I'm on the Lancaster canal moored at Garstang. Went up to hest bank at weekend must have hit bottom a dozen times.it seems to me there is a lack of water and a complete lack of dredging large sections are vastly over grown two boats cannot pass.our pastime is sup to be relaxing not wondering if you can get back to your mooring without 5 hundred quids worth of damage.canal and river trust seem to be more interested in the tow path than the actual canal.
Know how you feel.Its pretty much the same here on the Huddersfield narrow.I have written to my local MP asking if anything can be done about this lack of water,and she replied saying that she has written to Yorkshire Water,and is awaiting a reply.Not sure if Yorkshire Water are the responsible people or the CRT,but I hope that this issue will be raised in the right quarter. My boat [a Norman 20] copes with shallow water due to having an auxilliary outboard on a trapezium mount chained up to give a prop depth of about 12inches.The prop is not very efficient at this depth,but I can keep going in any depth that will float the boat. Lack of water/dredging seems to be a problem all over the network,and if everyone in the canal boating community were to write to their MPs perhaps something might be done.
Sadly a problem that is not going to get fixed anytime soon. Its down to loss of water supply and can be partly attributed to the privatisation of water. Also, when the Huddersfield Narrow first closed some of the water sources were also abandoned and never recovered. Good luck with MP's etc.
Lack of water/ dredging?
Posted - 20 Jul 2017 : 14:12:28
