To Boston And Back

[Tony Dunkley]

 

Thanks - interesting stuff.

 

I think I must be putting too much weight on my first experience of the tidal Trent (1982), where we left Torksey rather late and punched the ebb for some of the time up to Cromwell. For about ten minutes we didn't seem to be moving at all, but we got there in the end ...

 

The info. in that post you've quoted is only applicable to downriver passage from Cromwell to Torksey, due in the large part to the floating moorings that have been built in Torksey Cut enabling boats to tie up and wait, conveniently and safely, over the low water period. In the times before the landing stages were built and there was commercial traffic to Lincoln, there was nothing provided for pleasure boats to use and the ones that occasionally arrived when there wasn't enough water over the cill to get in had to wait as best they could amongst all the floating rubbish below the lock that the prevailing wind sometimes carries into the Cut. As they were drawing a lot less than the commercials from Hull that always aimed to time their arrival at Torksey for a little before HW, the lock keeper would get them up the lock and out of the way before the barges arrived, but the time while they were waiting amongst the floating rubbish with very little water under them wouldn't have been much fun.

Upriver passage from Torksey to Cromwell is always best done with the tide running up, leaving Torksey as soon after flood as possible so as to get the most help from the tide for as far up as possible. Again, the floating moorings in Torksey Cut have made this much easier for pleasure boats, because you can wait on them for the flood and leave as soon as the water level starts to rise. Before they were built, any boats bound for Cromwell had to wait above the lock until there was enough water to get out over the cill, by which time a good bit of the flood had already gone and they would find themselves under ebb a long way short of Cromwell.

Edited June 28, 2015 by Tony Dunkley

[Scholar Gypsy]

 

The info. in that post you've quoted is only applicable to downriver passage from Cromwell to Torksey, due in the large part to the floating moorings that have been built in Torksey Cut enabling boats to tie up and wait, conveniently and safely, over the low water period. In the times before the landing stages were built and there was commercial traffic to Lincoln, there was nothing provided for pleasure boats to use and the ones that occasionally arrived when there wasn't enough water over the cill to get in had to wait as best they could amongst all the floating rubbish below the lock that the prevailing wind sometimes carries into the Cut. As they were drawing a lot less than the commercials from Hull that always aimed to time their arrival at Torksey for a little before HW, the lock keeper would get them up the lock and out of the way before the barges arrived, but the time while they were waiting amongst the floating rubbish with very little water under them wouldn't have been much fun.

Upriver passage from Torksey to Cromwell is always best done with the tide running up, leaving Torksey as soon after flood as possible so as to get the most help from the tide for as far up as possible. Again, the floating moorings in Torksey Cut have made this much easier for pleasure boats, because you can wait on them for the flood and leave as soon as the water level starts to rise. Before they were built, any boats bound for Cromwell had to wait above the lock until there was enough water to get out over the cill, by which time a good bit of the flood had already gone and they would find themselves under ebb a long way short of Cromwell.

 

Thanks - it's slowly coming back to me now. In 1982 the moorings outside Torksey were poor, and we had a dog who needed walking - that's why were late. On our later trip (1994) we waited in the lock until the flood arrived, the water went up a foot or two, and off we went!

 

This summer I am doing Torksey to West Stockwith and back, which looks fairly straightforward (so far as tide times are concerned) on the dates I have in mind.

[nicknorman]

The info. in that post you've quoted is only applicable to downriver passage from Cromwell to Torksey, due in the large part to the floating moorings that have been built in Torksey Cut enabling boats to tie up and wait, conveniently and safely, over the low water period. In the times before the landing stages were built and there was commercial traffic to Lincoln, there was nothing provided for pleasure boats to use and the ones that occasionally arrived when there wasn't enough water over the cill to get in had to wait as best they could amongst all the floating rubbish below the lock that the prevailing wind sometimes carries into the Cut. As they were drawing a lot less than the commercials from Hull that always aimed to time their arrival at Torksey for a little before HW, the lock keeper would get them up the lock and out of the way before the barges arrived, but the time while they were waiting amongst the floating rubbish with very little water under them wouldn't have been much fun.

Upriver passage from Torksey to Cromwell is always best done with the tide running up, leaving Torksey as soon after flood as possible so as to get the most help from the tide for as far up as possible. Again, the floating moorings in Torksey Cut have made this much easier for pleasure boats, because you can wait on them for the flood and leave as soon as the water level starts to rise. Before they were built, any boats bound for Cromwell had to wait above the lock until there was enough water to get out over the cill, by which time a good bit of the flood had already gone and they would find themselves under ebb a long way short of Cromwell.

Thanks for the helpful info Tony.

[Tony Dunkley]

 

Thanks - it's slowly coming back to me now. In 1982 the moorings outside Torksey were poor, and we had a dog who needed walking - that's why were late. On our later trip (1994) we waited in the lock until the flood arrived, the water went up a foot or two, and off we went!

 

This summer I am doing Torksey to West Stockwith and back, which looks fairly straightforward (so far as tide times are concerned) on the dates I have in mind.

 

Yes, it was, I think, in the mid to late 70's that BWB built a small open piled jetty in Torksey cut, close to the lock. It wasn't really very good for it's intended purpose, but it was a big improvement on what was there for pleasure boats before that . . . . . which, of course, was absolutely nothing, because nothing was needed prior to the increasing use of the lock from the late 60's by pleasure craft.

On your forthcoming visit to Stockwith, there is really only one place that calls for some extra care and that's Marton Rack. These days the advice on departure times from upriver (Torksey / Cromwell) from lock keepers, and pleasure boaters who think themselves experienced on the Trent and it's tides, generally seems to have people passing Marton on a falling tide soon after local HW. Because of the banks of hard marl, which bare out at low water, and the narrow and fairly steep sided deep water channel hereabouts, this is in my opinion, neither a good idea nor good advice.

Not too long ago, 4 to 5 years at a guess, a vee bottomed plastic cruiser parked himself on the marl on the eastern side of Marton Rack on a falling tide and after a few hours had dried out enough for the owner to walk round it with a bucket and scrubbing brush and clean the bottom. Unfortunately while he was doing this the boat toppled over on it's side trapping him underneath and breaking his pelvis. He was rescued by the Fire Service shortly before the incoming tide would have drowned him. Although this is a rather extreme example of what can go wrong for the unwary, a narrowboat grounding on the edge of the marl close to the deep channel could end up in very precarious position, and liable to downflooding while re-floating on the next tide.

My advice to anyone unfamiliar with the river would be to time the downriver passage of this area as close to low water (LW) as possible (when the river level isn't going to drop any more than a few inches at most ), that way you'll be able to see to a great extent where the deep channel is, and if you do happen to ground then you'll soon float off . . . . . and you'll know just where the deep water is next time.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Tony Dunkley

[Scholar Gypsy]

 

Yes, it was, I think, in the mid to late 70's that BWB built a small open piled jetty in Torksey cut, close to the lock. It wasn't really very good for it's intended purpose, but it was a big improvement on what was there for pleasure boats before that . . . . . which, of course, was absolutely nothing, because nothing was needed prior to the increasing use of the lock from the late 60's by pleasure craft.

On your forthcoming visit to Stockwith, there is really only one place that calls for some extra care and that's Marton Rack. These days the advice on departure times from upriver (Torksey / Cromwell) from lock keepers, and pleasure boaters who think themselves experienced on the Trent and it's tides, generally seems to have people passing Marton on a falling tide soon after local HW. Because of the banks of hard marl, which bare out at low water, and the narrow and fairly steep sided deep water channel hereabouts, this is in my opinion, neither a good idea nor good advice.

Not too long ago, 4 to 5 years at a guess, a vee bottomed plastic cruiser parked himself on the marl on the eastern side of Marton Rack on a falling tide and after a few hours had dried out enough for the owner to walk round it with a bucket and scrubbing brush and clean the bottom. Unfortunately while he was doing this the boat toppled over on it's side trapping him underneath and breaking his pelvis. He was rescued by the Fire Service shortly before the incoming tide would have drowned him. Although this is a rather extreme example of what can go wrong for the unwary, a narrowboat grounding on the edge of the marl close to the deep channel could end up in very precarious position, and liable to downflooding while re-floating on the next tide.

My advice to anyone unfamiliar with the river would be to time the downriver passage of this area as close to low water (LW) as possible (when the river level isn't going to drop any more than a few inches at most ), that way you'll be able to see to a great extent where the deep channel is, and if you do happen to ground then you'll soon float off . . . . . and you'll know just where the deep water is next time.

 

Thanks Tony (we do seem to be hijacking this thread a bit ...), I will add that to the mix. I am currently intending to leave Torksey an hour before HW, so passing Marton (4 km downstream) at slack water, between the two posts.

[Naughty Cal]

 

Thanks Tony (we do seem to be hijacking this thread a bit ...), I will add that to the mix. I am currently intending to leave Torksey an hour before HW, so passing Marton (4 km downstream) at slack water, between the two posts.

That's what most narrowboats aim to do which gets you to West Stockwith in plenty of time left in the tidal window and makes the most of the tides.

 

Arriving at Marton at low water would have you pushing the flood tide to West Stockwith which would take you a while!

[Tony Dunkley]

 

Thanks Tony (we do seem to be hijacking this thread a bit ...), I will add that to the mix. I am currently intending to leave Torksey an hour before HW, so passing Marton (4 km downstream) at slack water, between the two posts.

 

HW at Marton is 5 to10 minutes before Torksey HW, so as you say you'll be passing Marton at close to HW there, but depending on how big a tide it is and if there's any fresh coming down, it may still be running up a bit.

You seem to be someone who prepares carefully for everything you do, so I'm assuming you'll have some of these charts that are frequently mentioned on here. I've not seen them so I've no idea how good they are, but it seems that most people who use them don't have any problems, so they must be pretty good and you shouldn't ground anywhere with that much water around.

My advice for a run down to Stockwith from Torksey would be to get underway from Torksey just before HW at Hull, take care to stay in the deep channel until you meet the flood, and that would get you to Stockwith soon after HW there and before the ebb has time to start running down at any sort of pace, making for an easier entry into the lock. Obviously you would be pushing over the flood for a while, but it won't slow you down for as long as you might think, because travelling in that direction (against it) you experience a much shorter duration of flood than there actually is on that stretch of river because you're moving downriver to where it started running up, and will finish running up, sooner than it did where you meet it.

Also, because you're on a rising tide, you can move out of the deep water channel where the tide is at it's swiftest, and take advantage of the slacker water that can be found elsewhere to make a bit better speed. If you do happen to overdo it and ground while your doing this (it's called 'working slacks'), it's no big deal because the tide will lift you off again almost straightaway.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Tony Dunkley

[Tony Dunkley]

That's what most narrowboats aim to do which gets you to West Stockwith in plenty of time left in the tidal window and makes the most of the tides.

 

Arriving at Marton at low water would have you pushing the flood tide to West Stockwith which would take you a while!

 

No, it wouldn't, . . . . read #32.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Tony Dunkley

[Scholar Gypsy]

 

<snip>

 

You seem to be someone who prepares carefully for everything you do, so I'm assuming you'll have some of these charts that are frequently mentioned on here. I've not seen them so I've no idea how good they are, but it seems that most people who use them don't have any problems, so they must be pretty good and you shouldn't ground anywhere with that much water around. <snip>

 

Yes I've got the Boating Association charts / annotated photos, which have quite a lot of detail.

 

I have loaded the waypoints into my GPS which is a complete waste of time because the chart I have (Imrays - entire UK) is largely solid green at this point (and where the Trent is shown they've put it in the wrong place!)

 

See here trent_1.pdf!

Edited June 29, 2015 by Scholar Gypsy

[Tony Dunkley]

 

Yes I've got the Boating Association charts / annotated photos, which have quite a lot of detail.

 

I have loaded the waypoints into my GPS which is a complete waste of time because the chart I have (Imrays - entire UK) is largely solid green at this point (and where the Trent is shown they've put it in the wrong place!)

 

See here trent_1.pdf!

 

I've tried that Chart download and it looks completely useless. As you say it doesn't even show the river. I hope the deep water is marked clearly on the photos you've got, if not it really would be best if you leave Torksey just before Hull HW and go nice and steady so as to meet the flood somewhere around the low end of Knaith Rack that way you'll be able to see, from the exposed sand and mud, where the water is over Castle, Marton Rack and Littleborough ford. Push on as hard as you can as soon as the river level is rising and use all the slacker water you can see. Steer for the slacks on the ness's round Turnpost, Stoney Bight and Morton Bight, and you'll get to Stockwith and into the lock before the ebb picks up much speed.

[Naughty Cal]

 

I've tried that Chart download and it looks completely useless. As you say it doesn't even show the river. I hope the deep water is marked clearly on the photos you've got, if not it really would be best if you leave Torksey just before Hull HW and go nice and steady so as to meet the flood somewhere around the low end of Knaith Rack that way you'll be able to see, from the exposed sand and mud, where the water is over Castle, Marton Rack and Littleborough ford. Push on as hard as you can as soon as the river level is rising and use all the slacker water you can see. Steer for the slacks on the ness's round Turnpost, Stoney Bight and Morton Bight, and you'll get to Stockwith and into the lock before the ebb picks up much speed.

Thats not the Trent Cruising guide in the link!

[Scholar Gypsy]

Thats not the Trent Cruising guide in the link!

 

yes - sorry Tony my earlier post was a bit unclear I was talking about two separate charts.

 

One useful (Boating Assn) and one less so (Imrays chart of the UK!)

[Tony Dunkley]

 

yes - sorry Tony my earlier post was a bit unclear I was talking about two separate charts.

 

One useful (Boating Assn) and one less so (Imrays chart of the UK!)

 

Good, if you don't know the river well, you really do need something to tell you where to find the water, because there are some places where it's well away from where you'd expect it to be.

In case the chart you have got doesn't mention it, if there's a good strong ebb under you at Gainsborough Railway bridge take care at the nearby bend (Stoney Bight) to turn into it early and keep your boat's head up towards the ness as you go round, otherwise the current tends to push you onto the stones in the bight.

At Morton Bight do the same on the way down, and when you're coming back upriver, particularly if you're early on the flood, on no account get anywhere near the sloping walls of the wharf because there's a flat concrete ledge that sticks out several yards, uncovers at LW, and may not have any more than a foot or two over it when you're passing by.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Tony Dunkley

[nicknorman]

We've arrived at Cromwell for the night. I didn't really know what to expect of Newark, but in fact it is very pleasant. We had a long, long long shop in Waitrose, closely inspecting the contents of the freezer section, due to it being 32 deg outside! But at least there is a good breeze on the water. Lockie reckons 9:30 to 10 as best time for departure for Torksey tomorrow morning which is fine. Mr Jelunga of this forum (although currently dormant it seems) locked us through Nether lock, many thanks.

[David Mack]

closely inspecting the contents of the freezer section, due to it being 32 deg outside!

 

I hope the freezer section was a few degrees below 32 deg (F) inside!

[nicknorman]

Hmmm well Lockie said best to leave at 09:30 to 10 but having looked at the times, I am somewhat unconvinced! Yes I know everyone says "leave it to the professionals" but... And he didn't sound that convincing when I asked. HW hull is 07:07 so if we leave at 09:30 we hit the flood about 1/2 way there (I'm presuming a 3 hr transit in slack water). HW Torksey is ~ 10:30 so it seems a little tight for HW+3 hrs ie 13:30. I think we'll try and leave a bit earlier. What sort of up stream flow speed can we expect from the flood between Cromwell and Torksey, it's a 7.4 metre high tide so I guess a mild spring?

 

Anyway Jeff has just bought the Pimms out so I'll stop worrying!

[Naughty Cal]

Hmmm well Lockie said best to leave at 09:30 to 10 but having looked at the times, I am somewhat unconvinced! Yes I know everyone says "leave it to the professionals" but... And he didn't sound that convincing when I asked. HW hull is 07:07 so if we leave at 09:30 we hit the flood about 1/2 way there (I'm presuming a 3 hr transit in slack water). HW Torksey is ~ 10:30 so it seems a little tight for HW+3 hrs ie 13:30. I think we'll try and leave a bit earlier. What sort of up stream flow speed can we expect from the flood between Cromwell and Torksey, it's a 7.4 metre high tide so I guess a mild spring?

 

Anyway Jeff has just bought the Pimms out so I'll stop worrying!

I would stop worrying and enjoy the trip down.

 

Where do you expect to be tomorrow evening?

 

I suspect we may well cross paths as we are leaving Burton Waters tomorrow evening (6.30pm ish) and heading for The Packet Inn at Dog Dyke for last orders.

[nicknorman]

Yea I know, it's the pilot in me, some kind of control freak! Anyway, Lockie is quite sure there will be plenty of water at Torksey so we're going to leave at 09:30 which will mean hitting the flood a bit, but that in itself will be interesting.

 

Lincoln tonight all being well, and onto the Witham tomorrow but probably a lateish start so not quite sure how far we will get, but wil certainly look out for you and dogdyke is a possibility.

[Naughty Cal]

Yea I know, it's the pilot in me, some kind of control freak! Anyway, Lockie is quite sure there will be plenty of water at Torksey so we're going to leave at 09:30 which will mean hitting the flood a bit, but that in itself will be interesting.

 

Lincoln tonight all being well, and onto the Witham tomorrow but probably a lateish start so not quite sure how far we will get, but wil certainly look out for you and dogdyke is a possibility.

Will keep an eye out for you in that case but don't be offended if we don't spot you. We are not the most observant of people

We have our BSS on Saturday morning at Geordies and then are heading down to Boston on Saturday afternoon, ready for an early start, 6.30am from the Grand Sluice on Sunday morning.

 

If you spot us along the way you are welcome to join us for a drink.

[Scholar Gypsy]

I hope to see one or both of you - I am leaving Burton Waters Friday lunchtime and spending the night at Fiskerton I think - I may try the pub on the old River Witham, though that will mean a bit of reversing...

 

To the Kinema in the Woods at Woodhall Spa on Saturday.

Edited July 2, 2015 by Scholar Gypsy

[Naughty Cal]

I hope to see one or both of you - I am leaving Burton Waters Friday lunchtime and spending the night at Fiskerton I think - I may try the pub on the old River Witham, though that will mean a bit of reversing...

 

To the Kinema in the Woods at Woodhall Spa on Saturday.

Not sure how long your boat is but you can turn a 57ft narrowboat around just through the bridge by the pub on the Old Witham so no need to reverse up.

[Scholar Gypsy]

Not sure how long your boat is but you can turn a 57ft narrowboat around just through the bridge by the pub on the Old Witham so no need to reverse up.

 

Thanks - helpful. I'll give it a go, and then update the guidebook.

[Naughty Cal]

 

Thanks - helpful. I'll give it a go, and then update the guidebook.

The weed boom might well be across the entrance to the river at this time of year.

[nicknorman]

Is the Brayford Trust still in existence? The phone numbers quoted by CRT and Brayford's own website don't work. Just wanted to reserve a mooring.

[Naughty Cal]

Is the Brayford Trust still in existence? The phone numbers quoted by CRT and Brayford's own website don't work. Just wanted to reserve a mooring.

Its Lincoln Marina you want to reserve a mooring. £10 per night. 01522 521452.

 

Or you can just use the CRT 48 hour visitors moorings outside the university for free. They have recently extended them. You should be fine to get a space on there in the week.