canal boat stuck against Chertsey bridge

Words fail me, Red boards or not how the hell do they manage it. Well actually I do know, the number of times I've seen NB's turning around upstream of bridges in normal conditions is always worrying, then they do it wrong and turn the bow into the current, moor the wrong way round etc.... Numpties in cruisers can get away with it most of the time, but 60ft NB's with only a couple of horse power can't :rolleyes:
 
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Inexperience perhaps. From the look of the pictures all he had to do was go hard astern and the current would have swung the bow through the bridge arch.
 
I think once he ended up in that position he made the best decision of that day by waiting for assistance.

The wrong decision could have ended up in turning the boat over.
 
I think a lot of NB's aren't used to currents, canals are basically stagnant in comparison. Hence odd manoeuvres and mooring the wrong way. Plus having 20 tons, no keel, and being underpowered doesn't help! And yes, never venture out on red boards. And always wear a lifejacket please!
 
Henley Standard has a big photo & article about a dutch barge (brand new, on 1st trip) hitting Henley Bridge this week, the damage done, and the cost of repairs of the previous times big barges have hit the bridge.
 
I think it may have been a new Piper barge but no trace of it online anywhere so I'm unsure what IanC was referring to about it being in the Henley Standard.
I imagine if it happened without too many people seeing it and no big crunch or debris in the River then the owner might prefer to keep it all under wraps ;)
 
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It's a new Piper barge called Skylark Song. It says masonry crashed down onto the roof of the barge. It then recounts previous barges hitting the bridge, and says one lot of repairs cost £200,000. Oxfordshire CC has yet to assess the damage of this most recent accident.

Looking at the Henley Standard on line the stories there seem to be about a week old, so this should be online towards the end of the week.
 
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Thanks for that.

You do get thrown there (my barge is the same size as that one I have never hit the bridge but it does slide quite surprisingly specially if there is a bit of flow) so it will always happen occasionally. I would suggest the ea added wooden guards like at Maidenhead but I bet locals would moan !!
 
Outinthedinghy said:
I would suggest the ea added wooden guards like at Maidenhead but I bet locals would moan !!
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Very sensible idea. Would be for the bridge owner (Oxfordshire County Council?) to arrange at their cost howver, not the Environment Agency's. OCC would then save £££s in damage repairs, and the EA would get an income from them for the 'accommodation' licences they'd need for the guard piles. Everyone benefits. Wouldn't it be lovely if things worked like that, the way they should do. That said, this may have been looked at before, and maybe there's a good reason for guard piles not being there? Perhaps they'd obstruct the navigation too much, alter flow dangerously or increase flood risk? All possible I suppose.
 
Yes I expect because of the profile of the arches any guards would actually narrow down the channel quite a bit and make it awkward for bigger boats (Like Hobbs Waterman) to pass through 'cleanly'

Would be nice if they did something but as you say it must have been considered and ruled unsound as an option.
 
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