Re: Rivers and Canal.. Permits etc ?

philpot · Post by **philpot** » 24 Apr 2015, 07:39

The area of river that I use, has two locks but miles in between so never go through them. I am not so sure about wanting to use locks in a sib as water rushing through can be quite savage which is okay when you have a high sided boat but a sib...........................

You may also find the lock keepers if present most unhappy with small boats using the locks and I have known a situation when a friend was told he would have to wait until a larger boat came through as it was not worth opening the gates for him, he was in a 14'' dinghy with a small outboard.

You will not find me using locks anytime in the near future chaps.

Phil

blootac · Post by **blootac** » 24 Apr 2015, 07:57

Interesting about the lock keeper issue, the person on the other end of the twitter account doesn't see an issue. I can see your concerns with the water flow though...

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 24 Apr 2015, 18:36

Chaps
I don't want to put a dampener on the use of rivers and canals as I have and still do from time to time use them but feel I should mention a couple of things

I have used boats of 12-18 foot on the busy River Thames, Grand Union and Basingstoke Canals and can confirm that sometimes the lock keepers won't operate the lock for smaller craft on their own

I've had to wait up to half an hour or so for other boats to congregate before we're all packed in and the keeper operates it

TBH the water within the lock isn't as much as a concern to me as being sandwiched in between much larger canal boats, barges, river boats and cruisers

It can be somewhat un-nerving as not all the skippers are experienced and their crew even less so or they've just hired/borrowed the boat with little or no tuition given.
Mix in a few alcoholic beverages and a lack of attention then one end of these large vessels could be going up as the water is going down because someone has forgotten to release the rope causing the vessel to roll over. This all going on with you beside it, totally unable to get out of harms way

I've been squeezed hard up against the lock gates or wall by these large craft moving around when the water's being transfered and it's no fun.
Just keep your wits about you and a keen eye on the boats around you

Paul

Paul · Post by **Paul** » 25 Apr 2015, 22:52

Having talked to Martin it seems the traffic 'oop norf' is less busy on the rivers and canals

My experience has been on the southern very busy network so don't let it put you off

Really enjoyed our trips on these waterways and great to see our towns from another prospective other than the road

Get out in the boat and enjoy

Paul

YouTube · Post by **Martin** » 26 Apr 2015, 09:06

My small amount of boating experience is from the canals/rivers around Yorkshire, as a lad i would go out regularly with my Dad in the cabin cruiser.

The waterways are certainly quiet up here compared to down south. As Said, we really should utilize the water networks far more in this country, we're so far behind the times..
IMO, and i say this often.. "The Only Way Forward

Is Backwards"

philpot · Post by **philpot** » 28 Apr 2015, 08:08

Paul's comments regarding other people's abilities in a lock can be pretty bad to say the least. I used to part own a 30' fishing boat which we kept in Grimsby dock and the only way in and out was via the dock lock, boy oh boy have we had some rough and tumble in there with perhaps 6 boats all packed ready for the off, paint never lasted very long.

I spend most of my time on fresh water, love the nature, the quiet and the fishing so this is my kind of boating nowadays and I have found that on many venues there are slipways or at least places where you can launch a small craft between locks as many people like to do what we do but not have to contend with lock gates. I am convinced that collective feed back here is to the benefit of others in being able to access fresh water without the worry of locks. It is worth saying that really using locks is a two man job otherwise while you are operating the gates, the boat is being slammed into the wall etc.
I am going to meet a friend to do a bit of fishing on the river Hull tomorrow, we are fishing for trout and therefore allowed to fish this river in closed season, just in case any angler wonders what the hell I am doing fishing a river in closed season. There are two launch points which we are going to examine and I may take the boat with me but again these points are between locks so we have a fair stretch before have to contend with locks.

On open water we can and do trash around at a fair turn of speed, great fun but as I get older I enjoy pottering along just as much and that is where the rivers and canals come into their own because there are in most areas speed restrictions and it would be madness to go fast on the fresh water venues, instead we potter along and enjoy the scenery and the wildlife in abundance on the river banks with very few people walking the rural miles of river bank.
Now that I am retired, I have the time to take to the water during the week and I will say that this has opened a whole new chapter in my time afloat. There are little if any others on the water and on the River Ancolme where I go to most of the time, I can be on the water and see nobody all day which has proved to be fantastic for fishing, total peace and the main reason for buying a 2.5hp motor as it is perfect to potter on my own stopping every 100yds to have a few more casts in search for that elusive large pike. I may not earn the dosh but boy do I get some quality time afloat.
I know it is different for me because apart from having a family picnic on the river with my girls both snapping away with my old Nikon and huge lenses taking photo's of the birds or whatever takes their eye while I may be trolling a baited rod behind the boat to try and pick up a nice pike or two so everyone is a happy bunny ----------------- ah roll on warmer weather so we can start that again, the girls feel the cold more than myself so they are not too keen yet and as my oldest daughter and son in law have now taken my old SIB it may well be a case of having more space in my own Frib, Oh joy.
My 15hp Johnson that I picked up a few weeks ago is being looked at with a' wanting' in his eye by my son in law so I suspect it will be finding a new home before too long as we are building a camper van over the next few weeks so a lump of dosh will be coming my and his way soon and I am expecting a tugging of the arm sleeve, if you know what I mean.

Phil

blootac · Post by **blootac** » 28 Apr 2015, 08:24

philpot wrote:Paul's comments regarding other people's abilities in a lock can be pretty bad to say the least. I used to part own a 30' fishing boat which we kept in Grimsby dock and the only way in and out was via the dock lock, boy oh boy have we had some rough and tumble in there with perhaps 6 boats all packed ready for the off, paint never lasted very long.

I spend most of my time on fresh water, love the nature, the quiet and the fishing so this is my kind of boating nowadays and I have found that on many venues there are slipways or at least places where you can launch a small craft between locks as many people like to do what we do but not have to contend with lock gates. I am convinced that collective feed back here is to the benefit of others in being able to access fresh water without the worry of locks. It is worth saying that really using locks is a two man job otherwise while you are operating the gates, the boat is being slammed into the wall etc.
I am going to meet a friend to do a bit of fishing on the river Hull tomorrow, we are fishing for trout and therefore allowed to fish this river in closed season, just in case any angler wonders what the hell I am doing fishing a river in closed season. There are two launch points which we are going to examine and I may take the boat with me but again these points are between locks so we have a fair stretch before have to contend with locks.

On open water we can and do trash around at a fair turn of speed, great fun but as I get older I enjoy pottering along just as much and that is where the rivers and canals come into their own because there are in most areas speed restrictions and it would be madness to go fast on the fresh water venues, instead we potter along and enjoy the scenery and the wildlife in abundance on the river banks with very few people walking the rural miles of river bank.
Now that I am retired, I have the time to take to the water during the week and I will say that this has opened a whole new chapter in my time afloat. There are little if any others on the water and on the River Ancolme where I go to most of the time, I can be on the water and see nobody all day which has proved to be fantastic for fishing, total peace and the main reason for buying a 2.5hp motor as it is perfect to potter on my own stopping every 100yds to have a few more casts in search for that elusive large pike. I may not earn the dosh but boy do I get some quality time afloat.
I know it is different for me because apart from having a family picnic on the river with my girls both snapping away with my old Nikon and huge lenses taking photo's of the birds or whatever takes their eye while I may be trolling a baited rod behind the boat to try and pick up a nice pike or two so everyone is a happy bunny ----------------- ah roll on warmer weather so we can start that again, the girls feel the cold more than myself so they are not too keen yet and as my oldest daughter and son in law have now taken my old SIB it may well be a case of having more space in my own Frib, Oh joy.
My 15hp Johnson that I picked up a few weeks ago is being looked at with a' wanting' in his eye by my son in law so I suspect it will be finding a new home before too long as we are building a camper van over the next few weeks so a lump of dosh will be coming my and his way soon and I am expecting a tugging of the arm sleeve, if you know what I mean.

Phil

Make sure you write down all your launch sites Phil!
I can't find any this side of the Pennines that don't want to charge upwards of £25 for the pleasure of launching and parking!
I can't justify spending £25 to launch and then £18 on a river and canal license plus an hour or 2's drive for a 3 hours on the water

It's sad because the waterways are really underused in the north but it's prohibitively expensive to get in!

Gazzdid · Post by **Gazzdid** » 31 May 2015, 23:02

what a brilliant thread!
I wish I had found it earlier, I too have been in the same boat (excuse the pun!) and been banging my head against a wall trying to figure out what I need to drop my sib on the canal. I think I've sussed it just about!
as mentioned earlier a 30 day explorer gives you 30x 1 day passes. this costs £102.37.
30 consecutive days pass costs £75.61, one week pass £23.61, day pass £14.14 (these prices are canal & river license up to 5.49 metres)
prices can be found here:
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/li ... 5-2016.pdf

you do not need a boat safety scheme certificate as long as your boat meets the following criteria:
the boat Is an open vessel (i.e. with all the accommodation open to the elements) AND
Has no gas appliances or electrical system installed AND
Is propelled solely by an outboard motor.

It might be worth mentioning that there is a 4 knots speed limit it on the canals (I think it applies to all canals but im not 100% can somebody verify this?) and I have been told baliffs are issued with speed guns and can issue hefty fines.
I have no idea about speed limits on rivers could somebody clarify?

as for locks, isn't the beauty of a sib being able to bypass the locks?

YouTube · Post by **Martin** » 31 May 2015, 23:21

Agreed, brilliant thread.

I'm going away soon to Wales (Black Rock Sands) but when i'm back I may well have a look at this option,

maybe we can do a meet in and around York if folk are up for it?

I too had thought about lifting the sib out rather than doing the whole loch process, it'll save a hell of a lot of time and messing about

blootac · Post by **blootac** » 01 Jun 2015, 07:40

Gazzdid wrote:what a brilliant thread!
It might be worth mentioning that there is a 4 knots speed limit it on the canals (I think it applies to all canals but im not 100% can somebody verify this?) and I have been told baliffs are issued with speed guns and can issue hefty fines.
I have no idea about speed limits on rivers could somebody clarify?

Yes there is a 4 MPH (not knott) limit on almost all canals (See the Canal and River Trust Page)
If you're making a wake then it's even slower.
I believe on the Ouse around York it's actually 6 MPH.

Gazzdid wrote:as for locks, isn't the beauty of a sib being able to bypass the locks?

Depends how heavy your SIB is!