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And the temperature outside is ...........

wirren

By wirren
in General Boating

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted
To answer your question somewhat belatedly, on Saturday Colonel went up and Amberley went down.

 

Chris G

There seem to be quite a lot of bats not defeated by the ice on this bit of the GU at the moment. Clearly from Mike Askin's pictures elsewhere, Archimedes and Ara have also blasted their way down the Marsworth flight.

 

Might need a bit more on the speed wheel by this morning, though, I suspect!

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novascotianboy Engager

novascotianboy

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On the Slough Branch of the network, it is iced up - though it melted a bit in yesterday's slightly warmer weather. Someone in an earlier post described "cat ice" - ice thick enough to support a cat - well, this is certainly "Swan Ice" as they are all looking much less graceful scrabbling about on top of the canal rather than in it!

 

No traffic that I've seen since Saturday. Am hoping someone goes up soon, as we hope to move on the 26th (we are cc'ers) and are new to cruising in ice so would love to not have to ice break on our first day out winter cruising!

 

To that end, anyone know if a coal boat goes up the Slough Arm of the GU? I might just try to time my journey to coincide with that - even if it means a delay!

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mykaskin Experienced

mykaskin

Posted
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To that end, anyone know if a coal boat goes up the Slough Arm of the GU? I might just try to time my journey to coincide with that - even if it means a delay!

 

Not to my knowledge, the lack of depth, and lack of customers (the boats at Iver aren't allowed to purchase from passing boats) mean it isn't worth it.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

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mykaskin Experienced

mykaskin

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Really? ISTR there are only offside online moorings here.

 

Is the boatyard allowed to restrict trade in that way? And how do they enforce it?

 

What is to stop someone untieing and making their purchase in mid-channel?

 

David

 

There is nothing stopping people from untying, but when they get coal and fuel delivered to the boat for no extra delivery cost why bother messing about with all that nasty boating bit! :-)

 

Mike

 

ps. There is a potential health and safety/insurance/litigation problem allowing third party contractors (read coal boater in this case) on the boatyards land (which I guess includes boats tied to it).

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magpie patrick Veteran II

magpie patrickDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)

Was on the banks of the Chesterfield Canal yesterday. that's VERY frozen in places, like bricks had been lobbed at the ice and just sat there.

 

Been to Ripple today as a little fearful what all that heavy rain followed by frost might have done, Once I'd prized the deck boards up (they were frozen on) to check the engine was fir to start, as in, the cooling water was water and not ice, I ran the engine for two hours, it appears that the rain had made the automatic bilge pump fire up a lot as the batteries were thirsty. Two hours won't have got the back to full charge but it means the pump will keep working until I can get back in early January.

 

Would have gone for a spin (can only go to the junction and back as the bridges are closed) but decided not to break ice just for the hall of it.

 

edited to add, because we boat year round I don't "winterise", yet have never had a problem despite seriously sub zero temperatures on occasion.

Edited by magpie patrick
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furnessvale Influencer

furnessvale

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There is nothing stopping people from untying, but when they get coal and fuel delivered to the boat for no extra delivery cost why bother messing about with all that nasty boating bit! :-)

 

Mike

 

ps. There is a potential health and safety/insurance/litigation problem allowing third party contractors (read coal boater in this case) on the boatyards land (which I guess includes boats tied to it).

 

I have always argued that a boat online in the canal is not in the marina. Coming alongside with Alton I certainly was in the canal. Marina owners normally use bully boy tactics,

 

eg

 

1. Buy off that coal boat and you will lose your mooring.

 

2. Buy abc off that coal boat and you can forget about buying xyz from me.

 

This is why my marina customers normally went for a short cruise once a fortnight and tied on the towpath out of sight of the marina.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

ps I found out recently that one of the marina owners who was most vocal about diesel boats "stealing" his business was not a registered dealer in controlled oils and was shut down by the ministry until he registered. It seems that all the cowboys are not in the USA or on coal boats:-)

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Ange Veteran

Ange

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Iona at about midday today on the L&L at Adlington.

 

Adlington22122009005.jpg

 

No ice breakers round here - nothing has passed us since the canal iced up Friday night. We're not moving till it melts - we only had the hull blacked last October!

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Pluto Veteran

PlutoDonate to Canal World

Posted
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Iona at about midday today on the L&L at Adlington.

 

Adlington22122009005.jpg

 

No ice breakers round here - nothing has passed us since the canal iced up Friday night. We're not moving till it melts - we only had the hull blacked last October!

For cruising in the winter, I would recommend the Saimaa Canal in Finland. The lock gates are centrally heated so that they can be used for an extra couple of months in winter. The lock sides become like a skating rink, so safety lines have to be used by anyone working there, and ice on the sides of the chambers has to be chipped off to maintain full width. The main traffic is timber, the canal crossing the border into Russia before vessels can access the Baltic.

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Guest

Guest

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Posted
For cruising in the winter, I would recommend the Saimaa Canal in Finland. The lock gates are centrally heated so that they can be used for an extra couple of months in winter. The lock sides become like a skating rink, so safety lines have to be used by anyone working there, and ice on the sides of the chambers has to be chipped off to maintain full width. The main traffic is timber, the canal crossing the border into Russia before vessels can access the Baltic.

 

Bye then off you pop....

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Smelly Veteran

Smelly

Posted
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This is, I think, the first year Ive seen serious ice before boxing day. I wonder whether we're in for a harsh one...Three weeks we can survive, but longer than that then coal, diesel water etc. :lol:

 

A boat next door to us made about 200 yards in 1 1/2 hours breaking ice earlier. They woke me up crunching things. A sign of things to come?

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jelunga Influencer

jelunga

Posted
Posted
Iona at about midday today on the L&L at Adlington.

 

Adlington22122009005.jpg

 

No ice breakers round here - nothing has passed us since the canal iced up Friday night. We're not moving till it melts - we only had the hull blacked last October!

 

Nice picture Ange.

 

We are now the proud owners officially of

Lily Maud. But, because both her current mooring and her intended Marina are both blocks of ice, and she also had an expensive 2 part epoxy hull blacking job, I will not be moving her until ice melts.

So please all pray for a heat wave on Boxing Day so we can actually take her for a cruise!1

 

K

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