Oxford canal summit pound

[Dave Payne]

Moved from Cropredy to Napton this weekend, the water level in the summit pound was dreadful, i reckon looking at the banks about 6-8" down from when i went the other way about a month ago, i know we have had very little rain so that doesn't help, but its bloody hard work, coupled with the heat and need to keep moving it made the weekend crap, was looking forward to it all week, got stuck a couple of times, seen lots of boats having problems also.

What do CRT do when the rain doesn't come, i guess the reservoirs that are linked are also low so they are no use? 

I did see water coming into the canal at the Marston doles top lock but as the pound is so long i cant see it doing much.

 

 

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, Dave Payne said:

Moved from Cropredy to Napton this weekend, the water level in the summit pound was dreadful, i reckon looking at the banks about 6-8" down from when i went the other way about a month ago, i know we have had very little rain so that doesn't help, but its bloody hard work, coupled with the heat and need to keep moving it made the weekend crap, was looking forward to it all week, got stuck a couple of times, seen lots of boats having problems also.

What do CRT do when the rain doesn't come, i guess the reservoirs that are linked are also low so they are no use? 

I did see water coming into the canal at the Marston doles top lock but as the pound is so long i cant see it doing much.

 

 

I found a way to overcome this kind of problem. My last boat had a draught just under 3 feet but wasnt a problem as it was on deep water all the time. My boat previous to that one had a draught about 2 ft 6 inches which generaly was ok but was problematic sometimes mooring up. This boat has a modern hull with a 1 ft 10 inch draught and lets just say this boater wont be having a deeper draughted boat ever again.

[MtB]

On 10/07/2017 at 10:57, Dave Payne said:

Moved from Cropredy to Napton this weekend, the water level in the summit pound was dreadful, i reckon looking at the banks about 6-8" down from when i went the other way about a month ago, i know we have had very little rain so that doesn't help, but its bloody hard work, coupled with the heat and need to keep moving it made the weekend crap, was looking forward to it all week, got stuck a couple of times, seen lots of boats having problems also.

What do CRT do when the rain doesn't come, i guess the reservoirs that are linked are also low so they are no use? 

I did see water coming into the canal at the Marston doles top lock but as the pound is so long i cant see it doing much.

 

 

 

Luxury!

It's not unusual to find 18" to 24" missing from pounds here on the K&A. Keep away!!!

[Nightwatch]

12 minutes ago, Dave Payne said:

Moved from Cropredy to Napton this weekend, the water level in the summit pound was dreadful, i reckon looking at the banks about 6-8" down from when i went the other way about a month ago, i know we have had very little rain so that doesn't help, but its bloody hard work, coupled with the heat and need to keep moving it made the weekend crap, was looking forward to it all week, got stuck a couple of times, seen lots of boats having problems also.

What do CRT do when the rain doesn't come, i guess the reservoirs that are linked are also low so they are no use? 

I did see water coming into the canal at the Marston doles top lock but as the pound is so long i cant see it doing much.

 

 

What's your boats Name Dave? We have surely passed each other.

[Dave Payne]

I should have took a photo, the 6-8" was just over the last few weeks, you could see where the level has been, over winter maybe? and it was down a good 18".

Quite looking forward to getting back on the ashby for a few weeks now, sick of locks, broken paddles, low water, no decent mooring, speeding stag parties...

1 minute ago, Nightwatch said:

What's your boats Name Dave? We have surely passed each other.

Is yours green and written with a gap between night and watch?

[Detling]

I grounded under a bridge in early June and am 2'4" draught.  Powered over OK, looked about a foot down that day.

[Arthur Marshall]

2 hours ago, Dave Payne said:

I should have took a photo, the 6-8" was just over the last few weeks, you could see where the level has been, over winter maybe? and it was down a good 18".

Quite looking forward to getting back on the ashby for a few weeks now, sick of locks, broken paddles, low water, no decent mooring, speeding stag parties...

 

I was looking forward to cruising the Oxford last year as when I was there thirty years ago it was very peaceful. I got a bit of a shock and also escaped to the Ashby for a bit of sanity! 

[MtB]

On 10/07/2017 at 13:14, Arthur Marshall said:

I was looking forward to cruising the Oxford last year as when I was there thirty years ago it was very peaceful. I got a bit of a shock and also escaped to the Ashby for a bit of sanity! 

 

Yes its more akin to the M4 these days with a boat passing every five minutes all day long. Peaceful is the last word I'd use to describe it.

[mrsmelly]

48 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Yes its more akin to the M4 these days with a boat passing every five minutes all day long. Peaceful is the last word I'd use to describe it.

It is quite busy at the moment but it never gets realy busy like for instance the welsh thing. Its only busy here for the non boating season ( may to october ) as soon as the proper boating season kicks in around beginning of november we can go more than a day without even one boat passing.

[Dave Payne]

Some lovely views, only problem was mooring anywhere near them, getting on the bank was difficult, and then when you did get near you end up scraping on pointy rocks.

Glad i have spent a couple of months on the Oxford though, loved the lift bridges, single gates on the locks past Cropredy, the river section, the tunnel that is no longer a tunnel  and of course the funny shaped locks, but the Ashby is calling me as not been up since January and miss it.

 

 

[Sea Dog]

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

.... as soon as the proper boating season kicks in around beginning of november we can go more than a day without even one boat passing.

Same here, but that's cos CRT close the bloomin' locks for 3 months! (Actually, they do it from January, but why let the truth get in the way of a good dit as we used to say!)

[Athy]

Good grief, look what it's done to you. Get back on the Ashby sharpish!

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

Same here, but that's cos CRT close the bloomin' locks for 3 months! (Actually, they do it from January, but why let the truth get in the way of a good dit as we used to say!)

Tis busy here today as turn round and loads came in and all going out as I type...............my garden looks reasonably busy today. When the first week of november arrives its unbelieveable how it changes and is a realy nice place to be for a few months.

[Dave Payne]

That was 5.30 am, hadn't had my coffee...

Just now, mrsmelly said:

Tis busy here today as turn round and loads came in and all going out as I type...............my garden looks reasonably busy today. When the first week of november arrives its unbelieveable how it changes and is a realy nice place to be for a few months.

Apart from the trains.

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, Dave Payne said:

That was 5.30 am, hadn't had my coffee...

Apart from the trains.

What trains?

[Dave Payne]

The ones 20ft from your boat.

[Nightwatch]

3 hours ago, Dave Payne said:

I should have took a photo, the 6-8" was just over the last few weeks, you could see where the level has been, over winter maybe? and it was down a good 18".

Quite looking forward to getting back on the ashby for a few weeks now, sick of locks, broken paddles, low water, no decent mooring, speeding stag parties...

Is yours green and written with a gap between night and watch?

There's only One Nightwatch. If there is a space it's not intensional. So yes, that is Night Watch. We were on the summit all weekend adjacent to the pylon/Ariel/Radio mast.

Martyn

[mrsmelly]

1 minute ago, Dave Payne said:

The ones 20ft from your boat.

Ahh yes, now I remember. Ask anyone though who lives or has lived next to a railway and they will tell you that you soon dont realy notice them.

[Dave Payne]

Just now, Nightwatch said:

There's only One Nightwatch. If there is a space it's not intensional. So yes, that is Night Watch. We were on the summit all weekend adjacent to the pylon/Ariel/Radio mast.

Martyn

Yes, i said hello as i passed you through the hatch, think it was Saturday late afternoon, you were sat eating inside.

1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

Ahh yes, now I remember. Ask anyone though who lives or has lived next to a railway and they will tell you that you soon dont realy notice them.

I lived in the marina down the atherstone flight for 6 months, the main line ran past that, i could never get used to the train noise.

[Nightwatch]

Hope I said hello back without spraying food towards you.

We are now in Fenny Compton. 

[Sea Dog]

8 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Tis busy here today as turn round and loads came in and all going out as I type...............my garden looks reasonably busy today. When the first week of november arrives its unbelieveable how it changes and is a realy nice place to be for a few months.

Another reason why I love winter cruising.  I have one of those house things you ain't too keen on and, for most of the year, every month spent on the boat means a fortnight of work to reclaim the garden from the surrounding woods that want it back! In winter I can have as long as I like on the boat with no sense of Gardener's Doom.

[rusty69]

11 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Ahh yes, now I remember. Ask anyone though who lives or has lived next to a railway and they will tell you that you soon dont realy notice them.

True for me. Spent some years in Winkwell. Didn't hear the trains after the first month. 

[MtB]

On 10/07/2017 at 14:38, rusty69 said:

True for me. Spent some years in Winkwell. Didn't hear the trains after the first month. 

 

In addition, the train comes and goes in about 30 seconds. And the frequency rarely rises above three or four per hour.

 

[rusty69]

We moored our sailing boat in galleons reach marina on the Thames a few years back,on the final approach to City Airport .I don't think we would ever have got used to that, but people there appeared to. 

[Bewildered]

4 hours ago, Dave Payne said:

Quite looking forward to getting back on the ashby for a few weeks now, sick of locks, broken paddles, low water, no decent mooring, speeding stag parties

I'm on the Ashby now so I believe the correct thing to say in this situation is ner ne ner na ner, ner