Beautiful Mon and Brec.....being destroyed.

[Ally]

Amazing ! This thread has suddenly moved from a completely unsubstantiated theory that "Mega" boats (they are only 18 inches wider than narrow boats) together with their bow thrusters are scraping the puddle clay off the canal bed to hinting at blaming those same boats for the Gilwern breach of 5 or 6 years ago at a time when Beacon boats fleet consisted mostly of narrow boats with only one or perhaps two 'wider' beams. In 2011, having waited nearly two years to take a cruise on this canal but having been delayed by the breach repairs, I finally managed to get aboard at last but I have to say it wasn't the most pleasant of boating experiences. True, the route above Llanfoist is magnificent whilst that below is most certainly not and even though I have 50 years experience on the tiller I found driving a boat on that canal for a week a very stressful experience. As for the local land community I found 'miserable' landlords at at least two of the major pubs/eating houses en-route even being warmly greeted at one having arrived at 8.30 pm with a "hope you're not expecting food at this time"!

In view of the OP's assessment of the state of the infrastructure perhaps now is the time for C&RT to think the unthinkable and to consider whether the continuous drain on it's financial resouces which are completely disproportionate to the income it derives from this short stretch of water is a fair and equitable way of spending nationally collected license fees. I would be sorry if it became no longer available as a cruising route but this sorrow would be tempered with the knowledge that the vast amounts of money previously spent on keeping it open for the benefit of a select few could now be spent on long overdue repairs and maintenance of a cruising system which would benefit the majority of license payers. And if the local land community would be so devastated by closure to cruising (which I doubt) perhaps an appeal to the devolved local government for assistance might bear fruit instead of the continuous drip feed of subsidy from English license payers who are never going to be in a position to feel any benefit from it. Who knows, there may even be a justification for a special 'toll' for cruising this special stretch of canal.

One point first, it is Beacon Park Boats, NOT Beacon Boats! Secondly, I did not infer they were the cause of the Gilwern breach at all! Please do not read inference where none is made.

unnecessary and heavy use of bow thrusters can be damaging to both the motor and the waterway. It wouldn't hurt to draw the companies attention to the advice they are giving, to enable it to be adjusted.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Ally

[lydfordcastle]

One point first, it is Beacon Park Boats, NOT Beacon Boats! Secondly, I did not infer they were the cause of the Gilwern breach at all! Please do not read inference where none is made.

unnecessary and heavy use of bow thrusters can be damaging to both the motor and the waterway. It wouldn't hurt to draw the companies attention to the advice they are giving, to enable it to be adjusted.

 

Sorry for getting the company name slightly wrong. I'm sure Beacon Park Boats won't mind. As for the non inference, if stating "Anything putting it further at risk of similar breaches" isn't a clear inference that over zealous use of bow thrusters contributes towards 'similar breaches' then I don't know what is. Even if you didn't mean to infer that link, it's still there for all to see and interpret as they will.

[Ally]

Interpret it as you will. It was not the original meaning.

[LankyStreak]

I'm not qualified to say whether the bow thrusters of Beacon Park Boats contribute to the problems on the Mon & Brec. What I can say is that in April 2009 we hired a narrowboat from another hire company on that beautiful canal (photo here). We cruised the complete navigable length of canal both ways and our hire boat was scraping along the bottom for much if not most of it. Our hire company told us that the canal hadn't been properly dredged because of fears of yet another breach.

 

The result was that we ran aground repeatedly, either when passing another narrowboat or even alone when turning a tight corner. On numerous occasions we needed someone on the bow with the pole as well as the engine going hard astern to float us off the mud. On one memorable occasion we came to a pub with vacant moorings outside but we just couldn't get within a plank's length of the towpath because the water was too shallow, and in the end we gave up and moved on.

 

I therefore wonder if this is just a 'feature' of the Mon & Brec and may not be entirely the fault of wide hire boats with hot tubs and bow thrusters.