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

[john6767]

2 minutes ago, johnmck said:

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.

That is for sure, given it is the only pound with water level issues, then there is something specific going on, refilling it by running water down does not seem like it will provide a solution.

[dogless]

And then once repaired, we can get back to complaining about which way the grass is combed to keep MtB happy.

Rog

[X Alan W]

20 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.

 The dreaded Banbury stick was a must have item in the 50/60's probably for years before that

 

 

[Ray T]

4 hours ago, X Alan W said:

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

 The dreaded Banbury stick was a must have item in the 50/60's probably for years before that

 

 

[Athy]

13 hours ago, dogless said:

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

You must have been boating on that stretch about the same time as we were, last week (though, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, we came across Paneke snugly ensconced in her mooring during a walk around Oxford).

   There is perhaps a little exaggeration in your account. There are odd paddles out of order, but most of the locks we encountered (we went from Cropredy to Thrupp and back) had all four working. That lift bridge is indeed warped and ramshackle (don't trust the handrail, as it's not attached to anything at one end) but the point about it is that it's normally in the closed position. Someone must have neglected to close it and it somehow stayed up until you were passing through it. The top paddles at Somerton deep are indeed stiff at first but become less difficult after the first two or three turns (during which I had to remove the windlass after each part-turn and replace it in the vertical position in order to get more purchase on it).

   But yes, the pound by Twyford Wharf is low - wasn't there a rumour that local builders were taking water out of it? - and there are sections where there's only room for one boat at a time to glide between the reeds. I don't know if they are always like that: we last went down there about three years ago and I can't remember it being the same.

   The very pleasant lady behind the counter at the Aynho Wharf shop reckons that CART have fallen out with whichever contracting company is supposed to carry out work on that section, so that routine maintenance has not been carried out recently. I don't know if that's true.

[john6767]

According to Facebook the location of the leak in the pound at Twyford Wharf has been identified, so hopefully something can be done about it soon.

 

The bridge before Thrupp was up when we passed it, perhaps it has been left up intentionally now.

 

We previously went down three years ago and I don’t remember the reeded sections as being as they are now, but we did not meet any other boats so it was no problem, it would be a faff it you met a boat though.

[MtB]

Single file reeded sections definitely add to the charm of a waterway. I was disappointed when CRT cut down a similar section at All Cannings on the k&a. 

[dogless]

No exaggeration involved.

Clearly the situation was worse for my passage about a week after yours.

Drinkwater lift bridge had the lock and counter balance weights removed by C&RT (hopefully for repair) and consequently required a minimum of two large males to operate it.

I first cruised down that canal about 15 years ago, and it wasn't like that then, but isn't very informative for anyone going today.

On the plus side for single handers, the lift bridge at Lower Heyford is now electrified with the operating pillar on the towpath side, so not all bad news.

I did point out the canal remains entirely passable, but there are issues.

Rog

 

[Athy]

4 minutes ago, dogless said:

No exaggeration involved.

Clearly the situation was worse for my passage about a week after yours.

Drinkwater lift bridge had the lock and counter balance weights removed by C&RT (hopefully for repair) and consequently required a minimum of two large males to operate it.

I first cruised down that canal about 15 years ago, and it wasn't like that then, but isn't very informative for anyone going today.

On the plus side for single handers, the lift bridge at Lower Heyford is now electrified with the operating pillar on the towpath side, so not all bad news.

I did point out the canal remains entirely passable, but there are issues.

Rog

 

Perhaps "a week before"? We reached Thrupp last Wednesday and started back uphill on Friday, so still less than a week ago.

Perhaps Drinkwater bridge is further down towards Oxford, hence we didn't encounter it. Yes, the electrified bridge was a boon, especially as the boater in front of us kindly stayed and operated it for us! As for paddles, I can remember only two locks which had a paddle strapped up and inoperative, but there are perhaps further ones beyond Thrupp.

   Thrupp itself was in immaculate condition - the grass had not actually been combed, but as near as dammit, and even the sanny station was spotlessly maintained. Apparently it's maintained by the Thrupp Cruising Club, who see to the upkeep of the canal between the beginning of the visitor moorings and the Boat Inn. They have, I gather, some sort of sub-letting arrangement with CART. Whilst I would not like to see the whole network so manicured - it's good to pass through a few naturally wild bits - there is possibly scope for more such arrangements.

   My main grouse with Thrupp was its closed pubs: at five in the afternoon it wasn't possible to get a drink in either the Jolly Boatman (which proclaimed that it was closed all day that day) or The Boat (which wasn't saying).

[Tanglewood]

Reading this thread it is clear that whether the waterway is 'navigable' has become a subjective opinion. It should not be - it should not matter whether you are young, fit, healthy and muscular and travelling with crew, or older, less fit and healthy with less strength and travelling alone - if the condition of the waterway impedes your progress or increases the risk for you as a user it is not being maintained properly.  The sad thing is that CRT do not publicly acknowledge where the concerns are - possibly because they have been advised by 'legal' not know about them as they would deem to be negligible if they had been informed that there was a dangerous situation and they neglected to address it.  But how does any-one on here know whether they 'know', unless the person themselves reports it.  What is needed is a clear reporting protocol which gives the informant an incident reference number that can then be checked on-line to see if an inspection has taken place.  Local councils use an interactive map where members of the public can report pot-holes and incidences of fly-tipping it would not be beyond CRT to introduce a similar system, and then perhaps boat-spotters could check such reports as they cycle up and down the tow-paths.  That way slightly more confidence in CRT to listen may well ensue.

[matty40s]

Indeed, I am quite sure a contractor such as carillon will be along shortly to bid for and put.such a system in place......

[Athy]

1 minute ago, matty40s said:

Indeed, I am quite sure a contractor such as carillon will be along shortly to bid for and put.such a system in place......

Wasn't Carillon Contracting a film?

[1st ade]

16 hours ago, dmr said:

 

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

I was quite impressed with these which Bruce Branch provided when we hired Rachel. Industrial grade waterproof gloves with gaiters (if that's the right word) that reach well up the arm. The finger end felt like, with care, you could untangle barbed wire without puncturing them and the long arm keeps you dry and warmish which encourages you to take your time.

[Arthur Marshall]

56 minutes ago, Tanglewood said:

Reading this thread it is clear that whether the waterway is 'navigable' has become a subjective opinion. It should not be - it should not matter whether you are young, fit, healthy and muscular and travelling with crew, or older, less fit and healthy with less strength and travelling alone - if the condition of the waterway impedes your progress or increases the risk for you as a user it is not being maintained properly. 

I think that just isn't true, I'm afraid. Of course it matters. The system was built for working boatmen, who by the nature of the work were fit enough to do the job.  When they stopped being fit enough, they were out of work and off the canal, and the same is true for us.  Just the nature of working locks and climbing ladder, as well as getting on and of the boat mean that you have to have a certain level of fitness.

I'm getting older rapidly (or it seems so) and having occasional difficulty getting up ladders or across lock gates (I boat solo).  Should CRT install lifts in the locks or replace every stiff paddle or interesting bit of string on a lift bridge just so I can keep on boating? Nope, I just have to choose easier routes and, ultimately, leave the waterways for the next generation.  Limited money means limited maintenance - it's actually quite remarkable as much of the system is still working at all.

It's not just the canal system that degrades over time, it's us too.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Arthur Marshall

[Boater Sam]

Old BW told me that their criteria for operation of any canal  was that a 9 stone female should be capable of using all the locks and bridges unaided.

[MtB]

16 minutes ago, Boater Sam said:

Old BW told me that their criteria for operation of any canal  was that a 9 stone female should be capable of using all the locks and bridges unaided.

 

As the years have gone by I imagine she has put on a fair bit of weight since then. 

[b0atman]

1 hour ago, 1st ade said:

I was quite impressed with these which Bruce Branch provided when we hired Rachel. Industrial grade waterproof gloves with gaiters (if that's the right word) that reach well up the arm. The finger end felt like, with care, you could untangle barbed wire without puncturing them and the long arm keeps you dry and warmish which encourages you to take your time.

 James Herriot would never use them never get stuck in.

[dmr]

1 hour ago, 1st ade said:

I was quite impressed with these which Bruce Branch provided when we hired Rachel. Industrial grade waterproof gloves with gaiters (if that's the right word) that reach well up the arm. The finger end felt like, with care, you could untangle barbed wire without puncturing them and the long arm keeps you dry and warmish which encourages you to take your time.

I have got a pair of long heavy duty gloves but find them too clumsy for untangling the difficult prop foulings, and as they are not quite as long as these they still fill up with water!!!!  Anyway the K&A is pretty clean and pleasant and prop foulings are rare. Of course real boaters have the "trouser" equivalent of these and just go right into the water with the boat.

 

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

[1st ade]

49 minutes ago, dmr said:

Anyway the K&A is pretty clean and pleasant and prop foulings are rare

We managed a selection of baler twine which (once we got it off) was found to include fishing line and hooks. With hindsight I'm glad i used the provided gloves as I have a grave dislike of barbed hooks in my fingers (and I'm normally of the "only Southern Wooses wear gloves" brigade)

[dogless]

So you suggest I'm exaggerating, then point out you didn't go beyond Thrupp.

Perhaps you were the one exaggerating

You missed a lovely pub in The Boat. Enjoyed the beer selection, but the food was only okay.

The south Oxford remains one of the most beautiful canals, and well worth the considerable effort it now takes to travel it.

Love the moorings in Jericho (despite the noise from the station) and the city is magical.

Apart from our own trip in and back, we also worked a single hander in from Thrupp. Just as well as he would not have been able get in without assistance.

Rog

[Athy]

4 minutes ago, dogless said:

So you suggest I'm exaggerating, then point out you didn't go beyond Thrupp.

Perhaps you were the one exaggerating

 

There's room for two!

  The reason that we didn't venture further South by boat (we visited Oxford by 'bus from Thrupp) was that there appeared to be nowhere at all to turn round between there and Duke's Cut, which I think is quite extraordinary. Is there a winding hole between those points? We reckoned that it might take more time than we had available to go all the way down there.

   We were also intrigued by what appeared to be an arm, between the canal and the upper Thames; it appeared to start at Isis Lock and to have moorings, but it looked rather private so we didn't explore it. What is it?

[dogless]

We winded by dropping down Isis lock, turning and coming back up.

The channel you speak of (Sheepwash channel from memory?)  is disputed; I understand that neither the council or C&RT claim ownership, and consequently some squatting has developed, with no landlord to enforce removal.

But I'm sure a local will have better/more accurate information.

I wouldn't wish to exaggerate

Rog

[Athy]

36 minutes ago, dogless said:

 

I wouldn't wish to exaggerate

Rog

[johnmck]

The South Oxford  is and remains a beautiful canal. To be honest, it was fine until we got just above Somerton. Thence on, it literally and figuratively all downhill. And yes, below Thrupp and into Oxford was very poor. It's not just the overgrown offside, but the failure to maintain the infrastructure at even a basic level

[TheBiscuits]

9 minutes ago, johnmck said:

The South Oxford  is and remains a beautiful canal. To be honest, it was fine until we got just above Somerton. Thence on, it literally and figuratively all downhill. And yes, below Thrupp and into Oxford was very poor. It's not just the overgrown offside, but the failure to maintain the infrastructure at even a basic level

I strongly recommend you try the Rochdale if you are so displeased with the Oxford.  Do the Huddersfield too.