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By Canal NOT road!


Tom766

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Hello all, had our boat for three weekends now and thought you'd find it interesting, nostalgic to hear how we have been getting on...

So, the first decision was whether to put our Springer on a lorry at Cropredy, or navigate home to the middle level. Easy one, £1000 by road or about £200 in fuel, pubs and taxis etc. And after all it's a boat so what better way to learn the ropes.

First weekend, alone, straight into a series of single locks. surprised when I got wedged into the entrance, fenders down. there really isn't much tollerance, every inch counts :rolleyes:.  Out in the countryside, rain lashing down, engine over heats....checked the canal water intake filter...clean...checked the pipe from canal to filter, clean....checked the small connector between pipe and filter....a thimble full of gunge and that was enough to over heat the engine. Would have thought the intake system would be a far bigger diameter, not down to about quarter of an inch!!

Burnaston.....rope and a coat hanger around the prop, that's fine until I find that the hatch is bolted down with eight big bolts F.G.S. it's supposed to be quick release right?

Tired, missed some armco to moor up to so had to carry on through another six double locks. Why are there pubs right on these locks??  My lock technique as a singleton on a big lock provided the entertainment :blush:.  Phew, squeezed in a space just before the LONG Burnaston tunnel.  A nice older chap passed on some of his experience and then even drove me back to my car, it's a nice community in the world of narrowboats.

Paired up with the Mrs, did the tunnel, great adventure, daunting having boats heading towards though.

We got our lock technique reasonable and eventually made it to Gayton Marina where the staff were so helpful.

Hull blacked (375  30 foot). Rope fender attached to rear, bump strips re welded where needed, boiler fixed, domestic water pump changed,  weed hatch modified with a T bar YIPPEE. Fuel leak fixed. I even got to fit some of my new sound proofing material around the engine bay....it's so loud without any!

Left the marina and thank god I had help with the 17 locks just ahead. Didn't want to moor in Northampton centre so opted to use the stakes at a quiet stretch of canal, the reeds were a bit difficult though....

No complaints,  it's what it's all about isn't it.  Just wondering if we will have trouble finding somewhere to moor along the Nene ahead, maybe we have been lucky so far?

  • Greenie 1
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sounds like you are having a great trip there!  

 

As we kept Honeystreet at Gayton for several years know the first stretch of your journey well, however never ventured "down the hill" so looking forward to hearing about your adventures on the  Nene!

 

Happy boating

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Just to redo yesterday's point, it's not stopped raining in the upper Nene catchment area all night.

Sign up for the EA strong stream text alerts.

Get as far as you can today and then find somewhere safe to moor, use long loose ropes,  not tie tight. Tie ropes back to boat so you can access the knot if the bank disappears. Try to moor on a rising pontoon if possible.

It may not go into flood, but you need to make sure you are prepared if it does.

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Wow now i'm worried! Floods after two days rain....

Not quite at the Nene yet but not far off. Didnt think the banks would dissappear so easily.  Hope I manage to find something substantial to moor to at the end of each weekend....

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8 minutes ago, Tom766 said:

Wow now i'm worried! Floods after two days rain....

Not quite at the Nene yet but not far off. Didnt think the banks would dissappear so easily.  Hope I manage to find something substantial to moor to at the end of each weekend....

You should be fine now(as long as it doesn't rain again). 

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Phew, I got straight on the phone.....no floods or warnings in force.  I'll sign up to the messaging service when the EA are open for business.

I dont expect the tow paths flood to much so a slack rope should suffice, right?? :huh:

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18 minutes ago, Tom766 said:

Phew, I got straight on the phone.....no floods or warnings in force.  I'll sign up to the messaging service when the EA are open for business.

I dont expect the tow paths flood to much so a slack rope should suffice, right?? :huh:

The Nene doesn't have a tow path as such. Just keep an eye on the levels, the site I linked to earlier gives a good indication.  

I Will be back down the river next week with luck

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Update.......

Last couple of miles of the Grand union and I had the weed hatch open about four times in an hour, that stretch was full of weed. Thank god I got the eight bolts swapped for a T-bar mod.

So....entered the Nene, passed the big Carlsberg brewery and approached the junction with Northampton Marina....do I go straight, left or right?   WRONG.....went right and headed for a stagnant dead end and weir!!!  Turned around and took the lock on the left.  :rolleyes:

Long day, got as far as Gt Doddington where I moored.  It was late and upon return I switched the deck light on, omly to attract millions of tiny white flies....quick, light off and windows shut.

I really must get a gang plank, there's always nettles where I moor :blush:     Oh thanks for the tips, the guillotines were easy, have a manual one coming up soon though...........

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On 11/08/2017 at 16:52, Tom766 said:

Matty40s, your photographs are fantastic.

And OMG you have a pic of the prettiest house I ever saw, canalside.....at Norton on the bend beside a bridge. Passed it and just "wow"

Tom.

Thankyou,  I try my best.

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  • 2 weeks later...

we made it........

so, thanks so much to Rusty, your pics were really helpful and kept us going the right way.  Moored up by the lock at Denford, after being blown 180 degrees in the wind here. (we have a long pole now).  Thought we were in a nice safe spot in a sleepy village, not close to houses but by a farmers field. WRONG. Turned up Friday evening and found the gear selector/throttle full forward, obviously kids had been playing...

Next morning, pushed off, in gear....what gear....no forward....no reverse.....the cherubs had 'played' with the lever until they broke the cable!!

Bolted a length of wood to the gearbox input lever and limped through some locks, found a marina two hours away with a rack full of cables. Very helpful man, Pete, at Oundle cruisers club, gave me a ride in his van to the chandlers. Two hours later the cable was fitted and adjusted...phew.

We decided to navigate longer each day and made such good time we moored on Peterborough embankment Sunday evening.

We do wonder how many people pull up as much weed as we do, we kept having to stop and lift the hatch to clear bucket loads of weed, is this usual?  It got so bad we were almost at a standstill on the Kings Dyke and were lucky to find an EA dock to tie to, saving us having to pull into the reeds.

Hmmm, sunburnt but proud of ourselves.........:P

 

  • Happy 1
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11 minutes ago, Tom766 said:

We do wonder how many people pull up as much weed as we do, we kept having to stop and lift the hatch to clear bucket loads of weed, is this usual?  It got so bad we were almost at a standstill on the Kings Dyke and were lucky to find an I EA dock to tie to, saving us having to pull into the reeds.

 

Glad you made it. Sorry to hear about your troubles 

2017-08-22 10.53.11.jpg

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Interesting re Denford, no council houses so it couldn't be kids from there. There is a caravan site in Ringstead but they were warned by some locals in no uncertain terms not to Sh1t on their own doorstep and have heeded the warning so far....

 

 

 

 

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