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Stan the Man
United Kingdom
134 Posts |
 Posted - 04 May 2012 : 07:01:11
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IanM
Thanks for the reply and yes, it is very exciting. Fascinating that you have been working at Bowbridge. Given our own involvement in the "dear dead days beyond recall", I'm waiting for the tail bridge to be punched through - bit symbolic really!
During our recent visit to Wallbridge, got chatting to Clive Field who offered me to chance to try out the new top paddles on Wallbridge Upper - I wish those on the Grand Union were as silky smooth.
Would love meet up and grab a tonic water or two and if you're going to be afloat, well......... Drop me an email.
Best of luck with your efforts on the restoration - it really is going to be superb.
Regards, Stan
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Knighty
United Kingdom
654 Posts |
Posted - 09 May 2012 : 22:36:27
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God i'm getting fed up of my boat just going up and down with the rising and falling and rising again of the Avon. Thought we over the worst last weekend and even though the river dropped 4ft but was still a foot or so up so managed to get on the boat and happy to find no water aboard and cleared loads of debris from around the mooring including a long scaffold plank and a branch about 6" thick somehow wedged under the boat !!
Now after more rain the river rose to 3-4ft up but now dropping yet again.
3 or 4 dry days now forecast so fingers crossed for our first outing at the weekend 
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Knighty
United Kingdom
654 Posts |
Posted - 14 May 2012 : 08:28:39
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Well after launching 22 days ago had our first outing yesterday, river was still 6" or so up but was happy with that. Had to constantly looking out for and avoiding floating debris and shared a lock with what looked like half a tree!
Was good to get her out at last
Was sad on hearing the death of a father and young child drowned on a flooded Barford weir upstream about 6 miles the day before in a rowing boat though. |
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Knighty
United Kingdom
654 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2012 : 15:05:05
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What a washout this season has been  used the boat no more than 4-5 hours since launch mid April. It's either raining or if not raining the River Avon is too high after the rain and as soon as it drops down to safely navigate it's b@*@dy raining again.
Had so many days/weekends out planned and next few weeks looks just as dire, seriously thought about getting the boat out and back home as i only pay moorings by the month but the pub where i moor has only 3 or 4 at a push permanent mooring spaces and the landlord is always being asked by other boaters so don't want to risk loosing my space so to speak.
Roll on summer
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IanM
United Kingdom
2238 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2012 : 15:47:13
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| We managed a few wet and windy days on the GU canal at the tail end of last week. Being a canal it generally doesn't suffer from high water but there are restricted opening times at many of the locks, due to the, ahem, drought. There was a certain irony in waiting at the bottom of the Buckby flight for a second boat to share the lock whilst watching the water flow freely and continuously over the top of the lock gate... |
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df
United Kingdom
5994 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2012 : 20:10:38
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I have to admit to being smug when told the gt.ouse is rising again earlier as I'm now on the broads where the level rises and falls twice a day anyway and if the bridge is too low call them up on the radio and they'll move it out of the way for you 
Fancy getting through offord this week Deano? 
NBAS--The communal colostomy bag of the boating community.
Visit leomagill.co.uk |
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Sonny
United Kingdom
191 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2012 : 17:51:30
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Up it goes again, if we put a wave genorator across the use I could charge my boat battery at the moment.this weekend st neots lock was full of people on boats complaining that the new gilotine gate was lower than the old one and they would not accept that the river was up by 2 feet downstream and that this was the cause of their problems.
Thank Norman for small boats! |
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df
United Kingdom
5994 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2012 : 19:14:11
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For the last 3 years people have been complaining that they hit the bottom because they made it shallower in the downstream entrance than the old lock when it was re-built, it was just the river level being generally lower that side as the concrete cill was never touched in the re-build (I had a good look around the bottom when it was still drained down), even in normal summer flows the level through st.neots can fall by 2 feet then rise again a few hours later since the automatic wiers were messed about with upgraded.
The present cock up with the gate is because they had the gate made to fit the original re-build drawings despite the fact that they had cast the concrete several inches too narrow in the re-build (it was meant to be full wide beam), most boaters knew it was wrong so the EA not knowing was just simple incompetence.
I won't miss the EA but no doubt the BA will turn up just as many cases of stupidity.
NBAS--The communal colostomy bag of the boating community.
Visit leomagill.co.uk |
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adi-n-chez
United Kingdom
1980 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2012 : 19:57:48
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quote:
Originally posted by df
I won't miss the EA but no doubt the BA will turn up just as many cases of stupidity.
You stopping down on the Broads then Dave ?
Adi
Sewer Tubes ? I'd rather have a D**ncr*ft (Only Kidding) |
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df
United Kingdom
5994 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2012 : 22:41:05
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definately this season and most likely next season too, it's been too much hassle getting off the gt.ouse this year to bother bringing it back for winter, also £145 less for the licence and £400 less for the mooring goes a long way towards the diesel getting to norwich and back in the car, easy sea access at all tides as well, can be at sea within 5 hours of getting to the boat without breaking speed limits.
Hoping to make it at least as far as brightlingsea this year if not into the thames estuary for our 2 week holiday, assuming current weather patterns change of course...
NBAS--The communal colostomy bag of the boating community.
Visit leomagill.co.uk |
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Stan the Man
United Kingdom
134 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2012 : 07:23:22
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IanM
Great to meet you at Stroud by the way - I hope you've now been able to relax a bit. Great show so congratulations to you and your colleagues.
I was out with a friend on the GU the other week (before the opening time were extended by a couple of hours) and we had to moor overnight at the top of the third lock before the BW man came to remove the lock and chain to allow us to proceed the next morning. Got chatting to a residential boater I know a couple of days later and apparently, as they were still back-pumping the flight, the wait level in the pounds had risen such that the towpath down at lock 19 was something of a raging torrent! Quite how flooding the towpath saves water is something of a puzzler.
Was out at Stoke Bruerne last Sunday, though, and the level was definitely up by a least six inches in the long pound to Whilton. There did not seem to be any backpumping going on although the restrictions, recently eased by a couple of hours, were still in force. |
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Knighty
United Kingdom
654 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 20:22:47
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Well what a washout, now up to a staggering 9 hours running time and a total of one lock in three months now. Think 3-4 hours of that has been with the river on orange.
With my mooring fees, licence, insurance, outboard service etc works out over £60 an hour so far 
Weather forecast for end of month and August looking brighter so fingers crossed the Avon will hopefully drop and will be able to get out more, river currently still over 2ft up. |
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adi-n-chez
United Kingdom
1980 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2012 : 22:28:09
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quote:
Originally posted by Knighty
Well what a washout, now up to a staggering 9 hours running time and a total of one lock in three months now. Think 3-4 hours of that has been with the river on orange.
With my mooring fees, licence, insurance, outboard service etc works out over £60 an hour so far
Weather forecast for end of month and August looking brighter so fingers crossed the Avon will hopefully drop and will be able to get out more, river currently still over 2ft up.
Knighty , we're in the err same boat !
One day trip early April (To tow a Norman back) , A weekend out to Zouch , & the BankHol trip to Foxton , plus a run down to the pub.
Worse year since 2007 , However that yr we had a fantastic trip thru Brum & onto the Severn, maybe the best weather we have had for a two week cruise in 9yrs so fingers crossed !
Adi
Sewer Tubes ? I'd rather have a D**ncr*ft (Only Kidding) |
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tigtog
United Kingdom
421 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jul 2012 : 00:09:48
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| cracking weather now been on the thames, as much as i can last four days |
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Deano
United Kingdom
1843 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jul 2012 : 23:32:10
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I checked the log on the GPS yesterday........ 250 miles this year already!!!! And that's only 2 trips???
Not a bad achievement under the circumstances. You lot are just pansies!!!!
The old school impeller log turned over to zero this week on the way back from the Bedford River festival, so that is 1000 nautical miles since we bought the boat, four years ago.
Dean - Boating on the Great Ouse.
Freeman 30 "Silver Gem"
See the photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/54758027@N00/ |
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So Pleased I relicenced early......
