 

Previous contractors Fountains, weren’t prefect, but at least the canals where safe, but the new contractors appear lacking either guidance or ability

 

Have CRT put cost before safety?

 

I have contacted CRT but had no response, hence has anyone else noted the above?

[Jen-in-Wellies]

We need to carry an elephant gun and a machete when forging a path through the grass here. There is supposed to be a campaign to not mow your lawn in May as an insect conservation thing. No idea if this is the reason, but I'd have thought CaRT would have publicised it if it was.

[PCSB]

Don't know about "no mow May" but maybe this will help explain ...

Mowing less, growing more | Canal & River Trust (canalrivertrust.org.uk)

 

[Ronaldo47]

I think this extract from the above link speaks volumes.

 

Aside from the ecological benefits, the new strategy looks set to save vital funds that can now be diverted to other important projects.

 

 

 

[nicknorman]

3 hours ago, WARLEY WALKERS said:

I note that CRT have changed contactors for the maintenance of the canals

 

Reason I noticed the change is the current state of the towpaths (West Midlands area) since April has dropped off  the scale.

 

Grass not been cut and trees left where they fell.

 

Previous contractors Fountains, weren’t prefect, but at least the canals where safe, but the new contractors appear lacking either guidance or ability

 

Have CRT put cost before safety?

 

I have contacted CRT but had no response, hence has anyone else noted the above?

As soon as you talk about safety, you have lost me. You want to go walking in the countryside, but you expect the countryside to be manicured for your safety. No, that is not how the world is. If you need manicured well cut grass to ensure your safety then please stick to walking in urban parks. The real, natural world outside the city is very dangerous, there are dragons. And long grass.

[tree monkey]

The new contractors will be in the early phase of the new contract, until they mobilise completely there will be areas missed, not ideal but it might be worth giving them a touch of slack 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Fountains used to mow here once a month, 12 months of the year. Utterly pointless in winter and not enough in summer. Perhaps there is now a more intelligent approach planned? You never know; its not impossible.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Tony Brooks]

5 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Fountains used to mow here once a month, 12 months of the year. Utterly pointless in winter and not enough in summer. Perhaps there is now a more intelligent approach planned? You never know; its not impossible.

 

Would fitting a valve extension designed for the inner wheel on twin  wheel trucks help? I think they come as straight or cranked.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Would fitting a valve extension designed for the inner wheel on twin  wheel trucks help? I think they come as straight or cranked.

Hi Tony,

I'm guessing this is an answer to a different question. If not then,

Good idea, a valve extension would definitely help in mowing the grass at the optimum time. 😀

[Tony Brooks]

Just now, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Hi Tony,

I'm guessing this is an answer to a different question. If not then,

Good idea, a valve extension would definitely help in mowing the grass at the optimum time. 😀

Absolutely correct and goodness knows how the answer got here. Hit the quote button on your post about difficult access to your accumulator, type two sentences and hit send. All very odd.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Weird.

In answer, yes, it would be a good idea. I use a push bike track pump, which has a long hose, so once connected to the valve on the accumulator the actual pumping and pressure monitoring takes place in a less awkward place. Track pumps are very useful and will even pump up a car tyre in a reasonable amount of time.

[Pluto]

Perhaps it would be best to go forwards environmentally to horse power, as the grass would be kept down naturally, and rose growers would have something to take home from their boat.

[Tonka]

10 hours ago, Ronaldo47 said:

I think this extract from the above link speaks volumes.

 

Aside from the ecological benefits, the new strategy looks set to save vital funds that can now be diverted to other important projects.

 

 

 

Bonus's for the management

[Slim]

2 hours ago, Pluto said:

Perhaps it would be best to go forwards environmentally to horse power, as the grass would be kept down naturally, and rose growers would have something to take home from their boat.

I thought they already had that with composting bogs.

[churchward]

I may be recalling this incorrectly but I thought I had read somewhere that CRT were no longer mowing/trimming up to the edge to leave it more natural.  

 

I quite like it.  I do not need the towpath to look like a mowed lawn and neat and tidy.  I still carry some grass hand shears  on the boat and if necessary I trim the edge to get on and off the boat OK. An alternative we often use is to just put down a rubber matt that just flattens and weighs down the grass.

[doratheexplorer]

Where I'm moored the towpath vegetation is up to my shoulders.  Normally, I'd quite like this but it's interfering with my efforts to paint my boat.

[MtB]

On 01/06/2022 at 07:55, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Fountains used to mow here once a month, 12 months of the year.

 

 

That's curious. Here on my mooring, Fountains mow twice a year, approx April and August, whether it needs it or not.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

 

That's curious. Here on my mooring, Fountains mow twice a year, approx April and August, whether it needs it or not.

Mowing seems to be concentrated in areas that get the most visits from the general public. Here that's the case. Your mooring?

[Grassman]

 

 

 

On the western K&A I don't think they've cut the towpath vegetation for years. You northerners are spoilt compared to what it's like down there. Mind you at least you can get an overnight mooring!

[Nightwatch]

We have identified an issue with longer grass at the tow pathś edge. Ants! Ants all over the place onboard. I reckon they climb up the grass and have a brucie bonus outing in our cupboards and a couple found their way into the fridge.

 

As a separate observation, if the edges remain uncut, little bits of grass become seeded saplings and saplings become stronger and then become little trees, and so on. Then a problem arises. Is the incumbent contractor obliged to dig up and remove trees as part of their contract to cut grass less?

[Rob-M]

24 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

We have identified an issue with longer grass at the tow pathś edge. Ants! Ants all over the place onboard. I reckon they climb up the grass and have a brucie bonus outing in our cupboards and a couple found their way into the fridge.

 

As a separate observation, if the edges remain uncut, little bits of grass become seeded saplings and saplings become stronger and then become little trees, and so on. Then a problem arises. Is the incumbent contractor obliged to dig up and remove trees as part of their contract to cut grass less?

We get the shears out as soon as we stop and cut back any long bits that may give ants easy access.

[David Mack]

53 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

As a separate observation, if the edges remain uncut, little bits of grass become seeded saplings and saplings become stronger and then become little trees, and so on. Then a problem arises. Is the incumbent contractor obliged to dig up and remove trees as part of their contract to cut grass less?

Mowing at least once a year

We'll aim to cut the whole width from the boundary to water’s edge once a year, 

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/maintaining-our-waterways/vegetation-management/mowing-the-grass

[PeterF]

2 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

We have identified an issue with longer grass at the tow pathś edge. Ants! Ants all over the place onboard. I reckon they climb up the grass and have a brucie bonus outing in our cupboards and a couple found their way into the fridge.

 

As a separate observation, if the edges remain uncut, little bits of grass become seeded saplings and saplings become stronger and then become little trees, and so on. Then a problem arises. Is the incumbent contractor obliged to dig up and remove trees as part of their contract to cut grass less?

Now that you mention this, we noticed ants in the boat last month for the first time in 20 years of boating, we were on Western L&L and northern T&M, both wth uncut towpath edges where we moored at times. I think you are on to something and perhaps I should keep some sheers on the boat.

[Victor Vectis]

It struck me on a recent jaunt up to Brum and back to Lapworth that the long grass made it difficult to spot bollards and mooring rings.

[Ronaldo47]

Never mind ants, some 20 years ago when we moored overnight at a towpath heavily-overgrown with very long grass and saplings, we acquired a field mouse stowaway that, judging by the loose polystyrene granules that suddenly appeared,  had started to make itself comfy in the wall insulation before I managed to dispatch it.

Edited June 10, 2022 by Ronaldo47