Vlog 135: Damsels in Distress
When I received a panicked phone call from The Narrowboat Experience, who were stuck half way up the Grand Union canal and just too tired to carry on, of course I had to help.
So I jumped into my car, shot off to Whilton Marina and ran down the towpath to find Anna and Kath, and give them the benefit of my extensive canal and locking experience and wisdom.
This is the record of the day. They may see it somewhat differently, mind you, and you can watch their version at www.youtube.com/TheNarrowboatExperience
I’m disabled and have to use a wheelchair, I would love to use a canal narrow boat. Do you know of any boats for use by wheelchair users oh and what about managing locks?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject
Unfortunately, locking and even pulling the boat in for mooring would likely be impossible for someone in a wheelchair. There are day-hire boats with crew which can take wheelchair users for trips but as passengers only; see for example vlog 168
I just wanted to know. How did you recover your car?
I walked back down the lock flight in the pleasant evening sunshine!
As I recall, those locks were built without bywashes and intentionally any spare water flows through the lock. At the bottom it goes over the top of the gates when the lock is full and at the top it goes over the paddles and through the culvert which is seen as an inflow when the lock is empty. Most locks with bywashes have a continuous flow that keeps the canal nicely topped up but it is much less visible.
Ah, I wondered why it was overflowing so enthusiastically; now I know it was by design. Thanks for the info, cheers!