froghall tunnel

[mickp]

Im heading for the calden canal and should join her from the t&m tomorrow ,my thoughts are can i go through the tunnel at froghall.the guide says 5ft which i have at the rails (just) but not at the mushrooms in the roof centre line.i read that the markers are much lower than the actual tunnel,so any dimensions that made it would be interesting.I hear the basin needs a few boat there to clear the weed :lol:

[Idunhoe]

The official line is that the limits are 5ft wide 5ft high the centre line of the tunnel is of course higher than that though not much, and it does get significantly lower about one third of the way in. The guage at the lock 17 is indeed slightly over cautious at the edges, and the guage at the tunnel mouth is cunningly designed to block your vision. Generally it is the boat profile that is important, a decent tumble home and you should be OK. My policy whenever going through Froghall is to make sure my water tank is full (water point at Consall Forge) and that roof is clear. I have even known a couple of boats get wedged by their tiller pin. Once through the tunnel you should be aware that the canal bottom is very close to the top, particularly on the bends so it makes mooring interesting though by no means impossible, best option is to drop down into the basin where there are good pontoon moorings. Good luck and enjoy the experience

Edited August 6, 2011 by Idunhoe

[mickp]

thanks for the info as i hadnt seen the 5ft width ,so just been out with tape measure and my nb are 5ft by 5ft at the front (highest point)exactly so looks promising,

[andy3196]

You might find http://www.cuct.org.uk/caldon/guide/froghall-tunnel useful as some of the boats that have been through have suplied dimensions. It might be even more useful if people like me actually sent info in. I touched the guide at the last lock, but got through with about 5'2" height and 4'7" width. The worst thing I found was that I couldn't see the front corners of the roof from the steering position, so ended up in the front well deck pushing the boat through by hand. I did lose a little bit of paint from the handrails.

 

From memory, the tightest point seemed to be near the start, so reversing out wouldn't be too hard.

[PhilR]

It is worth fixing some temporary fendering to the front corners of the cabin.

[Idunhoe]

It is worth fixing some temporary fendering to the front corners of the cabin.

Yes but only if it is someting like thin but tough rubber sheeting. Without doubt the width is possibly the more important measuremant as the narrower the roof the taller your boat can be (within limits of course)

[PhilR]

Yes but only if it is someting like thin but tough rubber sheeting. Without doubt the width is possibly the more important measuremant as the narrower the roof the taller your boat can be (within limits of course)

 

I use rolled up sack cloth or tyre rubber.

[Keeping Up]

We're 5ft 6" high in the centre, and 5ft 4" high at the handrails which are cruiser-type so are just under 4ft apart. The edges of the boat are 5ft high, at a width of 5ft.

 

The edges cleared easily, as did the centre. The handrails (and chimney cowl) were the closest but still cleared by enough that I could steer through without anything touching at any point.

 

We couldn't fit under the height gauge, it's at least 2 or3 inches pessimistic:

 

 

 

but we fitted through the tunnel easily (sorry I couldn't get a better picture while steering)

 

 

 

 

[mickp]

thanks for all the info,i managed to get thru quite easy as i clear the gauge by about an inch,but as was mentioned the gauge is lower than it need be by abt 3 inches at 5ft wide

[alan_fincher]

I had always assumed no way in the world would we ever pass this tunnel.

 

Chalice is easily 5' 6" air draught, full water tank, with the one saving grace that she is less than 5' across the top cabin width (probably about 4' 9")

 

We failed the height gauge at the final lock by some margin, particularly at the cabin edges, but even the mushroom vents were hitting it.

 

We did however get through, but lost quite a bit of grab rail paint.

 

This was more due to my fudged attempt to get in in the first place.

 

We largely walked it though by hand, and had no more than an inch clearance at the lowest part.

 

As stated, this is fairly near the southern end, so would be relatively easy to come back out.

 

Not sure I can post pictures, as upload is flakey, but will add if I can.

[mickp]

I had always assumed no way in the world would we ever pass this tunnel.

 

Chalice is easily 5' 6" air draught, full water tank, with the one saving grace that she is less than 5' across the top cabin width (probably about 4' 9")

 

We failed the height gauge at the final lock by some margin, particularly at the cabin edges, but even the mushroom vents were hitting it.

 

We did however get through, but lost quite a bit of grab rail paint.

 

This was more due to my fudged attempt to get in in the first place.

 

We largely walked it though by hand, and had no more than an inch clearance at the lowest part.

 

As stated, this is fairly near the southern end, so would be relatively easy to come back out.

 

Not sure I can post pictures, as upload is flakey, but will add if I can.

I was told that bw recomended emptying the wharf lock a couple of times to give you an extra inch hieght but didnt try this one,water waste not an issue there

[alan_fincher]

OK,

 

I've managed to get some images up.....

 

We don't claim tighest ever, but I'd certainly not want to try it with anything bigger!

 

EDITED TO ADD:

 

Note: Even tops removed from mushroom vents, but in the end they were the least of our worries......

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2011 by alan_fincher