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haggis

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We came down Knowle in torrential rain earlier and we are now heading for Hatton - still wet but no longer torrential. Is anyone else daft enough to be going down Hatton tomorrow to share locks? 

Haggis 

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Poor you! We arrived at Dog and Doublet yesterday afternoon just as the rain started. Rained all night. Rained in the morning so we delayed departure until 10:30 this morning as there was a "weather window" showing light drizzle on the radar rainfall, instead of torrential. It nearly worked but started bucketing down about 5 minutes from the marina. Hasn't stopped since!

Now waiting at the airport for our flight - delayed by 1:50! Although Flybe have a habit of gradually incrementing the expected departure time. Grrrrr - we are supposed to be seeing Russell Howard in Aberdeen tonight.

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13 minutes ago, haggis said:

We came down Knowle in torrential rain earlier and we are now heading for Hatton - still wet but no longer torrential. Is anyone else daft enough to be going down Hatton tomorrow to share locks? 

Haggis 

No but if you want to moor as close as you can to the locks, feel free to breast up against Tawny Owl, She's the first boat on the permanent moorings above the locks.

And if she's not there please tell us!!!!!

Good luck, and I hope you find someone to go down with.

Weather looks better tomorrow.

Sue

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Hope you get home in time. It was dry when we set off this morning but started to rain hard just before Knowle. I hate walking in waterproofs and it seemed like a slow run down the flight as the locks were against us and we hadn't got onto our broad locks routine 

We have seen two moving boats today which doubles the total since Sunday. 

Haggis 

42 minutes ago, Mrs Tawny Owl said:

No but if you want to moor as close as you can to the locks, feel free to breast up against Tawny Owl, She's the first boat on the permanent moorings above the locks.

And if she's not there please tell us!!!!!

Good luck, and I hope you find someone to go down with.

Weather looks better tomorrow.

Sue

Thanks Sue, we might just do that - nearer the pub! 

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Sods law 

As soon as we moored the sun came out!  We didn't moor along side Tawny Owl (which looks OK)  but were naughty boaters and moored in front 

At this time of day and year we think it unlikely we will cause an obstruction and there is plenty of room to access the water point or the lock 

We will be moving off in the morning anyway. 

Haggis 

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I think the weather is supposed to be better tomorrow, hard to be wetter than today, I was supposed to be laying some turf in the garden so postponed that as it is under water.

Going down Hatton on your own is easy, another boat does not always make it easier in our experience.  Just use the paddle on the towpath side and only use the towpath side gates and you will fly down.

You don't need to go all the way down if you don't want to, there is a long poundI 5 locks (I think) from the bottom, so you can stop there overnight if you want to.

Edited by john6767
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Well I for one would rather be doing Hatton in the rain than going to work! I hope you have a great trip, I love Hatton, I know they are big with loads of paddle turns but they all work well and empty quickly. Last time I did it we sat in the top chamber for an hour hoping someone else turned up but with no luck. Still had an easy trip down but we did have two on the bank and one on the boat so we weren't too badly off.

General opinion is it just about as quick to work only one paddle rather than bothering to use both if you are short handed. (although I am probably teaching you to suck eggs as with 1500 posts you have probably read everything there is to read on here!)

Have a great trip and don't get too wet!

 

edited to say sorry to repeat some of what has been said in previous posts .... I will be in trouble for not reading the whole thread before posting! Apologies to mross and others who this annoys!

Edited by NickF
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It was a long time since we had done broad locks till Knowle today. I was not keen on crossing lock gates so suggested that we just use paddled and gates on one side 

I was walking forward to set next lock then back to close up but that was a lot of walking in the rain:-). Tomorrow the plan is for us to revert to our narrow lock procedure and when I have opened bottom paddle I go on and set the next lock and iain closes up 

He unlike me can go up and down ladders easily 

I am sure we will get into a routine 

 

Haggis 

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When going down a flight of locks that are close together such as the upper part of Hatton, it's best to start filling a lock before emptying the one above so as to conserve water. However when it's been pouring with rain this may matter a lot less. If there's water going down the bywash at the top lock, any low pound would soon fill up again.

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9 hours ago, Peter X said:

When going down a flight of locks that are close together such as the upper part of Hatton, it's best to start filling a lock before emptying the one above so as to conserve water. However when it's been pouring with rain this may matter a lot less. If there's water going down the bywash at the top lock, any low pound would soon fill up again.

This seems to be true at first sight, but isn't really, even if there hasn't been torrential rain! After transitting a flight without doing as you say, all intermediate pounds will be slightly down from full. A second boat coming down later will leave the pounds in exactly the same state (ie no water wasted). So the first boat has lowered the level of the intervening pounds slightly, subsequent oats don't.  The important point regarding water conservation is that the amount of water taken out of the long pound above the top lock is unchanged. I suppose if you had a deep drafted boat and shallow pounds, keeping the intervening pounds as full as possible could be desirable, but otherwise it doesn't matter.

Edited by nicknorman
Dull full
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25 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

T. I suppose if you had a deep drafted boat and shallow pounds, keeping the intervening pounds as dull as possible could be desirable, but otherwise it doesn't matter.

I have never found Hatton dull!

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27 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

. So the first boat has lowered the level of the intervening pounds slightly, subsequent oats don't. 

Now that is a good idea ... oats before going down Hatton .... I have found subsequent oats do help to keep my energy up!

(apologies Nick my own spelling is often far from perfect but I couldn't resist)

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Never had an issue with low pounds at Hatton, no doubt someone will be along to say they have, but I don't think it is an issue like at say Camp Hill.  

Really the only place on the GU Birmingham main line that you see low pounds is Calcutt, but those 3 locks do get much more use and the lower of the 2 pounds in particular is very shallow once off the channel between the 2 locks.

Further to the comment about using the off side between the locks at Hatton, that is also true for the central part of Hatton, look out for being able to use the offside once the old narrow locks switch to the towpath side.

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17 minutes ago, NickF said:

Now that is a good idea ... oats before going down Hatton .... I have found subsequent oats do help to keep my energy up!

(apologies Nick my own spelling is often far from perfect but I couldn't resist)

This is what comes of typing on a virtual keyboard (iPad) whilst lying in bed, and not proof reading it!

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19 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Never had an issue with low pounds at Hatton, no doubt someone will be along to say they have, but I don't think it is an issue like at say Camp Hill.  

Really the only place on the GU Birmingham main line that you see low pounds is Calcutt, but those 3 locks do get much more use and the lower of the 2 pounds in particular is very shallow once off the channel between the 2 locks.

Further to the comment about using the off side between the locks at Hatton, that is also true for the central part of Hatton, look out for being able to use the offside once the old narrow locks switch to the towpath side.

On my very first boat trip over 30 years ago we came up Hatton and when we got near the top there was a row of boaters standing on the bridge telling us we could go no further as the pound was low and they were waiting to come down

Iain let down water till I could steer the hire boat across. The other boaters looked on in amazement.  We still laugh at that incident 

Haggis 

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2 hours ago, haggis said:

On my very first boat trip over 30 years ago we came up Hatton and when we got near the top there was a row of boaters standing on the bridge telling us we could go no further as the pound was low and they were waiting to come down

Iain let down water till I could steer the hire boat across. The other boaters looked on in amazement.  We still laugh at that incident 

Haggis 

Once in 30 year is not bad then.  To be honest some boaters don't seem to have much clue when it comes to empty pounds.  We came to the top of the Northampton flight last summer to be met by someone telling us that there was no water 1 lock down and there were boats stuck, and did I know how to contact CRT.  I had a walk down assessed the situation and then told them we were doing to run water down, I think they thought I was some sort of god.  Thirty mins later we were all on our way.

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I have had this many times, the funniest was at Atherstone one morning 7am ish, where I was told NOT to move any further from lock 4 until CRT arrived as the boat in lock 3 couldn't go any further or fill lock from the pound by the allotments.

I walked up and started to run water down from the top and had the very agitated lock 3 boater pleading with me to wait for CRT who said they would be there by 8.30am. 

Up top and out by 8am, they then had the cheek to ask me to stay until CRT arrived to explain what had happened and apologise for ringing them.  

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Same happened to us when bringing a Shire cruiser back up to Sowerby Bridge at the end of a holiday. We passed several Shire boats at Brighouse saying we could go no further due to low water levels further up. They got quite agitated when we passed them. When we got there the pound above Brookfoot was a bit low so we sent someone on to Cromwell to let down water. The most time consuming bit was he forgot to take the handspike so had to come all the way back to Brookfoot to get it!

We returned on time the following morning , I don't think Susan from Shire Cruisers was that impressed that half her fleet was still sat at Brighouse waiting to be told what to do!

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We did it!  It was three hours and twenty minutes from when I stepped off kelpie at the top till I stepped back on at the bottom 

A mixed bag 

Most locks against us  a couple with bottom gates open. Three locks for us of which we didn't have to open the top gates as boats were leaving 

Unfortunately these boats had moored overnight in their pound below where we met them 

Now moored at Cape locks for lunch 

We might not go any further today :-) 

Saw volunteers near the top but they didn't come near us scarey Scots :-) 

Haggis 

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