Crinan Canal Opinion Survey

[ctva]

With the Crinan Canal now open again after a £3.6m programme of repairs over the winter, it is currently operating only 5 days a week and without the usual extended hours during the summer months. With recent discussions on here and elsewhere, Scottish Waterways for All (a group that acts as an advisory panel to Scottish Canals covering users from all three Scottish canals), has initiated a survey to gather feedback from existing, past and prospective users of the Crinan Canal to hopefully look at restoring the normal opening similar to the other two Scottish Canals. Please respond to this survey by Monday 21st June.

Information from this survey will be shared between the SWFA, Inland Waterways Association, RYA Scotland and Scottish Canals.

Crinan Canal 2021 Availability

 

[dunedin]

Brilliant - just done. (As an ex regular user, with friendly “Pilot” assistance, but now a regular Mull transiter).

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Done, though it's no longer relevant! But I made the comment that it's primarily a short cut to avoid the MoK, and that anything that reduces its utility as a short cut will reduce usage.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Thanks, submitted. I have asked them to fill it in and build holiday rental properties on the land, which they should then sell off and return the money to the tax payer.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I have just emailed them to cancel my proposed move to Bellanoch. The Tuesday and Wednesday closures this summer would be irksome and the winter closure means that I would effectively be paying over a thousand pounds for - maybe - a couple of weekends. I'll go next year, if they get their acts together and have a berth.

 

[Sandy]

Thanks. A pal has just used it and delighted with the service.

I am thinking of using it as a "shortcut" to Nardini's in Largs as I'll be sailing from Oban later this year.

 

[ctva]

Thanks. A pal has just used it and delighted with the service.

I am thinking of using it as a "shortcut" to Nardini's in Largs as I'll be sailing from Oban later this year.

That’s a long short cut. ?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

That’s a long short cut. ?

+1. Basically, unless the MoK is out of the question for weather reasons, the Crinan Canal is not a short-cut for anyone on the East side of the Clyde. I did from James Watt to Craobh in 3 days via the MoK; it would take the same via the Crinan Canal (unless you were exceptionally lucky and did the passage through the canal as fast as possible - I did it in 4 hours once, but on the return journey it took two days, for reasons entirely out of our control!)

 

[Deleted member 36384]

+1. Basically, unless the MoK is out of the question for weather reasons, the Crinan Canal is not a short-cut for anyone on the East side of the Clyde. I did from James Watt to Craobh in 3 days via the MoK; it would take the same via the Crinan Canal (unless you were exceptionally lucky and did the passage through the canal as fast as possible - I did it in 4 hours once, but on the return journey it took two days, for reasons entirely out of our control!)

Wow! No way, does it take 3 days to Craobh via the Canal: Kip to Ardrsihaig 1 day, Canal transit 1 day, if sleeping overnight. It can actually be done in: 8 hours to Ardrishaig, into sea lock by 08:30 am out of canal by 15:00 (6.5 hours), 2 hours to Craobh; about 17 hours. The canal has always been a shortcut. A long time ago we used to leave on a Friday evening and be on the West Coast by afternoon after a canal transit. The times I gave are recent times from last year, single handing, with pilot assistance through the canal.

Despite my flippant remark in the earlier post, I believe that teh canal is a great asset that is being utterly mismanaged by the tubes who run it.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Wow! No way, does it take 3 days to Craobh via the Canal: Kip to Ardrsihaig 1 day, Canal transit 1 day, if sleeping overnight. It can actually be done in: 8 hours to Ardrishaig, into sea lock by 08:30 am out of canal by 15:00 (6.5 hours), 2 hours to Craobh; about 17 hours. The canal has always been a shortcut. A long time ago we used to leave on a Friday evening and be on the West Coast by afternoon after a canal transit. The times I gave are recent times from last year, single handing, with pilot assistance through the canal.

Despite my flippant remark in the earlier post, I believe that teh canal is a great asset that is being utterly mismanaged by the tubes who run it.

I, as I said, did the canal transit in not much more than 4 hours the first time I did it. We were early in the season, and very lucky, as well as having a strong crew. But on return, delays at the sea-lock at Crinan (we had to wait several hours before they opened the lock for us), having to wait for commercial traffic to clear, and an enforced overnight stop at the summit reach meant it took the best part of two days. It isn't that you can't do it quicker; your timing is quite reasonable, but you can't guarantee doing it in such a short time scale.

I too believe it's a great asset - but it needs to be managed as what it is, a short cut, not a destination. From what I understand, the problem is that the canal isn't operated so as to get people through as quickly as possible, but on the assumption that they're there just to see the canal!

 

[wully1]

Thanks. A pal has just used it and delighted with the service.

I am thinking of using it as a "shortcut" to Nardini's in Largs as I'll be sailing from Oban later this year.

Your going to need a bigger boat if you spend much time in Nardini’s......

 

[Sandy]

Your going to need a bigger boat if you spend much time in Nardini’s......

The Knickerbocker Glories have shrunk since I was a child.

 

[Sandy]

+1. Basically, unless the MoK is out of the question for weather reasons, the Crinan Canal is not a short-cut for anyone on the East side of the Clyde. I did from James Watt to Craobh in 3 days via the MoK; it would take the same via the Crinan Canal (unless you were exceptionally lucky and did the passage through the canal as fast as possible - I did it in 4 hours once, but on the return journey it took two days, for reasons entirely out of our control!)

Interesting, a pal has just done the canal in a day. Perhaps he was lucky or the canal quiet at the moment.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Interesting, a pal has just done the canal in a day. Perhaps he was lucky or the canal quiet at the moment.

I know it can be done in less than a day - but you can't count on it taking less than a day; that's what I think is wrong. And during the summer it's intensely irritating to be told you can't move after 5.30pm (or whatever) when it doesn't get dark until 10pm!

 

[Deleted member 36384]

... I too believe it's a great asset - but it needs to be managed as what it is, a short cut, not a destination. From what I understand, the problem is that the canal isn't operated so as to get people through as quickly as possible, but on the assumption that they're there just to see the canal!

You make a relevant point about the shortcut aspect and agree that it is irritating not to be able to transit and that Scottish Canals dont think that fast passage is a desired service. However, I do consider it a destination as I really enjoy a canal transit, far better than the MOK, which is boring. So it can be both and Scottish Canals should cater to both users.

 

[dunedin]

+1. Basically, unless the MoK is out of the question for weather reasons, the Crinan Canal is not a short-cut for anyone on the East side of the Clyde. I did from James Watt to Craobh in 3 days via the MoK; it would take the same via the Crinan Canal (unless you were exceptionally lucky and did the passage through the canal as fast as possible - I did it in 4 hours once, but on the return journey it took two days, for reasons entirely out of our control!)

The last time we did it was in 2017, early season (April) with very efficient pilots, and did Largs to Crinan in under a day and a half (indeed did Largs to Inverness in just over 4 days, sailing every possible bit including both big Lochs on the Caledonian.
But I agree the current 2 day closures, the lack of extended hours in Summer and occasional inexplicable delays makes frustrating if want to get through to go somewhere (or to avoid being devoured by the midgies if stuck overnight).

 

[Sandy]

I know it can be done in less than a day - but you can't count on it taking less than a day; that's what I think is wrong. And during the summer it's intensely irritating to be told you can't move after 5.30pm (or whatever) when it doesn't get dark until 10pm!

I've had an email in with Scottish Canals for over a week on another matter, clearly they are in no rush to reply.

 

[Bodach na mara]

Interesting, a pal has just done the canal in a day. Perhaps he was lucky or the canal quiet at the moment.

I got a message today from a friend telling me that he passed through the canal to Crinan yesterday (Thursday) but even with a pilot the transit took 10 hours. He didn't go into details and I wondered how he managed to keep moving for more than the 8 hours that it seems to operate.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Wow! No way, does it take 3 days to Craobh via the Canal: Kip to Ardrsihaig 1 day, Canal transit 1 day, if sleeping overnight. It can actually be done in: 8 hours to Ardrishaig, into sea lock by 08:30 am out of canal by 15:00 (6.5 hours), 2 hours to Craobh; about 17 hours.

Two out of the last three times I have gone east to west it took a day and a half to get from Ardrishiag to Crinan.

The trip in between these two we wheeched through in no time. However, one of my gripes is that it just isn't safe now to expect to get through in a day. That's not too bad on the outward part of a cruise, but on one occasion we were four days later home than we might have been because a horribly slow transit eastbound meant we missed a weather window for Ardlamont.

Despite my flippant remark in the earlier post, I believe that teh canal is a great asset that is being utterly mismanaged by the tubes who run it.

Wot 'e said.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I know it can be done in less than a day - but you can't count on it taking less than a day; that's what I think is wrong. And during the summer it's intensely irritating to be told you can't move after 5.30pm (or whatever) when it doesn't get dark until 10pm!

In Ye Olde Days (the 90s) the sealocks were operational till 8.30pm in the summer. And it's not a 5.30 closedown now; it can be as early as 4pm - that's when they chained up Dunardry last time we transited. In the morning they locked two sets of boats up before finally allowing us down at 11am, which makes no sense at all.