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Birmingham and Fazeley


aleister

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Having no knowledge of the dimensions I checked Canalplan which says (for the mainline)

"The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 70 feet and 7 inches long and 7 feet and 4 inches wide. The maximum headroom is 7 feet and 3 inches. The maximum draught is 4 feet and 7 inches."

Now this is clearly wrong given that Willow has made it successfully.   Are the canalplan dimensions usually reliable?

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By far the worst lock is the top Curdworth one.

This is the one that was totally reconstructed as a new lock in a new location when a motorway (?) was built.

It is probably approaching a foot shorter than the original locks.

It is one of the tightest we have been down with Flamingo, (who's gauge sheets record length at 71' 8").

We certainly didn't have anything like 4 spare inches, so I am a little doubtful that Willow really is the total 72 feet quoted.

All the other B&F locks are fine.

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1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

By far the worst lock is the top Curdworth one.

This is the one that was totally reconstructed as a new lock in a new location when a motorway (?) was built.

It is probably approaching a foot shorter than the original locks.

It is one of the tightest we have been down with Flamingo, (who's gauge sheets record length at 71' 8").

We certainly didn't have anything like 4 spare inches, so I am a little doubtful that Willow really is the total 72 feet quoted.

All the other B&F locks are fine.

Or maybe you are a touch longer than 71' 8"

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You'll be fine, I've done it last year with the NBT's pair which are about as long as narrow boats get; can't remember their exact lengths.

Having said that, I remember that Brighton is quite a tight fit in one or two of the locks, particularly one somewhere in the Farmers' Bridge flight. It's a matter of getting the ellum into just the right place along the cill so that the bottom gate can open.

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2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

By far the worst lock is the top Curdworth one.

This is the one that was totally reconstructed as a new lock in a new location when a motorway (?) was built.

It is probably approaching a foot shorter than the original locks.

It is one of the tightest we have been down with Flamingo, (who's gauge sheets record length at 71' 8").

We certainly didn't have anything like 4 spare inches, so I am a little doubtful that Willow really is the total 72 feet quoted.

All the other B&F locks are fine.

The new top lock was built when the M6 Toll was constructed.  Presumably it is just going down that is tight?

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I don't know exactly how a 'standard' narrowboat length is classified. Does it include front and rear fenders (that can be removed) or rudder protrusion (that can be turned to one side) - both if necessary. And does the lock length) if stated - allow for rudders an fenders and swinging gates - and cills - either going up or down ?

The precision of boat length and lock dimensions need to be established before the question can be answered with confidence.

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43 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Built for the M42.  

Built for the BNRR - or M6 Toll as it is now known

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Curdworth,+Sutton+Coldfield/@52.5409068,-1.7299921,199m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4870afcc406580ab:0xe5abc911ace40913!8m2!3d52.5327521!4d-1.736794

We boated around the new lock while it was being built

Richard

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55 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Built for the M42.  

Its a fenders-up job for Fulbourne too.

Didn't realise it was so old, early 80's then, surprised it is so old.

9 minutes ago, RLWP said:

That's what I thought too, and looking at the map I don't get how in can be the M42

Edited by john6767
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13 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

The canal runs under the M6 toll at that lock just past where the M42 joins the M6 toll.  The building of the M42 caused the diversion at Alvechurch to be built.

It did indeed create the diversion at Alvechurch, a different phase of the M42 construction.  In the early 80's we lived in Tamworth and watched that part in the M42 being built, it was a concrete surface which was very interesting to watch the construction.

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11 hours ago, john6767 said:

It did indeed create the diversion at Alvechurch, a different phase of the M42 construction.  In the early 80's we lived in Tamworth and watched that part in the M42 being built, it was a concrete surface which was very interesting to watch the construction.

It was one of my playgrounds as at the time my parents boat was at Alvechurch. We watched the canal being dug and the motorway constructed.

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