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First Time River Nene

NB Ardea

By NB Ardea
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NB Ardea Gongoozler

NB Ardea

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Good evening all! 

 

First time on the Nene tomorrow starting at Titchmarsh to Grand Union. 

 

Not found much guidance online, but a few variations. So looking for clarification. 

 

Nene total "V" Gates - Whichever gates are opened upstream or downstream for passage, leave gates left open? 

 

Nene "Guillotine" Gates - If going upstream, fill lock slowly, exit the lock, close the gates, and empty the lock and raise guillotine? 

 

Any other Nene tips are appreciated! 

 

Many thanks! 

Edited by NB Ardea
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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

Posted
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1 hour ago, NB Ardea said:

Nene "Guillotine" Gates - If going upstream, fill lock slowly, exit the lock, close the gates, and empty the lock and raise guillotine? 

Other way round. You raise the guillotine to empty the lock. If there is no boat in the lock or waiting below you can just raise the guillotine straight up. If there is a boat about it is better to open the gate a little, then wait until the lock is empty before raising it the rest of the way.

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matty40s Veteran II

matty40s

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1 minute ago, David Mack said:

Other way round. You raise the guillotine to empty the lock. If there is no boat in the lock or waiting below you can just raise the guillotine straight up. If there is a boat about it is better to open the gate a little, then wait until the lock is empty before raising it the rest of the way.

The lock should be left with guillotine up anyway, so going upstream you just go into lock and close the guillotine behind you, then do as nb Ardea says.

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Grassman Rising Star

GrassmanDonate to Canal World

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Which direction is best? I presume that whether going upstream or downstream there's the same amount of work to be done but just in a different order, but are there other factors which makes you prefer one direction more than the other?

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Scholar Gypsy Veteran

Scholar Gypsy

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NB I think Whiston is still closed.  It's a lovely river. This is the most up to date guide to facilities etc

https://www.oundlecruisingclub.co.uk/river_nene_moorings.php

Referred to in  https://goba.org.uk/a-guide-for-visitors-to-the-east/

7 minutes ago, Grassman said:

Which direction is best? I presume that whether going upstream or downstream there's the same amount of work to be done but just in a different order, but are there other factors which makes you prefer one direction more than the other?

I prefer going upstream, just go straight into the lock. Some of the landing stages above the lock are quite tricky to stop at, when heading downstream, but easier to stop at when leaving the lock going upstream (eg to pick up your crew)  - provided the cross wind is in the right direction! 

Edited by Scholar Gypsy
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enigmatic Rising Star

enigmatic

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14 hours ago, NB Ardea said:

Good evening all! 

 

First time on the Nene tomorrow starting at Titchmarsh to Grand Union. 

 

Not found much guidance online, but a few variations. So looking for clarification. 

 

Nene total "V" Gates - Whichever gates are opened upstream or downstream for passage, leave gates left open? 

 

Nene "Guillotine" Gates - If going upstream, fill lock slowly, exit the lock, close the gates, and empty the lock and raise guillotine? 

 

Any other Nene tips are appreciated! 

 

Many thanks! 

 

Other Nene tips:

- be aware the visitor moorings between Wellingborough and Northampton Washlands are all paid-for (some marinas and some Friends of the River Nene, who give you access to all their moorings for £12 for the year) That's perfectly do-able in one day of cruising, but may affect your journey planning because the distance between them is not short. Northampton Washlands has limited space, so if you plan to stop there it's wise to allow time to do the three extra locks to the town centre. You're probably already aware there aren't many non-designated spots to stop on the Nene

- The newish Chester Farm Estate countryside EA mooring before Wellingborough not mentioned in many guides is much nicer than the one in Wellingborough (which has a noisy factory opposite)

- the Northampton Flight of the  GU has a very unofficial volunteer lockie in the form of a homeless chap called Leon. He is actually quite knowledgeable about the locks and some people have found him helpful, but he does want paying for his services and drink on the job. His services can be politely declined if you like doing traditional lock flights.

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GUMPY Veteran II

GUMPYDonate to Canal World

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9 hours ago, enigmatic said:

The newish Chester Farm Estate countryside EA mooring before Wellingborough not mentioned in many guides is much nicer than the one in Wellingborough (which has a noisy factory opposite)

It might look like an EA mooring but I was told by John who works for the EA  at Northampton Marina that Chester house have taken it over.

I like the signs on it saying "moor here to lock up" almost as if it was a lock landing 🤔

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Big Bob W Collaborator

Big Bob W

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We've always got on ok with Leon. 

So long as you can put up with his terrible jokes and occasional naturist tendencies! 

I got the impression when we last saw him in September, he was going to be leaving the area and we've not seen him around.

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enigmatic Rising Star

enigmatic

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1 hour ago, GUMPY said:

It might look like an EA mooring but I was told by John who works for the EA  at Northampton Marina that Chester house have taken it over.

I like the signs on it saying "moor here to lock up" almost as if it was a lock landing 🤔

sounds like the one at Rushden with the responsibility for maintaining the pumpout being handed over to the football club that used to exist a decade ago :D 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Big Bob W said:

Has anyone seen him recently? 

when I saw him in September he seemed in good spirits (he was juts finishing up helping someone down the flight and his bottle was empty) and advised me that if I'd seen any "naked lockkeeper" stories in the local news, that was him and he had a court appearance due but didn't care about that sort of thing any more.

He was properly dressed though. 

 

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GUMPY Veteran II

GUMPYDonate to Canal World

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2 hours ago, enigmatic said:

sounds like the one at Irthlingborough with the responsibility for maintaining the pumpout being handed over to the football club that used to exist a decade ago :D 

 

FTFY

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Scholar Gypsy Veteran

Scholar Gypsy

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 15/06/2023 at 21:04, GUMPY said:

It might look like an EA mooring but I was told by John who works for the EA  at Northampton Marina that Chester house have taken it over.

I like the signs on it saying "moor here to lock up" almost as if it was a lock landing 🤔

I think those signs are from the kayak hire company,  you padlock your kayak to a designated section of the pontoon at the end of your trip. 

 

spacer.png

 

 

Edited by Scholar Gypsy
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