Now, I'm not a CRT basher. But...

[johnmck]

After travelling fairly extensively around the system this year, albeit keeping to the west, we have had no real problems with the infrastructure. In fact, it's been fine. When a problem arose on the Llangollen, it was dealt with expediantly. 

 

But..

 

The South Oxford is dire. It's almost planned neglect. The channel is severely impeded by overhanging vegetation and reed spread. It's always been shallow, but in my opinion, the pound containing Twyford wharf, must have a potential breach. Lock paddles are broken. Lift bridges are missing counter weights and are downright dangerous. Having to prop up a lift bridge with a pole is inviting disaster. We reported faults en route to the Thames. Nothing has been done upon our return.

 

What is going on?

[john6767]

We are on the South Oxford, Thrupp at the moment, Thames tomorrow.  Whilst I would agree with some of the specific points you raise, I would not say it a dire.  

 

Once south of Cropredy and all the Napton based hire boats, it has been very quiet and pleasant.  The pound with Twyford wharf is low, but as long as you don’t want to stop there it is fine to get through, but I would agree that as this is the only low pound there looks to be an issue, which could just be the dodgy paddle on the bottom gate at Kings Stutton, but presumable that has been checked and is not causing it, so a leak somewhere.

 

The reeds are bad in a couple of places, but I dont think the offside vegetation is worse than other places, which of course does not mean that it could not be better.

 

i assume the bridge you are referring to is the one near Dukes lock that was vandalised by a boater, according to Facebook,, we have that to deal with tomorrow.

[otfd]

My first visit to the Oxford Canal and I agree it's dire in places our first encounter was the dead dear that had been retrieved from the lock and dumped by the bridge at Dukes Cut Lock. Bridge 231 is dangerous to operate and I suspect CRT don't do public safety risk assessments. The solution to defective lock paddles it to wrap them in hazard tape. 

 

Its a nice waterway but a bit neglected in places

 

 

[Momac]

 

 

[MtB]

It doesn't matter how well CRT maintain a waterway, it will never be good enough for some. 

 

Each time they improve things, it sucks in more demandy middle class boaters who expect the moon on stick with a switch to turn it on and off, and the grass to be combed all the same way. 

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Mike the Boilerman
Spelling edit, 8.43am Thursday.

[Arthur Marshall]

It's gone downhill quick then - I went down to Oxford in April and thoroughly enjoyed it, had no problems with locks or bridges.  Certainly never had to prop up a bridge with a pole then.

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

It's gone downhill quick then - I went down to Oxford in April and thoroughly enjoyed it, had no problems with locks or bridges.  Certainly never had to prop up a bridge with a pole then.

 

And even if you did have to, would have been that big a deal? 

 

I seem to remember needing to do it on several southern oxford bridges in years gone by and its not that difficult.

 

 

[Higgs]

5 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And even if you did have to, would have been that big a deal? 

 

I seem to remember needing to do it on several southern oxford bridges in years gone by and its not that difficult.

 

 

 

You're self-centred. Other people are not 'seasoned' boaters. CRT are not interested that some people do not have complete confidence, CRT have their' money. I doubt that money was faulty. You might like to see yourself in the mould of the working and resourceful boater of the past, but it is now a leisure industry, the novice and the aged have to use the equipment. I have not noticed people having to take a test, before they are allowed to buy a boat.

[1st ade]

6 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

And even if you did have to, would have been that big a deal? 

No big deal at all - Up to the point at which the pole slips (or breaks) and someone gets hurt.

 

Imagine if the professionally produced noticeboard said "Now wedge open with a suitable handy object while passing underneath..." H&S would be over them like a rash

[Jim Riley]

Aren't there some instructions somewhere about operating lift bridges safely, single handed. Where is Phyllis when you need her? 

[Rob-M]

You need to get a Banbury Stick, 

 

[rowland al]

8 hours ago, john6767 said:

 

i assume the bridge you are referring to is the one near Dukes lock that was vandalised by a boater, according to Facebook,, we have that to deal with tomorrow.

That bridge has been a pain for years. Last time we went throgh a ‘local boater’ jumped hard onto the bridge to release it! It is a mystery why C&RT don’t fix it properly. After all they pumped money into the Lower Heyford lift bridge to electrify it.

 

Going back to the OP, it’s a good job you didn’t do tbe South Oxford  years ago when most of the lift bridges were like that and most were shut! 

Edited September 5, 2018 by rowland al

[Arthur Marshall]

55 minutes ago, rowland al said:

That bridge has been a pain for years. Last time we went throgh a ‘local boater’ jumped hard onto the bridge to release it! It is a mystery why C&RT don’t fix it properly. After all they pumped money into the Lower Heyford lift bridge to electrify it.

 

Going back to the OP, it’s a good job you didn’t do tbe South Oxford  years ago when most of the lift bridges were like that and most were shut! 

Agreed - when I started boating most lift bridges were worked with a bit of string.  Standard procedure was, I think, to carry a sandbag to weigh the arm down while you went underneath, assuming you were on your tod. Sometimes, on a system hundreds of years old, you have to use some of that grey stuff in your head.

Mind you, it's nice when they do electrify them - for the period that the electrics work, obviously. After that, you're stuffed...

[Dave123]

Spent most of May on the south Oxford and had no problems. There is rope to tie the bridges open. Moored in the Twyford wharf pound with no issues either. Used to have a permanent mooring there and never struggled...

[Mike Todd]

12 hours ago, otfd said:

My first visit to the Oxford Canal and I agree it's dire in places our first encounter was the dead dear that had been retrieved from the lock and dumped by the bridge at Dukes Cut Lock. Bridge 231 is dangerous to operate and I suspect CRT don't do public safety risk assessments. The solution to defective lock paddles it to wrap them in hazard tape. 

 

Its a nice waterway but a bit neglected in places

 

 

I suspect that if you were to propose creating a canal with locks today, just as they were built originally, then you would fall foul of innumerable risk assessment factors! Similar thought occurred to me when driving along the motorway yesterday, especially with one over-wide load reducing the gap even further . . . 

 

A little while since we have been on S Oxford since we stopped mooring there but I recall that most of the lift bridges are unbalanced. In any event, if balanced one day, they will soon be unbalanced as things change, including the weather.

[ditchcrawler]

The balance of the wooden lift bridges changes with the weather, The past dry months would have seen the decks dry out and they would probably swing up almost by them selves, Get the rain on then wood and it gets a bit heavier and a job to lift. You said we, did your crew not sit on the beam of the bridge after pulling it down?

[john6767]

We have done the bit from Thrupp to the Thames via dukes cut today.  I will say that is probably the worst maintained section of the whole of the Oxford, North and South.  The first two locks from Thrupp each have one bottom paddle out of action and the ballance beams are severely rotted.  It would not take much for there to be a failure there.

 

The lift bridge above dukes lock is broken, it does not counter balance and needs two people to sit on the beams to hold the bridge up, or you are propping it with a pole.  CRT have been there this morning and are supposed to becoming back so hopefully it will be fixed soon.

 

So I accept that if you come off the Thames, which  very quiet and it's usual niceness, it will be a bit of a shock.

[dmr]

17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

It doesn't matter how well CRT maintain a waterway, it will never be good enough for some. 

 

Each time they improve things, it sucks in more demandy middle class boaters who expect the moon on stick with a switch turn it on ands off, and the grass to be combed all the same way. 

On Sunday I tried to help a friend from the outskirts of Manchester down into Manchester on the Rochdale. We managed one mile and one lock. Resumed early on Monday and  eventually got to New Islington. If this trip was made compulsory for all boaters they would never complain about the South Oxford, or any other part of the system, ever again. 

After one weedhatch visit we had to leave the collected stuff on the towpath and call CaRT to collect it because it was too disgusting to keep on the roof of the boat! ?

 

..............Dave

[TheBiscuits]

6 minutes ago, dmr said:

On Sunday I tried to help a friend from the outskirts of Manchester down into Manchester on the Rochdale. We managed one mile and one lock. Resumed early on Monday and  eventually got to New Islington. If this trip was made compulsory for all boaters they would never complain about the South Oxford, or any other part of the system, ever again. 

After one weedhatch visit we had to leave the collected stuff on the towpath and call CaRT to collect it because it was too disgusting to keep on the roof of the boat! ?

 

..............Dave

That's better Dave, but you forgot to mention the sharks

 

[dmr]

13 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

That's better Dave, but you forgot to mention the sharks

 

 

Sharks would have been fine. We took maybe 100 yards of plastic tape saying "danger gas main" out of the cut with various large unknown decomposing things attached to it and then noticed the roof was awash with huge leeches, the sort that could suck a whole armful of blood out of you in milliseconds, but worse there were huge segmented worms the like of which I have never seen. We had both sustained cuts clearing the prop as there was a length of razor sharp aluminium of some sort in the middle of it all. I was concerned that these worms would burrow into our bloodstream un-noticed (as pre anaesthetised by the leeches) and then burst out of our stomachs a few days later whilst we were sat round the dinner table.

 

................Dave

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, dmr said:

I was concerned that these worms would burrow into our bloodstream un-noticed (as pre anaesthetised by the leeches) and then burst out of our stomachs a few days later whilst we were sat round the dinner table.

 

And did they??

 

 

[Arthur Marshall]

I did the run down to Manchester some years ago and certainly have no desire to repeat it.  I think every lock had at least one broken paddle, most of the gates were jammed with crap that had been thrown in.  We had to get CRT out to one as it was impossible to open the gates to get us out due, as it turned out, to one motorbike and and a yard or two of stone wall that had been pitched in.  Add in all the stuff round the prop and all in all not a great experience. The odd dodgy lift bridge in pleasant countryside would have been a great relief.

PS that being said, it was a hell of a lot better than it was thirty years back, when a mate of mine went through Manchester with a shotgun on the roof as he felt so unsafe... the system may be falling apart again for lack of maintenance, but it's still usable, just about, and certainly safer.

[dmr]

11 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And did they??

 

 

 

I washed my cuts really well but didn't want to take any chances so took a large preventative dose of cheap northern beer as soon as I got back to the Golden Lion.

 

...............Dave

[dogless]

From Jericho to Banbury, there's barely a lock where all paddles work.

At Somerton Deep, I actually snapped my aluminium windlass trying to turn a top paddle.

Water levels in the Kings Sutton to Grants lock pound are dire, as the moorers down there will confirm, how ever this morning C&RT managed to refloat them by running water down from Banbury, so that pound' s low this afternoon.

The trees, particularly willows, are a major problem, but I'm sure many will fall over soon.

Vegetation over growth makes passing a boat impossible in many places, but it's a very shallow canal so I'll wait my turn.

The lift bridge heading into Thrupp (warped and badly twisted and hazard taped but in the open position) just after Shipton Weir lock, closed as we passed under it. Luckily the only significant damage was a bent tiller pin. It was pouring with rain at the time, and I realise I should have used the Banbury pole method, so my fault and no complaint.

But that is the current state.

There's little point saying "wasn't like that in April" because it is like that now.

The world won't end, and Triskaidecka and ourselves made it through.

But the conditions are shockingly bad, and rotting balance beams and lock gates suggest problems ahead without significant maintenance. 

Rog

[johnmck]

Agree. And how long until there is a full closure due to the leak in the Twyford  pound?

Spoke with a permanent moorer in passing today. He stated the problem has been on going for eight weeks. This morning, before water was drawn down, the pound was unnavigable. It's robbing Peter to pay Paul without locating the issue re water loss.