A Cruise On The Ouse

[Bikertov]

2 hours ago, addicted said:

The approach to Hemmingford lock has always been shallow especially on the bend approaching it. We always used to shoal  there on our Fairline Mirage. A word of warning  - mooring  on the lock pontoons on the RGO for anything olher than  going through the lock is a bit of a no no. No need to be nervous of the lock operating procedure  especially at  Hemmingford as it is really user friendly.  The lock to be wary of is Brownshill. my personal bete noir!  Enjoy your boat!

Carole

The approach to Hemmingford was a bit confusing, with only a very small signpost with an arrow to show you where to go.

I am guessing that if you go left of the "island" on the weir side of the river to get to the lock it will be shallow. The sign sends you to the right of the island, then left as there looks to be another weir on that side too.

We didn't moor by the lock for that long (it is a small bankside mooring rather than a larger pontoon like at St. Ives), mainly to ponder whether I was going to go through or not. I saw a sign that said no overnight mooring there, and am aware that you should spend too long, but in this instance it didn't specifically say no mooring except for use of the lock. But certainly I note your comment on this.

[addicted]

The level of maintrenance on the RGO has lacked much to be desired for many years. Quay headings  on moorings damaged by narrow boats  crashing into them, being simply taped off rather than repaired meaning an even bigger shortage of moorings than already exisiting.With  Brownshill lock closed this means boats that moor in the Ely areea can not access the river up stream and vice versa, a disgraceful state of affairs and quite unacceptable. The cost of the toll on the RGO is exorbitant anyway given the poor amenities available and lack of maintenance. Ever since EA took over from the NRA the  standard of care  got lower and lower and the massive influx of narrow boats encouraged by EA just exacerbated it. Lack of supervision allowed narrowboats to hog moorings for days and days on end and when they did finally move off they left the quay headings plastered with bitumen which ruined  our fenders. It is very sad to see the massive deterioration of  waters we cruised happily for 25 years to the extent it now finds itself in.

 

 

Carole

[ChrisB]

2 hours ago, addicted said:

The approach to Hemmingford lock has always been shallow especially on the bend approaching it. We always used to shoal  there on our Fairline Mirage. A word of warning  - mooring  on the lock pontoons on the RGO for anything olher than  going through the lock is a bit of a no no. No need to be nervous of the lock operating procedure  especially at  Hemmingford as it is really user friendly.  The lock to be wary of is Brownshill. my personal bete noir!  Enjoy your boat!

 

 

Carole

Moi aussi ! Always hated Brownhills.

[ChrisB]

24 minutes ago, addicted said:

The level of maintrenance on the RGO has lacked much to be desired for many years. Quay headings  on moorings damaged by narrow boats  crashing into them, being simply taped off rather than repaired meaning an even bigger shortage of moorings than already exisiting.With  Brownshill lock closed this means boats that moor in the Ely areea can not access the river up stream and vice versa, a disgraceful state of affairs and quite unacceptable. The cost of the toll on the RGO is exorbitant anyway given the poor amenities available and lack of maintenance. Ever since EA took over from the NRA the  standard of care  got lower and lower and the massive influx of narrow boats encouraged by EA just exacerbated it. Lack of supervision allowed narrowboats to hog moorings for days and days on end and when they did finally move off they left the quay headings plastered with bitumen which ruined  our fenders. It is very sad to see the massive deterioration of  waters we cruised happily for 25 years to the extent it now finds itself in.

 

 

Carole

It was not too bad until the IWA as was organised their featival at St Ives, I think in 2007.  Every Narrow Boat and it's dog turned up.

I have nothing against Narrow Boats in fact I really like them and the Wide Beamers especially, But they are designed by virtue of their LOA to be used where there is a continuous tow path not on rivers with limited mooring space.

[dom]

1 hour ago, ChrisB said:

Moi aussi ! Always hated Brownhills.

Out of interest, why the dislike?

It's strange it ended up where it is in the middle of nowhere, and not closer to either Earith or Needingworth. It's unfortunate, as the road from Overcote is so poor these days, you need a proper 4x4 to get road access making it impractical to stick volunteers there to help.

 

[Smoggy]

21 minutes ago, dom said:

It's strange it ended up where it is in the middle of nowhere

There must have been something there once to require the level holding back, obviously the Over side has changed hugely with the quarry so was there a mill of something? 

I've had to wait for the gate delays when the water was well over both gates, if it wasn't for wire fences could probably have gone around it.

[Mouldy]

A Frayed Knot is looking good, Danny.  Did you polish it or get it done by the marina?

[mjt]

2 hours ago, addicted said:

The level of maintrenance on the RGO has lacked much to be desired for many years. Quay headings  on moorings damaged by narrow boats  crashing into them, being simply taped off rather than repaired meaning an even bigger shortage of moorings than already exisiting.With  Brownshill lock closed this means boats that moor in the Ely areea can not access the river up stream and vice versa, a disgraceful state of affairs and quite unacceptable. The cost of the toll on the RGO is exorbitant anyway given the poor amenities available and lack of maintenance. Ever since EA took over from the NRA the  standard of care  got lower and lower and the massive influx of narrow boats encouraged by EA just exacerbated it. Lack of supervision allowed narrowboats to hog moorings for days and days on end and when they did finally move off they left the quay headings plastered with bitumen which ruined  our fenders. It is very sad to see the massive deterioration of  waters we cruised happily for 25 years to the extent it now finds itself in.

These were exactly the issues that partially persuaded us to move to the Southern Rivers after 14 years. As ex members of GOBA I often look in on their Facebook page and it's clear that basic maintenance has been skimped in an effort to save costs. There seem to be far more lock breakdowns than I remember from our time. When the Fish & Duck marina changed hands and a number of liveaboards were evicted they all seemed to end up on the river. It started to look like the canals with scruffy livaeaboards everywhere. The final trigger for us was a proposal to massively increase the EA licence fee. That was eventually considerably scaled back but the Broads toll is still lower in spite of the recent increases. The other reason for moving was that with declining mobility it was better to be on a system with no locks.

[Bikertov]

35 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

A Frayed Knot is looking good, Danny.  Did you polish it or get it done by the marina?

The marina did it this time around, but I will try to keep on top of it myself from now. The way you keep Norfolk Lady so shiny is a great example !

I still need to do a bit more that they missed, but all in good time

I bought myself this cordless polisher from Aldi, so hopefully it will make the job a bit easier

[dom]

1 minute ago, Bikertov said:

The marina did it this time around, but I will try to keep on top of it myself from now. The way you keep Norfolk Lady so shiny is a great example !

I often wonder how well ceramic coating works on GRP these days. Having used ceramic products on cars, where it gives several years of protection, it seems an ideal solution for boats. Only downside is the cost, but possibly more easily justifiable with a newer boat in good condition.

[dom]

10 minutes ago, mjt said:

When the Fish & Duck marina changed hands and a number of liveaboards were evicted they all seemed to end up on the river. It started to look like the canals with scruffy livaeaboards everywhere.

I think they're all upstream of Stretham Old Engine now. If you look at Google Street View, the 2011 image shows just a couple of cruisers and a single narrowboat. When I was there recently, the place was heaving with dozens of boats and masses of junk and rubbish. Not been down the Cam lately, but have heard it's fairly similar. It's one of the main reasons I think BA need to be very aware of what's coming with liveaboards as ever increasing numbers of people fall below the first rung of the housing ladder.

[Mouldy]

31 minutes ago, Bikertov said:

The marina did it this time around, but I will try to keep on top of it myself from now. The way you keep Norfolk Lady so shiny is a great example !

I still need to do a bit more that they missed, but all in good time

I bought myself this cordless polisher from Aldi, so hopefully it will make the job a bit easier

Thanks!  It is a labour of love tbh, but I do like to keep her looking as good as I can.

You might find that a bit too big to get into some of the tighter spaces.  I use a car type dual action polisher like this on NL: https://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/products/das-6-pro-v2-dual-action-polisher.aspx?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=MerchantCentre&variant=11884&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9IayBhBJEiwAVuc3fjJQ10xGrYXg49CeRokF3tJIEKnziKg3mKb53ETsgR_WASre6XazKRoCl6YQAvD_BwE
Admittedly it’s not cordless, but being a bit smaller allows access to the more difficult to reach areas. 😁

[Bikertov]

1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

Thanks!  It is a labour of love tbh, but I do like to keep her looking as good as I can.

You might find that a bit too big to get into some of the tighter spaces.  I use a car type dual action polisher like this on NL: https://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/products/das-6-pro-v2-dual-action-polisher.aspx?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=MerchantCentre&variant=11884&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9IayBhBJEiwAVuc3fjJQ10xGrYXg49CeRokF3tJIEKnziKg3mKb53ETsgR_WASre6XazKRoCl6YQAvD_BwE
Admittedly it’s not cordless, but being a bit smaller allows access to the more difficult to reach areas. 😁

Oh great, so now I have to buy ANOTHER piece of kit for the boat.

Soon I will have to get a tender to tow behind, just to store all the gear I am buying that won't fit on the boat.

It won't be long before those dreaded words ... "You may need to get a bigger boat"  

[addicted]

17 hours ago, dom said:

Out of interest, why the dislike?

It's strange it ended up where it is in the middle of nowhere, and not closer to either Earith or Needingworth. It's unfortunate, as the road from Overcote is so poor these days, you need a proper 4x4 to get road access making it impractical to stick volunteers there to help.

 

I always disliked it bercause no matter how clement the weather everywhere else it always seemed to be blowing a hooley at Brownshill. It was also very slow and if the operations button was pressed part way through to "hurry" it it would jam and one would have to reverse the lock and start all over again.

 

Carole

[ChrisB]

I just used to have this feeling of foreboding when we were the only boat there, especially if the river was high. Also whilst I liked the accomodation on the Alpha 29 we would hire I did not like the lack of foredeck in locks.

[Smoggy]

We never go out on the foredeck for locks or mooring, trail the lines back to where you get off the boat.

[ChrisB]

In the end we would take our own long warp for the bow.

[Bikertov]

Following a great weekend in Norfolk at the Spring Meet-up, I left the Wroxham area at about 11:00 for the return journey home.

But with a tinge of guilt at having left the old girl by herself, and feeling like I had cheated on her by being on and near other boats all weekend, I decided to go back via St.Ives to spend the rest of the day aboard my own boat.

Arriving at the marina around 12:30, after a decent clear run, I got aboard and decided to go for a chug up river again.

Managing to negotiate St.Ives bridge solo and without incident, I carried on upstream again to Hemmingsford Lock, turned around and went back to the marina - about a 2 hour cruise in total. 

I finished the day with a late lunch/early dinner with some of the leftover food from the weekend, and a relaxing time  onboard, and chatting to some of the neighbouring boaters.

Finally got home at 20:30, having had a lovely weekend indeed.

[dom]

If you happen to venture further afield over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend, be extremely cautious with lock approaches, and especially if you make it to Godmanchester. There's been a sunken tree there for a while now, which EA marked with a buoy, but it has obviously been interrupting the flow and there's a huge amount of sediment settled around it. There's probably 6ft+ out from the lock landing which is now only inches deep. You want to approach the lock right down the centre - if the guillotine's closed and there are no volunteers, keep well toward the downstream end of the lock landing.

[Bikertov]

So ... I've been up to the boat most weekends recently, even if just for the day

Last Sunday I was solo helping, so just went up to Hemingford and back. But I did manage to moor on a riverside GOBA mooring for the first time. No mooring posts, so you have to use spikes or rhond anchors

It was a bit daunting stepping off with the mooring rope and there not being anyone left on board in case, but I managed it.

[Bikertov]

This weekend, with good weather expected, we've come up to spend the night on board and hope a nice day cruising tomorrow 

The fridge is filled, and dinner will soon be put in the oven

In the morning,  if all goes well we will go up river again and actually try and negotiate Hemingford lock for the first time !

[addicted]

Don't worry about Hemmingford Lock. I remember it as being really user friendly. No nasty cross winds like Brownshill  always and Houghton sometimes has. Hope it all goes well for you .

 

Carole

[dom]

It was actually reasonably busy on the river this afternoon, now it's finally off caution. Someone the other day said it'd been on Caution or SSA for 253 days non-stop. Things are a lot calmer, but it's still a bit lively downstream of St.Ives lock, as EA have the nearest sluice gate wide open - so your plan to head upstream probably is the better option.

Once you're through Hemingford, Houghton should have volunteers on the lock 10-4pm I think.

[Smoggy]

If it's going to go wrong it will be at houghton lock on a nice day, reason being you will have audience on the footbridge as you enter and nothing puts a curse on boating better than an audience.....

 

[kpnut]

1 hour ago, Bikertov said:

But I did manage to moor on a riverside GOBA mooring for the first time. No mooring posts, so you have to use spikes or rhond anchors

It was a bit daunting stepping off with the mooring rope and there not being anyone left on board in case, but I managed it.

Good on you Biker. That looks a lovely little mooring spot. 
You sort of need an extra pair of hands when wild mooring on your own. Holding two ropes and getting an anchor in while the boat’s doing its best to go off without you. If too windy, I don’t bother.