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The section of the Oxford between Braunston and Napton can take widebeams up to 12' 6" legitimately. It could also have been a boat booked for passage from Dunchurch Pools or Barby to Braunston, or indeed the one that doesn't bother booking.

 

So it is possible but of course it wouldn't be going through any locks on the Oxford.

 

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3 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

The section of the Oxford between Braunston and Napton can take widebeams up to 12' 6" legitimately. It could also have been a boat booked for passage from Dunchurch Pools or Barby to Braunston, or indeed the one that doesn't bother booking.

 

So it is possible but of course it wouldn't be going through any locks on the Oxford.

 

 

 

That would be the wideboat "MILES AWAY". 

 

Let's hope the two of them meet on a particularly narrow bit. 

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13 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

Share the locks, of course, but not with a single hander  like we did once. He did do a lot of climbing on and off but not the same as an additional pair of hands. Mooring adjacent to the wharf as has been said. We moored many moons ago near the very top lock and found out at 0400 that it is close to the brewery depot yard. Hey ho! and all that.

A well organised, efficient single-hander can be more beneficial to share locks with than many crews.

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13 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

I could tag a handful of posters on this forum who regularly single hand and would likely outpace you through a flight.

 

 

Yes I've sometimes found I can even take my widebeam through locks single handed faster than narrowboats with two or more people aboard. If I'm ahead of a narrowboat and they're having to wait for me at locks I'll offer to wait and let them take the next lock, but sometimes that doesn't happen as I leave them behind. I'm not sure what they're doing, I guess everyone works locks at their own pace. 

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11 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

Surely a single hander on a wide beam is going to be no problem in a lock since they are going to be in there on their own (unless they're on the Aire and Calder, or the Thames).

 

 

Yes I didn't understand what he was on about either. It just seems like a need for a general whinge. 

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11 hours ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Never been near a widebeam in a lock.

 

i’m sure there are some good single handers and hirers and have met

both

 

So what were you whinging about then? The thread was about flights of locks and then you started criticising single handers on widebeams! 🤔 There are some good single handers on widebeams too. 

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33 minutes ago, Idle Days said:

I'm puzzled. Why the need for speed? 

 

There is a natural rhythm to working locks that is different for everyone but do recognise that not everyone boats in a way that means they can choose when and where to moor up every night.

 

I hate people who tell me there's no rush, I don't tell them there's a need to be quicker so what on earth makes them think it's OK to say that? And a volockie that can't facilitate the method of the boater they are assisting shouldn't be there.

 

Speed isn't the issue because it's quicker to walk than use a narrowboat but that doesn't mean we may have a booking at a marina or a boatyard to meet or crew who need to make a station to get a train home to their family at a reasonable time, all of which will have been planned around achieving reasonable journey times.

 

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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1 hour ago, blackrose said:

 

So what were you whinging about then? The thread was about flights of locks and then you started criticising single handers on widebeams! 🤔 There are some good single handers on widebeams too. 

Sorry you seem to have taken this so personally it wasn’t meant. If I upset you I apologise. Each to his own. I don’t want to get dragged into a slanging match which seems to happen quite frequently on this forum. 

Incidentally the forum has frequently been very useful to me in between the slings and arrows.

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23 minutes ago, Peugeot 106 said:

Sorry you seem to have taken this so personally it wasn’t meant. If I upset you I apologise. Each to his own. I don’t want to get dragged into a slanging match which seems to happen quite frequently on this forum. 

Incidentally the forum has frequently been very useful to me in between the slings and arrows.

 

Sorry, I probably started that by picking up on what I saw as a bit of a contradiction in one of your posts. (A real human being contradictory, who'd have thought it, eh?)

 

I've learnt over the years on the forum that it's dangerous ground to imply criticism of any one group of boaters and I think by and large that's how it should be, there's no one way to boat and the original purpose of canals is long gone and they are subject to constant change (and probably always were to some degree). Best that we all live with it.

 

There is though a contradictory emotion I feel as a narrowboater when I happen upon a widebeam ahead of me in a lock. The thought "why can't you be a narrowboat so I can share the lock" is natural but of course the actual occurrence is just the same as encountering a narrowboat ahead of you in a narrow lock and that happens all the time.

 

Although with a short boat I have managed to share narrow locks with other short craft, a wide lock with a short widebeam, and a wide lock with two other narrowboats.

 

 

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20 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

Share the locks, of course, but not with a single hander  

Not nessercelery. We still have a good memory of the man on 'Samantha Rose' with whom we lock-palled up the floight in 2001 - our first day on our brand new boat. He knew what he was doing and was very active, and Mrs. Athy kept him supplied with mugs of tea and pieces of cake so that he didn't waste any time going into the galley. I think we did all 29 locks in four hours and a few minutes; without his help it could have taken far longer.

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22 hours ago, Nightwatch said:

Share the locks, of course, but not with a single hander  like we did once. He did do a lot of climbing on and off but not the same as an additional pair of hands. Mooring adjacent to the wharf as has been said. We moored many moons ago near the very top lock and found out at 0400 that it is close to the brewery depot yard. Hey ho! and all that.

 

Interestingly I was single handing the K&A many years ago, and shared the locks from Hungerford to Bath with Nightwatch and it's previous owners. As Helvetia was swifter than NIghtwatch I always left the lock first, reaching the next lock well ahead of them and had it ready with one gate open for them to enter. They were well pleased with this arrangement, and actually fed me on two evenings, by way thanking me.

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31 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

Interestingly I was single handing the K&A many years ago, and shared the locks from Hungerford to Bath with Nightwatch and it's previous owners. As Helvetia was swifter than NIghtwatch I always left the lock first, reaching the next lock well ahead of them and had it ready with one gate open for them to enter. They were well pleased with this arrangement, and actually fed me on two evenings, by way thanking me.

A deal David, a deal. I’ve nothing against single handlers. Honest. Just thinking of the wife that’s all. Don’t want her getting tired. Needs to cook dinner after the locks.

Brace, brace, brace, incoming.

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On 19/06/2022 at 16:47, David Schweizer said:

 

Last question first, there are usually decent towpath moorings opposite the Wharf immediately above the locks, if not there are rings outside the Black Horse, a couple of locks down, but a good idea to ask, as they are the pub's moorings. The food used to be quite good and reasonable price. 

 

The best time to arrive is before they open the locks so that you can be near the front of the queue, I have done the flight in 3 1/2 hours from the Black Horse with no boats in front of me, but allow 5 hours if it is busy

Thanks we did stay outside the Black Horse and left at around 8am arriving at Sells Green for 12. We came down on our own and only saw 2 other boats going the other way  (tied together looked good).

Big Big thanks to Hazel and Geoff volunteers who uncomplainingly helped us all the way

 

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