Well it would have been a shame to moor in Reading without taking the canal trip through the town centre, so that's what we decided to do before we turned round and headed back up the Thames. Reading is our local big town, so we know it well, but we've never boated through it. The canal follows a narrow and twisting route through the Oracle shopping centre, and because it is narrow and twisting and the current is often strong, there is a traffic light system to avoid opposing boats meeting in the middle. It was fun.
Once through, we just turned round below the County Lock weir and did the whole thing in the other direction. The turning was a bit scary, because I wasn't sure how deep the pool was or how strong the current was. I just stuck the bow out into the stream and let the current swing us while I kept the stern close to the bank. The weir is barely a foot high, but there's a strongish flow over it. I suppose the front of theboat was about two thirds across the river.
It was fine, but I'm not sure I'd do it after a week's heavy rain. The Kennet has a hell of a pace on it sometimes.
Anyway we enjoyed the little jaunt immensely and felt we had crossed something off our bucket list.
So after that urban fix, we're now back out in the sticks and tied up for the night in a quiet spot in Beale Park.
We ought to be making a bit more progress on the way back up river but Herbie seems comfortable at about 4 mph (as measured by my home developed Herbiesoft Speedo App) which is a good bit slower than the plastic cruisers and a little bit slower than most other narrowboats, but we find it less tiring when Herbie is happy.
Who knows where we'll be tomorrow night? I don't.
Once through, we just turned round below the County Lock weir and did the whole thing in the other direction. The turning was a bit scary, because I wasn't sure how deep the pool was or how strong the current was. I just stuck the bow out into the stream and let the current swing us while I kept the stern close to the bank. The weir is barely a foot high, but there's a strongish flow over it. I suppose the front of theboat was about two thirds across the river.
It was fine, but I'm not sure I'd do it after a week's heavy rain. The Kennet has a hell of a pace on it sometimes.
Anyway we enjoyed the little jaunt immensely and felt we had crossed something off our bucket list.
So after that urban fix, we're now back out in the sticks and tied up for the night in a quiet spot in Beale Park.
We ought to be making a bit more progress on the way back up river but Herbie seems comfortable at about 4 mph (as measured by my home developed Herbiesoft Speedo App) which is a good bit slower than the plastic cruisers and a little bit slower than most other narrowboats, but we find it less tiring when Herbie is happy.
Who knows where we'll be tomorrow night? I don't.
3 comments:
More people have done that turn than wanted to!
When there is a flow then it is best to go full tilt from the lower lock landing into the mouth of the lock otherwise you get sucked out into the water below the weir. Best to slam on the brakes before hitting the top gates cill however!
Still enjoying your posts after many years!
Having had 2 canal boat holidays, I was always interested to observe the seeming reluctance of UK narrow boaters to use lines when manoeuvring. My brother in law, a ship's Captain (and here I mean large ships - 100,000+ tonnes) once told me to always manoeuvre in close quarters with a tight line and I have followed that advice.
So if in doubt as to the strength of the current and/or wind, a 180 degree turn in the situation you describe could be safely undertaken with a line from the bow to shore, using rudder and engine to bring the stern around.
Cheers Andrew
Yes Andrew, quite agree except in this case when i would have had to push the stern round against a strong current and where I wasn't sure if it was deep enough to get the stern round anyway. But in general a line on the bow is a useful way to turn.
Cheers
Neil
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