Using a slipway to pull a narrowboat out/drop one in

[Philip]

Just wondering if a slipway would be a suitable way to launch a 25ft steel narrowboat? I quite fancy doing the Welshpool bit of the Montgomery Canal again, but I first did it with a 24ft cruiser. The slipway at Welshpool can take boats up to about 25ft but it does state 'light cabin boats', so do you think it would be possible to use this slipway with my 25ft steel narrowboat? More generally are there any potential hazards with using a slipway and winch for a narrowboat?

[booke23]

The bigger problem might be the weight of your 25ft narrowboat. It probably weighs about 6 tonnes so would have to be transported on a lorry and not a slipable trailer.

[ditchcrawler]

7 minutes ago, Philip said:

Just wondering if a slipway would be a suitable way to launch a 25ft steel narrowboat? I quite fancy doing the Welshpool bit of the Montgomery Canal again, but I first did it with a 24ft cruiser. The slipway at Welshpool can take boats up to about 25ft but it does state 'light cabin boats', so do you think it would be possible to use this slipway with my 25ft steel narrowboat? More generally are there any potential hazards with using a slipway and winch for a narrowboat?

Have you got a trailer?

[Alan de Enfield]

8 minutes ago, Philip said:

Just wondering if a slipway would be a suitable way to launch a 25ft steel narrowboat? I quite fancy doing the Welshpool bit of the Montgomery Canal again, but I first did it with a 24ft cruiser. The slipway at Welshpool can take boats up to about 25ft but it does state 'light cabin boats', so do you think it would be possible to use this slipway with my 25ft steel narrowboat? More generally are there any potential hazards with using a slipway and winch for a narrowboat?

 

 

I'd suggest you ask the owners of the slipway - you could end up in a whole load of trouble with your boat getting stuck or falling off a collapsing slip, in addition to the problems you'd have with the owner of the slip.

 

If it is designed for a 1 tonne light cabin boat' and you are trying to launch 3+ tonnes .........................

 

How do you tow it ?

Can your vehicle support / take the weight of heavy boat going down a wet slip ?

 

Watch out that the 'tail doesn't take over the dog' and you end up with boat and vehicle in the canal.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[Alan de Enfield]

7 minutes ago, booke23 said:

The bigger problem might be the weight of your 25ft narrowboat. It probably weighs about 6 tonnes so would have to be transported on a lorry and not a slipable trailer.

 

I doubt it will be as much as 6 tonnes - a 25 foot NB is probably going to have an outboard engine.

 

A 25 foot Sea Otter NB complete with trailer is a gross 3 tonnes

 

The manufacturer states :

 

We recommend that you use the factory trailing service for 31' narrowboats and the 32' narrowboats.

[Philip]

I don't have a trailer and the boat is too heavy to be carried on one, so I'd have to book a low-loader. There isn't a crane at the Welshpool slipway unfortunately so the slipway is the only option for this stretch as far as I'm aware.

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Philip said:

I don't have a trailer and the boat is too heavy to be carried on one, so I'd have to book a low-loader. There isn't a crane at the Welshpool slipway unfortunately so the slipway is the only option for this stretch as far as I'm aware.

 

In which case I'd say  "NO"

 

Unless ......................................... (but then you do not need a slipway, but do need C&RT approval (and a method statement) for your proposed location)

 

 

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[booke23]

14 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I doubt it will be as much as 6 tonnes - a 25 foot NB is probably going to have an outboard engine.

 

A 25 foot Sea Otter NB complete with trailer is a gross 3 tonnes

 

The manufacturer states :

 

We recommend that you use the factory trailing service for 31' narrowboats and the 32' narrowboats.

 

Sea otters are aluminium though.....and built in 6/6/4. A steel narrowboat in 10/6/4 is going to be quite a heavy lump by comparison. I think your truck with Hiab idea is the way to go.

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by booke23

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, booke23 said:

 

Sea otters are aluminium though.....and built in 6/6/4. A steel narrowboat in 10/6/4 is going to be quite a heavy lump by comparison. 

 

I agree it will be heavier (I couldn't find any weights for a steel nb) but I'm not sure that any were built with a 10mm base plate (23' Springers were built with 3.75mm base plates)

 

Either way I' wouldn't take a 3-4-5 tonne boat on a slip rated for 'light weight' boats.

[JamesFrance]

I think it will be nearly 8 tons, it is 10/6/5/4.

[ditchcrawler]

17 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

In which case I'd say  "NO"

 

Unless ......................................... (but then you do not need a slipway, but do need C&RT approval (and a method statement) for your proposed location)

 

 

 

Does it come under CRT?

[Philip]

It has an inboard diesel engine, definitely no chance on a trailer! The lorry-with-crane option looks interesting! Any reason why CRT would object to it?

[booke23]

9 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I agree it will be heavier (I couldn't find any weights for a steel nb) but I'm not sure that any were built with a 10mm base plate (23' Springers were built with 3.75mm base plates)

 

Either way I' wouldn't take a 3-4-5 tonne boat on a slip rated for 'light weight' boats.

 

Aintree make their 25ft Beetles in 10/6/5/4. 

 

Yes definitely wouldn't put it on a slip. 

 

1 minute ago, Philip said:

It has an inboard diesel engine, definitely no chance on a trailer! The lorry-with-crane option looks interesting! Any reason why CRT would object to it?

 

Out of interest do you know how heavy it is?

Edited January 11, 2023 by booke23

[Philip]

2 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Does it come under CRT?

 

Yes

[Philip]

21 minutes ago, booke23 said:

 

Aintree make their 25ft Beetles in 10/6/5/4. 

 

Yes definitely wouldn't put it on a slip. 

 

 

Out of interest do you know how heavy it is?

 

I don't know in all honesty, hazarding a guess I'd say about 5-6 tonnes. 

[Graham Davis]

11 minutes ago, Philip said:

It has an inboard diesel engine, definitely no chance on a trailer! The lorry-with-crane option looks interesting! Any reason why CRT would object to it?

You are going to have a problem unloading a boat with a hiab into the mooring basin at Welshpool as you could not get close enough to the water, plus the car park has been remodelled and the bottom section is now a bus station. Haven't checked if they have altered the access. 
The link above states that the slipway is owned by Powys County Council, not CrT
Old photo:
https://goo.gl/maps/p7UgHHZg66T3qbQJ9

[Cheese]

And this suggests they HAVE altered the access, and not for the better:

 https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/23180040.montgomery-canal-wharf-welshpool-blocked-powys-council-barriers/

 

If they can't even get a canoe trailer in there then a narrowboat will be impossible

[MtB]

Also, bear in mind 3ft depth is considered good for a canal. even if you find a suitable trailer you could reverse it down the slipway and at the end, the NB still needs a further foot of depth to float and clear the trailer.

 

 

[Barneyp]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

I don't have a trailer and the boat is too heavy to be carried on one, so I'd have to book a low-loader. There isn't a crane at the Welshpool slipway unfortunately so the slipway is the only option for this stretch as far as I'm aware.

If you book a low-loader to move the boat they won't be willing or able to use a slipway to load or unload, you'll need a crane at each end, for a 25foot boat Alan's suggestion of a HIAB makes more sense.

There are narrowboats on that section so there must be a suitable location to put one in somewhere, maybe you could contact the Friends of Montgomery Canal or the Heulwen Trust (who operate a narrowboat on that section of the Montgomery)

[Philip]

10 minutes ago, Barneyp said:

If you book a low-loader to move the boat they won't be willing or able to use a slipway to load or unload, you'll need a crane at each end, for a 25foot boat Alan's suggestion of a HIAB makes more sense.

There are narrowboats on that section so there must be a suitable location to put one in somewhere, maybe you could contact the Friends of Montgomery Canal or the Heulwen Trust (who operate a narrowboat on that section of the Montgomery)

 

It sounds like it's still possible to do it with my narrowboat then, although I can imagine it must be upwards of £500 to book a HIAB and craning for the journey there and back (I keep my boat near Nantwich).

Edited January 11, 2023 by Philip

[magnetman]

According to the thread title there may be a possibility of "dropping it in". 

I wonder if one could get the hiab man to let it go off a bridge somewhere. 

 

Watch the splash ! 

 

I think bankside options are going to be limited by insurance and boatyards will prefer you to use their own services or clobber you very badly for contractors. 

 

 

If you do opt for a hiab man then be very sure he is insured (no comment but there could possibly be some rogues around here) and knows exactly where the boat is going in the water and that it is okay. 

 

At the end of the day it seems likely it is the boat owners responsibility if things go bear shaped or tits up. 

Edited January 11, 2023 by magnetman
Missing words

[Quattrodave]

A guy near me has a slip with rails and 2 dollys, he pulls his boat in and out, so slipping a narrowboat is perfectly feasible.  Problem is you'd need it craned or hiabed onto the dollys, so you may as well just get it lifted straight in...

Edited January 11, 2023 by Quattrodave

[Feeby100]

About7-1/2 ton that will be with stuff inside 

[TheBiscuits]

Email CRT and ask them where/how they crane boats in and out on that section.

 

Email is better than ringing them as it can get forwarded to the appropriate person rather than whoever answers the phone taking a blind guess!