Boat well stuck in HNC lock

[Mac of Cygnet]

A boat has become stuck in Lock 21W (Uppermill) with the lock half full. The front is jammed, and although they stopped filling the lock, the back keeps going down as the lock slowly empties, and the engine has been submerged. Water has to be let in about every twenty minutes. 3 CRT staff on the spot. The winch hasn't worked, and I can't see it getting out anytime soon, but of course it can't be left overnight as the back will sink.

 

[frangar]

As I'm hoping to do the HNC this summer I think I'm going to have to be extra careful....it seems to bite back quite often if you take your eye off the ball......

 

Thanks for the heads up!

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[Timleech]

Fat boat or fenders?

[Mac of Cygnet]

Fat boat or fenders?

 

Neither.(or so they say) There seems to be a bulge in the lock wall half way up (vertically) about 6 ft back from the top cill. A full-length boat would have to be very careful.

Edited May 11, 2014 by Mac of Cygnet

[mark99]

Nasty.

 

Be very interested to hear how it's released in the end.

[David Mack]

Is that the lock just above the main road bridge at the bottom end of the village? Mikron's Tyseley got stuck there when the canal first opened that far. All it needs is the stonework dressing back a bit, but BW refused to do it or allow it to be done. Huddersfield Canal Society were campaigning to have tight points like this eased, but I haven't heard much about it lately.

[cheshire~rose]

The Historic Narrow Boat Society are always looking for reports of problems at pinch points like this.

 

It sounds a very worrying state of affiairs. I hope they can free it off soon before any more damage occurs

[Paul C]

If they're tried winching and its failed; and the boat is able to tip when the water level goes down (ie stuck enough for its front weight to be supported) then I can't see a stronger winch being any more useful - after all they've probably pulled it even tighter, a larger winch might pull it tight enough to be a permanent feature of the landscape.

 

It would be interesting to see the number of other boats which have made it through this lock already, using the same strategy of going to the front at the lock.

[Naughty Cal]

That's going to be an interesting one to recover!

[Mac of Cygnet]

It's been extracted, using a combination of Tirfor winch, judicious wiggling of the back end using levers, and copious amounts of Fairy Liquid at the front (I hardly think that would have made any difference, would it?). So I'm now able to continue, and have actually found somewhere new to moor on the HNC, by Bridge 82, after having myself got rather stuck outside Frenches, only able to get away with the help of passing walkers.

[Robbo]

It's been extracted, using a combination of Tirfor winch, judicious wiggling of the back end using levers, and copious amounts of Fairy Liquid at the front (I hardly think that would have made any difference, would it?). So I'm now able to continue, and have actually found somewhere new to moor on the HNC, by Bridge 82, after having myself got rather stuck outside Frenches, only able to get away with the help of passing walkers.

 

I find WD40 works better for freeing up locks

[Timx]

Glad its sorted for them , but what a nice setting there

[Keeping Up]

We loved Uppermill. No problems with the lock but we did get stuck in the pub there for several hours..

[Ark Right]

We had a worrying ten minutes in this lock a few years back, 65 ft boat with bow "swag" fenders?

 

We had noted a problem from the downloaded (now defunct?) BW boaters guide that the lock and I think the next one was unsuitable for full length boats and particularly older working boats.

 

We were totally shocked to get in a jammed situation, it was a case of stopping everything while we worked out what to do.

With the tail of the lock leaking badly our situation righted itself with the jammed bow suddenly dropping a foot or so.

 

There are lovely Bat Boxes installed in the road bridge/tunnel immediately prior to the lock, perhaps a bit of cash spent on warning signs the like of Hurleston Junction would have been a better priority.

 

A

[Neil2]

As I'm hoping to do the HNC this summer I think I'm going to have to be extra careful....it seems to bite back quite often if you take your eye off the ball......

 

Thanks for the heads up!

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

Be afraid, be very afraid...

 

I remember this lock very well, it is seriously tight. I recall thinking you wouldn't even get in the lock with fenders down.

[Morris ute]

Hiya, we escaped from the lock after more than four hour's by use of the cart winch and by using my pole which is piece of ally tube, used to rock the boat near the back where there was a couple of inches gap. CRT men said they've had a number off boats stuck in this lock before,but it's not worth putting a warning sign up because most boat get through. DUH !!!

Trevor

[YamYam]

It's been extracted, using a combination of Tirfor winch, judicious wiggling of the back end using levers, and copious amounts of Fairy Liquid at the front (I hardly think that would have made any difference, would it?). So I'm now able to continue, and have actually found somewhere new to moor on the HNC, by Bridge 82, after having myself got rather stuck outside Frenches, only able to get away with the help of passing walkers.

Apparently fairy liquid is used now by engineers to help in moving large bridges into position, the sliding characteristics are supposed to be amazing. British Rail ( yes I know but really can't be bothered to remember the names of all the different companies) in partiular building new lines in London have apparently saved thousands by using it

[RLWP]

Hiya, we escaped from the lock after more than four hour's by use of the cart winch and by using my pole which is piece of ally tube, used to rock the boat near the back where there was a couple of inches gap. CRT men said they've had a number off boats stuck in this lock before,but it's not worth putting a warning sign up because most boat get through. DUH !!!

Trevor

 

Well done on extracting your boat Trevor, that must have been a nasty experience

 

Richard

[Neil2]

Hiya, we escaped from the lock after more than four hour's by use of the cart winch and by using my pole which is piece of ally tube, used to rock the boat near the back where there was a couple of inches gap. CRT men said they've had a number off boats stuck in this lock before,but it's not worth putting a warning sign up because most boat get through. DUH !!!

Trevor

Is your engine ok?

 

OP says engine was "submerged".

[Morris ute]

Not got engine running yet, took injectors out and turned it over,got soaked when the cylinder contents came up ,got blow lamp aimed down the holes and up the exhaust manifold. Next thing flat bat,so been pluged into electric over night.

[RLWP]

Pump the oil out of your engine and gearbox, it will be floating on top of water

 

Richard

[Morris ute]

Got the engine running now. No water in the sump or the gearbox, only place water went was up the exhaust.

[Mac of Cygnet]

Got the engine running now. No water in the sump or the gearbox, only place water went was up the exhaust.

 

Are you now stuck in 41E? Just got a notice, but I'm not there so can't take the pics!

[Morris ute]

No not us, it was that came through the tunnel in front of us. We passed them at Marsden,good job we did because they got stuck in 32 as well,they got down to 31 at 7.30ish

[MyLady]

Our recent trip across the Pennines (W-E) was a mitigated nightmare: the penultimate lock before the tunnel leaked so much that with the top paddles fully opened my wife (64) and I (65) were unable to open the top gates (we needed the assistance of two beefy CaRT guys to bounce them open - thanks guys); the tunnel was another part of the bad dream, we had two 'chaperones' who did their best to be helpful, but they took up both seats so I had to crouch through much of our 3hrs plus passage (I didn't want to scrape off more of Milady's paint than necessary, so I went slow); going down the east locks, we got stuck twice, not too badly the first time, but with the second, if we hadn't had help from two gongoozlers, pulling on both bow and centre ropes, we might still be stuck; finally, going through Slaithwaite & Huddersfield, first our crew on the bank were unable to accompany us using the towpath - the only access for them was half way through a bridge, so I had to back up from the following lock to that bridge, using the pole to fend off from the sides of the canal, to pick them up and allow them to operate the lock; finally one apparently nice new tunnel/bridge had an old stonework arch halfway through, I thought Milady would clear it, but it hopelessly mangled our chimney - I should have been going as slow as I did through Standedge so that I could stop in time! Oh yes, and pounds so small that we had to open the next lock's paddles before opening the ones on the current lock (so that the water from the current lock didn't flow uselessly down the bywash, but instead filled the next lock), leaving so little in the pound that we grounded when the next lock was filled.

 

25 years ago I might have regarded the experience as 'an adventure' (I did navigate the L&L single handed, from Tarleton to Bingley*), now, despite some beautiful countryside, it was a nightmare - and the 6 month old blacking on Milady already needs doing afresh.

 

Some parts of the HNC are in good repair, but lots of it just isn't navigable without extreme caution and maybe damage to at least paintwork, if not worse. I won't risk it again and these reports, in this and the other thread confirm my decision.

 

Unless you are strong and agile, (and don't care too much about damage to paintwork and your boat) I recommend that you find a different way across the Pennines! I haven't tried the Rochdale, or the L&L for quarter of a century, so I can't recommend either, but hope that they must be better than the Huddersfield Narrow.

 

Roger

 

*But I did collect several tires as fenders before making the return trip - my glass fibre boat was a lot less abrasion resistant than the canal - though being only 24' long and displacing only 3 tons, I found it a lot easier to moor directly to the swing bridges, allowing me to operate them single handed, than would be a 55' steel boat. Other canals we've cruised this time allow one to moor at the same side (opposite to the towpath) as one needs to be to operate the bridge.

 

R

 

Edited to say what I meant first time round.

Edited May 17, 2014 by MyLady