Leg three, Uppermill to Marple

[Yamanx]

The original plan went out the window on Friday as I couldn’t get away from work early enough. There seemed little point in travelling up in the dark only to spend the night there and not get any maintenance done. So I left home at five am on Saturday morning and arrived in Uppermill on the Huddersfield Narrow at six thirty. Unloaded the car. The new alternator I’d brought with me didn’t fit, but I managed to rig up 12volt sockets.

 

All seemed ok BW staff had moved the boat down from 35W to lock 21W for me, nice of them eh? She didn’t have hardly any more water in the bottom than I remembered from last trip, started up fine and away.

 

The first lock was a weird affair with wind open gates, mechanical type, I fluffed about trying to come up with the easiest and quickest way to get through single handed. Took ages. Jon (Jon Orentas from this site) had offered to give me some help going down to Ashton, it was early but I was hoping he could meet me soon as at this rate I would be lucky to get half way to Ashton by nightfall.

 

After another couple of locks thankfully Jon came along. We deposited one car at Ashton and Jon was going to pilot the boat whilst I operated the locks using my push bike to overtake him, after closing the gates, to the next one. First 2 yards and the boat got stuck! I had to let an awful lot of water down to get her off.

 

One thing Jon discovered whilst piloting this boat is that the reverse is crap. Pratically non-existant. Don’t know why, I havent figured it out yet. So the nice new lock gates on the Huddersfield Narrow have some battle scars now.

 

Had a good day, stopped for some lunch at Tescos in Stalybridge. This is where the canal goes right through the high street and we sure had a lot of people watching us, so in order not to disappoint our audience we crashed into the lock gate, wallop!

 

The system we employed worked really well and I did all the gates and Jon piloted the boat. All except one that is. On the last lock Jon said “I’ll do this one”. Right oh. The gates were wind open, hydraulically operated. Jon was ages closing the gates, when he got back he commented that it took about one thousand winds to close the gates and he sure got the short straw!

 

We were in Ashton, Portland Basin, for four oclock. Not bad going. Jon gave me a lift back to my car and then I followed him to the top of Marple locks on the Peak Forest Canal, we took the scenic route, where I left my car and he gave me a lift back to Ashton. Big help or what, a gentleman for sure.

 

I got back to the boat at dusk, about six thirty. Still plenty of cruising time I thought I’ll go a bit further. No locks from here to the bottom of Marple. I rigged up a head light held on with a G clamp and cable running through the boat. After about a hundred yards or so I could just make out something in the water. As I got closer I realised it was a car. Yep, a red K reg Vauxhall Astra smack in the middle of the peak forest canal middle of nowhere.

 

Got past the car ok and went into a heavily tree lined area where it was particularly dark. I saw it far too late. A swing bridge. Bum, full astern Scotty! Only the boat did nothing but keep going forward, I franticly moved the control lever but to no avail and then the throttle cable came off because of my panic and the engine revs died to tick over. Braced myself. Bang. Nearly lifted the bridge off its hinges, definitely woke up the neighbours. Stopped the boat though.

 

Opened the probably bent bridge, pulled the boat though as for some reason I had no drive at all, either forward or reverse. Tied up for the night.

 

At about ten oclock a boat went by, without a head light in near pitch black with a load of people on board. Weirdest thing. “Where can we moor mate?” Err, anywhere along here, “Need rings mate, lost me pins I have”. I told him to go on to Portland basin and mind the Astra!

 

Got up early and waited for enough light so I could see properly what was wrong. Fixed the throttle cable easily enough and the reason there was no drive was obvious. The flexible coupling (I see those things in my sleep!) had come adrift. Simple to put right.

 

Left, wherever I was, about eight thirty and cruised up to Marple locks. Georgeous day and a lovely cruise it was too. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

I went through two tunnels. At the first one the interior had been rendered with concrete, making it almost white. And that appears to attract spiders. Millions of them. This is one of the smallest tunnels I have ever been through, I had to duck all the way through and the blimin spiders were too close for comfort. Not scared though, not a bit, no sir. I wonder how some of the boats I’ve seen that appear to be high out of the water could get through that tunnel?

 

Stopped at the fantastic marple Aquaduct and took some pictures. Met up with Jon at the bottom of Marple flight on the Peak Forest canal. Much needed help.

 

Jon took the wyndlass and started to set the first lock, all were against us. Ho hum. Deep locks and a busy area for Sunday morning wanderers. Jon would open the paddles and control the rate the lock would fill until the boat and I were about two thirds up. Then go on to the next one. I would then open the gates, shut the paddles, get the boat out and close the gates behind me.

 

I have developed a method for doing this, I’m sure it aint new and I definitely wasn’t the only person to think of it. Never the less its quite effective when single handed locking and works for me. I put the boat in forward drive as slow as possible with the tiller straight, open the gate and close the paddles. The boat drives itself out of the lock. Attached to the back is a rope which I hold, as the boat clears the gate I wrap the rope one turn around the balance beam. This slows or stops the boat and the momentum of the boat closes the gate. Voila!

 

I thought heres a chance to show the old campaigner I know a thing or two about going through locks. Not. At first the rope wasn’t long enough so I was being stretched between the rope and the gate, this makes ones body ache. Then I joined two bits of rope together, it snapped and I landed heavily on the floor with quite an audience. Jon said it could have been worse, it could have been him!

 

Out of fifteen locks I only actually got it right twice and Jon closed the last one.

 

Reached our destination in plenty of time unloaded boat, reloaded car and took Jon back to his. Excellent weekend, with georgous weather and fine company. Ready for the next stretch.

 

One thing to note, whilst sitting on the back having a cup of coffee at the end of our journey a boat came by. It was called “Vark”. Jon said “I know that boat, I asked the owner if it was difficult to build. He gave me a blank look. I said it wasn’t an ‘ard vark then?” Made me laugh. And made me laugh again when I thought of it sat on the M6 in a traffic jam on the way home.

[Carrie]

Great account. Like the tip for solo locking too.

I hope I meet such good people like John on the canals, when I'm afloat

Edited October 17, 2005 by Carrie

[Maffi]

Great account. Like the tip for solo locking too.

I hope I meet such good people like John on the canals, when I'm afloat

 

 

John took me to see a couple of builders while I was on vacation.

 

 

Round of aplause for John.