How much will be “cruisable” by August?..

[Grassman]

5 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 

We're on the Oxford summit at the moment and heading down towards Fenny Compton in a while then onto the Thames in 8 to 10 days. The level here is fine, perhaps and inch of two below the level of the overflow above Marston Doles top lock when we came up the flight yesterday. A contrast to when we were here last year, about a foot down then as I recall.

 

How is the Thames at the moment?

 

When I was at Abingdon lock (not on the boat) a couple of weeks ago there didn't seem to be much coming over the weir and the relief lockkeeper was talking about sandbagging the leaks and, ultimately, stopping single boats going through the locks if we didn't get rain soon.

 

 

We are currently heading upriver, just south of Oxford (Iffley Lock) and there is water flowing over the weirs here. There seems to be plenty of depth, although this is our first time on the Thames so I don't know what is 'normal'. It looks fine to me and we've had no problems getting to the edge to moor.  I haven't heard anybody (lock keepers or other boaters) mention any concerns. We're going up to Lechlade before returning to Oxford and onto the canal via Dukes Cut.

[Marzookah]

We bought our first boat last week and are excited to try a small run to the nearest pub and back but really worried about water levels. We have a gpr cruiser with an outboard but could feel the propeller catching in the mud at our first attempt so abandoned the trip!

Can anyone near astbury on the Macclesfield canal give me an update on canal conditions please? 

Thanks 

[Athy]

7 hours ago, Grassman said:

 

Presumably there were no problems then Athy? We are due to come off the Thames onto the Oxford this weekend so I'm hoping the levels will be high enough.

Just got home and read your post. The level looked a few inches low, and a couple of times we crunched through muddy gravel where we would have expected water, but we got to Napton and back to Cropredy without any major inconvenience. Do note that on the Claydon flight and on the locks down towards Cropredy there is considerable bottom-gate leakage, so that we usually had to top up locks which were theoretically in our favour.

6 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

 

We're on the Oxford summit at the moment and heading down towards Fenny Compton

We must have passed you - twice! Where were you moored?

[Alan de Enfield]

How much will be “cruisable” by August?..

 

The way things seem to be going at the moment - the answer must be 'Not a lot' in the Northern part of the country

 

L&L and Middlewich branch closed, low water in many places, now add in the latest T&M closure, Marple closed again, &, Camp Hill (10 mile pound closed to navigation) they will not be much cruising going on.

[BruceinSanity]

29 minutes ago, Marzookah said:

We bought our first boat last week and are excited to try a small run to the nearest pub and back but really worried about water levels. We have a gpr cruiser with an outboard but could feel the propeller catching in the mud at our first attempt so abandoned the trip!

Can anyone near astbury on the Macclesfield canal give me an update on canal conditions please? 

Thanks 

What draught is your boat? The Macc is a shallow canal, munching through the mud is not uncommon!

[Marzookah]

Munching through mud lol! Well at least I know that was normal.

Re: the boat Draught..not sure is the honest answer.  She's a Dawncraft 25. 

3ft 6 rings a bell but means little at the minute.  Steep learning curve ahead.

[Alan de Enfield]

27 minutes ago, Marzookah said:

Munching through mud lol! Well at least I know that was normal.

Re: the boat Draught..not sure is the honest answer.  She's a Dawncraft 25. 

3ft 6 rings a bell but means little at the minute.  Steep learning curve ahead.

If it really is the case then you won't be going far.

Some boats at 30" seem to struggle, and it seems that most 'modern boats' are built to around 24" with some as low as 18".

C&RTs dredging targets (which they consistently fail to achieve) are about 1 metre for most of the canals.

 

You will lose some efficiency but you could always increase the engine tilt (either a hydraulic piston and an electric switch, or a metal bar that runs across the 'outside' of the engine mounts and has a series of holes - depending on engine model)

 

 

The Hydraulic trim / tilt piston (between the engine mounting brackets)

 

 

 

The 'manual method' is as per pic 33 with the 5 holes (the bottom one already has the tilt bar in place)

[TheBiscuits]

41 minutes ago, Marzookah said:

Re: the boat Draught..not sure is the honest answer.  She's a Dawncraft 25. 

3ft 6 rings a bell but means little at the minute.  Steep learning curve ahead.

3ft 6 sounds unlikely.

 

My Nauticus was a bigger, heavier GRP boat and only drew 18 inches when stationary.

[Jerra]

An advert for a Dawncraft 25 at Jones Boatyard has the draught as 2 foot.

 

http://www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/boat-sales/dawncraft-25-boat-for-sale-6332.html

[mrsmelly]

52 minutes ago, Marzookah said:

Munching through mud lol! Well at least I know that was normal.

Re: the boat Draught..not sure is the honest answer.  She's a Dawncraft 25. 

3ft 6 rings a bell but means little at the minute.  Steep learning curve ahead.

A guesstimate for me would be nearer one foot?

[George and Dragon]

On 04/07/2018 at 20:05, matty40s said:

Leicester Line from Foxton to Kings Lock Aylestone will no doubt be next to go

Three weeks ago we came through Leicester to Foxton. Levels were low even then between Irving's Lock (32) and Kilby Lock (30)

[Alan de Enfield]

11 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

3ft 6 sounds unlikely.

 

My Nauticus was a bigger, heavier GRP boat and only drew 18 inches when stationary.

 

9 minutes ago, Jerra said:

An advert for a Dawncraft 25 at Jones Boatyard has the draught as 2 foot.

 

http://www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/boat-sales/dawncraft-25-boat-for-sale-6332.html

Don't forget that whilst the hull may only draw 2 foot (or whatever) the outboard engine leg, prop and skeg will be hanging down a further 12" as the cavitation plate should be submerged and the prop must have 'clear water' below the keel.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Alan de Enfield

[Marzookah]

Thanks for your help..much appreciated. 

We did a manual tilt of the outboard using a piece of wood wedged in the mount. Perhaps we should stay moored until it rains ..

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Marzookah said:

Thanks for your help..much appreciated. 

We did a manual tilt of the outboard using a piece of wood wedged in the mount. Perhaps we should stay moored until it rains ..

I'm sure many of us have done that (wedged a piece of wood in) but it is not good practice - adjust your tilt with the proper adjusting bar (that's what its for)

[Marzookah]

Thanks..sadly it doesn't have one (broken I think ) . On our things to fix list @

[Lily Rose]

2 hours ago, Athy said:

 

We must have passed you - twice! Where were you moored?

 

We set off from Calcutt on Sunday and moored by the old Bridge Inn. We did the flight Monday and moored near bridge 24. Today we did 2.5 hours and moored near the Wharf Inn at Funny Camp Town.

 

Tomorrow we plan to get to Cropredy, hopefully to meet up with the Nightwatch crew in a pub. Martyn was wondering if you were in the area but it appears we've missed you!

 

We will be back this way in August but not sure when yet, depends how long we stay on the Thames and what water levels are like by then.

 

[Arthur Marshall]

3 hours ago, Marzookah said:

Thanks for your help..much appreciated. 

We did a manual tilt of the outboard using a piece of wood wedged in the mount. Perhaps we should stay moored until it rains ..

I moor at Astbury on the Macc and turned the boat today - levels seemed fine. It's a slow canal because it was built shallow. 

[ditchcrawler]

On 04/07/2018 at 20:13, billS said:

Plenty water in the Trent and Mersey and the Caldon, with water running down the byewashes. Currently on the Coventry below Atherstone. It's

 down a few inches here.

 

Funny I just read this on Facebook 

"The problem is the Caldon canal is so low we keep running aground. It appears to be at least a foot down on the what appears to be the water marks." and complaining about a farmer extracting water

[Marzookah]

54 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I moor at Astbury on the Macc and turned the boat today - levels seemed fine. It's a slow canal because it was built shallow. 

Thanks Arthur.

Might try a short run at weekend. 

[Arthur Marshall]

1 hour ago, Marzookah said:

Thanks Arthur.

Might try a short run at weekend. 

You should be OK, plenty of boats going up and down, cruisers as well as nbs. Just bear in mind it's always shallow at the sides.  My boat's a 40ft narrowboat, but it sits a bit lower in the water than it did as it now has three bottoms and as many sides, and I've had no trouble, certainly between Heritage and Congleton.

[Sea Dog]

10 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

has three bottoms and as many sides

Ah, then henceforth we shall dub thee the multi-faceted Arthur three bottoms! 

[billS]

12 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Funny I just read this on Facebook 

"The problem is the Caldon canal is so low we keep running aground. It appears to be at least a foot down on the what appears to be the water marks." and complaining about a farmer extracting water

We came off the Caldon at the beginning of the month, so I suppose things could have changed by now.

[Mad Harold]

11 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

You should be OK, plenty of boats going up and down, cruisers as well as nbs. Just bear in mind it's always shallow at the sides.  My boat's a 40ft narrowboat, but it sits a bit lower in the water than it did as it now has three bottoms and as many sides, and I've had no trouble, certainly between Heritage and Congleton.

Thank you Arthur,I often wondered what happens to a boat when it has been overplated and the overplating rusts through.Presumably one keeps on overplating untill the boat will no longer float.

 

[Mad Harold]

17 hours ago, Marzookah said:

Thanks for your help..much appreciated. 

We did a manual tilt of the outboard using a piece of wood wedged in the mount. Perhaps we should stay moored until it rains ..

The piece of wood will work fine until you forget and engage reverse.The outboard will rise up,your piece of wood will go for a swim,and when you close the throttle the outboard will drop down with a bang,and do your transom a load of no good.

Guess how I know this!

[Movin' on]

On 04/07/2018 at 20:05, matty40s said:

The Leicester Line from Foxton to Kings Lock Aylestone will no doubt be next to go, CRT like to blame the little scoundrels but still haven't found the leak they were looking for when they shut it last September for 6 months.

JUST got through going south with a lot of scraping and CRT filling from Kilsby this morning