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Post by quaysider on Jun 21, 2018 6:46:41 GMT
So then, Yesterday afternoon I got the phone call from Crt to cancel our booking for 22nd July... The breach/collapsed culvert at Melling being the blame and not a chance of it being sorted within 6 weeks...
Hmmmf...
Next I phoned the north east office to inquire about the likelihood of Marple being operational again by the end of September... not looking likely - ergo, if you're longer than 45 foot you'll have to go the other way around. This is a real pain to us now as we have a chap coming with us over the Huddersfield and then 3 more bookings AFTER him , the other side of Marple a we head down to Wolverhampton... ergo, unless they can jack it out, we're going to canal him and maybe 1 before to give us time to get to the top of the locks the other end and have to refund much needed income. hmmf.
I was so looking forward to our Thunderboat party in the docs too....
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Post by bargemast on Jun 21, 2018 7:10:39 GMT
So then, Yesterday afternoon I got the phone call from Crt to cancel our booking for 22nd July... The breach/collapsed culvert at Melling being the blame and not a chance of it being sorted within 6 weeks... Hmmmf... Next I phoned the north east office to inquire about the likelihood of Marple being operational again by the end of September... not looking likely - ergo, if you're longer than 45 foot you'll have to go the other way around. This is a real pain to us now as we have a chap coming with us over the Huddersfield and then 3 more bookings AFTER him , the other side of Marple a we head down to Wolverhampton... ergo, unless they can jack it out, we're going to canal him and maybe 1 before to give us time to get to the top of the locks the other end and have to refund much needed income. hmmf. I was so looking forward to our Thunderboat party in the docs too.... That's very sad, but they left you a bit of time calling 1 month before your planned arrival there, so there's still some time to find an acceptable alternative.
Running a hotelboat isn't always easy, due to circumstances you can't do anything about.
In your contract should always be a line to protect yourselfs from this sort of happening, saying something like :"In case of problems to the waterways, we could be obliged to have to do a different section of the canal than was planned, but we'll always try to stick as much to our planned cruises as possible".
Good luck with the finding of a good enough alternative.
Peter.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2018 7:12:05 GMT
Shit!
They're not making life easy for your first year.
Rog
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Post by JohnV on Jun 21, 2018 7:17:21 GMT
echo Rog
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Post by Telemachus on Jun 21, 2018 8:03:54 GMT
We had the same call. I’ve rebooked for mid-August and will do the trip the other way round but was hoping to be able to get to the Huddersfield Narrow via Marple - but looks like it will have to be via Manchester.
But currently “computer says no” as our boat is recorded as 2.1m beam when apparently the max for Standedge is 2.09. I just put 2.1 as it didn’t seem necessary to go 2 decimal places but clearly that was a mistake, and I’m not able to edit it.
Edit: oh well, that was reasnably easily sorted on the phone.
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Post by peterboat on Jun 21, 2018 8:13:12 GMT
We had the same call. I’ve rebooked for mid-August and will do the trip the other way round but was hoping to be able to get to the Huddersfield Narrow via Marple - but looks like it will have to be via Manchester. But currently “computer says no” as our boat is recorded as 2.1m beam when apparently the max for Standedge is 2.09. I just put 2.1 as it didn’t seem necessary to go 2 decimal places but clearly that was a mistake, and I’m not able to edit it. measure the boat and try phoning, be careful though as it is tight and ten years have gone by so it might be very tight since I last used it
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Post by Telemachus on Jun 21, 2018 8:36:34 GMT
We had the same call. I’ve rebooked for mid-August and will do the trip the other way round but was hoping to be able to get to the Huddersfield Narrow via Marple - but looks like it will have to be via Manchester. But currently “computer says no” as our boat is recorded as 2.1m beam when apparently the max for Standedge is 2.09. I just put 2.1 as it didn’t seem necessary to go 2 decimal places but clearly that was a mistake, and I’m not able to edit it. measure the boat and try phoning, be careful though as it is tight and ten years have gone by so it might be very tight since I last used it It’s a pretty bog standard-sized modern narrowboat with beam 6’10” and never had any problems with the likes of Hurleston locks. Oh and it’s 2.08 for Standedge not 2.09 as I said earlier. Hopefully it I’ll be a bit wider now with all the boats banging, crashing and scraping through!
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Post by Mr Stabby on Jun 21, 2018 8:44:06 GMT
We had the same call. I’ve rebooked for mid-August and will do the trip the other way round but was hoping to be able to get to the Huddersfield Narrow via Marple - but looks like it will have to be via Manchester. But currently “computer says no” as our boat is recorded as 2.1m beam when apparently the max for Standedge is 2.09. I just put 2.1 as it didn’t seem necessary to go 2 decimal places but clearly that was a mistake, and I’m not able to edit it. Maximum width is 2.08 m which is 6' 10" so virtually any narrowboat should be fine on that score, although they also measure the height of the cabin corners relative to the cabin height. Your boat should fit easily although it's worth having a full water tank and maybe a few bags of coal up front to bring the height down. The formula for checking dimensions is here canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/30632-standedge-online-guidelines.pdf
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Post by quaysider on Jun 21, 2018 8:45:52 GMT
So then, Yesterday afternoon I got the phone call from Crt to cancel our booking for 22nd July... The breach/collapsed culvert at Melling being the blame and not a chance of it being sorted within 6 weeks... Hmmmf... Next I phoned the north east office to inquire about the likelihood of Marple being operational again by the end of September... not looking likely - ergo, if you're longer than 45 foot you'll have to go the other way around. This is a real pain to us now as we have a chap coming with us over the Huddersfield and then 3 more bookings AFTER him , the other side of Marple a we head down to Wolverhampton... ergo, unless they can jack it out, we're going to canal him and maybe 1 before to give us time to get to the top of the locks the other end and have to refund much needed income. hmmf. I was so looking forward to our Thunderboat party in the docs too.... That's very sad, but they left you a bit of time calling 1 month before your planned arrival there, so there's still some time to find an acceptable alternative.
Running a hotelboat isn't always easy, due to circumstances you can't do anything about.
In your contract should always be a line to protect yourselfs from this sort of happening, saying something like :"In case of problems to the waterways, we could be obliged to have to do a different section of the canal than was planned, but we'll always try to stick as much to our planned cruises as possible".
Good luck with the finding of a good enough alternative.
Peter.
Yeah we've got a bit in the terms and conditions that covers it but out of decency, we will offer to refund as the chap specifically wanted to do the Huddersfield. If we do 9 hour days we should be able to get to the top of Marple to fulfill the rest of the years bookings. Still a pain in arse especially given the weather at the end of sept/early october.
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Post by Telemachus on Jun 21, 2018 8:51:37 GMT
We had the same call. I’ve rebooked for mid-August and will do the trip the other way round but was hoping to be able to get to the Huddersfield Narrow via Marple - but looks like it will have to be via Manchester. But currently “computer says no” as our boat is recorded as 2.1m beam when apparently the max for Standedge is 2.09. I just put 2.1 as it didn’t seem necessary to go 2 decimal places but clearly that was a mistake, and I’m not able to edit it. Maximum width is 2.08 m which is 6' 10" so virtually any narrowboat should be fine on that score, although they also measure the height of the cabin corners relative to the cabin height. Your boat should fit easily although it's worth having a full water tank and maybe a few bags of coal up front to bring the height down. The formula for checking dimensions is here canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/30632-standedge-online-guidelines.pdfMy mate Chris’ boat, that we used to use before we got our own, has been through. We have taken that boat through Gosty Hill tunnel - it was very tight on the handrails. We then took Telemachus through and there was much more room. We do have to be careful though, because our boat has 2” higher cabin height than other Hudsons (so that I could stand up inside).
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Post by Mr Stabby on Jun 21, 2018 8:59:02 GMT
Maximum width is 2.08 m which is 6' 10" so virtually any narrowboat should be fine on that score, although they also measure the height of the cabin corners relative to the cabin height. Your boat should fit easily although it's worth having a full water tank and maybe a few bags of coal up front to bring the height down. The formula for checking dimensions is here canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/original/30632-standedge-online-guidelines.pdfMy mate Chris’ boat, that we used to use before we got our own, has been through. We have taken that boat through Gosty Hill tunnel - it was very tight on the handrails. We then took Telemachus through and there was much more room. We do have to be careful though, because our boat has 2” higher cabin height than other Hudsons (so that I could stand up inside). My concern would be that the size of your head might exceed maximum permissible dimensions.
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Post by Jim on Jun 21, 2018 9:04:50 GMT
My mate Chris’ boat, that we used to use before we got our own, has been through. We have taken that boat through Gosty Hill tunnel - it was very tight on the handrails. We then took Telemachus through and there was much more room. We do have to be careful though, because our boat has 2” higher cabin height than other Hudsons (so that I could stand up inside). My concern would be that the size of your head might exceed maximum permissible dimensions. Teflon coated, will slide through.
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Post by Telemachus on Jun 21, 2018 9:16:53 GMT
My mate Chris’ boat, that we used to use before we got our own, has been through. We have taken that boat through Gosty Hill tunnel - it was very tight on the handrails. We then took Telemachus through and there was much more room. We do have to be careful though, because our boat has 2” higher cabin height than other Hudsons (so that I could stand up inside). My concern would be that the size of your head might exceed maximum permissible dimensions. I can always walk over the top and let Jeff drive through. Anyway, there is clearly plenty of room as you got through without your knife scraping simultaneously on both sides.
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Post by JohnV on Jun 21, 2018 10:16:34 GMT
I am not going into full rant mode just now but the restrictions for the Standedge involved me in a long loud row with BW. It's the blanket ban on GRP that deeply pissed me off ...... Most of you know that I own and am a great fan of a particular type of Yoghurt pot (Gazza is also a fan) 50 years old built like a .... proverbial outhouse ..... 3 steel capped rubbing bands per side plus a steel capped stem, diesel engined, not just within the maximum dimensions but hugely under the maximum dimensions (It was designed and built to be able to navigate anywhere on the connected inland waterways system) and has already travelled thousands of miles all over the system. When I protested unfair discrimination I was told that they were banned because they might break down ...... my reply was Why? I have a Vetus diesel engine with only 160 hours on the clock and am probably less likely to breakdown than the average narrowboat. Next was "well it might sink" why? ... It is probably tougher than a narrowboat with tin worm ..... and you don't ask for a hull survey before you let them through . I mean, I agree that the majority of GRP on the inland waterways are probably unsuitable for the tunnel but a blanket ban is discriminatory against those that are suitable. and those Ormelite Hulls are as tough as old boots Please note this is the short version of the rant ....... you should see it when I really get going
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Post by bargemast on Jun 21, 2018 10:48:35 GMT
The big problem with all these silly rules is that there isn't anyone that's in charge of taking decisions that knows anything about boats.
All they know, but probably aren't even sure of, is that they have to float.
It shouldn't be all that difficult to get people that know about boats to do this kind of job, but it looks very much that that would be a reason of not being employed for such a job.
The lesser they know about the subjects they'll have to deal with, the happier C&RT (or other waterways autorities) are, and I'm affraid that that won't change in a hurry.
Peter.
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