Recommended ports of call

[saltwater_gypsy]

If only they would widen Crinan by a few feet. It would be nice to get up to Arran and the Kyles of Bute without a huge detour.

"One hull big two hulls bigger!!"
It's a choice thing.

You won't have much money left after paying the Bangor Marina charges so you don't need to plan too far ahead.

"One hull expensive, two hulls exorbitant"

 

[snowleopard]

I think the max beam allowed is about 6m. I certainly went through in a big ketch, 22m loa and about 4m beam, 2m draft a decade or so ago without any trouble.

Yes, 26.8m x 6.0m

Shame.

Now why couldn't they have built it to the same spec as the Caley?

 

[awol]

Now why couldn't they have built it to the same spec as the Caley?

The canny Scots managed to build their puffers to fit the Crinan so it is surely a lack of foresight on your part that your vessel is too large.

 

[snowleopard]

The canny Scots managed to build their puffers to fit the Crinan so it is surely a lack of foresight on your part that your vessel is too large.

Yes, I adjusted the length to get under the 12m cutoff for various legal requirements, I reduced the mast height to get under the bridges on the Intra Coastal Waterway but I slipped up by not cutting a metre off the beam for the Crinan. I suppose I could detach a hull then I'd be able to go through the Forth & Clyde as well

 

[jimi]

Yes, I adjusted the length to get under the 12m cutoff for various legal requirements, I reduced the mast height to get under the bridges on the Intra Coastal Waterway but I slipped up by not cutting a metre off the beam for the Crinan. I suppose I could detach a hull then I'd be able to go through the Forth & Clyde as well

I rather suspect if you park it up and go off for a quick pint, by the time you back someone may well have helped you out!

 

[snowleopard]

Ah, the delights of Maryhill. I remember it well.

Mind you, the Caley can be almost as bad. If you park in the wrong part of Seaport marina within a stone's throw of the towpath you'll know about it.

 

[awol]

Yes, I adjusted the length to get under the 12m cutoff for various legal requirements, I reduced the mast height to get under the bridges on the Intra Coastal Waterway but I slipped up by not cutting a metre off the beam for the Crinan. I suppose I could detach a hull then I'd be able to go through the Forth & Clyde as well

Cunningly, those canny Scots built both the Crinan and the Forth Clyde with the same max width (F/C is actually a whole 3" wider).

 

[snowleopard]

Cunningly, those canny Scots built both the Crinan and the Forth Clyde with the same max width (F/C is actually a whole 3" wider).

That's interesting. I had the impression from the bit I used to walk the dogs along in Glasgow that it was a lot narrower. Perhaps that was just the max width BST (between shopping trolleys).

 

[maxi77]

Ah, the delights of Maryhill. I remember it well.

Mind you, the Caley can be almost as bad. If you park in the wrong part of Seaport marina within a stone's throw of the towpath you'll know about it.

Having gone through last year is is not that bad a trip and the BWB support is excellent. When we arrived in Grangemouth the BWB people even gave our transit crew a lift to the station. Only hit one shopping trolley just past the floating fish and chip shop.

 

[Humblebee]

If you want peace and quiet, try Linnhe Marine, just north of Lismore, as an alternative to Oban. Or if you like a tricky entrance, anchoring in Port Ramsey on the north end of Lismore itself. Instead of Tobermory, head for Loch Drumbuie, a couple of miles to the east and a wonderful sheltered anchorage. Fort William is not my favourite place but the sailing club to the south of the town has two visitors moorings. And when you reach Aberdeenshire and Moray on the east coast, ask about their "Rover" tickets - something like £20 for 5 nights.
Get a hold of the free "Welcome Ashore" publication which is published annually and has a lot of useful references. Most marinas stock them or try the Tourist Board. Lastly, my home town is Stonehaven and I recommend the Marine Hotel if you like real ale.

 

[Ludd]

drying out?

If,as I assume you can take the ground,you could try Cullen on the Moray Firth(my birthplace----but there's no plaque!) In settled weather a
good clean sandy bottom where you could scrub yours.

and the icecream-----yum!

 

[Ubergeekian]

Yes, 26.8m x 6.0m

Shame.

Now why couldn't they have built it to the same spec as the Caley?

They did start widening it. That's why the sealocks (and the next one in at Crinan) are bigger than the rest, including the unused sealocks at each end.

Down to economics, I think. The mainstay of the Crinan Canal were Puffers, which were built to fit that and the Forth and Clyde. So there was a chicken and egg: nobody would build a puffer that didn't fit the canals, and without bigger puffers there was no point enlarging the canals.

Additionally, the detour round the Mull isn't that far and was a lot less troublesome for bigger boats and even for puffers than for the fishing boats for which the Crinan Canal was originally built. The detour round Cape Wrath, however, is a tad more intimidating.

 

[Quandary]

Crinan Canal

Orbister - if you are interested in the history of the Crinan Canal there are a number of books available with the history of its building and the changes over the 200 odd years since.
Construction started in Ardishaig and the first four locks at that end were cut stone from Arran with round coffered bottoms. The masonry is very impressive when they are drained. Then the money ran out and after that it is all random rubble from the excavation. One point on which you are correct is that the sealocks at both ends were rebuilt, the old sealocks are still used for berthing, but there has never been an attempt to widen this canal. The narowest part as you approach Crinan is cut from solid rock. Boats in the 18th. century were smaller and could be pulled through by horses. When steam puffers came along a century later they were built to go through the locks.
Currently the canal is struggling with leaks reducing depth and making the poorly maintained locks harder to use, without some serious repairs I would give it 5-10 years. Because BW have such inflexible H&S policies they insist on using contractors from away outside the area at enormous expense for only essential repairs, their own staff must not use ladders etc.(that is why Ardrishaig has the yellow and brown rust streaked lighthouse). Local workers and contractors are regarded as not qualified even though they maintained the canal for decades, contractors from England or Inverness, however, usually turn up with unsuitable plant and equipment in vehicles that can not use the canal bridges to get to the work so have to go away again. The Elfin safety story today is far funnier than the West Clare Railway.

 

[snowleopard]

New social group

I thought I'd be clever and set up a group for this, only to find I'd been beaten to it by Snooks. Look under Community in the menu bar and you'll find "Circumnavigators of this land".