Stalled engine

I WAS negotiating the turn from the Coventry Canal to the Stop Lock at Hawkesbury Junction when my engine stalled, writes Roger Fox.

I pulled it out of gear and the engine picked up okay. Gentle testing showed that the prop would not turn at all. Luckily there were some people outside the pub who helped by catching ropes and pulling the boat over to the lock moorings.

No weed hatch

We have no weed hatch so I probed with the boat-hook with great trepidation. Luckily I found the end of a black rope and pulled, and pulled. What emerged was about eight feet of a multi-strand rope some four inches in diameter, and in very good condition.

How lucky was I to have found the loose end on the correct side of the boat and to be able to remove it so easily. We were only delayed by about 10 minutes.

The question in my mind is this. What was a rope of this type doing there in the first place? In case anyone wonders where it is now, it went straight into the CaRT rubbish skip.