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Tim & Pru tonight on the Crinan canal

Flyboy

By Flyboy
in General Boating

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haggis Veteran

haggisDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted (edited)

Well worth a trip, Nick. It is not like any other canal you may encounter. I think the air draft is something like 90 feet - yachts go though with their sails up. The locks are big and unlike locks on other Sottish canals you are allowed to work them yourself. We have cruised the Crinan twice on our little Sea Otter, gamebird, and on one of our trips the boat we shared all the locks with had paid for help (at that time you could book and pay for help, not sure what the arrangement is now) . The paid help did one side of the lock and we did the other. One rule we weren't aware of on our first visit was that you are not allowed to use the locks after 5 o'clock. and we went up the flight from Ardrishaig and when we came to the last lock in the flight there was a bridge across it. BW operate the bridges! However, gamebird, being only 26 feet was no problem as we just cruised under the bridge when the lock was empty. The BW guys freaked the next morning when they found what we had done :-) .

It's a beautiful little canal.

 

haggis

Edited by haggis
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haggis Veteran

haggisDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

BW?! or was it in the pre-CRT days? If so perhaps SC now require men in white van to appear before the locks can be operated?

It was pre CRT so was BW Scotland. I am not sure but I think you can still operate the Crinan locks your self. We found it amusing as one of the reasons for not letting boaters do the Forth and Clyde locks was becauswe they were big and boaters couldn't manage them :-) . the ones on the Crinan are much bigger with heavier gates and yes, I managed them

 

haggis

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Alan de Enfield Veteran II

Alan de Enfield

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Posted

I thought the Crinnan canal a bit of a 'non-event'.

The Island-hopping, had they waited a few days for better weather, could have been a much more interesting.

 

The 'whirlpool' is pretty awesome - we did it in a 20 foot 'trailer' cruiser when a load of us took our boats up to the West coast and hired static caravans for a couple of weeks.

Diving for 'queenies' and lobsters, the white sands and clear waters, hidden beaches and midges, its a grand part of the world.

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