boat, moorings, so much to learn

[ronnietucker]

Uh-oh. My plan seems to be unravelling at the seems.   

For me, Speirs Wharf (and Applecross Street which is very close by - see attached image) seem to be my best mooring. The mooring would be at Speirs, but the facilities are at Applecross. Applecross has water, showers, etc. BUT I'd need to go way out to Temple, or Southbank (a fair distance) for sewage disposal. That's a bit of a nuisance. Seems a bit of a waste (pardon the pun) spending litres of fuel, and hours of time, just to go and dump (pardon another pun) a portapotty.

For repairs and such, I'm told that there are no cranes on the entire canal system but works can be carried out in the dry docks. I don't have a trailer or a car. Would I still be able to get the boat out of the water for repairs/maintenance (eg: blacking)? And with no slipway, how in the hell do they get boats in and out of the water? 

[cuthound]

A dry dock is like a single ended lock with a roof (usually).

You drive your boat in when it's full, pump the water out and the boat rests on supports so you can work on it.

When the work is complete, you let the water back and drive out.  Simples. 

There are photo's of my boat in dry dock in this thread. 

Just click on the embedded thread title to access the old thread.

 

Edited July 12, 2017 by cuthound
To add link to photo's

[Alan de Enfield]

27 minutes ago, cuthound said:

A dry dock is like a single ended lock with a roof (usually).

You drive your boat in when it's full, pump the water out and the boat rests on supports so you can work on it.

When the work is complete, you let the water back and drive out.  Simples. 

There are photo's of my boat in dry dock in this thread. 

Just click on the embedded thread title to access the old thread.

 

And here is a couple of 'mine'

The 'gate' in the 2nd picture is removed and you 'float out' onto the canal.

 

1 hour ago, ronnietucker said:

Seems a bit of a waste (pardon the pun) spending litres of fuel, and hours of time, just to go and dump (pardon another pun) a portapotty.

Do you not travel to work ?

take said 'briefcase' on bus / train etc and use the 'work facilities to empty it.

[magictime]

2 hours ago, ronnietucker said:

Applecross has water, showers, etc. BUT I'd need to go way out to Temple, or Southbank (a fair distance) for sewage disposal. That's a bit of a nuisance. Seems a bit of a waste (pardon the pun) spending litres of fuel, and hours of time, just to go and dump (pardon another pun) a portapotty.

Yeah, but surely you'd only really be using the loo while out and about cruising anyway? Unless you see yourself spendng a lot of time on the boat on its mooring? In which case there's always the option of buying an extra cassette.

[haggis]

2 hours ago, ronnietucker said:

Uh-oh. My plan seems to be unravelling at the seems.   

For me, Speirs Wharf (and Applecross Street which is very close by - see attached image) seem to be my best mooring. The mooring would be at Speirs, but the facilities are at Applecross. Applecross has water, showers, etc. BUT I'd need to go way out to Temple, or Southbank (a fair distance) for sewage disposal. That's a bit of a nuisance. Seems a bit of a waste (pardon the pun) spending litres of fuel, and hours of time, just to go and dump (pardon another pun) a portapotty.

For repairs and such, I'm told that there are no cranes on the entire canal system but works can be carried out in the dry docks. I don't have a trailer or a car. Would I still be able to get the boat out of the water for repairs/maintenance (eg: blacking)? And with no slipway, how in the hell do they get boats in and out of the water? 

Is there no Elsan disposal now at Applecross street? there used to be. To get from Speirs Wharf to Applecross Street (and the rest of the canal system) there is a bascule bridge which needs to be opened and I think this has to be done by SC guys. A bit of a hassle if you have to arrange for the bridge to be opened every time you want to empty your cassette. To get to the services at temple, you have to go down a few locks and this again needs the help of SC guys and on certain days of the week (ie most of them) there is a hefty charge for getting them to come out to work the locks. 

Re slipways, there are several on the Forth and Clyde canal - , Kirkintilloch, Auchinstarry and the Wheel and I am sure there is one somewhere in between. 

Dry docks, there is one on the Forth and Clyde canal just below the Wheel. 

However, if you are looking at GRP boats, I don't think they need bottom blacking but they may need to come out of the water for other purposes. 

haggis

[ronnietucker]

1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Do you not travel to work ?

take said 'briefcase' on bus / train etc and use the 'work facilities to empty it.

2

You want me to travel to work with a suitcase of poo?! 

You do make a good point though. How big are the cassettes?

 

And why do all my internet posts end up on the subject of poo?  

33 minutes ago, magictime said:

Yeah, but surely you'd only really be using the loo while out and about cruising anyway? Unless you see yourself spendng a lot of time on the boat on its mooring? In which case there's always the option of buying an extra cassette.

Yeah. An extra cassette is always a good shout.

[ronnietucker]

6 minutes ago, haggis said:

Is there no Elsan disposal now at Applecross street? there used to be. To get from Speirs Wharf to Applecross Street (and the rest of the canal system) there is a bascule bridge which needs to be opened and I think this has to be done by SC guys. A bit of a hassle if you have to arrange for the bridge to be opened every time you want to empty your cassette. To get to the services at temple, you have to go down a few locks and this again needs the help of SC guys and on certain days of the week (ie most of them) there is a hefty charge for getting them to come out to work the locks. 

Re slipways, there are several on the Forth and Clyde canal - , Kirkintilloch, Auchinstarry and the Wheel and I am sure there is one somewhere in between. 

Dry docks, there is one on the Forth and Clyde canal just below the Wheel. 

However, if you are looking at GRP boats, I don't think they need bottom blacking but they may need to come out of the water for other purposes. 

haggis

5

According to their skipper's handbook (PDF) there's no Elsan at Applecross/Speirs. Everything seems to be spread out along the canal.

Sewage? Ten miles that way. Slipway? Ten miles that (other) way. Plenty of pubs and restaurants though.  

Again, according to their skipper book, there are two slipways.

[Alan de Enfield]

57 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

You do make a good point though. How big are the cassettes?

Normally 20 litres but smaller ones are available.

They would fit in a 'standard' trolley bag (the airline sort - a small suitcase on wheels with an extending handle)

A cassette last me and SWMBO about 2 - 2.5 days when on the boat full time.

If you are 'solo' and going out to work 9-5 then you will only be using it 1st thing in the morning, evening & 'overnight' (if you are of that sort of age) use toilets in pubs, work, shops etc when travelling. A cassette will last you at least a week.

[ronnietucker]

5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Normally 20 litres but smaller ones are available.

They would fit in a 'standard' trolley bag (the airline sort - a small suitcase on wheels with an extending handle)

A cassette last me and SWMBO about 2 - 2.5 days when on the boat full time.

If you are 'solo' and going out to work 9-5 then you will only be using it 1st thing in the morning, evening & 'overnight' (if you are of that sort of age) use toilets in pubs, work, shops etc when travelling. A cassette will last you at least a week.

If I was off work for a week then I'd be on board most of the time, but most times it'd be weekends only, so it should last me a wee while. (pun intended)

Worst comes to the worst I have to strap it to my bicycle and empty it at home. Wouldn't be the first time I've strapped a load of crap to my bike.   

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, ronnietucker said:

If I was off work for a week then I'd be on board most of the time, but most times it'd be weekends only, so it should last me a wee while. (pun intended)

Worst comes to the worst I have to strap it to my bicycle and empty it at home. Wouldn't be the first time I've strapped a load of crap to my bike.   

Our solution (gas bottles, shopping etc etc)

Trailer carries 40kgs

 

[ronnietucker]

2 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

What about a cruiser? Would it also have a flat bottom to it?

It's a daft question, but I've not seen many of them out of the water.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, ronnietucker said:

What about a cruiser? Would it also have a flat bottom to it?

It's a daft question, but I've not seen many of them out of the water.

No - they have V bottoms, but the boat yards will either have cradles to suit or use 'logs and pads'.

Propping a GRP boat is standard practice and 10's (maybe 100's) of thousands are done each year. There are an awful lot more 'tupperware' boats than there are tin-slugs (or sewer tubes)

[Alan de Enfield]

This is a bit bigger than you are looking at, but, the principle is the same.

 

[haggis]

1 hour ago, ronnietucker said:

According to their skipper's handbook (PDF) there's no Elsan at Applecross/Speirs. Everything seems to be spread out along the canal.

Sewage? Ten miles that way. Slipway? Ten miles that (other) way. Plenty of pubs and restaurants though.  

Again, according to their skipper book, there are two slipways.

I still think you would be better looking for a mooring at Auchenstarry (which is near Croy station) as you will be moored with lots of other boats (many GRP) and you will possibly find it helpful to be able to chat to other boaters. There are all facilities on site and you have a few miles of cruising before you need to go through a lock or lift bridge which will give you good practice for when you want to go further afield.  Applecross street, while outside the SC office is not considered particularly safe although I know boaters who moor there and at Speirs Wharf you are outside posh flats. This was to be one of the "living on water" sites for residentials with all facilities but I don't know if that came to pass or not. As I said, it would be a real pain if you had to give SC notice of wanting to go though the bascule bridge on your way out and back in.  SC don't expect the Living on water boats to move and I sometimes think they would be happy if none of us did :-) 

Haggis

Edited July 12, 2017 by haggis

[ronnietucker]

1 hour ago, haggis said:

I still think you would be better looking for a mooring at Auchenstarry (which is near Croy station) as you will be moored with lots of other boats (many GRP) and you will possibly find it helpful to be able to chat to other boaters. There are all facilities on site and you have a few miles of cruising before you need to go through a lock or lift bridge which will give you good practice for when you want to go further afield.  Applecross street, while outside the SC office is not considered particularly safe although I know boaters who moor there and at Speirs Wharf you are outside posh flats. This was to be one of the "living on water" sites for residentials with all facilities but I don't know if that came to pass or not. As I said, it would be a real pain if you had to give SC notice of wanting to go though the bascule bridge on your way out and back in.  SC don't expect the Living on water boats to move and I sometimes think they would be happy if none of us did :-) 

Haggis

I can definitely see your point, SC have mentioned it a few times, and the price is good, but the mooring seems to be a fair distance away from the train station.

In my ideal (fat chance!) scenario I'd like to bounce out of work on a Friday and head to 'the boat'. But I'd need to walk about 25mins to the nearest train station, maybe walk 30 mins from the train station to the boat and then try and make my way back again to work on Monday morning. It kinda puts me off going. It also bumps up my travelling costs.

But, I have to agree, it does seem like a good option. It's just the faffing about getting to/from there that I'm scared would put me off going in the first place.

It's a case of weighing up the cons to see which site works out with the least amount of cons.  

 

Unless I become 'that guy' who gets on the train with a bicycle.  

Edited July 12, 2017 by ronnietucker

[haggis]

Have a train trip to Croy. I don't think it is very far from the moorings 

Only you can decide what is the best option for you 

Reasonable security and getting up a wee bit earlier or a longer lie and less security 

Haggis 

[Galoka]

2 hours ago, ronnietucker said:

 

Unless I become 'that guy' who gets on the train with a bicycle.  

That's the sensible option. a 30 minute walk becomes a 10 minute or so cycle. A   folding bike is handy for commuting and could be easily stashed on the boat. Maybe useful then when crusing

[ronnietucker]

39 minutes ago, haggis said:

Have a train trip to Croy. I don't think it is very far from the moorings 

Only you can decide what is the best option for you 

Reasonable security and getting up a wee bit earlier or a longer lie and less security 

Haggis 

Oh no. Not MORE choices!   

Yeah. I will give it a looksy. Either way I need to go on a scouting missing to Speirs, and Auchinstarry.

[Iain_S]

6 hours ago, ronnietucker said:

Unless I become 'that guy' who gets on the train with a bicycle.  

You mean "one of those guys". The cycle racks on our trains are often fairly full 

Croy station is about a mile and a half from Auchenstarry.

I'm quite surprised there is no Elsan disposal at Applecross Street, especially as they advertise pump out.  In the early days, BW(S) used to do pump outs into a handy foul water drain manhole opposite the office, but that's probably "not the done thing" these days!

Despite the non listing of a slipway at Applecross Street, the map above has one marked nearby. I'm not sure if that is in Firhill Timber Basin (now full of canoes, kids and fishermen!) or the one at the filled in basin opposite. If the latter, it's probably unusable. We looked at it round about 2000, and the approach was well overgrown then, and the actual slip was just hardcore.

[Matt&Jo]

Another thing for you to be aware of....with grp boats you do need to be alot!!!!! More carefull about not touching the bank when mooring especialy if a brick side or metal corregate.... grp is easily damaged and it takes a bit of practice. Yes ypu have large fenders but hung at an incorrect height or simply coming in too fast can spell nasty damage.

Steel is not as bad, yes you scratch blacking but its steel.......

Also this applies to the underneath. Canals are shallow by nature and your clearance wont be huge in some cases ie inside of some corners for eg depending on build up. The grp can easily be damaged here again and needs swift repair if caught... 

Please take my word for this ive a grp cruiser on the south coast and have had 2 very small repairs done and thats from using it at sea.........

[ronnietucker]

Having to rethink my location plans.

Speirs/Applecross: great location, but lacks facilities/movement with locks that I can't operate. 

Bowling: great location and facilities, a bit more expensive, and also has nuisance locks in/out.

Authinstarry: no train from home/work direct to there, great facilities, OK price, would need to buy a minimum of 10m in space

Southbank: current favourite, has facilities, OK location (1hr cycle from home/work), no fuel there, and (again) no train direct to there from home/work.

Sigh. If there are any problems with Southbank then I'm all out of ideas.  

On 12/07/2017 at 16:10, Alan de Enfield said:

This is a bit bigger than you are looking at, but, the principle is the same.

 

If they were blacking the hull, how would they do the bits where the stands/supports are?

[Alan de Enfield]

46 minutes ago, ronnietucker said:

Having to rethink my location plans.

Speirs/Applecross: great location, but lacks facilities/movement with locks that I can't operate. 

Bowling: great location and facilities, a bit more expensive, and also has nuisance locks in/out.

Authinstarry: no train from home/work direct to there, great facilities, OK price, would need to buy a minimum of 10m in space

Southbank: current favourite, has facilities, OK location (1hr cycle from home/work), no fuel there, and (again) no train direct to there from home/work.

Sigh. If there are any problems with Southbank then I'm all out of ideas.  

If they were blacking the hull, how would they do the bits where the stands/supports are?

Paint around the supports, when dry, move supports and then paint the 'un-painted' bits. Next coat, paint all around the supports, when dry, move supports and paint the 'un-painted' bit again.

[WotEver]

3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Paint around the supports, when dry, move supports and then paint the 'un-painted' bits. Next coat, paint all around the supports, when dry, move supports and paint the 'un-painted' bit again.

Or... leave those bits till next year

[ronnietucker]

14 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Paint around the supports, when dry, move supports and then paint the 'un-painted' bits. Next coat, paint all around the supports, when dry, move supports and paint the 'un-painted' bit again.

Sounds like a plan.

Thanks!

[Iain_S]

5 hours ago, ronnietucker said:

Having to rethink my location plans.

Speirs/Applecross: great location, but lacks facilities/movement with locks that I can't operate. 

I'm not sure if Scottish Canals do "training courses" for the bascule bridge between Applecross Street and Spiers wharf. The lock at Spiers Wharf only leads to Port Dundas (via another lock up).

Bowling: great location and facilities, a bit more expensive, and also has nuisance locks in/out.

Real nuisance locks! Only available Friday to Monday 

Authinstarry: no train from home/work direct to there, great facilities, OK price, would need to buy a minimum of 10m in space

Southbank: current favourite, has facilities, OK location (1hr cycle from home/work), no fuel there, and (again) no train direct to there from home/work.

When you say "fuel", is it petrol or diesel? If for a petrol outboard, it'll need to be from a garage anyway (supermarket one close to Southbank)

Sigh. If there are any problems with Southbank then I'm all out of ideas.