My first attempt at a swingbridge

[Barry]

Thought I'd share this with you seeing as I was laughing at myself through most of it.

 

 

 

 

So I'm on my second day of single handing a narrowboat.....ever!

 

I'd made fantastic progress up the Bosley flight on the Macc (two and a half hours), successfully negotiated the first hydraulic swingbridge near bridge 49 (Oak Grove?)

 

 

 

The manual swingbridge is near bridge 47 and was closed against so......

 

1) Tie up with the centre line on the bollards

 

2) Walk across the bridge and realise I need a BW key

 

3) Walk back across the bridge and fetch the key

 

4) Walk across the bridge for the third time and work out how to unlock the bridge which involves lifting an enormous chunk of steelwork that looks like the key to tin of corned beef

 

5) Swing the bridge open

 

6) Look at the gap and realise that I am on one side of the canal and the boat is on the other and I can't now get to it

 

7) Close the bridge

 

8) walk across the bridge for the 4th time

 

9) bow haul the boat so that the bow is in the entrance to the bridge

 

10) walk across the bridge for the 5th time

 

11) open the bridge for the second time

 

12) look at the boat and realise that I haven't pulled the boat through far enough so I can't reach the bow line to pull the boat through

 

13) close the bridge

 

14) walk across the bridge for the 6th time

 

15) push the boat into the bridge entry a bit more

 

16) walk across the bridge for the 7th time

 

17) walk down the stonework to get the bow line which is now close enough to reach

 

18) slip on the stonework and fall on my arse with a major thump

 

19) I've stopped laughing now as I dust myself off and realise how lucky I was not to seriously hurt myself

 

20) tie the bow line to the bollard on the off side

 

21) open the bridge for the 3rd time

 

22) bow haul the boat through as far as I can then walk through till the stern is in the bridge exit and tie it off to the bollard on the off side

 

23) wonder if I should just leave the blasted bridge open because I've had enough now

 

24) close the bridge for the 3rd time

 

25) start the engine, untie the stern line and gently pull away from the bridge triumphant that I've beaten the bloody thing

 

26) Curse mightily as round the corner comes another boat belting along and if I'd been a bit slower at the flight he'd have helped me with the damned bridge

 

27) smile ruefully as I realise this is how life is and least I now know how not to do a swingbridge

Edited April 15, 2012 by Bazza2

[Alan de Enfield]

Like it - have a green thingy.

Maybe this should be added to Stars "what they dont tell you list" ?

[Athy]

Perhaps your correct sequence should have been:

 

1) Tie up near bridge.

2) Put kettle on.

3) Relax with hot drink and biccies until another boat arrives.

 

Though on some stretches you would have emptied the kettle, eaten all your biscuits and grown a beard by the time another boat arrived.

 

I echo Alan's thoughts on your post.

Edited April 15, 2012 by Athy

[Mac of Cygnet]

Reminds me of the half hour I spent last year sitting on the balance beam of an Oxford lift bridge as I realised there was no means of chaining it down and my boat had drifted to a halt under the bridge!

[jaywalker]

This should have been filmed. Eric Sykes could play the ead role.

[cheshire~rose]

Thanks for sharing Bazza! you get a greenie from me!

 

Although I have never actually done it I am told the way is to tie the bow line to the middle of the bridge so the bridge moves the boat w

 

hen it opens but the rope is still reachable by the operator. I suspect if the time came for me to practise the theory I would do the other thing - put the kettle on and wait!

[Keeping Up]

Reminds me of the half hour I spent last year sitting on the balance beam of an Oxford lift bridge as I realised there was no means of chaining it down and my boat had drifted to a halt under the bridge!

 

Brilliant. You could have been there all night!

[Athy]

Reminds me of the half hour I spent last year sitting on the balance beam of an Oxford lift bridge as I realised there was no means of chaining it down and my boat had drifted to a halt under the bridge!

If they had remade 'The Italian Job' as 'The Oxford Job' that would have made an ideal closing scene.

[Mac of Cygnet]

Brilliant. You could have been there all night!

 

I really, really thought I was going to be. Eventually I made an extremely dodgy arrangement with the chain wrapped round and jammed with a twig, and went to take the boat out expecting the bridge to come crashing down at any time. After that I carried a length of rope and a karabiner. (Yes, I've heard of methods of propping them open, but this seemed the most secure.)

[lemontoes]

Hilarious! Glad you persevered and got Tonka home.

 

Jan

[PhilR]

 

27) smile ruefully as I realise this is how life is and least I now know how not to do a swingbridge

 

If you had gone through the bridge last year you would have needed to use a crowbar, or mooring pin, to lift the bridge off the masonry on the towpath side . So it must be good news that BW have done a bit of maintenance.

 

This bridge had been rotten and unusable for many years and was left permanently open to boat traffic....... until the local canal society decided it would be a good restoration project.

I am sure many people might question whether or not this was a good restoration project?

[Grace and Favour]

Bazza - - wonderful tale - well toiled!

 

 

 

I shall award you 50% of my daily bogey greenie allowance

[Keeping Up]

Yes, absolutely superb tutorial Bazza - another greenie from me - but I think number 27 should read "smile ruefully as I realise this is how life is and least I now know some of the many ways of how not to do a swingbridge"

[onionbargee]

1.Get off

 

2.open it

 

3.go through

 

4.close it

 

 

Freakin sweet.

[adam1uk]

Perhaps your correct sequence should have been:

 

1) Tie up near bridge.

2) Put kettle on.

3) Relax with hot drink and biccies until another boat arrives.

 

Though on some stretches you would have emptied the kettle, eaten all your biscuits and grown a beard by the time another boat arrived.

 

Reminds me of the story about a boater who'd been single-handing for twenty-odd years. Someone asked him how he coped with swing and lift bridges and he said he moored up and waited for another boat. "Don't you have a wait a long time?", he was asked. "Oh no," he replied. "Never more than three days".

[Barry]

1.Get off

 

2.open it

 

3.go through

 

4.close it

 

 

Freakin sweet.

 

Yeah.....that's what I thought as I was approaching it

 

 

 

 

 

Clever clogs!

[Maffi]

Colin Edmonson 'Going it alone" answers all questions.

 

A boat pole will prop up a lift bridge. If you wish to use the chain take your tiller pin with you. Tiller pins are not only decorative.

 

Swing bridges are easier. Tie you bow line to the bridge. Open bridge pull your boat through, Pick up stern line already placed on rear roof and tie it to the bridge. Close the bridge. Simples. For longer boats preposition the center line on the bridge side of the boat, easy to pick up. This only requires you to cross the bridge twice.

Edited April 15, 2012 by Maffi

[Grace and Favour]

This should have been filmed. Eric Sykes could play the ead role.

 

Are you suggesting that 'Our Bazza' is a 'plank'?

[Barry]

Well there was a time or two in my perambulations that I felt a bit of a plank and I was glad there was no-one watching

[luctor et emergo]

Serves you right for not towing your boat with a horse...

 

It's a heritage thing you know. Next thing they'll bring back turnpikes

 

 

 

Ohhh, hang on.....

[the grinch]

Bazza take no notice of the mocking brigade it happens to the best of us at some stage, i had similar at Heyford a few years ago

set everything up to get through, got the boat ready, got the bridge up, pulled the boat through, just as it emerged the other side, someone drew the lock above boat stops under bridge!! oh great! had to balance bridge on cabin top and get another line to pull her through!!

[Barry]

Hilarious! Glad you persevered and got Tonka home.

 

Jan

 

Well I had to persevere Jan. I was on a mission to deliver your home to you and nothing - but nothing - was going to stop me!

[Black Ibis]

I had fun at the first lift bridge I encountered on the GU. It was that one where there's a well used road that goes over the bridge and so there are barriers which go down simultaneously at both ends of the bridge and then you open the bridge. Somehow I managed to let a car through, thinking that I'd put the barrier down behind it and then let it off the other end. Of course both barriers went down, trapping it between them, on the bridge, much to the annoyance (and fear!) or the occupants of the car who thought I was going to try and lift it with the car on the bridge! I re-opened the barriers and let them off before finally continuing on with lifting the bridge!

[Darren72]

 

Ever thought about using the plank off your boat

 

 

 

 

Thought I'd share this with you seeing as I was laughing at myself through most of it.

 

 

 

 

So I'm on my second day of single handing a narrowboat.....ever!

 

I'd made fantastic progress up the Bosley flight on the Macc (two and a half hours), successfully negotiated the first hydraulic swingbridge near bridge 49 (Oak Grove?)

 

 

 

The manual swingbridge is near bridge 47 and was closed against so......

 

1) Tie up with the centre line on the bollards

 

2) Walk across the bridge and realise I need a BW key

 

3) Walk back across the bridge and fetch the key

 

4) Walk across the bridge for the third time and work out how to unlock the bridge which involves lifting an enormous chunk of steelwork that looks like the key to tin of corned beef

 

5) Swing the bridge open

 

6) Look at the gap and realise that I am on one side of the canal and the boat is on the other and I can't now get to it

 

7) Close the bridge

 

8) walk across the bridge for the 4th time

 

9) bow haul the boat so that the bow is in the entrance to the bridge

 

10) walk across the bridge for the 5th time

 

11) open the bridge for the second time

 

12) look at the boat and realise that I haven't pulled the boat through far enough so I can't reach the bow line to pull the boat through

 

13) close the bridge

 

14) walk across the bridge for the 6th time

 

15) push the boat into the bridge entry a bit more

 

16) walk across the bridge for the 7th time

 

17) walk down the stonework to get the bow line which is now close enough to reach

 

18) slip on the stonework and fall on my arse with a major thump

 

19) I've stopped laughing now as I dust myself off and realise how lucky I was not to seriously hurt myself

 

20) tie the bow line to the bollard on the off side

 

21) open the bridge for the 3rd time

 

22) bow haul the boat through as far as I can then walk through till the stern is in the bridge exit and tie it off to the bollard on the off side

 

23) wonder if I should just leave the blasted bridge open because I've had enough now

 

24) close the bridge for the 3rd time

 

25) start the engine, untie the stern line and gently pull away from the bridge triumphant that I've beaten the bloody thing

 

26) Curse mightily as round the corner comes another boat belting along and if I'd been a bit slower at the flight he'd have helped me with the damned bridge

 

27) smile ruefully as I realise this is how life is and least I now know how not to do a swingbridge

[Barry]

Ever thought about using the plank off your boat

 

Good plan - except there was no plank