Widest beam of boat able to navigate UK canals?

[Nick2]

I have a friend who wondered how beamy and high a boat can be to travel the canals of Britain say from the Thames to Bristol or Birmingham?

Thanks

Nick

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://arweb.co.uk/argallery/Nick2>http://arweb.co.uk/argallery/Nick2</A>

 

[rich]

Grand Union Canal 70ft long,14ft wide. Narrow canals 70ft long, 7ft wide, don't know how high.

<hr width=100% size=1>rich ) <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.jersey-harbours.com>http://www.jersey-harbours.com</A><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by rich on 09/11/2003 19:26 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[whisper]

So to get from London to B'ham your beam shouldn't be more than 6ft 10ish. Headroom 6ft 6ins approx. Great shame really, still the canal builders were no more lacking in foresight than our contemporary road builders, who design motorways such as the M42 with only 2 lanes.

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[martinwoolwich]

ha ha

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[Nick2]

Thanks for answering this one and my pal has had to shelve the idea as his boat is just too big.

Nick

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://arweb.co.uk/argallery/Nick2>http://arweb.co.uk/argallery/Nick2</A>

 

[jfm]

yes all canal boats are built 6foot 10inches, becuase canals are sposed to be 14 foot wide minimum (except under bridges where they can narrow to single file). Actually you could get away with 7 foot 1 and 3/4inches imho, so long as you dont meet someone else with the same idea coming the other way. I suppose Sealine could make a 13 foot 10 canal boat that concertinas down to 6 foot 10 to pass other boats

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[paulrossall]

Canals were built to different widths and there are other navigations which have different dimensions. Eg. the minimum dimensions given do not apply if you want to take a boat to either Nottingham or Lincoln. These are two examples local to me. Go to British Waterways web site to get dimensions.
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/dimensions.asp?type=dimensions&waterway=25>http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/dimensions.asp?type=dimensions&waterway=25</A>
Look up the waterway you are interested in. Maximum heights are not always shown and you would have to ring up the local BW office.

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[BrendanS]

This site show maximum heights for each waterways (or section of)

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.waterways.org.uk/ind_waterways/index.htm>http://www.waterways.org.uk/ind_waterways/index.htm</A>

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[whisper]

You can't get from London to Nottingham by canal with a boat over 7ft beam can you ? Isn't most of the Grand Union a narrow canal, I'm sure the bit between Norton & Foxton is, albeit the headroom is up to 7ft 6ins I think ?

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[BrendanS]

Had to go looking for this in my humongous IE Favourites file but finally found it
.
Canal Route planner says you cannot do it in a boat over 7'beam (set beam in 'options')

Brilliant site:

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/canal.cgi>http://www.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/canal.cgi</A>

It says you can do Bristol from Thames with 17.25' beam


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[TonyBrooks]

Actually that bit of canal is a wide beam canal - or it wa swhen it was bulit, but has narrow loacks at each end. The idea was for another boat lift at Watford (like the one at Foxton), but it never got built.

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[paulrossall]

You are correct. I was not looking at this as a canal boat cruising question. I bring my yacht from Felixstowe up the river Witham, Fosdyke canal and Trent to Newark at the end of the season. You can also access other towns via canals and rivers with locks if coming in from the sea, eg Northwich with small coasters.

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[andy_wilson]

Narrow canals have locks and certain other constrictions 7' wide. Locks are about 70' long.

Some of the broad canals have shorter locks, I think a 57' narrow boat can get almost anywhere, but some broad locks have to be done 'on the p155' i.e diagonally.

Max height is around 7' too.

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[Alpha22]

Most of the locks that were built 7' wide will no longer take a 7' beam boat.

This is due to the lock walls subsiding / bulging. 6' 10" is the general accepted maximum, but if you know the lock, or have carefully mesured it, you may get away with 7'.

Watch out for lifting bridges, they are often tighter than the locks.

D.

<hr width=100% size=1>If you want a job doing well, it's often better to get a profesional in.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

The K&A will take about 13' 6" all the way from Reading to Bath, the Avon locls are IIRC a bit wider. To get 17' or so sounds a bit wide. The tightest bridge is Newbiru High St, don't recall the soffit height but its against the flow of the river, no towpath and the town lock is 40m or so above the bridge, normally with a narrowboat or barge coming the other way. But its a lovely trip if you draw less than 3 feet or so. Decent pubs too, some with a relaxed attitude to time.

<hr width=100% size=1>Two beers please, my friend is paying.

 

[BrendanS]

Oops. Must have forgotten to save options last night. Still get 15.75 via this route?

River Thames (tidal section) - Lee and Stort Navigation (Bow Creek) - Lee and Stort Navigation (Bow Lock) - Lee and Stort Navigation (River Lee: commercial section) - Grand Union Canal (Hertford Union Canal) - Grand Union Canal (Regent's Canal) - Grand Union Canal (Paddington Branch) - Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal) - Grand Union Canal (Oxford Canal Section) - Grand Union Canal (Warwick and Napton Canal) - Grand Union Canal (Warwick and Birmingham Canal: widened section) - Stratford Canal (Kingswood Branch) - Stratford Canal (Northern Section) - Worcester and Birmingham Canal (King's Norton to Worcester) - River Severn (main river) - Gloucester and Sharpness Canal - River Severn (tidal section) - River Avon - Bristol

Lots of fun seeing which route it comes up with though at different beams

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[Andrew_Fanner]

Something screwy there, Stratford Canal and Worcs & Brum are definately narrow beam only!

<hr width=100% size=1>Two beers please, my friend is paying.

 

[gonfishing]

Nicks website!!!

This IS yours Nick isn't it????

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www2.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/index.cgi>http://www2.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/index.cgi</A>

couldn't resist

julian

<hr width=100% size=1>If it can, It will. 21 and counting??

 

[gonfishing]

Nicks website!!!

This IS your website Nick isn't it????

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www2.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/index.cgi>http://www2.mihalis.net/canal/cgi-bin/index.cgi</A>

couldn't resist

julian


OOOOOOOOOppppsssssssss

<hr width=100% size=1>If it can, It will. 21 and counting??