Time to deepen private channel

Refueler

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I think Chi may have something to say ! Being Conservancy area.

The number of boat channels to houses on our river is significant and most have same overgrown problem. I am discussing with my Company Accounts Mgr - whether we can create a floating canal cleaning system. There are only two dedicated providers of this in Latvia and they don't like travelling outside of Riga / Jurmula .... that's about 3hr drive from here.

Our idea is that if we can create - then I estimate at least 9 months per year work. Not only my river - but there are others not so far from us ...
 

anoccasionalyachtsman

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I think Chi may have something to say ! Being Conservancy area.

The number of boat channels to houses on our river is significant and most have same overgrown problem. I am discussing with my Company Accounts Mgr - whether we can create a floating canal cleaning system. There are only two dedicated providers of this in Latvia and they don't like travelling outside of Riga / Jurmula .... that's about 3hr drive from here.

Our idea is that if we can create - then I estimate at least 9 months per year work. Not only my river - but there are others not so far from us ...
You could make a mint if you could get it to Brighton.
 

William_H

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Loved the videos Nigel. Think we should dub you "The King of mud pies" Must be a bit of a squeeze with the big boat through that entrance. Also difficult to find the entrance.
Seriously it is a fascinating story of a situation so different to my experience. Good luck and keep up the videos. ol'will
 

DJE

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The EA requirements are to obtain a licence prior to the work. £50 plus Vat, simple method statement and off you go. Unless you are in an SSSI when you also need consent from Natural England.
I think the MMO would have something to say about it too in tidal waters.
 

Keith 66

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Good luck getting consent from Natural England, unlike the Environment agency that seems to have scores of officers driving about not apparently doing anything Natural Englasnd has been cut back heavily several times & their few remaining officers are now covering huge areas compared to a few years back. They will always apply the precationary principle of "If we allow nothing we wont cause any problems".
 

Refueler

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Loved the videos Nigel. Think we should dub you "The King of mud pies" Must be a bit of a squeeze with the big boat through that entrance. Also difficult to find the entrance.
Seriously it is a fascinating story of a situation so different to my experience. Good luck and keep up the videos. ol'will

Entrance is the problem now ... but drag chains and grid should help.

My 25ft boat has 43HP and she 'rides' the bar ... so each in / out - she's creating own channel.

I have leading solar lights - because yes ! it is very hard to see the entrance when light fails ... I have even considered putting a marker buoy out there with solar light on ... but I don't want to attract fisherman into the channel ...

If anyone is wondering what the total cost was ... 714 Euros incl VAT.

Not exactly same as UK !!
 

Refueler

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OK ... did trial run with Superanne .... 1.2m at pontoon (previous 1.0m) ... 1.0m top corner of island .... main channel inner 2.2m ... mid channel then 2. 7 - 2.9m until that entrance where its 0.9m when I exited ... 1.0m after boat had pushed through and return.

Happy ? YES !
 

Refueler

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Next phase .........

Have guy coming to lift into place large concrete slabs ..... these are 6m long and 1.2m wide. I have two of them. They will be placed side by side into the water and up the bank to create the start of a slip.
I then have 6 smaller concrete slabs 1.5m long x 1m wide that will be placed higher up to provide slip over the curve of bank to garden.
Idea being that my smaller boats will then have launch and recovery slipway.

Later once I have put together my Canal Cleaning / Dredge system - mini excavator on a U shaped pontoon with generator etc. - I will then look at upgrading to get the main boat up the slip.
Mini excavator can dig to 2.1m less freeboard 20cm.... generator will run Peristaltic pump to eject spoil to river
 

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Iliade

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Will anyone mind if I try this in Chichester Harbour?
We did this in the ~90s insofar as we emptied a lot of silt accumulation from a long established basin at Thornham. I do believe that Jim the marina manager was crucified outside of the Conservancy office, but not until after the job was done and dusted!


I was only following orders...
 

Refueler

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We did this in the ~90s insofar as we emptied a lot of silt accumulation from a long established basin at Thornham. I do believe that Jim the marina manager was crucified outside of the Conservancy office, but not until after the job was done and dusted!


I was only following orders...

I was berthed in Thornham when it first opened ... my Father used to have his Hilyard for a while at Paines next door until we all as family joined Fareham MB&SC. I looked at Paines - but by then it was a sad place with forgotten boats.
Thornham had excellent Sunday Dinners !! But getting even my Alacrity out of there or in was a real tide affair ... many a time I arrived back and high pressure kept level down and I had to anchor off waiting next tide.
After fighting the tide there - I moved to Langstone Hbr .. but later heard that Thornham had been sold to a London Outifit and they had deepened it ... without permission !

Launching my Alacrity at Thornham ...

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Have to admit that the Seagull O/Bd didn't help there ... start and go !! Had to gauge carefully when to start it to go out ... when to stop it coming back in !! The winds used to blow across there ..

Seeing those old photos ... miss that 2.8i .... that was a fun car !
 

Refueler

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Actually its mostly sand ... black from the old reed / grass that died before. The 'aroma' is not like you get in UK creeks ... its a different 'mud' ! Took just a few days for water to drain and smell soon dissipates. Today - there's barely a whiff. But of course when the Bobcat starts levelling - then we'll have an 'aroma' for a few days again.

Bubbles ... will have to look at videos again ... what I did see where the large 'eruptions' as the 'bucket' rotated and air rushed out ...
 

Refueler

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Slabs should have gone in today - but he called off as he had problems with the lifter on his truck. He's here tomorrow to do the job.

So hopefully I should have a slipway tomorrow afternoon.

Next job is to put a wide ramp from bank to the pontoon ... at present I'm using a pallet on wood uprights at one corner ...

Feeling rather pleased with it all ...
 

Refueler

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My mate arrives with his truck and manipulator ....

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Slabs being loaded ..

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There are two 6m x 1.2m to move to canal to provide first ramp part ..

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Then we have smaller slabs to lay in two lines to accommodate the change of bank ..

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Me getting hands dirty !!

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Gattis and I .... job well done

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Total cost ? 60 Euros.

I have a Bobcat to come later who will level out the spoil that's left by the canal excavation. I will ask him to run down the slipway slabs to help them bed in .. the ground is soft - so they should line up well.

Rather pleased with it all I have to admit.
 
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