TOWPATH
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TALK
116 PAGES
Issue 151, May 2018
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WHEELYBOAT GOES P6 INTO ACTION
A CANAL CHARACTER’S P9 TALES NEW SERIES: PETS ON P14 THE CUT
Montgomery milestone Cracker tows fly-boat Saturn down the entrance locks to the Montgomery Canal at Frankton. This is a big year for the waterway’s restoration with progress and events all along its 35-mile length. See feature starting on page 4, advertisement on page 6 and leaflet inserted within the paper... and of course Cracker’s Chat on page 116. PHOTO: WATERWAY IMAGES
Breach repairs could be delayed by badger setts
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REPAIRS to the breach on the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal were still to be scheduled as Towpath Talk went to press. Survey information showed that 2800 cubic metres of the embankment was washed away and will need to be replaced – amounting to more than 200 lorry loads.
DODGERS DOWN
The presence of badger setts could also delay work starting while the necessary disturbance licence is obtained. A Canal & River Trust spokesman told Towpath Talk: “We can’t at this stage give an estimate of timings. It is difficult to do this with any certainty at the moment.
THE Canal & River Trust’s annual national boat count shows that licence evasion on its waterways is at its lowest-ever level, with 96.9% of boats holding up-to-date licences (2017: 96.3%). Interim head of boating Jon Horsfall reported 108 boats were removed from CRT waters as they were unlicensed or in breach of its terms and conditions. The figures also paint a picture of the changing numbers of boats across the country. CRT waterways in London have seen growth slowing: up 2.4%, compared to more than 9% in 2016/17. The North also saw an increase of 2.3%, while other areas remained static.
“We would expect to be in a position to confirm realistic budgets and timescales by the end of May, but at the moment our best estimate is that repairs would take six months at a cost of between £2-3 million.” In the meantime CRT has launched an emergency appeal to help fund the repair bill.
KILL THE ENGINE
THE Boat Safety Scheme has a blunt warning for boaters using petrol engines – if you can smell exhaust fumes in the boat, kill the engine(s) and get out fast. A major carbon monoxide (CO) risk comes from either big inboard petrol engines producing lethal volumes of the highly poisonous gas in seconds, or from outboards and other portable engines steadily increasing CO in the cabin. Over the previous two boating seasons four people have died and another two had emergency medical treatment when engine-exhaust gases were drawn inside through the open flaps of cockpit covers. For safety information see www.boatsafetyscheme.org/co
Continued on page 3
It is believed that the most likely cause was an increased flow of water along the canal due to paddles at lock gates being left open. This is thought to have overtopped the canal at the breach site which, together with an already sodden embankment following a wet winter, caused the bank to wash away.
BOATING ON RISE
A RECORD 3.96 million UK adults took part in one or more of 12 core boating activities in 2017, according to the annual Watersports Participation Survey. This is the highest volume recorded since this research was first launched in 2002. Boat ownership has also increased, with more than 690,000 boat-owning households in the UK. Canoeing and motor boating saw the largest increases and the popularity of canal boating and stand-up paddleboarding remains strong. The growth in sailing, motor boating and canal boating was described as excellent news for boatbuilders and hire boat companies by British Marine chief executive Howard Pridding.