Are the canals unpleasantly overcrowded ?

[Sea Dog]

2 minutes ago, billS said:

Having boated from Cudworth to Catherine De Barnes a couple of years ago and seen zero moving and less than 10 moored boats - it's difficult to agree that the canals are overcrowded.

There's good reason why that area is not congested: hardly anyone moors there and those passing through do so at high revs!  (Except whilst they're down the weed hatch, obviously)

[Machpoint005]

On 20/10/2018 at 14:28, Jim Riley said:

Brief answer to the question. 

NO! 

but then I'm up north! I'll leave you southerners to your whinging and grumbling, it's a lovely day up here. 

Agreed. We were out on the boat on Saturday and met precisely two boats going in the opposite direction. And three canoes kayaks.

[Dave123]

They aren't over crowded...even in central London it's perfectly possible to find a mooring if you stop early enough and do it on a weekend. Most of London would be unmoorable without loads of boats already there as it is only lots of moored boats that has made large stetches safe enough and pleasant enough to even consider mooring in...

It might feel overcrowded occasionally if you are trying to go through Hillmorton or Fradley on a sunny Saturday in the summer but this is more because these are bottle neck points on the network where several routes converge. Since moving south from the T&M 2 years ago I can't recall a single lock queue where there was more than one lock operation before I locked through (except at Marsworth waiting for the lock closure to finish)...

[Mike Hurley]

I am in uk this week so went to Caen hill yesterday. Me and 3 vlockies helping 1 boat go down, only boat moving in 2 hours.

[X Alan W]

I think it could be the attitude of some present day boat owners that are making modern day boating less pleasant than in days past mind the sods law of more #/s of boats the greater # of  " Plonckers"

[aracer]

2 hours ago, Mike Hurley said:

I am in uk this week so went to Caen hill yesterday. Me and 3 vlockies helping 1 boat go down, only boat moving in 2 hours.

I'm suspecting it's the time of year - despite the pleasant weather lots of people have probably stopped. I was surprised to find just how quiet it was on my delivery trip from Gayton a month ago given what I'd read before I started - didn't ever have to queue for a lock, didn't meet anybody coming the other way in over 3 miles of tunnels, never got held up by somebody slower. Only met 2 boats going the other way in the 4 hours I was going down Tardebigge (didn't meet any boats coming the other way on either Hatton or Lapworth, though I did do those late on weekday afternoon/evening, whilst Tardebigge was a lovely Sunday morning). Though actually there was just about enough other traffic that I got to share locks on most of the GU and didn't feel alone.

 

I'm guessing it would have been a bit different to that a month earlier.

[Momac]

7 minutes ago, aracer said:

I'm suspecting it's the time of year - despite the pleasant weather lots of people have probably stopped. I was surprised to find just how quiet it was on my delivery trip from Gayton a month ago given what I'd read before I started - didn't ever have to queue for a lock, didn't meet anybody coming the other way in over 3 miles of tunnels, never got held up by somebody slower. Only met 2 boats going the other way in the 4 hours I was going down Tardebigge (didn't meet any boats coming the other way on either Hatton or Lapworth, though I did do those late on weekday afternoon/evening, whilst Tardebigge was a lovely Sunday morning). Though actually there was just about enough other traffic that I got to share locks on most of the GU and didn't feel alone.

 

 

Sounds hectic!

[Sea Dog]

7 hours ago, aracer said:

I'm suspecting it's the time of year - despite the pleasant weather lots of people have probably stopped. I was surprised to find just how quiet it was on my delivery trip from Gayton a month ago given what I'd read before I started - didn't ever have to queue for a lock, didn't meet anybody coming the other way in over 3 miles of tunnels, never got held up by somebody slower. Only met 2 boats going the other way in the 4 hours I was going down Tardebigge (didn't meet any boats coming the other way on either Hatton or Lapworth, though I did do those late on weekday afternoon/evening, whilst Tardebigge was a lovely Sunday morning). Though actually there was just about enough other traffic that I got to share locks on most of the GU and didn't feel alone.

 

I'm guessing it would have been a bit different to that a month earlier.

It'd have been different now too!  We came up Tardebigge on Tuesday and 4 boats went down during our transit, whilst on Wednesday we passed 2 boats inside Wast Hill tunnel.  Birmingham linear moorings are pretty full - there was a hire boat bumbling about in the dark still looking for a spot this evening. It's not wall to wall traffic out there, but there are plenty of boats out and about. Lovely time of year to be doing it.

[ditchcrawler]

I was surprised when we moored in Lymm, all the tails of Sonny's enforcement making the place a no go area. There were 12 boats moored between the two bridges in town and then some on the other sides as well. Just like when we were here in the summer and it wasn't a weekend

[Naughty Cal]

10 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

It'd have been different now too!  We came up Tardebigge on Tuesday and 4 boats went down during our transit, whilst on Wednesday we passed 2 boats inside Wast Hill tunnel.  Birmingham linear moorings are pretty full - there was a hire boat bumbling about in the dark still looking for a spot this evening. It's not wall to wall traffic out there, but there are plenty of boats out and about. Lovely time of year to be doing it.

That's more boats then we have seen travelling all month on the Fossdyke 

[Captain Pegg]

10 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

It'd have been different now too!  We came up Tardebigge on Tuesday and 4 boats went down during our transit, whilst on Wednesday we passed 2 boats inside Wast Hill tunnel.  Birmingham linear moorings are pretty full - there was a hire boat bumbling about in the dark still looking for a spot this evening. It's not wall to wall traffic out there, but there are plenty of boats out and about. Lovely time of year to be doing it.

Meeting four boats coming the other way on Tardebigge is the equivalent of those boats being over 5 miles apart on average when cruising on open canal. Tardebigge is rarely busy in my experience but it only takes one slow coach to have an impact on a following boat. I've also never had trouble mooring in Birmingham and I don't think I have ever see it so full there is literally nowhere to moor. I suspect some folks can be very precious about being able to cruise, work locks and moor exactly when, how and where they want. Most of the problems aired online are theoretical and materialise only rarely in practice. I am surprised Ditchcawler seemingly hasn't twigged that yet.

 

JP

[Nightwatch]

South of Braunston on the South Oxford. That's where everyone is. 

We are moored up and there must have been 20-30 boats on the move. Hire boats, share boats and obviously private boats. 

 

We were at ine time on our own here, but last night it filled up to possibly 50% capacity. (Didn't do a scientific calculation, this is a guesstimate)

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

I think the answer to the original question is :

 

Yes

No

Maybe

 

And will probably depend on

 

Location

Time of year

Availability of local facilities / tourist attractions.

 

Anecdotally the areas in and around major cities will be 'full' of people seeking cheap accommodation.

Further 'out' may be busy in the 'season' with people cruising, whilst out in the 'wilds' it may be as quiet and serene as is portrayed in TV programmes and magazine articles.

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, Captain Pegg said:

Meeting four boats coming the other way on Tardebigge is the equivalent of those boats being over 5 miles apart on average when cruising on open canal. 

Not at my speed its not, but I'll give you 3 miles since Tardebigge took me 4 hours. A boat an hour is probably what I'm meeting on the move this week though, which seems quite a nice balance and the last few days of autumnal sunshine have been pretty much idyllic.  The last couple of times in Birmingham have seen it a bit fuller than I'm used to though. Mind, I've had my 48 hours now and about to move on, but the boats near me that were here when I arrived are still looking pretty settled. Surprisingly perhaps, Cambrian Wharf has a lot of gaps. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Sea Dog
Sp

[Movin' on]

20 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

South of Braunston on the South Oxford. That's where everyone is. 

We are moored up and there must have been 20-30 boats on the move. Hire boats, share boats and obviously private boats. 

 

We were at ine time on our own here, but last night it filled up to possibly 50% capacity. (Didn't do a scientific calculation, this is a guesstimate)

 

 

Don't forget its the dreaded half term

[Nightwatch]

1 hour ago, Halsey said:

Don't forget its the dreaded half term

I know. Braunston dayboat just zoomed past. Young lad at the 'helm'. Didn't matter though, I'm moored up securely.

 

 

[dmr]

I'm currently moored on a  beautiful and spectacular section of canal, Ive been here for almost a week now. A few days ago a boat went past. Some canals are busier than others!

 

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

[aracer]

3 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

Tardebigge is rarely busy in my experience but it only takes one slow coach to have an impact on a following boat.

That would have been me, which is why I got crew from the following boat coming forward to help! I was going as fast as I could, but definitely slower single handing going down than with crew (I reckon going up narrow locks I'm probably at least as quick as most crewed boats, but going down is harder). Though by half way down I'd picked up a load of helpers (what is the correct term - not gongoozlers as they were taking part?), one I lent a windlass to was setting the next lock, my kids had been dropped off with me and the oldest was helping and I had a couple closing gates after me so wasn't really single handing any more, hence finishing in 4 hours (by the bottom I'd left the following boat behind!)

[Momac]

4 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

That's more boats then we have seen travelling all month on the Fossdyke 

Nothing unusual about that. Outside of bank holidays is it ever busy on the Fossditch?

 

[OldGoat]

On ‎21‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 22:44, alan_fincher said:

But there are Canal and River licences, River only licences, and Gold licences, (where the latter only yield part of their cost into CRT coffers).

The fact that all of these come within the single figure for all licences issued surely invalidates the simple arithmetic you are coming up with?

No, no no, (One of my perennial gripes - ALL of the CRT licence fee portion is recovered with the balance to EA. That's a poor deal for EA and good value for you canal users.....

[john6767]

3 hours ago, Halsey said:

Don't forget its the dreaded half term

In some parts of the country this week, in the midlands it is next week.  Then after that the South Oxford is basically closed until Christmas, so there will be people getting to the end of it that they need to be at before the closures.  If was busy when we came up to Napton 2 weeks ago.

[Naughty Cal]

24 minutes ago, MartynG said:

Nothing unusual about that. Outside of bank holidays is it ever busy on the Fossditch?

 

The first sunny spring weekend of the year.

 

We make sure we stay put in the marina for that one.

 

All joking aside it has actually been busier then usual this year with narrowboats. Presumably due to stoppages elsewhere. There have been several weekends where there have been no moorings left at all in Saxilby with both sides of the river lined nose to tail with boats. It has been nice to see.

 

Nice to be back to quiet times now though.

[MtB]

17 hours ago, OldGoat said:

No, no no, (One of my perennial gripes - ALL of the CRT licence fee portion is recovered with the balance to EA. That's a poor deal for EA and good value for you canal users.....

 

Surely that means the statement to which you object is factually correct. 

 

 

"But there are Canal and River licences, River only licences, and Gold licences, (where the latter only yield part of their cost into CRT coffers)."

 

 

 

[OldGoat]

3 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Surely that means the statement to which you object is factually correct. 

 

 

"But there are Canal and River licences, River only licences, and Gold licences, (where the latter only yield part of their cost into CRT coffers)."

 

 

 

Drat!  - being reasonable, I suppose you're correct - But, but it's easy to imply that CRT only get part of what is due to them - which is not the case.

 

I'm told that if a boat is 'registered' on EA waters then CRT only get the difference between the full fee and whatever would be paid to EA and the converse applies to 'you lot'... I've no idea how that works in practice. 

[Mike Todd]

On 26/10/2018 at 09:47, Sea Dog said:

Not at my speed its not, but I'll give you 3 miles since Tardebigge took me 4 hours. A boat an hour is probably what I'm meeting on the move this week though, which seems quite a nice balance and the last few days of autumnal sunshine have been pretty much idyllic.  The last couple of times in Birmingham have seen it a bit fuller than I'm used to though. Mind, I've had my 48 hours now and about to move on, but the boats near me that were here when I arrived are still looking pretty settled. Surprisingly perhaps, Cambrian Wharf has a lot of gaps. 

Dont forget that two objects moving together at the same speed over the ground do so at twice that relatjve to each other.