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Beeston Iron sinking

dor

By dor
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sueb Veteran II

sueb

Posted
Posted
I was told by a BW director that there is a reason for putting the Cill notices on the top beams. When a boat comes into a lock, going downhill, the gate is open and the back of the balance beam is along side the steerer so he sees and he reads the notice. If he doesn't know what a cill is, as the water goes down, he sees the wall marking for the cill and this tells him to make sure that his stern is not on top of it.

Good theory but not sure if it actually works like that :-). Boaters are probaly so busy reading signs and trying to understand them that their attention is not on their boat and they get hung up. Any time I have seen a boat almost getting hung up it was because the steerer was distracted by something and not watching his boat. No amount of signs will stop that.

 

haggis.

I have never seen the sign as I go into a lock, as I am looking at the end of the lock judging if I am going to hit the gates or not.

I certainly don't look at the lock gate beams as I go past them

Sue

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
I have never seen the sign as I go into a lock, as I am looking at the end of the lock judging if I am going to hit the gates or not.

I certainly don't look at the lock gate beams as I go past them

Sue

If we HAVE to have them then I'm sure they would do more good at the other end of the lock so you see them ahead of you, if you are looking back you see the "cill" marking

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Hyperion 53 Contributor

Hyperion 53

Posted
Posted

I had to wait at the top of Bascote staircase for 20 minutes yesterday, while contractors (hiring one of Andy Rotherns tugs from top of Atherstone) were repainting the CILL markers on the top lock. By repainting, I mean getting the older cill marker off by scrubbing at the brick work and painting a new cill marker about 6 inches further down the lock side. There were six men. Two with windlasses watching on the bank, one steering, one painting, one directing and one driving the van. All with life jackets on.

 

Now, why on earth are we letting this happen. The cut has survived this long without cill markers and then with cill markers for the FEW who don't know where the cill is. "In my experience these tend to be foreigners who think that they are still on a river!! or prats who just shouldn't be near water!."

 

WE and I emphasis on WE, are paying BW far to much money to protect and conserve OUR waterways whilst encouraging their best and innovative use, maximising on oppurtinities for leisure, recreation, education and transportation of goods. Instead they are spending our ever increasing license money on silly little signs (even on disused waterways) on gates, contractors who charge a fortune to mow the grass and for all aspects of maintenance.

 

IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE CILL IS, the fact of it is YOU SHOULDN'T BE ON A BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

There were two bottom paddles out between Welsh Road and the bottom of Radford. I believe that they have been like it for most of the summer. WHY HAVE THESE NOT BEEN REPAIRED.

 

This all needs to come to an end soon.

 

The cut needs looking after by means of dredging, and general maintaining.

 

Think about those couple of bridges between Hillmorton and Braunston that have been falling down for two years - all waterways have done is put some large balloons and safety notices. Why on earth are they not fixing them.

 

I better stop, my feathers don't need to be ruffled to have a good argument. I would love to be put infront of OUR BW CHAIRMAN. I would spend days telling him to run his very unsuccessful company and I am sure that 90% of you other boaters would back me up too.

 

One last thing. Phone Northwich and mention Norbury. They don't even know where it is and then when they realise it's on the Shroppie (or rather the Shropshire Union Canal south as a very nice lady from their office told me the other day) they reckon it's managed by West Midlands.

 

We have let BW get into this state and something seriously needs to be done about it. Anyway that's enough for me!!

 

As for Beeston Iron lock you can get through it abreast depending on the boat. You can't get a pair of Grand Unions through, but a pair of Joshers will as long as going down hill you hold right back to the cill (watch out for the marker lmao!!!!!) and coming up hill you put the butty on the outside and once again stay upto the cill. I can't see for that reason why two pleasure boats won't go through. I have got some pictures lurking about somewhere from when I have taken Plover (FMC) and Ethel (Station boat).

 

That's it folks... :lol: :lol:

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haggis Veteran

haggisDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

 

 

IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE CILL IS, the fact of it is YOU SHOULDN'T BE ON A BOAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

But are all cills the same size? I can think of some which look about a foot deep and others which are over 6 feet. It is useful to know how deep the one in the lock you are in is :lol:

 

Haggis

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Keeping Up Veteran II

Keeping UpDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

In some of the locks on the Chesterfield Canal this summer, the cill marker was so far from the gate that I couldn't keep the stern of my (67 foot) boat forward of them, yet I remembered that there had been plenty of room when I went up those locks, so I looked carefully and could see that although the cill was straight for the majority of the width of the lock, at a few inches away from the lock wall it curved around so that a 'tongue' of brickwork projected towards the other end of the lock. This obstruction was about an inch wide at the cill, tapering to nothing about 4 feet down the lock - at which point the 'cill' marker is painted.

 

It is difficult to imagine a boat that could possibly catch on the cill in this area, it would need to be the full width of the lock and totally square.

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AlanJ Collaborator

AlanJ

Posted
Posted
But are all cills the same size? I can think of some which look about a foot deep and others which are over 6 feet. It is useful to know how deep the one in the lock you are in is :lol:

 

Haggis

 

This is very true - it is useful to know when you are in a lock that you are not used to.

 

I think the bigger problem comes from the fact that:

1) The work is being contracted out at no doubt premium rate

2) There were 6 of them!

 

Sorry, but as has been said before - I'm sure there are plenty of CC'ers that would be more than happy to do this kind of thing as they wander around the system.

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Dylan Community Regular

Dylan

Posted
Posted
There is a notice at Hurlston telling you not to enret the lock with fenders down, but lots of boaters ignore that as well.

Yes, we saw one in August go through Hurlston bottom lock with fenders down.

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  • 1 month later...
kienik Proficient

kienik

Posted
Posted

This is very disturbing news.

 

Does anyone know of the "facts" surrounding this terrible incident?

 

i have used the lock many many times as i hire from Chas Hardern who is based right on the bottom tail of the lock, i only hope that no one was hurt (aprt from the poor dog!). Their are plenty of warning signs in high vis red but without knowing the facts of the incident we cannot speculate.

 

every time that i hear about a incident like this, it turns my stomach even more so when it is on your own doorstep. what was the boat called and was it a local boater?? (not that it should make any difference of course)

 

my thoughts are with the boater and his/hers family.

 

Nik

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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
This is very disturbing news.

 

Does anyone know of the "facts" surrounding this terrible incident?

 

i have used the lock many many times as i hire from Chas Hardern who is based right on the bottom tail of the lock, i only hope that no one was hurt (aprt from the poor dog!). Their are plenty of warning signs in high vis red but without knowing the facts of the incident we cannot speculate.

 

every time that i hear about a incident like this, it turns my stomach even more so when it is on your own doorstep. what was the boat called and was it a local boater?? (not that it should make any difference of course)

 

my thoughts are with the boater and his/hers family.

 

Nik

According to Towpath Talk 20 Nov page 4, only the dog was lost.

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kienik Proficient

kienik

Posted
Posted

"Hurleston bottom lock is an accident waiting to happen, theres a bloke who had his boat built in chester and can't get through the lock and is suing the builder!"

 

 

 

be very careful what you say with regard to this matter as i know the builder personally. not being a moody bum but just be careful!!

 

Nik

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