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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2016 21:19:13 GMT
Ok, ignore the fact that I don't even have a boat yet.
Part of my future dreams include a trip to the Scottish canals, sometime in the future. The initial dream was to transport the boat by road to the central canals then onward by road to the Crinan Canal the again by road to the Caly. In between a couple of boring jobs I did some research as to how feasible this might be and came across the canoe route that joins all the canals - so I got thinking... What about taking my narrowboat along this route? Now that would be an adventure to plan for the future.
So taking into consideration I am not completely mad (I value my life and home) and have a bit of a past history of coming up with 'stupid' travel plans but making them happen, does anyone want to comment about the feasibility of taking a narrowboat onto the Clyde and around the coastline (via the Crinan) to the Caly?
Particularly looking for suggestions about what modifications might be needed to the boat, possibility of using some sort of safety boat on part of the route, thoughts on route bearing in mind tidal flows etc.
Currently just 'throwing the idea out there' for want of a better phrase. The journey (if it happens) is at least 3 years away and this is the first time I've been brave enough to mention it.
I'm quite used to be called mad when I mention my dreams, sometimes the dreams happen sometimes they don't.
Anyone got any thoughts about how this journey could be achieved safely - I'm Know I wouldn't be the first person to do the trip.
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Post by Mr Stabby on Nov 3, 2016 21:35:12 GMT
Taking your own boat by road from the mainland network to the Crinian Canal and having her craned in and out four times would cost considerably more than hiring a boat which was already there for the week...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2016 21:47:21 GMT
Taking your own boat by road from the mainland network to the Crinian Canal and having her craned in and out four times would cost considerably more than hiring a boat which was already there for the week... The journey would be more about the adventure than anything else, the aim would be to spend about 6 months on the trip. |
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haggis
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Post by haggis on Nov 3, 2016 22:37:37 GMT
Narrow boats have cruised the Crinan and the Caledonian. One of them, I think it was called Ocean Princess, was built and extensively modified, I understand to undertake the sea voyage from England to Scotland via Ireland. Possibly some Googling might produce details of the preparation and voyage. We have also done the Crinan (twice) and the Caledonian on our little 26 foot Sea Otter, GAMEBIRD, BUT we trailed her to Ardrishaig, launched in the sea and cruised round the point to enter the Crinan. We did venture out to sea at the other end at Crinan but just went out for about 100 yards and came back - all done with the lock keepers approval and a big audience! We were, we understand the first narrow boat ever to cruise the Crinan. The second time, when we put her back on the trailer we went up to the caledonain, launched in the sea again and cruised through to Inverness. However, gamebird, having a V bottom is more stable than most narrow boats.
A few years ago a slightly wider then normal narrow boat did go out onto the Clyde at Bowling with the intention of cruising to the Crinan but gave up after they were rescued twice. The Clyde estuary is no place for a narrow boat unless it has been extensively modified.
haggis
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Post by bargemast on Nov 3, 2016 22:58:53 GMT
Ok, ignore the fact that I don't even have a boat yet. Part of my future dreams include a trip to the Scottish canals, sometime in the future. The initial dream was to transport the boat by road to the central canals then onward by road to the Crinan Canal the again by road to the Caly. In between a couple of boring jobs I did some research as to how feasible this might be and came across the canoe route that joins all the canals - so I got thinking... What about taking my narrowboat along this route? Now that would be an adventure to plan for the future. So taking into consideration I am not completely mad (I value my life and home) and have a bit of a past history of coming up with 'stupid' travel plans but making them happen, does anyone want to comment about the feasibility of taking a narrowboat onto the Clyde and around the coastline (via the Crinan) to the Caly? Particularly looking for suggestions about what modifications might be needed to the boat, possibility of using some sort of safety boat on part of the route, thoughts on route bearing in mind tidal flows etc. Currently just 'throwing the idea out there' for want of a better phrase. The journey (if it happens) is at least 3 years away and this is the first time I've been brave enough to mention it. I'm quite used to be called mad when I mention my dreams, sometimes the dreams happen sometimes they don't. Anyone got any thoughts about how this journey could be achieved safely - I'm Know I wouldn't be the first person to do the trip. Hi forumidiot, you should check-out what the owner of Wyvern Shipping from Leighton Buzzard did, he built a real sea-going narrowboat that has sea-boat papers for a boat of over 20m, he's been to the Caledonian Canal and many other places too. But Ocean-Princess is far from a standard narrowboat, although she is still good for canal cruising too. www.canalholidays.co.uk/about-us/ocean-princess-cruisePeter. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 10:30:28 GMT
Thanks Haggis.
I was aware of Ocean Princess and NB Progress, and also your adventures. Do you have any further info about the NB entering the Clyde, maybe even just roughly what year this happened and whether they were rescued by the RNLI or by their own support vessel - it would help me narrow down Google searches.
Also;
Do you have any comment on whether the Clyde (say between Bowling and Rhu or Inverkip) is more dangerous/difficult than the Thames (say between Gravesend and the Medway) - don't worry if you don't know.
I might also pester you for info on the Caledonian about what restrictions/regulations they might apply to NBs - just looking for general info before I would contact them officially.
Thanks Bargemast.
Was already aware of Ocean Princess, the photo on the boat I hired several years ago from Wyvern was what first piqued my thoughts about what could be possible.
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haggis
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Post by haggis on Nov 4, 2016 11:11:39 GMT
The boat which went to sea was peccadillo . Bev, the owner, had a dream and she set off despite being advised against it by other canal users as she had had breakdowns on the Union canal just before. Also, she had ventured up the Forth from Bowling to Stirling with other boats (including gamebird) and it has to be said she had difficulty turning across the tide to get into the River Carron on the way back. She wasn't alone! Gamebird was Ok as she had a very experienced skipper (Iain) in charge but others had mega problems and lots of crockery was lost.
Bev, who owns Peccadillo had a dream though and she still set out ion her journey.
We have taken Gamebird from Bowling to Greenock in company with other boats (including one narrow boat) and it was OK as the weather was kind. There is some big shipping on that stretch though! I have no experience of the Thames below Limehouse so don't know how the Clyde compares. However, like any stretch of salty stuff, you have to pick your moment and pay attention to weather forecasts.
haggis
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Post by bargemast on Nov 4, 2016 11:25:54 GMT
Taking your own boat by road from the mainland network to the Crinian Canal and having her craned in and out four times would cost considerably more than hiring a boat which was already there for the week... The journey would be more about the adventure than anything else, the aim would be to spend about 6 months on the trip. To get a taste of the Scottish Canals and talk to people that know all about them, you could have a look at, and get in touch with : savethepuffer.co.uk/
The VIC 32 is a beautiful example of still working floating history, I love the looks of that boat.
Peter.
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Post by IainS on Nov 5, 2016 2:25:46 GMT
The boat which went to sea was peccadillo . Bev, the owner, had a dream and she set off despite being advised against it by other canal users as she had had breakdowns on the Union canal just before. Also, she had ventured up the Forth from Bowling to Stirling with other boats (including gamebird) and it has to be said she had difficulty turning across the tide to get into the River Carron on the way back. She wasn't alone! Gamebird was Ok as she had a very experienced skipper (Iain) in charge but others had mega problems and lots of crockery was lost. Bev, who owns Peccadillo had a dream though and she still set out ion her journey. We have taken Gamebird from Bowling to Greenock in company with other boats (including one narrow boat) and it was OK as the weather was kind. There is some big shipping on that stretch though! I have no experience of the Thames below Limehouse so don't know how the Clyde compares. However, like any stretch of salty stuff, you have to pick your moment and pay attention to weather forecasts. haggis For Bev's adventures, see here (scroll back to 2012) The Forth trip started at Grangemouth rather than Bowling, and was OK on the way up, but a bit hairy on the way back (wind over tide, which the Forth is notorious for, leading to short, steep waves) Gamebird (26' SeaOtter, so V bottom) did a lot better than a widebeam and several tupperwares, although the top speed of 5 1/ 2 knots was a bit of a handicap on the way back. Mean wave height was estimated at about a metre and a half, which was OK on the bow, but would have been a problem on the beam. Gamebird, at 26', rode the waves quite well. I have a feeling that a longer boat would have tended to cut through them rather than go over the top, which could have put a lot of water over the bow. Not really heavy sea conditions, but no place for a narrowboat! I wouldn't think about a sea (or Loch Ness) trip unless the weather was very settled, and the forecast was sure it would stay that way. P.S. None of the broken crockery was ours  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2016 12:48:25 GMT
Many thanks for the post IainS, was great to read about Bev's adventure.
Thanks to others for posting.
Whilst I still intend to find someway to do the journey, I suspect that trying to do so in a NB is not something I'll ever get around to attempting. My mind has already come up with a few ideas but I need to wait until house is sold and the NB is bought before I can assess what funds will be available.
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