Worst thing out of Weedhatch

[Sea Dog]

Isn't that a bit like having air conditioning on with car windows open

Rog

Rather more like tiddling in a wetsuit: welcome but shortlived relief.

[Dinz]

A couple of years ago came down from All cannings to honey street and lost forward drive.

Opened hatch to find what turned out to be a wig round the prop.

Unfortunately there was also, of all things, some cauliflower floating in the water.

In my [normal] befuddled state this appeared to be brain matter.

Was a bit unwell........

Finally manned up and went in.

After a period of time realised what it really was.

Went to the Barge and got slaughtered!

[Alan Saunders]

Crossing my fingers I have never had anything around the prop' that I could not easily remove. My first hire boat instructor at Brumagem Boats said I should cruise in neutral through city bridges and I still do.

 

Sod's law applies, trapped by the unnecessary pillars erected by CRT in Wilcot Wide on the K&A and reversing on to a towpath mooring I heard the clack-clack of something around the prop. I elected to continue, despite the damage to blacking and, next day, removed the remains of an angler's umbrella.

 

Idling along, like me, you are unlikely to pick up the debris buried in the silt. I will always wave you by or even stop to allow you to pass.

 

Alan

[Rob-M]

Crossing my fingers I have never had anything around the prop' that I could not easily remove. My first hire boat instructor at Brumagem Boats said I should cruise in neutral through city bridges and I still do.

 

Sod's law applies, trapped by the unnecessary pillars erected by CRT in Wilcot Wide on the K&A and reversing on to a towpath mooring I heard the clack-clack of something around the prop. I elected to continue, despite the damage to blacking and, next day, removed the remains of an angler's umbrella.

 

Idling along, like me, you are unlikely to pick up the debris buried in the silt. I will always wave you by or even stop to allow you to pass.

 

Alan

I follow the same approach of coasting through bridge holes especially if there is a lot of rubbish on the banks approaching a bridge. When I picked the keepnet up it was because we changed our mind and decided to reverse back to a mooring we had just passed. Fortunately a quick hacksaw through the carbon fibre rings and a rip though the netting and it was off, the worse bit was the noise it made, I thought I had blown the gearbox up.

[rupertbear]

An old fashioned narrow stair carpet, complete with all the original lethally sharp square cut tacks.

[Hawkmoth]

The worst things we've had are sari picked up on Engine Arm Birmingham, 50 yards of 5mm polyprop rope just before Edgbaston Tunnel, and a fisherman's umbrella on The Bridgewater.

Bob

[homer2911]

Back in the days when towpaths everywhere were being dug up to lay a fibreoptic system, my engine was stalled by God knows how many meters of plastic warning tape.

 

Some years ago, we stalled in Kings lock, and investigation revealed the cause to be the tail of a fairly large dog, wrapped around the prop and still attached to the dog. I unravelled the tail and pushed the body downwards to get it clear of the boat, then hauled it out and placed it on the towpath, before going across to ask Mick Seivewright to call somebody to dispose of it. Felt quite sick all day after that.

[Theo]

No bodies just this little lot:

 

DSCF1120.jpg

Aaargh!

 

What's that hand doing in the top right corner?

 

N

[bassplayer]

Nylon ruck sack picked up just as we turned into the Thames from the K&A!

[Woodstock]

Nylon stocking in Nuneaton- we could clothe a few mannequins with all our findings xx

[Dave_P]

Worst I've had is a double sprung mattress on the Rochdale. The combination of thick, saturated wadding with metal springs twined around within it...

 

While we're on the subject, I hope everyone here keeps their 'catch' to put in a bin? I was frankly appalled by the behavior of one experienced crew (nameless) on the BCN challenge this year, who left a trail of weed hatch debris all along the towpath, ready to be kicked back into the cut.

 

To my mind, this is worse than the people who threw the rubbish in, in the first place. At least they have ignorance as an excuse.

[MisterDave]

Deleted

Edited September 14, 2015 by MisterDave

[TheBiscuits]

While we're on the subject, I hope everyone here keeps their 'catch' to put in a bin? I was frankly appalled by the behavior of one experienced crew (nameless) on the BCN challenge this year, who left a trail of weed hatch debris all along the towpath, ready to be kicked back into the cut.

 

To my mind, this is worse than the people who threw the rubbish in, in the first place. At least they have ignorance as an excuse.

 

 

+1

 

That is a real pet hate.

 

Put it in a bin bag when you clear your prop!

 

Weed might be debatable, but there is no excuse for leaving wire and plastic a foot from the water you have just fished it out of.

[mattlad]

Friend managed to pick up a car tyre which fitted itself over the prop and wouldn't come off, he had to use a chain winch and homemade scaffolding tripod to lift it and saw thru it. Seriously considering making my weed hatch bigger in case I ever find myself facing that sort of problem.

A friend of mine also managed to get a tyre on his prop, he ended up having a few hours hard graft to get that off! He used a hacksaw and cable cutters to get it off.

[matty40s]

Worst I've had is a double sprung mattress on the Rochdale. The combination of thick, saturated wadding with metal springs twined around within it...

 

While we're on the subject, I hope everyone here keeps their 'catch' to put in a bin? I was frankly appalled by the behavior of one experienced crew (nameless) on the BCN challenge this year, who left a trail of weed hatch debris all along the towpath, ready to be kicked back into the cut.

 

To my mind, this is worse than the people who threw the rubbish in, in the first place. At least they have ignorance as an excuse.

Dredging the BCN wasn't the plan in December, it was delivering a boat with no weedhatch to a boatyard.

Unfortunately, Baldock dealt with 6 months worth of detrius including this HV cable insulation, followed by carpet and sari etc.

 

 

Mays BCN challenge was no better with no less than 17 trips down in 24 hours, the roof was full when we got to Bradley Workshops, including stop go signs from roadworks and much clothing.

 

Edited September 14, 2015 by matty40s

[jonathanA]

It's never occurred to me to keep a photographic record of my weed hatch treasure....

[Starcoaster]

 

Dredging the BCN wasn't the plan in December, it was delivering a boat with no weedhatch to a boatyard.

Unfortunately, Baldock dealt with 6 months worth of detrius including this HV cable insulation, followed by carpet and sari etc.

 

 

 

Mays BCN challenge was no better with no less than 17 trips down in 24 hours, the roof was full when we got to Bradley Workshops, including stop go signs from roadworks and much clothing.

 

 

 

But surely all of this pales into insignificance at the memory of the HUGE MURDEROUS CRAYFISH incident?

 

 

As an aside, any of youse who do pipe fenders and leave them down in locks to get snagged up and ripped off can jolly well get bent... We spent late afternoon yesterday shoulder deep in the weedhach completely fruitlessly, trying to catch and trap one of your feral minions on its bit of string without even managing to locate it.

After several failed attempts to limp on, we had to punt and bowhaul Hefty Mc.Regpants past the longest line of moored boats you ever did see (this may be an exaggeration) to get him to Brinklow, where he was fortunately due to be dry docked anyway.

Simon consequently trapped, neutered and released your unwanted shitten today.

 

So yeah, sarcastic "thanks" and a big shout out to all of y'all pipe-fender-on-a-string-left-down-at-all-times-ers out there, I got MUD ON MY TOP and everything. I had to have a SHOWER and I didn't even have any conditioner or face cream, and THEN I sprained my ankle (though this may have been unrelated).

Edited September 14, 2015 by Starcoaster

[Rob-M]

I met a pipe fender man last weekend at Fradley, as the fender pinged off he simply said "There goes another, 6 for £25 isn't a bad annual boating cost".

[Starcoaster]

Grrr, they're just the right shape for a suppository too...

[MtB]

Lol!!

Surely they are a bit small though for the 'pipe fenders always down' brigade...

P.S. I was delayed for two days at Pangbourne lock too a few years back by what the divers found to be a pipe fender jamming the gate.

[pendle]

In one go Christmas lights/outer copper piping/jersey/knickers/-aston flight October 2012.

 

All of them well past there sell by date.

[tillergirl]

+1

 

That is a real pet hate.

 

Put it in a bin bag when you clear your prop!

 

Weed might be debatable, but there is no excuse for leaving wire and plastic a foot from the water you have just fished it out of.

Or drop it onto your grp cruiser?

[Ray T]

Aaargh!

 

What's that hand doing in the top right corner?

 

N

 

Holding me steady whilst the other hand was still dragging rubbish off the prop.

 

We were in the little lay by at the bottom of the Delph flight.

[tidal]

I've had little in terms of "interesting finds" through my weed hatches Just the usual ropes, fishing lines and plastic bags.

I did have to help a fellow boater remove a mattress he'd picked up in a bridgehole (I had small bolt-croppers on board) and it took 3 strong adults to remove the remains from the canal after the boat had been detached.

However that was nothing compared to the problems he then had getting it disposed of.

[DHutch]

We don't get much, but this year have spent two hours getting 15ft of chain off, picked up from a swing bridge. And then in Manchester a load of bag and cloth around what turned out to be a whole pushchair.

 

 

Daniel