Braunston Tunnel - advice for my first time

[Guest]

Absolutely not!

 

Braunston is a proper two way traffic tunnel meant for shifting goods. The kink is a bit of a nuisance and that's all

 

TBH, I don't remember the kink much

 

Richard

We have done Braunston a couple of times and I honestly cannot recall 'the kink' at all.

 

We did once make contact with another boat though. Makes an impressive clatter down there, I do remember that.

Edited July 10, 2016 by MJG

[patty-ann]

I had such an encounter and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Sorry!

Him: What are you f---ing playing at?

Me: Sorry, I'm doing my best, no harm done (cheery smile)

Him: What do you think you're f---ing well doing?

Me: Oh, f--- off.

He was obviously having a bad day

?shiny boater with very shiny boat

mine was once until I became woman in control of tiller

[Ssscrudddy]

3rd day boating having just bought a NB having never been on 1 before, we met a boat at the kink, bang clatter clatter... I yelled oops sorry, dunno what they said just couldnt tell. Both boats went bouncing off the opposite walls... Glad it was dark!

[system 4-50]

Years ago, cruised along the tunnel no problem. Saw somebody coming & tried extra hard to stay straight so managed to swing the bow out. Hit oncoming boat. The conversation went:

Me: "Sorry!"

Him: "No, it was my fault"

Me: "I drifted into the middle"

Him: "No problem, these thing happen" or words to that effect.

It made my day to encounter such generous behaviour.

[Scholar Gypsy]

we first did Braunston in a yogurt pot, lighting was a camping gaz light hanging in the hatch & throwing light sideways. That's where you need it, not 100m ahead.

 

Only other tip, if you have side doors & hatches, esp on starboard side, then close them, so they don't get damaged.

[sueb]

Hello the tunnel will be fine but make sure you don't blind any oncoming boats with your headlights

[___]

I had such an encounter and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Sorry!

Him: What are you f---ing playing at?

Me: Sorry, I'm doing my best, no harm done (cheery smile)

Him: What do you think you're f---ing well doing?

Me: Oh, f--- off.

With your boat weren't you tempted to back up and have a good run at him to see what he had to say then?

[dogless]

I had such an encounter and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Sorry!

Him: What are you f---ing playing at?

Me: Sorry, I'm doing my best, no harm done (cheery smile)

Him: What do you think you're f---ing well doing?

Me: Oh, f--- off.

Greenie !

 

I wish I could think up repartee and subtle wit like that on the spot.

 

Well done you

 

Rog

[koukouvagia]

Wear sun glasses before you enter the tunnel -whether it's sunny or not. Take them off as you go into the tunnel and you'll have much better vision until your eyes adjust to the dark.

It's much easier going south because there is a wooden guard on that side so when you encounter an oncoming boat you can just slide along it.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Hello the tunnel will be fine but make sure you don't blind any oncoming boats with your headlights

I'd second that suggestion since that was the direct cause of me hitting a boat at the kink on my first trip through with my current boat. Being blinded by the oncoming boat's light I was trying to navigate by looking along the side of my boat against the tunnel wall and didn't see the kink until the last minute. I first hit the kink which then diverted the boat into the path of the oncoming boat leading to a bit of a 'coming together'. The kink becomes more memorable when you have that experience . So memorable in fact that i can tell you it is near to the 400metre marker sign from the Eastern Portal.

 

As an aside, I have always found the optical illusion that you get when approaching a tunnel fascinating. When you can see the other end it always looks closer before you enter the tunnel than once you are actually in it. Last time I went through Braunston tunnel it was a bit hazy as I was following a smoky boat so the effect wasn't quite so pronounced but going through Netherton Tunnel it was striking that on the approach to the tunnel it actually looked quite short but once in it the other end suddenly looked a whole lot further away.

[bizzard]

To improve the eyesight munch a bag of raw carrots before you go in. I don't though, they give me severe hiccups.

Edited July 10, 2016 by bizzard

[RLWP]

I'd second that suggestion since that was the direct cause of me hitting a boat at the kink on my first trip through with my current boat. Being blinded by the oncoming boat's light I was trying to navigate by looking along the side of my boat against the tunnel wall and didn't see the kink until the last minute.

 

Yes, it's really hard trying to do close quarters maneuvering whilst shielding your eyes from an approaching boats million candlepower headlamp

 

Richard

[cuthound]

Whatever you do don't panic.

 

I tee-boned a Canaltime bost in Crick tunnel once, when just as he was approaching my bows, he panicked and put it hard in reverse, causing his bows to swing across in front of me and leaving me with no room to stop.

 

No damage done except to his pride.

 

In Braunston tunnel you can see the kink quite clearly if no boat is coming the other way, as the "light at the end of the tunnel" ceases to be round.

 

As others have said, take it steady, put your interior lights on and slow down to tickover and steer right when you meet another boat.

[RLWP]

slow down to tickover

 

I wouldn't. Not to tickover, you'll lose most of the steering power just when you want to steer right.

 

Slow down as you approach the boat, yes - just not that slow

 

Having said that, based on the speed boats pass moored boats these days, slow down to below tickover....

 

Richard

[alan_fincher]

 

I wouldn't. Not to tickover, you'll lose most of the steering power just when you want to steer right.

 

Slow down as you approach the boat, yes - just not that slow

 

Having said that, based on the speed boats pass moored boats these days, slow down to below tickover....

 

Richard

 

This advice is highly dependent on the boat and what it's handling characteristics are, though!

 

You would not want to hit, (or be hit by) "Sickle" whilst still in tickover, at anything more than a very slight glancing blow in a tunnel, trust me!

 

Early in my ownership of the boat, I was in Blisworth tunnel expecting to pass a boat with a very bright headlight pointing straight at me whilst in tickover, but it became apparent in the final seconds before, as my headlight illuminated him, that he was closer to the middle of the tunnel than he was his own side. The resulting impact as very severe, and I'd be quite surprised if he didn't have a dent in the boat as a result, (I was actually quite surprised that we didn't in ours!).

 

Since then, if I can't be absolutely certain an approaching boat is very close to the correct positioning, I try to have the boat out of gear for a short while, (which clearly does lose most of the steering), but to re-engage it to get control back before I actually pass. This cautious approach has resulted in no repeat performances, (and we do these tunnels many times a year). However this does rely on the boats still having a lot of control in tickover, which ours do, as did our previous leisure boat - I have not really experienced boats that would lose enough steering whilst still in gear to be a problem in these situations.

 

I would agree with those that say arriving at the kink in Braunston tunnel is more obvious coming South than North. Part of the problem going North is that there is at least one significant wiggle before the big one, and if you don't have the experience to know that, it is tempting to think you have already been through it when you have not.

[Lily Rose]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

I've decided to be more relaxed about what time I go through as I don't want such an early start that we have to go through the Braunston flight to get to the tunnel by 8am and I don't know whether I'll find an overnight mooring between locks and tunnel and I don't know what moorings will be like/available between tunnel and Norton Junction if we were to go through in the evening.

 

I'll just get there when I get there. Hopefully it won't be too busy during the day as it will be mid-week and not yet state school holidays. Coming back may be a different story but it won't be my first time by then.

 

I've got lights aplenty. Cabin lights will be on, I have the standard tunnel light (which I'll check for alignment), I have a 12 volt 10 watt LED spotlight to point at the roof, I've got a fully charged solar LED light (recently bought for my house front door) to point at the wall if I feel the need and I've got at least 3 bright LED torches. I should be alright for light!

 

I've got 2 boat poles, 1 for either end, so I can try to push the boat over if I struggle to get the boat up to the RH wall when I meet another boat.

 

Quite looking forward to it now.

 

Then I'll have my first lock staircases to look forward to at Watford and Foxton. Next year (too many other trips to do this year) I'll have my first river (non-tidal Thames) as well as the Oxford canal between Cropredy and Oxford, which is the only bit of the Oxford not yet done. Very much looking forward to that as well.

[IanM]

Thanks for all the advice.

 

I've decided to be more relaxed about what time I go through as I don't want such an early start that we have to go through the Braunston flight to get to the tunnel by 8am and I don't know whether I'll find an overnight mooring between locks and tunnel and I don't know what moorings will be like/available between tunnel and Norton Junction if we were to go through in the evening.

 

I'll just get there when I get there. Hopefully it won't be too busy during the day as it will be mid-week and not yet state school holidays. Coming back may be a different story but it won't be my first time by then.

 

I've got lights aplenty. Cabin lights will be on, I have the standard tunnel light (which I'll check for alignment), I have a 12 volt 10 watt LED spotlight to point at the roof, I've got a fully charged solar LED light (recently bought for my house front door) to point at the wall if I feel the need and I've got at least 3 bright LED torches. I should be alright for light!

 

I've got 2 boat poles, 1 for either end, so I can try to push the boat over if I struggle to get the boat up to the RH wall when I meet another boat.

Don't even think about trying to use a shaft in the tunnel, you won't be able to see what you're doing and the risk of falling in is too great.

[Lily Rose]

Ok, I'll forget that idea.

[RLWP]

On moorings between Norton and the tunnel. There are lots!

 

It's quite a long section and pleasantly rural

 

Richard

[john6767]

On moorings between Norton and the tunnel. There are lots!

 

It's quite a long section and pleasantly rural

 

Richard

 

Although you can have difficulty in getting to the side in the middle of that section. But its not long from Norton to the tunnel so you may as well stop towards the Norton Junction end, which is very pleasant, and the pub is withing walking distance.

[RLWP]

 

Although you can have difficulty in getting to the side in the middle of that section. But its not long from Norton to the tunnel so you may as well stop towards the Norton Junction end, which is very pleasant, and the pub is withing walking distance.

 

That would be my choice

 

Richard

[OldGoat]

MrBeethoven, on 11 Jul 2016 - 09:09 AM, said:

Thanks for all the advice.

 

I've decided to be more relaxed about what time I go through as I don't want such an early start that we have to go through the Braunston flight to get to the tunnel by 8am and I don't know whether I'll find an overnight mooring between locks and tunnel and I don't know what moorings will be like/available between tunnel and Norton Junction if we were to go through in the evening.

 

I'll just get there when I get there. Hopefully it won't be too busy during the day as it will be mid-week and not yet state school holidays. Coming back may be a different story but it won't be my first time by then.

 

I've got lights aplenty. Cabin lights will be on, I have the standard tunnel light (which I'll check for alignment), I have a 12 volt 10 watt LED spotlight to point at the roof, I've got a fully charged solar LED light (recently bought for my house front door) to point at the wall if I feel the need and I've got at least 3 bright LED torches. I should be alright for light!

 

I've got 2 boat poles, 1 for either end, so I can try to push the boat over if I struggle to get the boat up to the RH wall when I meet another boat.

 

Quite looking forward to it now.

 

Then I'll have my first lock staircases to look forward to at Watford and Foxton. Next year (too many other trips to do this year) I'll have my first river (non-tidal Thames) as well as the Oxford canal between Cropredy and Oxford, which is the only bit of the Oxford not yet done. Very much looking forward to that as well.

You appear to have got it together much more than most (experienced) boaters on here.

The only real challenge is anticipating what the other boat is going to do. Most have no concept of speed, even less when in a tunnel. If both slowdown a bit and keep their station to their side then there's a good chance that nothing will get hit.

Perhaps that's the experience you will have!

[junior]

The problem with starting a thread like this is you'll get so many tales, anyone who has ever touched a boat coming the other way etc will want to warn you about the kink, what happened to them etc.

 

The only advice i would give is to check your tunnel light works as soon as you get to the boat, not once you get out of the top lock.

 

Braunston is a wide, tall tunnel. I bought my first boat at Braunston Marina, turned right and went through the tunnel. It was a non-event (except we had to fix the tunnel light).

 

Go through whatever time of day you want. Get in the centre channel and go for it. If you see a boat coming, once they are close then slow down a bit. If you nudge each other while passing, so what.

[Jess--]

Braunston is a wide, tall tunnel. I bought my first boat at Braunston Marina, turned right and went through the tunnel. It was a non-event (except we had to fix the tunnel light).

 

Been through 3 times (steering but many more times not steering) and have never had any issues, I must be hitting the tunnel at the wrong times because I always meet several boats coming the opposite way.

 

as others have said already heading away from braunston you can run against the wood if you have to (try and avoid it though).

 

the only time I have ever had any problem in a tunnel was in newbold tunnel (only 275 yards long) where a hireboat thought there was enough room for them to go down the middle even though I was already in the tunnel, their comment after hitting us, bouncing off the wall and hitting us again was "they should make these tunnels wider".

[ditchcrawler]

The worst thing is when the boat coming the other way tries to stop to let you passed.