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Higgledy Piggledy sinks on the K&A


Alan de Enfield

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The infamous Higgledy Piggledy (on the K&A) has sunk whilst its owner was away so the local boating commuity got stuck in.

 

Rescue crew attends Bath canal after 'heartbreaking' mishap (msn.com)

 

Pete (right), Kerry (middle) and Andy (left) secure boards to Higgledy to make a cofferdam

 

Rescue crew attends Bath canal after 'heartbreaking' mishap

 

A rescue crew attended the Kennet and Avon Canal in Bathampton this week after a narrowboat took on water.

Higgledy Piggledy became partially submerged after a fluctuation in the canal depth caused her to list. Soon, the stern was swamped, with water flooding into the galley and bow.

Boaters first noticed the sorry sight on Monday and it was - literally - all hands to the pumps to try and refloat the craft. Bath Live understands that the boat's owner is away, so the community pitched in to help him out.

 

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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15 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Always sad when a boat sinks.

 

Is it made from sheets of ply screwed together ? Interesting approach but does seem to be fairly obvious what is going to happen to it. 

 

There is a video (cannot remember what it is called) about evictions and non-movers on the K&A with Chris Pink (remember him - or maybe before your time) and Higgledy Piggledy and its owner (a lady with a Son called Boy, or Wolf or some such) is shown peddaling the boat as it did not have an engine and a bicycle was connected to its prop shaft.

 

I'll try and find the Video

 

Edit - here it is :

 

 

 

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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That's most unfortunate. It's an interesting-looking boat and the owner seems to be quite a character.

If I understood correctly, she said that there was no way of steering it, which is rather unnerving. Is that why the O.P. described it as "infamous"?

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Just now, Athy said:

That's most unfortunate. It's an interesting-looking boat and the owner seems to be quite a character.

If I understood correctly, she said that there was no way of steering it, which is rather unnerving. Is that why the O.P. described it as "infamous"?

 

It has limited steering, but in any wind above 0 mph it goes where it wants.

 

She is not the current owner, as the video shows she was evicted from the canal and went to live in a motorhome after Wolf cub is shown selling all his toys on the bankside.

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8 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I wonder who has to pay when it gets scrapped.

 

(Apparently) it is insured.

 

Not quite sure what this comment from RCR (who pumped out the boat) means

 

"There is a battery and bilge pump included in the insurance cover, so we will set that up before we go. It's an automatic bilge pump so it should get nearly all the water out."

 

 

Meanwhile, the RCR team was assessing the situation. Kerry Horton and Andy Spencer, both senior rescue coordinators, wasted no time entering the canal in their waterproof waders while Pete, the chief rescue coordinator, supervised from the bank.

 

Kerry, who joined the team in 2009, said: "It's all in the preparation, not in the pumping. If you get the prep right, the boat will pop up with no problem."

They settled on a plan of using plywood and a tarpaulin to build a cofferdam which would hold back the canal while they pumped the water out of Higgledy's stern. But first, they had to measure out how much wood they would need and then cut their boards to fit.

At the side of the canal, they used an electrical saw to trim the plywood, before screwing it to the stern. Once that was done, they clamped a tarpaulin over the boards to make it as watertight as possible.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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It is a bit brighter now (well not today) so the big solar panel should help. 

 

I'd not be relying on a float though. Definitely a second pump on a timer if the boat is reliably taking on water. 

 

 

I didn't realise the RCR did insurance. 

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Sinkings are pretty much routine on the K&A and the cummunity has its own pumps etc and do most of the refloatings themselves. Sometimes its bad luck, but mostly I suspect its a conbination of badly maintained boats (due to lack of financial resources), boats left unattended for long periods, and a difficult canal where boats will often sit at an angle on the bottom. As the K&A get busier and busier there will be more mooring in the not so good spots.

Another factor might be an increasing number of new people who perhaps don't have much experience of, or interest in, boating, but thats not unique to the K&A these days.

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47 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

 

She is not the current owner, as the video shows she was evicted from the canal and went to live in a motorhome after Wolf cub is shown selling all his toys on the bankside.

Ah, O.K., I had watched only the first few minutes of the film, whose innocuous title gave no hint of any such drama. I've now watched it all the way through.

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48 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

It has limited steering, but in any wind above 0 mph it goes where it wants.

 

She is not the current owner, as the video shows she was evicted from the canal and went to live in a motorhome after Wolf cub is shown selling all his toys on the bankside.

 

 

Curious. I thought it was boats that got 'evicted' rather than just the person living in them.

 

Presumably she was 'evicted' for non compliance but sold the boat prior to CRT getting as far as lifting it out. And the new owner was able to licence it as a new owner with a clean sheet?

 

 

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28 minutes ago, dmr said:

Sometimes its bad luck, but mostly I suspect its a conbination of badly maintained boats (due to lack of financial resources), boats left unattended for long periods, and a difficult canal where boats will often sit at an angle on the bottom.

We have been told that these boats cannot be removed as they are people's homes. So why would homes be left unattended for long periods?

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9 minutes ago, Athy said:

I was wondering along similar lines. I suppose that it depends on how long a long period is. People do leave their homes to go on holiday.

 

Adopting the American approach to measuring distance in units of time, we could do the opposite and say a "long period" is perhaps twenty miles. 

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It seems interesting about the RCR. If a boat they were salvaging was actually a sinker one can't help wondering how many times they would raise it under the insurance. After a while this seems to cause some problems. 3 strikes and you are out?

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16 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Adopting the American approach to measuring distance in units of time, we could do the opposite and say a "long period" is perhaps twenty miles. 

 

The difference between a Brit and an American .................

 

One thinks a 100 miles is a long way and the other thinks 100 years is a long time.

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1 minute ago, magnetman said:

There is a reason why that canal fell into disuse. Maybe the CRT will look at it when the funding shortfall kicks in properly. 

 

Yes, Crofton pumping station shutting down wasn't it? 

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

We have been told that these boats cannot be removed as they are people's homes. So why would homes be left unattended for long periods?

They probably have a second home onion a septic tank on a rubbish tip.😱

Just now, Jon57 said:

They probably have a second home in septic tank on a rubbish tip.😱

 

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51 minutes ago, magnetman said:

There is a reason why that canal fell into disuse. Maybe the CRT will look at it when the funding shortfall kicks in properly. 

 

The K & A canal did not "fall" into disuse, it became un-navigable because the Great Western Railway, who had owned it since the 1850's , deiberately abandoned any maintenance. It was in effect allowed to fall into decay, often encouraged by failure to repair damage.

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