hurleston lock too tight

[Timleech]

I would not necessarily agree that the bottom lock is getting any worse , it may seem more boats are getting stuck but then more boats are using the flight (9688 between March and October 2007 which is over 2000 up on the same period in 2006).

It is probably academic anyway because if work is to be done on the flight then Locks 2 and 3 are in more urgent need as when I left there were massive cavities behind the side walls of both locks

 

I'm told that work on the bottom lock, including improving the width, is scheduled for the near future.

 

Tim

[Hairy-Neil]

is it true that the lock is a histiric building and can't be re built?

 

The protected status is there to (hopefully) prevent the structure being altered significantly or destroyed altogether. Somehow I can't see this happening at Hurleston Locks.......It would need listed buildings consent from the local authority, though I would say obtaining it would be a formality. I was for several years a canal society's work party organiser at a lock that was a listed building so have first hand experience of it this.

 

Rebuilding the insides of a lock chamber a couple of inches wider would make little difference to its appearance in my books. The regulations will allow the under water and working parts of a brick chamber to be reconstructed in engineering bricks. Inside the chamber of a working lock soon becomes covered in slime and the type of brick used rapidly becomes irelevant from a visual viewpoint. What it does mean though is that visible brick/stonework that is outside the chamber would need to be treated sensitively, that is repaired with reclaimed bricks and lime mortar. I believe this is a good thing and that more heritage structures should be treated with this respect, not just the formally listed ones.

[GRPCruiserman]

Answer: Norman 20, I used to position myself in the lock to avoid the 'water spouts', but I do remember having to lift the fenders on to the gunwhale, whereas the 'V' type section of the topsides of the hul used to allow the fenders to sneak in below the gunwhales in most locks.

 

Some friends of ours had a 20foot Callumcraft with screwed on corner fenders at the stern and when we got to Middlewich, they had to saw one off to get in the lock!! They were high enough to clear that narrow aqueduct just before the Big Lock, but too wide to get in the narrow locks. Once 'sawn off' they got all the way to Llangollen with no problems.

[jamlin1]

Hi, In 2011 we tried to go up the llangollen branch, we are 52ft long, we had all the fenders lifted as we do on all of the locks we go into, and we got well and truly jammed in the lock, we struggled for nearly 1 hour to get ouselves out, what we had to do in the end was let the water out of the forward gates to lift the boat and we had the boat in high rev`s reverse gear and we had to waggle the rear from side to side to release her, which eventually it worked but it was a big worry. BW say that you have to try and save the water? but how can you when something like this happens, and they know about it??? so now obviously we have not bothered to try it again, we told BW about the problem there, and they said that it is the narrowest on the entire system, our boat is measured as 6ft 10inches, and the lock advertises itself as allowing 6ft 10inch boats??? to say it spoiled our day/week, is a understatement

[FadeToScarlet]

I suspect we won't get through it at 7' 3/8" at the widest point, but will try if we're ever that way.

[Detling]

I've had no trouble this year at 6'10", so maybe your 6'10" inch is like my friends 55' foot boat which measures 58' now.

[berth]

Stoppages calendar tells me that Hurleston locks are closed 4 weeks in Feb 2014. I guess the discussion will be re-opened than :-)

[Paul C]

I've had no trouble this year at 6'10", so maybe your 6'10" inch is like my friends 55' foot boat which measures 58' now.

 

It depends on how it was measured! Its possible that the shell is no wider than 6'10" in any particular cross section, but that the boat is slightly banana shaped, thus the rectangle it occupies is greater than 6'11 or whatever the actual limit for Hurleston is. This would also explain why some boats get more stuck in one direction than the other.

 

Another factor (already mentioned) is that the 'bulge' swells with a higher water table.

Stoppages calendar tells me that Hurleston locks are closed 4 weeks in Feb 2014. I guess the discussion will be re-opened than :-)

 

They're replacing the top lock gate, not sure what other stuff they're doing - just a general dewater/check of the others, not major structural alterations.

[the grinch]

One unusual effect we discovered while going down Hurleston flight, was that whereas most locks draw the boat forwards when the bottom paddles are opened, at least one of the locks caught us out by drawing the boat rapidly backwards. We had to be very quick to shut the bottom paddles and go back to open the top paddles and gently refill the lock, as the tip of the rudder caught on the cill.

yes I had the same unfortunate thing at New Marton Top Lock lst time I was up there. we used to winch the butty in when I worked for Peter Froud on the hotel boats but can't remember if it was Forget me Not or Taurus that used to stick (I worked on both pairs) Communicator never had any bother at 6'10½"

[tillergirl]

Friends of ours got wedged in there this summer....................they own a Liverpool boat. We went both ways fenders up with room to spare.

[T.A]

Stoppages calendar tells me that Hurleston locks are closed 4 weeks in Feb 2014. I guess the discussion will be re-opened than :-)

Yes hopefully they will do something. I had a mooring at Whixall back in 2009 it was to be a temporary mooring until there was availability at Worcester I arrived at Hurleston bottom lock went in got stuck the lock keeper called back the floating lock keeper to help they suggested I reverse in after having to flush me out after I had explained I had a mooring at Whixall. Well with a bit of two and frowing they eventually got me through I had a little bit of a nip in the next lock then turned in the middle pound and went through the next two locks ok. The lock keeper said if I am coming back to let him know I was advised three weeks later that a mooring was available at Worcester. After having made some mods to the boat I returned in 6 weeks only to have the same problems. The lock keeper got me through by flushing me out. It is a shame that at this moment I thought I will never revisit the Llangollen which is a beautiful canal again.

[chrislyn]

Friends of ours got wedged in there this summer....................they own a Liverpool boat. We went both ways fenders up with room to spare.

Hi

we owned the boat in dor's post from 2008, which Liverpool replaced, after lots of discussion and legal wrangling. It was 6'10 but 'bowed' out in middle to 7'1" we became wedged tight half way in to the lock and had to reverse out twice! ruined a planned week's holiday...our replacement boat, which we still own, fits the lock with inches to spare, and it's definately 6'10" all way from bow to stern. don't use fenders either, so that's never been a problem..

[Jeffers71]

Answer: Norman 20, I used to position myself in the lock to avoid the 'water spouts', but I do remember having to lift the fenders on to the gunwhale, whereas the 'V' type section of the topsides of the hul used to allow the fenders to sneak in below the gunwhales in most locks.

 

Some friends of ours had a 20foot Callumcraft with screwed on corner fenders at the stern and when we got to Middlewich, they had to saw one off to get in the lock!! They were high enough to clear that narrow aqueduct just before the Big Lock, but too wide to get in the narrow locks. Once 'sawn off' they got all the way to Llangollen with no problems.

we had a 23ft Norman cruiser and got in in april at the expense of having a corner fender ripped off, the steel narrow boat in front of us wasn't so lucky, a piece of wood about the size of a matchbox floated in alongside them got wedged and they ended up half sunk!

[Dave_P]

we had a 23ft Norman cruiser and got in in april at the expense of having a corner fender ripped off, the steel narrow boat in front of us wasn't so lucky, a piece of wood about the size of a matchbox floated in alongside them got wedged and they ended up half sunk!

Define 'half-sunk'? Surely you either sink or you don't?

[Paul C]

Could a catameran be legitimately half-sunk?

[craftycarper]

Define 'half-sunk'? Surely you either sink or you don't?

wet feet, dry head

[craftycarper]

Hi, I want to know any one with a story of getting stuck in hurleston locks on the junction of the shroppie and llangollen canals.

this lock flight is well known for being a tight fit, but bw will not admit that it has gone tighter over the years. any one who has got stuck,or had trouble in the lock,if you could recount your experiences, it would be of great help to me.

 

thanks alot

 

pwb

if you type narrowboat lad, Dan brown into YouTube , there is a video of him actually stuck in the lock, I think it's the vid from when he first bought Tilley, and took it back to ellsmere,

[ditchcrawler]

if you type narrowboat lad, Dan brown into YouTube , there is a video of him actually stuck in the lock, I think it's the vid from when he first bought Tilley, and took it back to ellsmere,

Any idea which one, he has dozens up there

[craftycarper]

Any idea which one, he has dozens up there[/quote. just had a quick look it's called my first narrowboat adventure, 96 miles and 60 locks

[ditchcrawler]

Well its just over 33 minutes into the video, you dont actually see him stuck as he tried to go in with his fenders down. The video shows him in the lock and a close fit.

[Jeffers71]

Define 'half-sunk'? Surely you either sink or you don't?

Well one end was fairly well underwater but the front end had floated up as they started filling the lock so half sunk