Moving through ice

[RLWP]

As far as the continuous moorers complaints about the navigation being used to navigate - they could always consider living in a caravan instead.

 

Well, yes, but when the canal thaws the caravan will sink!

 

Richard

[Mick_B]

Well, yes, but when the canal thaws the caravan will sink!

 

Richard

[tillergirl]

We've had a boating hol in Feb on the LL and theres been ice, sleet, snow. I can honestly say that one was more enjoyable than the August one on the same waterway...............hardly anyone around except for the liveaboards ..... it was great.

 

An inch of ice is nowt really and lets face it we're hardly likely to find Titantic proportion icebergs on our inland waterways quite just yet

[Night Hawk]

We've had a boating hol in Feb on the LL and theres been ice, sleet, snow. I can honestly say that one was more enjoyable than the August one on the same waterway...............hardly anyone around except for the liveaboards ..... it was great.

 

An inch of ice is nowt really and lets face it we're hardly likely to find Titantic proportion icebergs on our inland waterways quite just yet

 

Oh I agree, we did a little jaunt over the new year on the stretch of the Llangollen between Swanley n Wrenbury when the frost had only just arrived...it was beautiful!

[estwdjhn]

I went ice crunching in the freeze just before Christmas.

 

Not from pleasure, but due to the fact that my car had broken, and so I needed get back down to somewhere where I could walk to world from. I was also rather late in the evening leaving Marple, and arrived back on my mooring in Macclesfield at 00:45...

 

Reactions along the cut varied. Some people were clearly wondering why I hadn't been sectioned years ago. I got one rather nasty "your wrecking our blacking" type comment, and a few distinctly hostile looks. A lot of friendly reactions also, including one chap I passed on the towpath, who shouted over the sound of smashing ice "that looks like fun doing that", with a rather evnious look.

[carlt]

I went ice crunching in the freeze just before Christmas.

Was this before, or after, you discovered your wafer thin bottoms?

[chris w]

I got one rather nasty "your wrecking our blacking" type comment, and a few distinctly hostile looks.

Well if they can't use correct grammar and spelling their views shouldn't count anyway.

[RLWP]

We did Hatton top lock to Welsh Road on Friday to avoid the stoppages. It was noticable that the ice was thicker near the top gates in the flight than the bottom gates. Perhaps half an inch by the top gates and maybe nothing at all at the bottom. I guess this is due to the ice drifting down the pound with the flow.

 

Richard

[blackrose]

If their blacking is so fragile that it is damaged by a passing boat in ice, its probably time it was re-done anyway.

Not true - ice can take off brand new blacking.

 

Cruise when you want to I say. If you want to molly coddle your boat, put it in a marina away from the main line.

Except that many marinas including mine are on the main line.

 

Sure, cruise when you want to, but just be aware of what you're doing. The problem with the advice of being gentle in ice is that it's not often followed. Many people find that they need a lot of momentum to get their boat through the ice, so they end up going as hard as they can.

[mayalld]

Not true - ice can take off brand new blacking.

 

 

Except that many marinas including mine are on the main line.

 

Sure, cruise when you want to, but just be aware of what you're doing. The problem with the advice of being gentle in ice is that it's not often followed. Many people find that they need a lot of momentum to get their boat through the ice, so they end up going as hard as they can.

 

Being gentle may not be the best idea.

 

If you are gentle then you are smashing into ice, and forcing it aside in big sheets.

 

With a bit more speed, you generate wash, and that tends to flex the ice sheet, and break it into smaller pieces.

[estwdjhn]

Was this before, or after, you discovered your wafer thin bottoms?

 

After I knew they were fairly thin, but before I found out just how thin they were... initally the boatyard said there was 2.3mm left at the worst point, but when they were doing the work, they gritblasted holes into the worst patch.

 

That said, its still within a mm of build thickness in the vicinity of the waterline. Above internal floor line, she is all in reasonable condition, its only the bilge area thats a problem. I felt that the bottom of the boat at 2'3" draft was unlikely to encounter large slabs of ice, and it seems I was correct, as she didn't sink...

[Keeping Up]

I saw a great demonstration of dealing with ice, by a DFDS North Sea Ferry that I was passenger on some years back.

 

All morning we crawled through the frozen North Sea, breaking ice as we went. That explained why the captain had travelled "flat out" all through the afternoon and evening after leaving Harwich, because he knew he'd have to slow down once he reached the ice. It was beautiful in bright sunshine, with blue skies and unbroken white frozen sea in all diections (except for our wake). When we reached Gothenburg, the harbour was frozen solid. He turned round and reversed in quite fast, then just before he reached the ice he gave it "Full ahead" so that the wash from the propellors broke the ice before us as we travelled backwards towards the jetty. After 4 or 5 such runs, we reached the jetty and tied up.

[Mac of Cygnet]

By way of contrast, here's a pic of Mac Junior's boat taken on Christmas Day in the Antarctic. As you can see, completely ice-free!

 

 

Mac

[Timleech]

I saw a great demonstration of dealing with ice, by a DFDS North Sea Ferry that I was passenger on some years back.

 

All morning we crawled through the frozen North Sea, breaking ice as we went. That explained why the captain had travelled "flat out" all through the afternoon and evening after leaving Harwich, because he knew he'd have to slow down once he reached the ice. It was beautiful in bright sunshine, with blue skies and unbroken white frozen sea in all diections (except for our wake). When we reached Gothenburg, the harbour was frozen solid. He turned round and reversed in quite fast, then just before he reached the ice he gave it "Full ahead" so that the wash from the propellors broke the ice before us as we travelled backwards towards the jetty. After 4 or 5 such runs, we reached the jetty and tied up.

 

That's pretty much what I was doing yesterday getting a boat off the dry-dock. Backed it out gently, then a few seconds of full ahead to break up the ice, then gently back a bit further. That was with about 3/4" of ice, it wouldn't have worked sensibly today as there's probably twice that thickness. -6C at 9am, warmed up to a high of -3 at lunchtime, then dropped back down.

We're supposed to have light rain in the morning, that'll be fun

 

Tim

[greywolf]

Ok what are ice boards? and how do you hang them? probably the only one who does not know

[Speedwheel]

Well said. If people don't like it then they should remove their boats from the system during ice.

 

As has been said, often going slowly is not a good thing to do. One of the most effective ways is to go fast enough to create a reasonable draw on the water in front of the boat. The water level then drops and the ice loses its support causing to crack before the boat even hits it. This then allows it to part easily at the boats bows and reduces the chance of ice being pushing into other boats.

[jami dodgers]

Ok what are ice boards? and how do you hang them? probably the only one who does not know

 

No, there's at least 2 of us ;-)

 

Jami D

[bottle]

"ice board", any piece of wood of suitable size hung from the boat as per side fenders, best that the piece of wood is half in the water and half out.

 

I think.

[Dominic M]

Ok what are ice boards? and how do you hang them? probably the only one who does not know

 

No, there's at least 2 of us ;-)

 

Jami D

Something suspended from the side of the boat when moored - the handrail would be the obvious choice with a NB - that shields the hull at waterline level from ice collision caused by another boat passing. Scaffolding planks would do a good job, attached through drilled eyes by rope.

[Liam]

Planks of wood, probably similar to your gang plank, which hang down horizontally just above and below the water line so that when sheets of ice get pushed towards your boat, it's the wood that cops for it and not your boat but I've not seen any being used.

 

I moor up on a linear mooring on the main line of canal, and with it being a wide and deep canal people usually are travelling quite fast and we have never had any problems at all.

[stickleback]

we should follow the practice of the Greek Orthodox Church for avoiding the evil eye directed at boats. A local bishop throws a cross into the freezing waters and all the local lads dive for it.

 

Happy new year, everyone

 

 

Well, that MUST be a "must see " tourist-y thing! Love to see it on the GU in this weather though...

[NB Alnwick]

If the ice breaks allowing reasonable navigation then there really is no problem - but it is getting rather cold and I can remember 1963 when boats were well and truly frozen in and couldn't move at all! In fact some historians argue that the big freeze of 1963 was the real reason why carrying ceased to be viable.

 

My point is that, as the temperature drops and the ice thickens to something in excess of two centimetres, it will become impossible to navigate and there will be a serious risk of becoming frozen in out in the middle of the cut. This should be avoided and, if there is a prospect of being seriously frozen in for days or weeks on end, it would be far better to find a safe place to tie-up on the towpath before it gets too cold.

 

The ice at Cropredy is now quite solid and nothing has managed to pass us today.

[Dominic M]

If the ice breaks allowing reasonable navigation then there really is no problem - but it is getting rather cold and I can remember 1963 when boats were well and truly frozen in and couldn't move at all! In fact some historians argue that the big freeze of 1963 was the real reason why carrying ceased to be viable.

 

My point is that, as the temperature drops and the ice thickens to something in excess of two centimetres, it will become impossible to navigate and there will be a serious risk of becoming frozen in out in the middle of the cut. This should be avoided and, if there is a prospect of being seriously frozen in for days or weeks on end, it would be far better to find a safe place to tie-up on the towpath before it gets too cold.

 

The ice at Cropredy is now quite solid and nothing has managed to pass us today.

Nothing can move here either. I think it is the first time that no boat has gone past in a day since I moved here in November 2007. There are people opposite on a hire boat who have travelled just one mile from Clifton Cruisers and have now been frozen in since Monday night. They tried to move this morning but the boat wouldn't have it. I tried helping them, but the ice is too thick. And the way it is right now, I expect they will be unable to move tomorrow. There are all sorts of cracking and crunching noises as the freeze deepens and expands. Or is that Helen, who has just opened a pack of pistachio nuts?

Edited January 6, 2009 by Dominic M

[Liam]

Even though its been consistently cold for days now, over the weekend a section of canal of about 550ft actually thawed out on Friday night and wasn't frozen when we left the boat on Sunday. In other parts of the canal though, the ice has just been getting thicker and thicker. You could easily walk on it now.

[Dominic M]

Even though its been consistently cold for days now, over the weekend a section of canal of about 550ft actually thawed out on Friday night and wasn't frozen when we left the boat on Sunday. In other parts of the canal though, the ice has just been getting thicker and thicker. You could easily walk on it now.

Jesus!