Where are all the boats 2.

[Stroudwater1]

18 minutes ago, LadyG said:

We  know Nick is always right, it's in his DNA, but there can be strong  byewashes at the exit point, which make it tricky to hold position, and one does not always know how many boats are in the lock.

The other day the CRT, I assume it was them let down a huge volume of water,  overtopping the locks , I was glad I wasn't trying to hover .

Are byewashes the ones that cause boats to crack the locksides on their way in? Bye bye cups glasses fine Minton  and plates on the side waiting washing up? 
 

It’s funny how we all do things differently. I usually hover if a boats in the lock after dropping crew off. This  seems to unnerve some boats coming out, which is strange as I give a good distance and it’s usually like a passing manoeuvre. It’s the way boats do it on the Thames, sometimes 20 or more hovering. Of course at busy locks we queue up  with centreline and wait for boats thinking we are mooring up to sail past only to reverse back looking a bit sheepish. 
 

 I’m sure some of us remember the era of GRP or Springers with outboards being bowhauled in and out of locks. Often they were just short enough for a second boat to fit or not and be bow hauled back out again. Now that was really was a long wait for boats to clear locks. Oddly though despite bow hauling in and GRP boats I don’t remember the raising of paddles when going up or down by one notch like these days so the overall effect was probably neutral time wise. 

[matty40s]

3 hours ago, bizzard said:

It's wise if there's a strong side wind ablowin to exit the lovely calm of the bottom of an empty lock at speed for fear of piling up on a lee shore on the way out as the cross wind hits you.

Dylan said as much in his 1968 album "Locks a Kimbo"

[MtB]

7 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Dylan said as much in his 1968 album "Locks a Kimbo"

 

Dylan was always my favourite character, closely followed by Ermintrude and Brian the Snail. 

 

 

[Lady M]

I agree that it is helpful to use a bollard but sometimes there isn't one.  If it is very windy, I know I can't manage.  My boat tends to swing out too far and get in the way of the passing boat.  When in a queue, to and fro movement must be managed to avoid any nearby boats.  Perhaps my boat, being a bit lighter, makes it prone to being pulled about by the 15 ton deep draughted vessels.

[Jon57]

2 hours ago, Lady M said:

I agree that it is helpful to use a bollard but sometimes there isn't one.  If it is very windy, I know I can't manage.  My boat tends to swing out too far and get in the way of the passing boat.  When in a queue, to and fro movement must be managed to avoid any nearby boats.  Perhaps my boat, being a bit lighter, makes it prone to being pulled about by the 15 ton deep draughted vessels.

I have a line with a nappy pin attached which I sometimes use if no bollards available but armco is present. But normally just hover if I can. I'm deep draughted so on some short pounds if on the lock landing and someone fills a lock and the pound drops I end up being stuck sometimes. Horses for courses but we manage quite well considering. 👍

[ditchcrawler]

16 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

  I don’t remember the raising of paddles when going up or down by one notch like these days so the overall effect was probably neutral time wise. 

I have had two, raise the bottom paddle half a turn and wait, this trip. On one of them she was doing this even after Diana had raised the other paddle fully. Then there is the 50 foot boat, twenty feet back from the top gate and opening the gate paddle one click at a time, the water only goes about 3 feet along the wall

[MtB]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have had two, raise the bottom paddle half a turn and wait, this trip. On one of them she was doing this even after Diana had raised the other paddle fully. Then there is the 50 foot boat, twenty feet back from the top gate and opening the gate paddle one click at a time, the water only goes about 3 feet along the wall

 

And today I had yet another one creeping out of the lock at 1/8" per fortnight.

 

What eventually came out was an immaculate, brand new-looking boat about 65ft long. Perfect hull blacking, perfect topside paintwork. I think it was the overhanging tree branch was spooking them with a leaf hanging down and dragging along the roof. 

 

 

[IanD]

32 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

And today I had yet another one creeping out of the lock at 1/8" per fortnight.

 

What eventually came out was an immaculate, brand new-looking boat about 65ft long. Perfect hull blacking, perfect topside paintwork. I think it was the overhanging tree branch was spooking them with a leaf hanging down and dragging along the roof. 

 

 

By some miracle I've still got almost-pristine cabin paintwork, but after something over 300 locks (and even more narrow bridges) in 350 miles cruising since we picked up the boat last October, the same certainly can't be said for the hull blacking -- just as I would have expected... 😉 

Edited July 22, 2024 by IanD

[MtB]

8 minutes ago, IanD said:

By some miracle I've still got almost-pristine cabin paintwork,

 

Give it time... we all end up in the trees once in a while! 

[haggis]

43 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

And today I had yet another one creeping out of the lock at 1/8" per fortnight.

 

They are called brick counters and they have to creep out of locks to give them  time to count the bricks on both sides of the lock 😀

[TheBiscuits]

1 hour ago, haggis said:

They are called bricks 

 

Change the hearing aid batteries 😁😉

[Arthur Marshall]

20 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I think that if a 'huge' volume of water came down, I'd rather be hovering with the engine running, than moored on a bollard with the boat tilting due to the forces involved (one assumes that if going past at speed is going to cause a boat to tilt and rock, so would a 'huge' volume of water). By the same token I don't empty locks 'gently' when I'm coming down in case someone on the lock mooring below hasn't moored properly. I will give them the opportunity to moor their boat (or hold onto the centre line if that is their choice) and then I will let the lock go, not let it dribble out so as not to rock their boat.

I noticed at the bottom lock, offside, coming into Wheelock, that the lock cottage owner now has a very smart boat moored there. I assume it's him who has tightened the bolt on the paddle gear so that one side is unusable as it's impossible to raise the catch (whatever it's called) and wind the paddle up - presumably to make sure a fast flow of water doesn't rock his boat.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

52 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I noticed at the bottom lock, offside, coming into Wheelock, that the lock cottage owner now has a very smart boat moored there. I assume it's him who has tightened the bolt on the paddle gear so that one side is unusable as it's impossible to raise the catch (whatever it's called) and wind the paddle up - presumably to make sure a fast flow of water doesn't rock his boat.

I shared a few locks the other month with a very nice/smart/shiny boat that moors there,

I’m sure the owner of the boat who doesn’t live in the cottage wouldn’t be that persnickety,

It’s actually one of the few boats I’m quite jealous of 😃

Edited July 22, 2024 by beerbeerbeerbeerbeer
Wouldn’t NOT would

[matty40s]

Didnt see another moving boat until gone 10am today, from a lovely 7am start. 

Not many boats moving, probably 17 Union Canal Carriers hire boats still in base, and 14 at Napton hire base.

 

[Midnight]

Found them! It's silly season on the Llangollen.

[Torblimey]

Quite a few on the Oxford ( king Sutton to Cropredy) bumped twice front end (can they not steer straight at me, I mean I can't get onto the towpath?) stopped one from opening the bottom paddles before I'd shut the top gate. ( it's pretty obvious when wide open) and met one on every darned blind corner I tried cruising round with empty long straights ( why is that?).

 

Edited July 24, 2024 by NarrowboatTor

[pig]

2 hours ago, Midnight said:

Found them! It's silly season on the Llangollen.

Indeed. Got as far as Ellesmere and turned round. Too much madness.

[matty40s]

I did have a Clifton Cruisers coming at me at some serious speed, in the end he went straight into the concrete bank at Stockton Road Bridge.

I will look out for you tommorow Tor, and hide round a corner....

[TheBiscuits]

1 hour ago, NarrowboatTor said:

Quite a few on the Oxford ( king Sutton to Cropredy) bumped twice front end (can they not steer straight at me, I mean I can't get onto the towpath?) stopped one from opening the bottom paddles before I'd shut the top gate. ( it's pretty obvious when wide open) and met one on every darned blind corner I tried cruising round with empty long straights ( why is that?).

 

 

Have you tried keeping to the right? 🤣

[Torblimey]

Yah,  feet up emptying a decent bottle of white, just had two go past me at this time of night (20:30).

I'm gonna have to get some of those pointy end side fenders at this rate.

I slow down for those bends so you'll have to jump me 🤣

 

3 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Have you tried keeping to the right? 🤣

Any more to the right and I'd portage the damn thing 💪

[matty40s]

Well, that's Napton and Marston Doles done without any boats moving the other way.

[nicknorman]

Just now, matty40s said:

Well, that's Napton and Marston Doles done without any boats moving the other way.

 

You didn’t see the stoppage notice about the blocked canal just above Marston Doles?

 

 

 

 

 

(just joking!)

[matty40s]

It's definitely blocked...

 

Looks like everyone stopped at Fenny Compton last night, 6 boats in 20 minutes coming the other way.

[nicknorman]

Westport Lake visitor moorings (Stoke on Trent) 3 boats moored this morning, one of which is ours. Having turned at Harecastle tunnel and chatted to tunnel keeper, she said 3 boats came through, all hire boats and all non-British crew. So it seems that while the Brits like to go to Benidorm for their summer hols, the Europeans like to visit Stoke on Trent. Which to be fair is quite similar to Benidorm bar the weather.

[IanD]

9 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Westport Lake visitor moorings (Stoke on Trent) 3 boats moored this morning, one of which is ours. Having turned at Harecastle tunnel and chatted to tunnel keeper, she said 3 boats came through, all hire boats and all non-British crew. So it seems that while the Brits like to go to Benidorm for their summer hols, the Europeans like to visit Stoke on Trent. Which to be fair is quite similar to Benidorm bar the weather.

The beer's much better in Stoke, though... 😉