If it's too shallow report it

I HAVE read with interest the articles on dredging, but have any of the people writing about this actually contacted the local Canal & River Trust office to report issues they have experienced? Asks Rick (of the fuel boat).

Last winter I was asked to tow a boat from Alvecote on the Coventry to Stone on the Trent & Mersey. As I travel to Great Haywood every three weeks anyway during the winter, an extra day to Stone was not going to be a problem.

Stopping on silt

Great Haywood to Stone is not a trip I do very often, I've only done it once previously with a loaded boat, up to Sandon Lock was relatively easy, then Auriga simply would not go fully into the lock, stopping on silt 4ft from the cill. After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and riding in on a flush I got her against the cill, closed the gates and filled the lock.

At the next lock, Aston, there was a queue, so rarely for me I attempted to go onto the lock landing to leave the boat I was towing, I got firmly stuck on a rock, good job it was busy as it took the help of three other boaters to free her, when it was my turn to enter the lock, I bounced rocked and rolled all the way down the channel into the lock.

Dredging was done

On the return journey I came to a dead stop in the middle channel 50yds above Aston and had to be flushed out of Sandon Lock. On my return home this was reported to the local CaRT office, as I've been advised that 'talking about it in the pub' is no good if it's not reported correctly. Within a couple of days I had a reply that dredging work was to take place during the winter and that the issues I had raised would be addressed. It went on to say that lock chambers are not normally dredged but that if feasible Sandon would be, I have friends who work for Land & Water, they assured me that this dredging was done.

As recently as last Friday I was following a boat down Common Lock on the Trent & Mersey, a lady from CaRT arrived with her tablet computer checking the lock for problems, damage etc. She even took out her windlass to help with the paddles. The channel below this lock is full of rubbish, and boats approaching it nearly always get a bladeful and have difficulty stopping, I pointed this out to her as obviously she could not see what was happening underwater, she thanked me and started typing, then told me that it had previously been reported and would be dredged this winter.

Report it

So please if you have a problem report it, the more reports they get the more likely they are to act.

As an aside, CaRT have just liaised with the Coventry Canal Society asking what sites on the Coventry need dredging. I and some other commercial operations were asked by this society to suggest sites between Sutton's Stop and Fradley. I was only too pleased to cooperate. Coventry Canal Society already had a list of sites on the 5½ that they had collated, and the result is that a list of sites needing dredging has been forwarded to CaRT for action.