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An interesting day in Gloucester!


frangar

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So today day was supposed to be an early start from Gloucester and spend the day in Tewksbury....started off ok...pump out done...water topped up....then into Gloucester lock where a rather nice 1936 wooden motor boat joined us...we went out onto the partings..they said for me to go first...then going under the road bridges I heard some shouting...thought was kids on the bank so ignored it...then more shouting..looked back...motor boat at an amusing angle across the parting and lots of waving...

As there's no chance of winding I stopped on the flow and the other boat limped closer.   Turns out they had lost all steering due to  pulley failure...so towed them to upper parting...spun both boats round then back into Gloucester Dock. I don't think the JP needs a decoke now! That isn't a light boat!! 

Was very glad of VHF so I could talk to the lockies to let them know what was happening as well as the large flybridge Sealine that was following us. Try doing all that on a mobile! 

Left them going over to Tommi Nielsen to see if they could help with a repair...we've now made Tewksbury and a beer may well be in order!! Beats sitting in an office any day of the week!! Let's hope the rest of the trip goes well for both of us! 

 

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Just now, RLWP said:

We enjoy that kind of detour

That's a nice looking boat you have in tow

Richard

It was lovely! We had admired it several times as we passed each other on the G & S...built in Gosport in 1936...requisitioned by war office to degauss minesweepers apparently...powered by twin Fordson Major Diesels that were replacements for the original petrol engines. At least the rudder was locked in roughly straight...limited steering using the engines! Hopefully it wasn't going to be a major repair. 

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1 minute ago, mrsmelly said:

VHF RADIO and a LIFEJACKET!! Don't you read this forum they are NEVER I repeat NEVER needed on our waterways don't you know!!!!;)

Likewise who needs an anchor? It's not like there's an uprotected weir or a low bridge on that waterway....and not  like a steering failure would ever happen to any boat...:unsure:

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7 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Last time we came out through Gloucester we had to wait whilst a boat was recovered from the weir. They picked a carpet up on the blades as they approached the lock and lost power.

The pull on the tow towards the weir was quite impressive I have to say even with their engines going! 

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7 hours ago, sharpness said:

Madam Elizabeth?, she's been moored in Sharpness Marina for a few years, lots of potential there.

The Partings is always an interesting bit of the Severn whichever way you are going.

Steve

Yep that's the boat...absolutely lovely boat but I can imagine it's almost a full time job to look after. 

Thankfully the river isn't running much at the moment so it wasn't too bad. Just a bit of a slow tow against the flow. It never ceases to amaze me that boats seem to wait till the most awkward moment possible to have something fail! I'm sure they know!

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3 hours ago, frangar said:

It never ceases to amaze me that boats seem to wait till the most awkward moment possible to have something fail! I'm sure they know!

So blooomin true. I remember vividly winding my old 65 footer in a winding hole with a concrete edge and as I booted the back end round under power to wards the concrete edge............yes you've guessed it the gearbox control cable gave up the ghost :o this is why I carry loads of spares.

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10 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

So blooomin true. I remember vividly winding my old 65 footer in a winding hole with a concrete edge and as I booted the back end round under power to wards the concrete edge............yes you've guessed it the gearbox control cable gave up the ghost :o this is why I carry loads of spares.

My best is poor compared to that, going down Buckby and the gear linkage went while in reverse when I pulled back to let the gates open. Had my bum under the waterfall until I twigged what had happened and nipped into the engine room to give it a shove.

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Whilst having a summer holiday with a friend when we finished school I had the prop shaft coupling separate on my parents boat as I entered one of Hatton locks going at a bit of a pace. It was the quickest I've ever got up a ladder and strapped a boat in. Didn't have a clear what had happened so tied the boat up and went to the pub to phone my dad to come out and fix it. Now I tend to enter locks quite sedately.

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10 hours ago, Rob-M said:

Whilst having a summer holiday with a friend when we finished school I had the prop shaft coupling separate on my parents boat as I entered one of Hatton locks going at a bit of a pace. It was the quickest I've ever got up a ladder and strapped a boat in. Didn't have a clear what had happened so tied the boat up and went to the pub to phone my dad to come out and fix it. Now I tend to enter locks quite sedately.

It never ceases to amaze me the people who blat into a lock on full chat relying on the engine to stop them....I've had two failures going into reverse in a lock...one coupling failure and one gear linkage...thankfully I tend to boat expecting failure (!!) so wasn't a totally hard hit!! I think my attitude stems from driving older vehicles with non servo drum brakes...whereas those that drive modern cars with ABS etc think that boats are the same. 

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5 minutes ago, frangar said:

 I think my attitude stems from driving older vehicles with non servo drum brakes...whereas those that drive modern cars with ABS etc think that boats are the same. 

My first car was a Mini 850 with drums .... interesting :)  but it did teach me an awful lot before I earnt enough to buy faster more advanced cars !

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4 hours ago, frangar said:

It never ceases to amaze me the people who blat into a lock on full chat relying on the engine to stop them....I've had two failures going into reverse in a lock...one coupling failure and one gear linkage...thankfully I tend to boat expecting failure (!!) so wasn't a totally hard hit!! I think my attitude stems from driving older vehicles with non servo drum brakes...whereas those that drive modern cars with ABS etc think that boats are the same. 

Yes it taught me to be prepared for a failure and now approach locks and mooring at a slow pace. It also helps when steering old working boats that don't like to stop quickly.

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44 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Yes it taught me to be prepared for a failure and now approach locks and mooring at a slow pace. It also helps when steering old working boats that don't like to stop quickly.

If you are steering an old working boat into an empty narrow lock, then you have to go in full chat, as otherwise you simply won't get to the far end. The very limited space either side of and under the hull for the water to flow out as the boat enters ensures that.

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4 hours ago, David Mack said:

If you are steering an old working boat into an empty narrow lock, then you have to go in full chat, as otherwise you simply won't get to the far end. The very limited space either side of and under the hull for the water to flow out as the boat enters ensures that.

Like a big shockabsorber 

 

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