Escaping the Sharpness Gloucester Canal

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Graham_Wright

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I have a berth waiting for my vessel at Lydney. For the last many months, that harbour has been closed. It is now open.

I understand that the entry window is "rather narrow" i.e. plus or minus ten minutes of high water.

Exit from Sharpness is around high water. The sums look dodgy.

What do forumites recommend or am I worrying too much?
 
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Canal boats used to do the "Dash" from Sharpness to Lydney without drama! pushed upriver a bit then fought their way over to Lydnry! Mind you, on arrival in the dock they were keen to rush up the stairs to the bar in the clubhouse and down a brandy! The rest of the evening discussing with anyone who would listen about the epic crossing!

The Birmingham Navy!
Crossing the tidal waters entitled them to fly the Red Ensign and join the fleet known as the above!
 
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The guy you need is Dave Penfold, I'm too drunk to look for his number but a little bit of research will find him. Look for the stuff about the lock gates being sorted. Dave will sort you out.
Allan
 
there is plenty of time as sharpness will have you locked down in the outer basin well before hw., can be regularly as much as an hour.
something worth knowing is there is a back eddy close inshore on the upstream side of lydney.

when you leave sharpness head to the right of lydney then work along the shore, when off the stone peir, dont be concerned the tide flows v fast, just stay there till it slackens a bit then work ovet towards the lock gates but stay down stream of them, dropping back into the calm, no stream bit nearer the gate end. Dont rush in too early, and make it difficult for your self.


was last docked in lydney a couple of years ago, in 16 x 4.4 x2 mtr draft heavy displacement motor yacht. and had to wiggle through the silted outer gate.

When safely inside, just be aware in days of old , a tug and lighters used the dock . now that would be fun !
 
Allan said:
The guy you need is Dave Penfold, I'm too drunk to look for his number but a little bit of research will find him. Look for the stuff about the lock gates being sorted. Dave will sort you out.
Allan
Click to expand...

I know Dave well and I was present when the works started on the flood gate. (See my other post re "Sydney"!)

With the current fun with my engine, the trip will possibly be under sail!
 
As a some time trot holder on Lydney foreshore I can confirm that tidal slack is 20 minutes. Fortunately there is a back eddy just upstream of the pier so plenty of time to get fenders and ropes out and converse with any helpers on the shore and one can then power round the Pierhead keeping close in.

I wouldn't fancy it under sail but they used to manage in the old days, ok if you are dead in line with gates and moving fast, but any error or drop in speed will see you swept back down channel. I guess the alternative is pick a neap tide, go into back eddy and throw lines ashore and warp round.
 
After refurbing a Luke 5tonner in the yard at LYC, willing hands warped her from a trailer on the slip round into the dock on a late night HW tide,many years ago!
 
There's a thread elsewhere about 'UK Harbours Difficult To Sail Into' or summat.

This sounds like a Podium contender......
 
Made it! Very helpful staff at Sharpness. A large ketch, an immense power boat and me locked out together. The power boat wanted to leave early, so we were dropped down to tide level. I moored to the pontoon in the basin, the ketch departed upstream intending to turn and take the ebb down to Cardiff and the power boat(!). Started the engines in the lock with an ear-splitting roar and departed in a could of smoke.

I left the lock 15 minutes before high water and headed straight across. That water is turbulent!

I arrived at Lydney harbour entrance 20 minutes later and there was still flood tide across the basin mouth. Locked in successfully and broke out the champagne!

Dave commented that, despite an enormous roar and clouds of smoke, the power boat could only just stem the tide. I wish I had noted her name. They were bound for Swansea.
 
bristoljim said:
what was the conclusion of the engine problem ??

Jim
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If you mean the conclusion of the engine problems, I'm still waiting!

It was/is an interesting saga.

There were two real problems. The first was air in the fuel line which persists but has been circumvented.

The second was the failure of the engine to rev. When I returned the injector pump spill line to free outlet (a jar and then the tank), the engine revved more freely although still not fast enough. The normal return for that line was to the engine mounted fuel filter. It has four ports, two in and two out. The spill line was connected to the spare "in". That didn't make sense to me.

The spill line from the injectors is connected to a banjo bolt which has a though drilling. I.e., it goes in one side and straight out of the other. The securing bolt was blind. At least I thought it was but comparing with my spare engine, it should have had through drilling. That was obscured by historical rust pitting. Once cleaned, one of the pits was bang in the middle. I opened it to around half a millimetre and lo and behold the outlet from said banjo produced a fair flow of fuel when the pump spill line was connected to the spare inlet.

Coincidentally, or maybe intentionally, mixed with that discharge were some bubbles. I guess the air bubbles in incoming fuel rise to the top of the filter and out through the banjo bolt connector "encouraged" by the pump spill.

I still only achieve about 3.5 knots.

I know the engine is light on compression. I know the boat is a couple of tons overweight as the ballast was increased to counter a taller mast and I know there is a lot of over-engineering in the fittings. The prop is, I think, "equipoise" with asymmetrical blades (a contradiction in terms?!). The calculations I used referred to a traditional shape.

I have a smaller blade which is handed the correct way. (The existing blade requires "astern" to go ahead although the gear box ratios are very similar in both directions).

Perhaps I'll swap the props but I've played enough under water this year thank you!

The other alternative is to have the spare engine, which needs rebuilding including liners, taken out to 1800 (from the existing 1500).

Bearing in mind the increased displacement, that may be the way to go. I need to check if the injector pump is adequate and that the valves suit.

P.S. A few hundred yards off the harbour entrance, the engine stuttered and slowed down briefly. I wonder if there are some outlying rocks with an abundance of weed. The depth still showed nine metres and the chart shows no bottom detail.
 
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A standard 1.5 should be quite adequate for your boat when running normally ,a friend has a 40 ft heavy steel boat with one with a 17" 2 blade prop.We did Neath to Newlyn at 5 knots with the engine at comfortable RPM .
Are you going to try the other pump ?
Jim
 
bristoljim said:
A standard 1.5 should be quite adequate for your boat when running normally ,a friend has a 40 ft heavy steel boat with one with a 17" 2 blade prop.We did Neath to Newlyn at 5 knots with the engine at comfortable RPM .
Are you going to try the other pump ?
Jim
Click to expand...

The spare? That is an unknown quantity whereas the current one has been rebuilt and tested professionally.

I just want to play for a bit now!
 
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