toad_oftoadhall
Well-Known Member
I thought it was worth double checking.
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Caledonian canal - how long?
- Thread starter armchairsailor
- Start date
I thought it was worth double checking.
Ludd
Well-Known Member
Bit of gratuitous advice---fender both sides if Caley Cruisers are about!The hirers receive 20mins instruction,all carry fenders but are expressly told not to use them(they kept on losing them) as the boats all have a big BLACK rubber fender all round.Predictable results!
Something that isn't well publicised is if you use Crinan and Caledonian canals and buy the ticket as a joint ticket ,you get 30 days to get from Ardishaig to Inverness,instead of 3days for Crinan and 8 for Caley if bought separately.
machurley22
Well-Known Member
Don't forget to post when you intend to transit the Firth of Lorne and we'll try to arrange to salute your flypast.
Thanks also for your second post Quandary and please don't feel you need bother replying to the Toad's post.
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Quandary
Well-Known Member
Hopefully final option for those who want to experience the Caley Canal with family who do not want to sail.
Vic 32 runs week long trips, it operates from Crinan but usually moves to the Caley for a period later in the summer. At present she is on Crinan Yachts slipway behind the Maggie which is being replated. She is a genuine steam puffer built as an naval auxiluary during the second word war but of the same dimensions and appearance as the Vital Spark, with the hold converted to passenger accommodation. She makes an awful lot of smoke so it is more boiler suit than Mustos but she comes complete with half a dozen wheel barrows so a chance for some exercise and they do interesting things like warping round tight turns. Passengers seem to be steam freaks and partners usually mucking in on deck or below.
If you are in to the romance of steam and not too fastidious it would be worth a look. The skipper/owner is a real character with lot of tales to tell.
Not one for those worried about global warming though!
Vic 32 runs week long trips, it operates from Crinan but usually moves to the Caley for a period later in the summer. At present she is on Crinan Yachts slipway behind the Maggie which is being replated. She is a genuine steam puffer built as an naval auxiluary during the second word war but of the same dimensions and appearance as the Vital Spark, with the hold converted to passenger accommodation. She makes an awful lot of smoke so it is more boiler suit than Mustos but she comes complete with half a dozen wheel barrows so a chance for some exercise and they do interesting things like warping round tight turns. Passengers seem to be steam freaks and partners usually mucking in on deck or below.
If you are in to the romance of steam and not too fastidious it would be worth a look. The skipper/owner is a real character with lot of tales to tell.
Not one for those worried about global warming though!
falkirkdan
Well-Known Member
Canal Marathons
I have transited the Caley Canal twice in a more unusual form of boat transport. I was one of a mad band of Canal Enthusiast who used to take part in the Drambuie Canal Marathons. We undertook our trips in small inflatables with max 5 hp outboard. Locks presented no problems for us we just whisked the boat out and carried it round the lock and back in the other side. The organisers were kind to us as they allowed us assistance with the porterage up Neptune staircase and at Fort Augustus. It is amazing how heavy a waterlogged inflatable with 5 hp outboard your full fuel tank and safety gear and spares etc can be.
It was a wet and hard 2 days. We started on the beach at Fort William and crossed to Corpach so that was us wet right away. Certainly carrying your boat up Neptune Staircase was tiring but the quickest way. Loch Ness was the real challenge for a small 8/9ft inflatable. Only when you are out in the middle do you realise how large it is and the waves certainly made sure we were kept well and truly wet. It was not a race but a timed event keeping closest to the speed set, think 4mph in canal sections and 5 mph in loch sections. There were hidden time keepers, penalty points for being late and double penalty points for exceeding set speed over the section. The boat closest to the set speed won and the average speed included carrying round locks. Remember this was before GPS. On our first attempt we miss-judged amount of fuel for Loch Ness and ended paddling the last half mile into Muirton Basin, that probably helped us get 3rd place, as we had no penalty point on last section.
They were great fun and if anyone reading this took part in either the Caley or Edinburgh/Glasgow marathons send me an private message/email through the forum would be great to hear from you.
I have transited the Caley Canal twice in a more unusual form of boat transport. I was one of a mad band of Canal Enthusiast who used to take part in the Drambuie Canal Marathons. We undertook our trips in small inflatables with max 5 hp outboard. Locks presented no problems for us we just whisked the boat out and carried it round the lock and back in the other side. The organisers were kind to us as they allowed us assistance with the porterage up Neptune staircase and at Fort Augustus. It is amazing how heavy a waterlogged inflatable with 5 hp outboard your full fuel tank and safety gear and spares etc can be.
It was a wet and hard 2 days. We started on the beach at Fort William and crossed to Corpach so that was us wet right away. Certainly carrying your boat up Neptune Staircase was tiring but the quickest way. Loch Ness was the real challenge for a small 8/9ft inflatable. Only when you are out in the middle do you realise how large it is and the waves certainly made sure we were kept well and truly wet. It was not a race but a timed event keeping closest to the speed set, think 4mph in canal sections and 5 mph in loch sections. There were hidden time keepers, penalty points for being late and double penalty points for exceeding set speed over the section. The boat closest to the set speed won and the average speed included carrying round locks. Remember this was before GPS. On our first attempt we miss-judged amount of fuel for Loch Ness and ended paddling the last half mile into Muirton Basin, that probably helped us get 3rd place, as we had no penalty point on last section.
They were great fun and if anyone reading this took part in either the Caley or Edinburgh/Glasgow marathons send me an private message/email through the forum would be great to hear from you.
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armchairsailor
Well-Known Member
Wow, it was worth asking the question. Many thanks for all the hugely informative replies. Now all I have to do is persuade the Mrs that she really does want to spend a week on a westerly...
aquaplane
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the info from here too.
A week on the Caley looks like a good option, when I have had a week with Martham Boats.
A week on the Caley looks like a good option, when I have had a week with Martham Boats.
Quandary
Well-Known Member
Dan, something like that still goes on but perhaps not as organized. Last September when tied up at the bottom of Netptunes, three inflatables appeared, we offerd to mind their piles of gear by the towpath while they all hauled the boats with outboards over the railway and up the locks. They seemed to be competing with each other because of the amount of sweat they were generating and they appreciated not each having to leave a person to guard the bags, but only two of them took up our offer, the third left a girl with their stuff.
Heckler
Well-Known Member
Hee hee hee!
Strathglass
Well-Known Member
I used to look after some hire boats at Dochgaroch locks a few years ago.
That is where a previous poster would have hired the mirage 2700 from (same as leisure 27)
Hoseasons are only an advertising agency - They do not own the hire companies - They just charge them a substantial fee for supplying customers.
Calley marine have always used Hoseasons for a fair percentage of their fleet. They only hire out cruisers.
West Highland sailing have both yachts and cruisers.
The yachts mainly came from (I think) Croasia. They had a Moody 36, a Sigma 33C, a couple of YCA's and some other craft.
The insurance does not allow the hire boats to venture into the basin at the north of the canal (Inverness) or down the ladder at the south (Fort William)
Virtually none of the hire yachts from either West Highland Sailing or Loch Ness yacht charter (now defunct) were in any way suitable for sea sailing.
To answer your original question of about how long.
I have managed a North-south transit in a day on a very fast cruiser.
A normal transit is between 2 and 3 days when just doing a through passage in a yacht.
When traveling more leisurely it is just possible to go from the top to the bottom and back in a week.
One of the problems against a fast transit is the working hours of the lock keepers.
They are very helpful but the locks are only opened at certain times of day. Especially the road bridges in Inverness.
If I were you and were taking SWMBO for a 'softening up' sail then I would allow something between one and two weeks.
One of the good things about the canal, especially for what you plan to do, is that the whole system is orientated to entertain visitors. You and your wife should find plenty to do.
There are also plenty of places to stop (although there might be some shallow areas near the banks to watch out for)
SWMBO and myself are hopeing to sail up to Inverness from the Forth during the coming season and if we decide to go into the canal it will certainly be for longer than one week.
Hope this is of use to you.
Trop Cher
Well-Known Member
Yes, I did this with my brother, two or three times in the late 80s, well certainly in 1987. That year, our wifes were our back up team, problem was that they both had babies at the time and therefore weren't really much help. In fact either were the wifes! My brother carried the boat and I carried everything else. There was actually a photo of my brother carrying the boat on the front page of the following Monday morning's Scotsman.
Do you remember that the start on the beach below the car park in Fort William was a Le Mans stlye affair? We didn't ever do any homework prior to the race and decided that it was first past the post, without telling anyone else, still never won. One year we had engine trouble and took a tow off one of the Caley cruisers into Fort Augustus. Someone saw us and reported us and we were disqualified. Which I felt was a shame as we were near enough last anyway and it was meant to be fun. Which it was!
We also ran out of petrol, somewere near to Gairlochy, managed to get the wifes attendation after lots of frantic waving. My wife duely climbed a couple of fences and ran down the field to the canal carrying a six pack for us! She thought we'd run out of beer! She returned to the car and got the petrol for us. Wonder if she'd still do that today...
falkirkdan
Well-Known Member
Simon
1983 boat no 7 and you had 1092 penalty points. The winning boat had 116 penalty points but that was a winning duo with lots of experience.
The next and last Caley marathon was 1991.
The La Mans start was fun and wet. When we got into the canal at Corpach I told my partner to throw the paddle in (meaning into the boat) and he threw it in the canal. There was much bastphening but we are still good friends. I think.
I am sure I remember you and your brother as you were one of the few local teams and your wifes providing backup.
1983 boat no 7 and you had 1092 penalty points. The winning boat had 116 penalty points but that was a winning duo with lots of experience.
The next and last Caley marathon was 1991.
The La Mans start was fun and wet. When we got into the canal at Corpach I told my partner to throw the paddle in (meaning into the boat) and he threw it in the canal. There was much bastphening but we are still good friends. I think.
I am sure I remember you and your brother as you were one of the few local teams and your wifes providing backup.
Romeo
Well-Known Member
Do remember that there is something like a 20 mile fetch on Loch Ness. The wind will be blowing staright up it or straight down it. Don't try to stop in the middle because your anchor will not reach the bottom.
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snowleopard
Well-Known Member
We anchored near Urquhart castle. The bottom is soft ooze and we dragged shortly after going to bed. By the time I got on deck the anchor and 40 metres of cable was hanging straight down.