Mooring options in Birmingham

[adam1uk]

28 minutes ago, David Mack said:

The Boat is a 1930s brewer's mock tudor building. It had multiple small room when I was first drinking in the area (mid 70s), with old men in flat caps drinking mild in the public bar. Since then the rooms have all been combined and a big single storey extension built on the back. I haven't been there for 3 or 4 years, but last time I visited it had very much gone up market and gastro, with corresponding prices.

Hidden away at the bottom of the website Ts and Cs is the information that it is owned by a subsidiary of Greene King.

Menus are available here.

 

 

We went to the Boat last September, apparently shortly after some refurbishment.  The food was pretty good, but it was very dark, the music was too loud, and the service was shockingly slow.  Our friends who live nearby said they wouldn't bother going back.

[IanD]

2 hours ago, David Mack said:

The Boat is a 1930s brewer's mock tudor building. It had multiple small room when I was first drinking in the area (mid 70s), with old men in flat caps drinking mild in the public bar. Since then the rooms have all been combined and a big single storey extension built on the back. I haven't been there for 3 or 4 years, but last time I visited it had very much gone up market and gastro, with corresponding prices.

Hidden away at the bottom of the website Ts and Cs is the information that it is owned by a subsidiary of Greene King.

Menus are available here.

 

C de B is fine. And closer to a pub than mooring at Knowle. Next canalside pub is The Kings Arms/Cat in the Window/Canaletto/Herons Nest or whatever its called this year, below Knowle Locks, then the Black Boy, just beyond that.

 

That's definitely changed (and not Lees!) since we were last there but that was several years ago (2016?) -- gone upmarket is an understatement...

Edited July 19, 2024 by IanD

[RobertT]

@IanM

 

Sorry, just overwhelmed by amount of helpful info. I haven't fallen off the boat, just hogtied at the mast during the work week.
🙂 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

On 18/07/2024 at 14:35, Stroudwater1 said:

 

It looks like sunset was 21.15 on the BCN challenge and sunrise 5.00. As stated though it looks like the hirers didn’t set off then. 

It really was dark at 21.45 with no green grass away from streetlights. 

 

 

 

well it’s 2200 now and I’d say it’s still just about light enough,

so if OP don’t get away til 5 they could still make Brum before dark, cutting it fine but it’s doable. 
(mind 1/4 hour earlier for darkness on 29th)
 

[Stroudwater1]

Just now, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

well it’s 2200 now and I’d say it’s still just about light enough,

so if OP don’t get away til 5 they could still make Brum before dark, cutting it fine but it’s doable. 
(mind 1/4 hour earlier for darkness on 29th)
 

They don’t ever appear to have moored up before though. Probably best have a practice in daylight hours first maybe? Mind they wouldn’t float too far if they didn’t get it right 😂

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

1 minute ago, Stroudwater1 said:

They don’t ever appear to have moored up before though. Probably best have a practice in daylight hours first maybe? Mind they wouldn’t float too far if they didn’t get it right 😂

I didn’t go far when the twits united me one night. 
Woke with boat in middle of cut with boats passing me by!

 

 

[nicknorman]

1 minute ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

I didn’t go far when the twits united me one night. 
Woke with boat in middle of cut with boats passing me by!

Well is was 2 in the afternoon!

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

6 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Probably best have a practice in daylight hours first maybe?

Well, best scenario they get away at 4 and it takes 4 hours, they arrive at 8,

worst scenario they leave at 5 and it takes 5 hours, they arrive at 10,

 

so I’d bet it’ll be somewhere in between and they’ll arrive 9ish with plenty enough daylight and time for beer in the Flapper. 🍻 

 

[RobertT]

Thanks, Glenn....and literally everyone here.

Finally got a chance to catch up and read every post here. We are a crew of 5, all novices, two parents and 3 teens. We're getting ramped with sites, videos on the routes and locks for next week, and feeling more informed and confident. This forum and this thread is especially valuable to get insights and hands-on tips from all of you.

At ABC, call time is 2:30pm for day 1. Our plan will be to be in Alvechurch early in the day, and be in touch with the crew there beforehand about our plans. We likely need more than quick handover but ideally we get on the way some time before 5, and will aim to get to Birm before nightfall. Sounds like if we need a plan B we should plan to make a decision about stopping earlier at Bournville or Vale, but yes, it's a 4 night rental, so better plan is to get to Birm night 1 and than have the full day 2 to start at Farmers Locks and get to C de B for 2nd night.

We are not too concerned about nightlife or pubs in particular. So in Birm, looking forward to it historically and to see the city from this perspective, but will be happy if we can get to a spot and feel ok for the night and cook for ourselves. 

ABC rental has clear rules about not sailing after sundown, so aside from the legal and insurance details either way, that's not really an option we would think about. So we'll start as early as we can, enjoy the run up to Birm without any locks to deal with day 1, and make sure we plan to do our first mooring in daylight somewhere reasonable and not toooo mysterious. 

[agg221]

2 hours ago, RobertT said:

Thanks, Glenn....and literally everyone here.

Finally got a chance to catch up and read every post here. We are a crew of 5, all novices, two parents and 3 teens. We're getting ramped with sites, videos on the routes and locks for next week, and feeling more informed and confident. This forum and this thread is especially valuable to get insights and hands-on tips from all of you.

At ABC, call time is 2:30pm for day 1. Our plan will be to be in Alvechurch early in the day, and be in touch with the crew there beforehand about our plans. We likely need more than quick handover but ideally we get on the way some time before 5, and will aim to get to Birm before nightfall. Sounds like if we need a plan B we should plan to make a decision about stopping earlier at Bournville or Vale, but yes, it's a 4 night rental, so better plan is to get to Birm night 1 and than have the full day 2 to start at Farmers Locks and get to C de B for 2nd night.

We are not too concerned about nightlife or pubs in particular. So in Birm, looking forward to it historically and to see the city from this perspective, but will be happy if we can get to a spot and feel ok for the night and cook for ourselves. 

ABC rental has clear rules about not sailing after sundown, so aside from the legal and insurance details either way, that's not really an option we would think about. So we'll start as early as we can, enjoy the run up to Birm without any locks to deal with day 1, and make sure we plan to do our first mooring in daylight somewhere reasonable and not toooo mysterious. 

You will be absolutely fine.

 

I would imagine you will be on your way somewhere between 3:30 and 4:00, leaving plenty of time for a pleasant trip up into Birmingham.

If you are looking to eat on board then I suggest it is well worth heading beyond the first moorings - there is a sharp left turn when you get into Birmingham (Mailbox Turn) and then the moorings start on your left. Beyond that first set of moorings is a narrows (it used to be a stop lock), then a long bridge (Broad Street Tunnel) and shortly afterwards a roundabout (yes, really, but you don't have to treat it is such in terms of which side you pass). Beyond there are nice moorings on both sides and if you go on a few hundred feet it gets a bit quieter as there are nightclubs and pubs near the roundabout. It is worth walking back to have a look at it lit up at night as it's quite a good atmosphere but mooring down nearer Vincent Street Bridge is much quieter.

 

You will need to turn round in the morning and go back to the roundabout and turn left. There are various arms along the main line so turning in one of those is the easy option. You will probably find this a bit tricky, and may well make a mess of it, but don't worry about it, everyone does at first! One trick is to put someone on the bank on the side opposite the entrance, with the stern rope. Point the bow down the entrance and have the person on the bank pull the stern round. This is -way- easier than trying to get the boat to do it through a combination of forward and reverse, although assisting the person pulling by using the engine can help, and can also give you a sense of how the boat is going to behave.

 

Locks. You are best off working out your own system, but here is a starter for ten to give you an idea.

You are starting off going downhill. Person A steers - they stay on the boat. Person B goes up to the lock, unlocks any handcuffs which stop the paddles opening (you will have a handcuff key - make sure you have two on the boat!), if the lock is with you (level is the same as the boat going in) they just open the gate. If it is against you, they check nobody is about to come in from the other direction and assuming not, they open first paddle, then cross over and open the other paddle. Once the lock is level they close the paddle on the offside, then cross back to the gate side, open the gate and lower the paddle (do it that way round as there is time to lower the paddle while the boat comes in, and it is also less hard work to push the gate when the paddle is open as it decreases the water resistance). The lock is now ready for the boat to come in. Person B then walks to the other end of the lock, towpath side, and waits, ready to open the paddle when the boat comes in. Person C then turns up, having walked down, arriving before the boat. They stand by the open gate, ready to close it when the boat comes in. Person D arrives around the same time as the boat, walks down to the offside gate at the lower end and stands ready to open the paddle. The boat comes in, C closes the gate, B and D open the paddles. As soon as their paddle is open, B heads on to the next lock and sets it up as before; C goes and stands by the paddle that B opened. When the level matches, C and D open the gates and the boat starts moving out while C and D lower the paddles and re-lock any handcuff locks. Once the boat is clear, C and D close the gates and C walks on. D walks to the other end of the lock and locks up the handcuff locks at the top end, then walks on to the next lock. Repeat.

 

Not sure if the above makes any sense whatsoever, and if not it doesn't matter - there are millions of different ways of doing this and you will work it out, but the aim is to give an idea of an efficient way of working through a flight of locks. Key points to note in the above - not all locks have handcuff locks on but some do; not all of them work so sometimes you can't unlock it and have to work with only one paddle which is a bit slower and sometimes you can't re-lock it, so just leave it unlocked. When there are handcuff keys in place, the above working pattern has all of them unlocked while the boat is in the lock. It is very unlikely that anything will go wrong if you take care and watch what is happening, but if it does, the ability to open and close paddles quickly can be important so I prefer to leave them unlocked until the gates are open.

 

It does not require tremendous strength, although some gates can be a bit awkward. My daughters (13 and 15) working Brades bottom lock on the BCN earlier this year.

Alec

 

p.s. but you have five people - what about Person E - Tea!!!

Edited July 20, 2024 by agg221

[RobertT]

@agg221
This is so helpful, Alex. Thanks. Good notes on the turnaround strategies. I was looking at the maps around the roundabout and wondering about that. 

[IanM]

Don’t try and overthink or over plan it, it’s not that hard really 😀

[Victor Vectis]

No locks on day one but you make up for that on day two!

 

ETA Good advice from Mr Samson & Oates. I'd only add make sure to keep the boat forward of the cill when going downhill, especially if your boat is a 70fter. You will see the cill marker, a white line on the lockside marked 'cill'.

Edited July 21, 2024 by Victor Vectis

[agg221]

On 20/07/2024 at 13:38, RobertT said:

@agg221
This is so helpful, Alex. Thanks. Good notes on the turnaround strategies. I was looking at the maps around the roundabout and wondering about that. 

You're welcome.

 

Not to bombard you but something else that I'm not sure the hire company will cover is a point of etiquette at locks, as they never did when we were hiring. If you are working through a flight and catch up with another boat, which is entirely possible as you have a larger crew, it is perfectly acceptable to send some crew forward and offer to help with gates and paddles. You don't have to hang back and just work your own boat through. It is very rare that such an offer will be declined, particularly by single-handers and older couples, and if it is then I have only ever met one person who did so rudely - everyone else has been at least appreciative of the offer (and I can only think of two others who declined help, at least with opening and closing gates). The crew need to take their cues from the steerer of the boat, particularly on opening paddles (gates are pretty obvious when to open and close). If someone else catches you up, the same applies.

 

Similarly, when you get to Knowle, if there is someone going the same way as you, expect to share the locks.

 

It's one of those things which is in everybody's interests. If you were to meet a single hander going the same way as you at the top of Farmers' Bridge they would be in for a very hard day and you would be in for a very long day if you just left them to it. Work together and everyone has a more enjoyable time.

 

Alec

Edited July 22, 2024 by agg221

[nicknorman]

My top tip for Knowle is that there are astonishingly strong circulatory currents in the pounds between locks. You open the very large bottom paddles. The lock drains very fast. All that water goes round in circles in the pound. As you drive out suddenly the boat starts to move sideways rapidly due to the current. The mouth of the next lock is disappearing fast! You make a large correction trying to regain the correct track to the next lock. Eventually the correction takes effect and you are back on track - but only for a moment because then you hit the other side of the circulation and the boat hurtles sideways the other way. Crash bang wallop!

[RobertT]

@agg221 Thanks. Yes, appreciated. Getting a good idea of courtesy priorities from the rental vids and various online shows and videos. Certainly keen to either accept or lend a hand at each lock, and be mindful of skippers and who's coordinating.
 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

You’ll be fine. 
Plenty of empty mooring at the moment. 
I can’t see it filling up before you arrive. 

[Francis Herne]

On 20/07/2024 at 13:38, RobertT said:

Good notes on the turnaround strategies. I was looking at the maps around the roundabout and wondering about that. 

The alternative to avoid winding is to carry on a short way out of town, go around the Icknield Port loop and come back. It's one of very few bits of canal without a towpath so the boat is your only opportunity to see it! Admittedly a lot of it is a building site at the moment but I always like to take the detour if time to spare.

Edited July 22, 2024 by Francis Herne

[agg221]

2 hours ago, Francis Herne said:

The alternative to avoid winding is to carry on a short way out of town, go around the Icknield Port loop and come back. It's one of very few bits of canal without a towpath so the boat is your only opportunity to see it! Admittedly a lot of it is a building site at the moment but I always like to take the detour if time to spare.

That's a good thought. The OP did mention an interest in seeing some of the history of Birmingham from the canals and going round one of the loops would give a good perspective.

 

It's about a 45min round trip from Vincent Street Bridge, so I think if I got an early enough departure from Alvechurch to be arriving with time to do it, I would go round the loop that evening and moor pointing towards Farmer's Bridge, ready to head off that direction in the morning.

 

I still suggest it is worth a stroll down the top couple of locks of the Farmers' Bridge flight in the evening after mooring up, after dark as it is a surprisingly pleasant place. This was when we came through in May. It reminded me of walking around a Mediterranean city.

 

Alec

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

OP: good luck this afternoon, you’ll most likely be too busy to get time to post in here but IF you want any advice on going down the locks, I’m in Brum. You’ll pass me at Gas Street. 
I’m sure you’ll manage fine but say hello if you want/need a little help and or any pointers 👍

[agg221]

20 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

OP: good luck this afternoon, you’ll most likely be too busy to get time to post in here but IF you want any advice on going down the locks, I’m in Brum. You’ll pass me at Gas Street. 
I’m sure you’ll manage fine but say hello if you want/need a little help and or any pointers 👍

Since you changed your user ID its not so easy to identify your boat…

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

14 minutes ago, agg221 said:

Since you changed your user ID its not so easy to identify your boat…

…ah yes, that’s a good point,

 

I kind of changed it by mistake. And it’s 6 months before you can change it again. I tried after 6 months but made the mistake of saving the wrong name. So I’ll have to wait again. 🤢

[IanM]

11 minutes ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

…ah yes, that’s a good point,

 

I kind of changed it by mistake. And it’s 6 months before you can change it again. I tried after 6 months but made the mistake of saving the wrong name. So I’ll have to wait again. 🤢

 

You can add your boat name to your profile and it is displayed below your post count.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

3 minutes ago, IanM said:

 

You can add your boat name to your profile and it is displayed below your post count.

yeah, I took that of aswell,

 

Off not of

[RobertT]

Ah, in Gas Street now. Sandpiper, moored last night just fine. Looking to get going now and first locks.

 

Didn't check here last night will check in this evening hopefully from C De B

22 hours ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

OP: good luck this afternoon, you’ll most likely be too busy to get time to post in here but IF you want any advice on going down the locks, I’m in Brum. You’ll pass me at Gas Street. 
I’m sure you’ll manage fine but say hello if you want/need a little help and or any pointers 👍

,