Canalplan ac

[Pete of Ebor]

Have any of you regular boaters used canalplan regularly ? I have often used it for our annual hire and I've usually found it's timings quite generous however, we do have an experienced crew of 8 and hire in mid-late May when the canals are quiet. I'm shortly going to take a crew of 4 (including one boating novice) in early August from Napton. Do folks think the default setting re speed will still be accurate given August boating traffic and a smaller crew.

[Keeping Up]

I never use the default settings, I find they are far too slow, even in midsummer with just 2 of us - apart from at well-known individual points of delay such as Grindley Brook.

[WJM]

Depends how close to average you are. The defaults don't match my 'actuals' but I wouldn't expect them to!

[mayalld]

Have any of you regular boaters used canalplan regularly ? I have often used it for our annual hire and I've usually found it's timings quite generous however, we do have an experienced crew of 8 and hire in mid-late May when the canals are quiet. I'm shortly going to take a crew of 4 (including one boating novice) in early August from Napton. Do folks think the default setting re speed will still be accurate given August boating traffic and a smaller crew.

 

I find it fairly accurate for pure time over ground, but generous on lock timings unless there are queues

[stuart]

I find it fairly accurate for pure time over ground, but generous on lock timings unless there are queues

 

Same here.

[churchward]

I find it fairly accurate for pure time over ground, but generous on lock timings unless there are queues

I agree. The lock times cab be a bit pessimistic but it is a good way to get some contingency into a plan.

[muddywaters]

I just use it to work out the actual route and work out the timings myself from the Pearson and Nicholson guides.

But as when we get out on a boat we tend just play it by ear as we go along all timings go out the window.

Have even been known to change our mind about doing a ring on the first day of a cruise before today

[JDR]

I find default settings always optimistic for me, single handed. I find I take 1/2 days longer than quoted on a two week(ish) trip.

But then I've never set any speed records.

[Capt Ahab]

Have any of you regular boaters used canalplan regularly ? I have often used it for our annual hire and I've usually found it's timings quite generous however, we do have an experienced crew of 8 and hire in mid-late May when the canals are quiet. I'm shortly going to take a crew of 4 (including one boating novice) in early August from Napton. Do folks think the default setting re speed will still be accurate given August boating traffic and a smaller crew.

Its great to work out a list of milestones on a journey - but it predicts a very slow journey - over an hour too slow for each day so a 7 day journey actually takes 6 or less. However, before increasing the speeds willy nilly watch out for the shallow canals like the Peak Forest or even worse the huddersfield narrow in which the predicted speed is nigh on impossible.

[benfordboy]

I use Canalplan as the first point of our yearly 2 week trip.

 

We will always be able to pull in 1-3 days on what it says but we do 'Cruise' these days are useful for breakdowns or a late start or a extra diversion

 

Unless you are unlucky & have problems or hit a stoppage , you should be able to meet requirements of Canalplan easily

[ditchcrawler]

Have any of you regular boaters used canalplan regularly ? I have often used it for our annual hire and I've usually found it's timings quite generous however, we do have an experienced crew of 8 and hire in mid-late May when the canals are quiet. I'm shortly going to take a crew of 4 (including one boating novice) in early August from Napton. Do folks think the default setting re speed will still be accurate given August boating traffic and a smaller crew.

Iyou are going south from Napton you will probably get held up at every set of locks, i.e. bottom of Napton, Maston Dole, top of Claydon and possibly be waiting for another boat at every other lock.

[Tim]

Iyou are going south from Napton you will probably get held up at every set of locks, i.e. bottom of Napton, Maston Dole, top of Claydon and possibly be waiting for another boat at every other lock.

 

August on the South Oxford! Sounds like a lot of fun.

[StephenA]

Its great to work out a list of milestones on a journey - but it predicts a very slow journey - over an hour too slow for each day so a 7 day journey actually takes 6 or less. However, before increasing the speeds willy nilly watch out for the shallow canals like the Peak Forest or even worse the huddersfield narrow in which the predicted speed is nigh on impossible.

 

You could of course just change the number of hours per day ;-)

 

Canalplan really comes into its own when you do complex "can we do this route" sort of planning where manually working it out across multiple volumes of guidebooks or leaping around inside Edwards isn't really practical.

 

It's never ever going to be able to be 100% accurate due to all the variables involved - for example we've taken 4 minutes to get through Wheaton Aston Lock but its also taken us over 2 hours.

 

Steve

[The Maestro]

I'm often single handed but even then the times are quite generous. But surely this is much better than the opposite?

[ditchcrawler]

Have any of you regular boaters used canalplan regularly ? I have often used it for our annual hire and I've usually found it's timings quite generous however, we do have an experienced crew of 8 and hire in mid-late May when the canals are quiet. I'm shortly going to take a crew of 4 (including one boating novice) in early August from Napton. Do folks think the default setting re speed will still be accurate given August boating traffic and a smaller crew.

I tend to also plan my route backwards, That way it tells me how many hours I have to do to complete my journey. so if you do get held up or get ahead you still know you have approximately X number of hours travelling time to the end of the trip.

[NigelJ]

Sounds like a lot of bother to me. I just add up some miles and locks (3mp / 4 per hour) add a bit for luck and keep a day in hand for unexpected stoppages (like queues, long lunches, meeting friends, reading and other unhurried uses of time). Then if I fall behind schedule I start early (6-7am) and finish with daylight. I really don't see canalplan being a load of much use. How's it going to predict all that? Like satnav, which irritates me no end. And, no, I'm not a technophobe. I'm busy editing a very complicated video. I save computer technology for purposes only it can achieve. Beyond that, I'm with the ducks.

[WJM]

I always export the Canalplan data and drop it into my own software so that I can present it in a way that is more meaningful to me. I use a product called FileMaker which runs on normal computers and on iPhone/iPads.

 

[carlt]

You could of course just change the number of hours per day

I tried that but I found that anything other than 24 became too confusing.

[mayalld]

I tried that but I found that anything other than 24 became too confusing.

 

 

Entirely off on a tangent....

 

I think that you will find that much serious scientific research has shown that we would be far better off with 25 hour days.

[carlt]

Entirely off on a tangent....

 

I think that you will find that much serious scientific research has shown that we would be far better off with 25 hour days.

I agree, but it didn't work out better when only I adopted the system.

[mayalld]

I agree, but it didn't work out better when only I adopted the system.

 

 

The big problem is that implementation would require a fairly major bit of engineering on the solar system to slow the earth down.

[carlt]

The big problem is that implementation would require a fairly major bit of engineering on the solar system to slow the earth down.

If everybody lived on a boat then that would happen naturally.

[ditchcrawler]

I agree, but it didn't work out better when only I adopted the system.

Bit like leaving lock gates open when you leave, it only really works when everyone does it.

[Nick (CanalPlanAC)]

CanalPlan timings are deliberately designed to be, by default, somewhat on the conservative side.

 

There are a few reasons for this of which the key one is that it is most likely to be novices who use the defaults and the last thing I want to do is to encourage someone to ruin their first boating holiday by trying something too ambitious.

 

Also, having it like this means you don't need to make allowances in your cruising day for shopping, filling up the water tank, clearing muck off the prop and the like.

 

Regular users really ought to create an account and can then keep their preferences.

 

It's actually a lot more optimistic than typical guide book advice. For example, Nicholson's says "add the number of miles to the number of locks and divide by three to get hours" and then suggests adding time for services and visiting pubs. That would work out at 3 miles an hour and 20 minutes a lock (so slightly faster over the water than CanalPlan on narrow canals and as slow as anything CanalPlan suggests for locks, inside or out of flights).

 

To compare, for the Cheshire Ring, CanalPlan suggests a total of 56 hours 20 minutes. Nicholson's formula comes out at 63 hours 40 minutes. That's a day longer.

 

I have, at times, considered allowing % adjustment factors for waterways - including up and down stream factors but have not yet (hint) been persuaded that it's worth the effort, nor that people will care enough to help create the data.

[adam1uk]

We usually find that we're quicker than CanalPlan estimates through locks, but a bit slower on lock-free sections. This can make a big difference if there's a significant flight involved.

 

However, I think the most curious thing about CanalPlan is the so-called "overnight stopping places". These are clearly worked out on timings, and can no doubt be of use to make sure you're on schedule. But if novices are using the site, they might think it actually is possible to moor halfway up the Farmers Bridge Flight, for example. If it's not possible for it to come up with sensible suggested moorings, shouldn't the heading be changed?