CanalPlanAC pinch points

[CanalPlanAC]

I hope you'll excuse me posting something about planning trips, rather than actual boating, but there've been a few recent discussions here about using http://canalplan.org.uk to plan routes. One problem people were having was that the site was (for good reasons) refusing to plan routes for boats over 60 foot along the Whittlesey Dike.

 

So I thought I'd tell you that I've now added "pinch points" to the system - you can set the overall dimensions of a waterway but mark specific places where some sizes of boats won't fit. For Briggate Bend I've set it as (in feet) 60x13 and 70x7. This means that if your boat is less-than-or-equal to both dimensions for either pair then you can fit through.

 

So far I've added pinch points for Briggate Bend and the M53 bridges on the Ellesmere Port line of the SU. Add, or let me know of, any other important ones.

 

This is probably a good place to mention that I've also recently added draught and headroom to the route planning. The amount of such data in the database is pretty sparse though.

 

So if anyone is sitting around idly on a winter's evening and fancies doing something useful, spending half an hour adding waterway dimensions or pinch points would be a useful contribution to everybody's planning.

 

In the next couple of weeks I plan to extend the technique I've used for pinch points to waterway dimensions. This will mean that the C&H, for example, can be set at 57x14ft and 60x7ft (since narrow boats can go diagonally in the locks).

 

Nick

[Paul C]

Would Hurleston lock (at the start of the Llangollen canal) count as a pinch point, because a 7' wide boat can't fit - but a 6'10" one does?

[CanalPlanAC]

I can't see any reason why not. That 2" is pretty important for historical boats. I really need to provide an easier way to set dimensions like 6'10" - at the moment you have to enter it as something like 6.84 feet. The same applies for boats as for canals.

[FadeToScarlet]

Would Hurleston lock (at the start of the Llangollen canal) count as a pinch point, because a 7' wide boat can't fit - but a 6'10" one does?

It's a bit harder than that, because some boats over 7' have done it, including at least one belonging to a forum member. It depends on where the boat is widest, compared to the lock, and some boats will go forwards but not backwards.

I hope you'll excuse me posting something about planning trips, rather than actual boating, but there've been a few recent discussions here about using http://canalplan.org.uk to plan routes. One problem people were having was that the site was (for good reasons) refusing to plan routes for boats over 60 foot along the Whittlesey Dike.

 

So I thought I'd tell you that I've now added "pinch points" to the system - you can set the overall dimensions of a waterway but mark specific places where some sizes of boats won't fit. For Briggate Bend I've set it as (in feet) 60x13 and 70x7. This means that if your boat is less-than-or-equal to both dimensions for either pair then you can fit through.

 

So far I've added pinch points for Briggate Bend and the M53 bridges on the Ellesmere Port line of the SU. Add, or let me know of, any other important ones.

 

This is probably a good place to mention that I've also recently added draught and headroom to the route planning. The amount of such data in the database is pretty sparse though.

 

So if anyone is sitting around idly on a winter's evening and fancies doing something useful, spending half an hour adding waterway dimensions or pinch points would be a useful contribution to everybody's planning.

 

In the next couple of weeks I plan to extend the technique I've used for pinch points to waterway dimensions. This will mean that the C&H, for example, can be set at 57x14ft and 60x7ft (since narrow boats can go diagonally in the locks).

 

Nick

Could you set Brigatte as 72 x 7, as there are quite a few boats longer than 70'. Edited January 4, 2015 by FadeToScarlet

[Sea Dog]

Keep up the good work Nick, it's appreciated!