Canal boats stranded as water drains through lock

[Ray T]

Rochdale Canal.
Hebden Bridge canal boats stranded as water drains through lock - BBC News

 

[ditchcrawler]

Just now, Ray T said:

Rochdale Canal.
Hebden Bridge canal boats stranded as water drains through lock - BBC News

 

A comment on FB says CRT ashed up the gates but then a boater decided to use them

[Jon57]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

A comment on FB says CRT ashed up the gates but then a boater decided to use them

But crt didn't chain the gates up. So what's the point. If a boater  or anyone who hasn't seen the notice going to do but use the lock. Crt and joined up thinking don't go together. 

[5239]

1 minute ago, Jon57 said:

But crt didn't chain the gates up. So what's the point. If a boater  or anyone who hasn't seen the notice going to do but use the lock. Crt and joined up thinking don't go together. 

who was it that said they couldn’t put there socks and shoes on?

I’m still laughing at that. 

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, Jon57 said:

But crt didn't chain the gates up. So what's the point. If a boater  or anyone who hasn't seen the notice going to do but use the lock. Crt and joined up thinking don't go together. 

That I can't answer

[dmr]

Its a problem, CRT used to put stoppage notices on gates but now they don't, they just assume that everybody gets the online updates. As money is tight this is probably reasonable. My own experience is that even notices on gates are missed by quite a few boaters, and there are a small number of boaters who will cut padlocks off in order to continue their journey.

In this case, due to the length of the pound and number of moored boats CRT should have put padlocks on.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

A comment on FB says CRT ashed up the gates but then a boater decided to use them

Sorry it wasnt FB it was 

 

[David Mack]

And I took it from the stoppage notice.

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices/29008-rochdale-canal-lock-7

26/07/2024 13:09

Our operative has assessed the damage to the lock. They have ashed the gates which is helping to form a seal so water levels can recover.

This lock cannot be used until the damage to the gate has been fixed.

Until water levels have recovered and the damage has been repaired, there is a stoppage at this lock.

[Heartland]

In the times of working waterways, those who damage the navigation might face prosecution and rewards may be posted for a successful conviction,

 

Sadly this is 2024 and the rights of those who abuse the network seen to be preferentially treated.

 

[Stroudwater1]

In fairness I’m sure many boaters don’t get stoppage notices so would be unaware of the situation. We don’t usually sign up as we get more than enough emails and aren’t ccs. 
 

I’m sure CRT assumes that as well otherwise there wouldn’t be anyone at Blisworth or Braunston, volunteer or not to stop boats entering the tunnels from the opposite direction when a widebeam is passing through 

 

Besides as most know “road closed” signs are often incorrect, so many would suspect it’s the same  for canals. . 
 

Seems unwise of CRT to just rely on emails. 

[haggis]

As leisure boaters we select the waterways we plan to take our next trip on and make them our preferences. I agree that signing up for everything would quickly fill your inbox but with this method we only hear about what is likely to affect us. It has never let us down yet we speak to boaters who don't do this . 

[Arthur Marshall]

44 minutes ago, haggis said:

As leisure boaters we select the waterways we plan to take our next trip on and make them our preferences. I agree that signing up for everything would quickly fill your inbox but with this method we only hear about what is likely to affect us. It has never let us down yet we speak to boaters who don't do this . 

Here at Audlem there has been a stream of boats coming up the locks, which has now stopped. There's a handwritten "canal closed" notice on Lock 12 which will probably still be there next June.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Stroudwater1 said:

In fairness I’m sure many boaters don’t get stoppage notices so would be unaware of the situation. We don’t usually sign up as we get more than enough emails and aren’t ccs. 

 

I'm not a CCer but first thing I do in the morning when out cruising id check the latest stoppage emails., I would rather bin 6 emails than turn up at a stoppage when I could have gone the other way

[cuthound]

2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I'm not a CCer but first thing I do in the morning when out cruising id check the latest stoppage emails., I would rather bin 6 emails than turn up at a stoppage when I could have gone the other way

 

Problem is CRT issue stoppage notice at regular intervals throughout the day...  

 

[ditchcrawler]

9 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Problem is CRT issue stoppage notice at regular intervals throughout the day...  

 

Yes but I could go boating or sit and look at the computer all day, I do the best I can

[cuthound]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

Yes but I could go boating or sit and look at the computer all day, I do the best I can

 

I must admit, despite checking CRT closure notices before I set off and when stopped for lunch, they haven't really helped as 3 times I have been caught out by fallen trees before CRT have issued a closure notice.

[enigmatic]

Have to admit I'm unconvinced by the claim in one of the captions that "the water level is never this low", considering I distinctly remember Hebden Bridge looking like that around this time last year when I was playing Pennine Canal Roulette.

 

If the cruiser mentioned in the article left every lock open from 27 onwards, it won't just be Hebden Bridge that's dry either.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, cuthound said:

I must admit, despite checking CRT closure notices before I set off and when stopped for lunch, they haven't really helped as 3 times I have been caught out by fallen trees before CRT have issued a closure notice.

I've also found the Environment Agency is capable of putting red boards up without updating their website notices...

[PaulJ]

16 minutes ago, enigmatic said:

 

I've also found the Environment Agency is capable of putting red boards up without updating their website notices...

And this year they have also excelled at not notifying anyone when the nav is back open again (SSA alerts)- you have to go down to the lock to see if the X is gone or search on a local facebook group 😀

[Old Janner]

I completed a run up to the Rochdale summit and return from Mirfield around this time last year and had trouble with this section. I scraped along the bottom between locks 7 & 8. It definitely needs dredging after the prolonged leakage from lock 8 which seems to have filled this section with silt. I know this is not the current water level problem here, but Enigmatic's comment of Pennine Canal Roulette certainly describes using the waterways in this area very well. 

[alan_fincher]

I'm only repeating what has already been said, I think.

 

But it seems like a "no brainer" to me that if CRT considers a lock closed that they should have placed padlocks on it.  If they haven't done so then I don't think a boater can be blamed for attempting to pass through it.

 

I'm also aware that a very small minority of boaters might try to take bolt croppers to it, but I would argue it is indeed extremely rare that this happens.

[MtB]

34 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

I'm also aware that a very small minority of boaters might try to take bolt croppers to it, but I would argue it is indeed extremely rare that this happens.

 

I sometimes find myself musing about using the bolt croppers. But I would try to be responsible about it and re-chain the lock after me with one of my own spare padlocks.