Chesterfield canal weed.....(not the smoking sort!)

[frangar]

Made it almost to end....now moored halfway between the last winding hole and the tunnel mouth...decided would be pushing my luck if we reversed much more. It's nice n deep here...we are tied up to pins on the cutting as the visitor moorings are taken by one narrowboat and a small plastic cruiser....the visitor mooring is also right next to a noisy metal works but a small reverse gets you a much nicer mooring...just needs a few rings for it to be perfect!

 

The run up the last lock flight was easy even just with the two of us...plenty of water and no weed to speak off...it's a little shallow in places but even drawing 2ft 8in we only stirred the mud up...never going hard aground. The locks are well maintained and the paddle gear is a joy....I can't see why anyone would just go to shireoaks and not do this last bit.

 

It also seems that the visitor moorings at shireoaks are due to be moved out of the marina and onto the towpath which does seem a bit of a retrograde step. Chatting to some of the moorers there they say that the get trouble from the local youth from time to time so CRT are putting up a new fence for the marina....if that's the case surely it would be better for the visitor mooring to be inside not outside said fence!! CRT have also put a new water point by the facility block which means you have to do quite a shunt to get moored next to it...not made any easier by a work tug being moored there too!

 

All in all I'm glad we stuck with it and made it to the end...and would recommend the trip if anyone is thinking of it.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[cheshire~rose]

Those last locks are a joy to work aren't they?

 

I know when Alanji went up there last year he was going to stop short as being single handed he saw no reason to put himself through so many double and triple locks just for a piddling little bit at the summit. I went and lock wheeled for him and you whistle through them, gates and paddles and work effortlessly!

 

Last year there were a lot of problems with local youths entering the marina at Shireoaks and running rampant around the boats throwing stuff off the roofs into the water and damaging boats. A number of the moorings are live aboard boats and the things they were doing to make the marina a pleasant place to be (flowers tubs etc) were just being ruined and so it was decided that a fence be put up to give them better security. I can understand that people may feel that the visitor mooring ought to be within the fence but in truth there are so few visiting boats that if the local troublemakers do not have the easy access to cause bother at the marina they will probably just go elsewhere where it is easier to destroy things. I doubt they will be bothered to walk up to that area if they know they don't have easy access to the marina.

 

We will be on our boat this weekend. Any ideas on your plans for heading back down? Are we likely to get to meet you?

[frangar]

We are hoping to be at drakeholes on Sunday night so we can have a short hop to stockwith on Monday ready for the Tuesday tide to keadby so we may pass you on Sunday I think.....will see if you are about.

 

We went for a wander to try and find the other end of the tunnel but failed on finding it....loved looking round the reclaimed pit workings though.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[cheshire~rose]

We will look out for you then.

[MHS]

We are hoping to be at drakeholes on Sunday night so we can have a short hop to stockwith on Monday ready for the Tuesday tide to keadby so we may pass you on Sunday I think.....will see if you are about.

 

We went for a wander to try and find the other end of the tunnel but failed on finding it....loved looking round the reclaimed pit workings though.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

Hope you find less weed on your return trip after the weed cutters have been working in the area. We will be at West Stockwith on Tuesday afternoon. Entering the lock around 1445 to head for Cromwell lock, what time do you go onto the Trent?

Cheers

Mike

[frangar]

Hope you find less weed on your return trip after the weed cutters have been working in the area. We will be at West Stockwith on Tuesday afternoon. Entering the lock around 1445 to head for Cromwell lock, what time do you go onto the Trent?

Cheers

Mike

I'm not sure of time onto the Trent as the lockies weren't answering their phone today!....looking at the tide times it will be very late afternoon so we will watch you depart!

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[cheshire~rose]

Great to meet you today Gareth & co (sorry I do not know your good ladies name) Very pleased to hear the weed issues have much improved since you journey up after the intervention of Mr McGinleys weed boats. I also very pleased you found the canal so lovely and worth the visit.

 

Enjoy Sheffield and the rest of your planned trip.

 

[frangar]

Good to meet you guys too! We got a form for our head of navigation plaque from the box at the boat club! I will send an email off to CRT & chesterfield canal trust to thank them all the help and great response......I'm looking forward to a return visit at some point!

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

[David Mack]

Made it almost to end....now moored halfway between the last winding hole and the tunnel mouth...decided would be pushing my luck if we reversed much more.

We made it all the way to the portal on Copperkins in September 2010. We did have to steer round a couple of fallen branches, but it wasn't that difficult. Seems a shame so many boats make it to the winding hole and don't try the last few hundred yards.

[mango]

I suppose it depends what type of weed it is?

 

Blanket weed thrives in warm water with lots of nutrients in it and plenty of light.

 

The same applies to all canal vegetation, and the nutrients from agricultural land or present in the feeders encourage growth, particularly in warm sunny weather.

 

I had a random thought a few weeks ago (when we had stopped to clear the prop for the umpteenth time) In garden ponds you can put a small bale of barley straw in the pond. It changes the chemical composition of the pond water so blanket weed does not grow. Now I know this does not seem to harm pond fish or other aquatic plant life in ponds so I started to ponder on the sort of quantity of barley straw you might need for the average canal and whether it would have other negative effects on the wildlife or not

 

Barley straw is effective in ponds but is of little use in canals, where the chemicals released are washed away by the flow of water.

 

The irises and reeds multiply through the rhizomes - bits of root you often see floating past. I think they need to get lodged somewhere to get roots down to start growing but the cutters take all the rhizomes out when they pick them up so I don't imagine it makes them grow faster. It can mean disturbing them makes more rhizomes break off of course.

 

That is why it is better to cut and remove the weed rather than relying on boats to chop it up.

[starman]

Blimey this Chesterfield is hard work! We've been crawling at funeral pace through thick weed from W Stockwith to an o/night stop short of Shaw Lock.

It's a lovely canal but does the weed situation improve? Doesn't help that we're deep draughted I guess. Hopefully we will make it to the end ... eventually!

[cheshire~rose]

It does get better. There is a weed cutter on the stretch leading up to Clayworth (well it was there on Monday) so you will probably meet with it soon. I lock wheeled some friends up to the head of navigation on Monday and they had not had too much problem at all (but they are only 2'3" draught)

 

Being deep draughted does not help as the canal can be a bit shallow in places. The best way to tackle weed is usually to try and keep the revs up a bit higher then usual when you can so the prop chops through it before it winds around the shaft but doing that in a deep boat on a shallow canal just glues your base plate to the bottom.

 

If you meet a guy on a boat called Bittern take what he says with a large pinch of salt. I have heard of 3 people on The Chesterfield at present who have spoken to him and he is saying he had to turn back because he was wearing his base plate away - he is 2'3" draught. None of the people who have done it already can understand what caused him so much problem. Python goes up to Shire Oaks and back each spring and autumn (until last year) and she is 3'3"!

[starman]

It does get better. There is a weed cutter on the stretch leading up to Clayworth (well it was there on Monday) so you will probably meet with it soon. I lock wheeled some friends up to the head of navigation on Monday and they had not had too much problem at all (but they are only 2'3" draught)

 

Being deep draughted does not help as the canal can be a bit shallow in places. The best way to tackle weed is usually to try and keep the revs up a bit higher then usual when you can so the prop chops through it before it winds around the shaft but doing that in a deep boat on a shallow canal just glues your base plate to the bottom.

 

If you meet a guy on a boat called Bittern take what he says with a large pinch of salt. I have heard of 3 people on The Chesterfield at present who have spoken to him and he is saying he had to turn back because he was wearing his base plate away - he is 2'3" draught. None of the people who have done it already can understand what caused him so much problem. Python goes up to Shire Oaks and back each spring and autumn (until last year) and she is 3'3"!

Thanks for the info. We shall battle on and look forward to clearer days ahead!

And, yes, I'll ignore Mr Bittern - he sounds like one of those Prophets of Doom who seem to pop up on every waterway.

[Naughty Cal]

It doesn't help when people spread rumours about waterways being too shallow or too weedy. This puts people off and makes matters worse.

 

The weed is kept at bay by boat movements!

[cheshire~rose]

Yes you are so right about prophets of doom!

 

The Chesterfield is known to suffer from weed in the summer and the wet but warm weather we have had recently is perfect for it to grow! The heavy rains washes nutrients into the canal from the surrounding land and the warmth and sunlight makes the weed go mad. This is made worse because there are not so many boats moving on the canal. That is one reason why so many people love it. Tranquility!

 

This picture (courtesy of Maggie Young) was taken 14 minutes ago and show one of the weed boats working between Bridge 54 and 54a on the edge of Retford.

 

[starman]

Well today was a nightmare I'm afraid. Took us nine hours to do 12 miles to Retford - including nearly two hours for the mile after The Gate pub. Long stretches were shallow and weedy - we churn the silt and up comes the rotted blanket weed with it. Progress impossible at times.

Met two weed cutters - doing what they can but really the blanket weed and silt needs dredging out.

I really do hope it gets better soon - got to have something to keep us going for the return trip!

Our three ft draught is the killer but even shallower boats seem to struggle. A great shame as it's a lovel canal.

[maggie-y]

We have loved the Chesterfield - tonight we are just past Clayworth - West Stockwith tomorrow and maybe a walk along the banks of the River Idle - we go back onto the Trent on Saturday.

 

 

Will we come back --- yes we will. Its been great.

 

 

Maggie

[Naughty Cal]

Should see you today then Maggie. We are moored in the basin tonight and then off to Torksey tomorrow.

[cheshire~rose]

I really do hope it gets better soon - got to have something to keep us going for the return trip!

 

 

It does

 

There was a lot of dredging done last year on the next section and the weed situation improves the higher you get - apart from the last few hundred yards to the head of navigation which Maggie and Mark found out by going up there in reverse

[Hawkmoth]

This was the Stainforth and Keadby in June.

Bob

[cheshire~rose]

The good thing about floating duckweed is that is does not foul the prop.

 

The bad thing about floating duckweed is that it frequently has a good groth of blanket weed below it and it hides things that you might prefer to avoid if you saw them floating on the surface. It also plays havoc with raw water cooling systems.

 

Thanks fully The Chesterfield does not have a problem with duck weed

[MHS]

 

The Chesterfield is known to suffer from weed in the summer and the wet but warm weather we have had recently is perfect for it to grow! The heavy rains washes nutrients into the canal from the surrounding land and the warmth and sunlight makes the weed go mad. This is made worse because there are not so many boats moving ]

Presumably the very clean / clear water helps the weed growth. On our recent trip from Shireoaks onto the Trent, the water was beautifully clear. We saw 1000's of fish.

[bigray]

It is gin clear in most places however the weed in the areas I have been (although that isn't that much of it) doesn't seem to be that bad. From lady bridge to the Hop Pole is very clear and no real quantity of weed. I was helping on the trip boat last week and we did Hop Pole to Clarborough and Return with a turn near the town lock and the weed hatch revealed one large blade of grass and that was it.

[wreckferret]

We have travelled from Misterton to the Gate inn at Clarborough today with zero visits to the weed hatch

We have stirred the bottom up a few times but that was probably to the difficulties of keeping a 65 footer in mid channel around some of the sharp bends......

Stalwart and Carrie lou are still where they shiuld be (mooring wise) so you can sleep easy

[cheshire~rose]

Thanks for the update