Dredging at Ebley and Oil Mills Bridge Tuesday

by: Andrew R.

Dredger Training had variety and trainee learnt how dredging varies and new skills and knowledge are needed.

Those who have been following know we are now dredging at Ebley.  We’ve done 1 cut along the north wharf wall to east of lock gate and bridge and hopefully in 2 weeks will have dredged this section from mid channel to the high wharf wall.  We therefore ask any tugs or trip boats keep to the landing stage side so silt is not pushed by the props from centre channel back into the part we’ve dredged.

Today we cleared some brush and some shallow silt just east of the Wharf first thing to provide a clear approach.

We then attached a empty hopper abreast and travelled under the Mill Road bridge with dipper arm raised up so Patricia was just clear at 1/2 a knot. Lock pin to stop job slewing as a safety requirement.

3 inches to spare, couldn’t do in flood!
“Dead slow and steady” I cried. As should be done.

Then we went to Oil Mill bridge where many will remember this was dug out and new bridge laid across.  There is as Tug and Dredger operators know lots of rubble and muck making the approach narrow and very difficult to travel through.

So as a very useful training exercise we started to dredge this approach.
The very centre channel was deep but very quickly the side we full of rubble, iron work of many types, brush of course  covering many sins.

We saw here the importance of turning the feet out on Patricia for stability.

Yes Tuggers we found bricks, rubble but worse sheets of rotting steel, plastic sheet, very long bent reed bar, 2x2 angle iron posting, piping the list is longer.

Like other bridge approaches when we’ve done it, it will look so good in a few weeks and will be safer on approach and easier to navigate. Let alone a great view.

Goliath’s newish trainees took a nearly full hopper from Ebley to Ryeford upper which would have been challenging but Goliath did it!!

This narrow approach is the very reason we needed Patricia as No.5 would have been too wide with a hopper.

CCT Summit Working Party Notice

by: Karen Shaw

I'm writing to remind you that the next Summit Section work party is from 10.00 am to 3/4 pm next Sunday 20 October.

We will be working with some Butterfly Conservation volunteers to plant berberis in the Roundhouse garden to encourage the Barbury Carpet Moth; a moth on the brink of extinction and the last known occurrence of which is along a corridor on the Wilts/Glos borders. 

Image by James Lowen

Depending on volunteer numbers we may also do some strimming and hand scrub bashing of the tow path and banks.  And possibly continuing to edge the tow path from the portal with boarding and pegs, so that it is less likely to erode down the bank in future. Its unlikely that we will be able to have a long-overdue bonfire.

New members are very welcome to come along for all or part of the day. I usually provide tea / coffee and biscuits / cake but please feel free to bring along your own hot or cold drinks, and a packed lunch or have lunch in the pub.

As usual, please wear sturdy (preferably steel toe capped) footwear or wellington boots and stout clothes. Long sleeves and trousers are recommended to avoid nettle stings and insect bites. Gloves and all other PPE are provided along with all necessary tools.

The site is reached by a well sign-posted but rather pot holed track to the Tunnel House Inn on the right, as you come down Tarlton Road out of Coates and after a tight bend under a railway bridge. Postcode is GL7 6PW.  On arrival at the pub car park, please park up or down on the right.

Dates for next work parties will be:

Sunday 17 November 2019

Sunday 15 December with Christmas meal at the Tunnel House Inn

Sunday 22 March 2020 with Gloucester Vale conservation Volunteers

Any questions please contact me: Karen Shaw on 07989 857435  or shawk30@gmail.com. 

A busy day at Langley's Field

by: Andy J.

Today  we emptied 3 very full mud hoppers and also spread the silt over a large area using both the long reach and 6 ton excavators.

A Grand Day Out

by: Buffs

Western Depot manager Reg, who also carries the title of Grand Director of Maintenance for the Western Canal, stood in front of the grass cutting tool shed. “All these tools and so few being used” he mused, “if only we had more volunteers trained to use them”. The thought crystallised and became The Training Day.  All WD tasks would be set aside for one day and the time devoted to getting more people trained to use strimmers and polesaws, the grillo sickle mower. The tipper would get new drivers signed off and trailer training would see more volunteers given the basic tools to reverse trailers and tow them safely.

The day chosen was to be Reg’s third day out on the ground working with his charges. Last week he joined an expedition shifting wet hessian sandbags from the landing stage at Ebley onto a Mitzi.  Not an easy task as each nominal 20kg bag had to be carried increasing distances to the waiting vehicle in the carpark. Offloading at Dudbridge was easier – just slide off the tailgate into a ragged pile. Not content with his morning’s lift and shift Reg was only too pleased to help with the unloading of a substantial van load of flat pack furniture up to the top floor at the Brimscombe bookshop. There was little time to stand and admire the Virginia creepers bleeding through the still green hedges along the waterside.

Came the day for the big expedition to the Ocean where the green training was to take place and the yard was busy with strimmers being filled and tested before loading and training rosters prepared.  Tea was poured into flasks and lunch boxes were loaded into vehicles.  Then a message that the ‘volunteer what knows about training for strimmers etc.’ rang in sick. “No matter, we’ll carry on” said Reg.  There was a big reason to continue as the HLF assessors were due be given a progress report on the development phase of the 1B bid. The assessors would be coming to the Ocean and St Cyr’s church to be talked through 9 short presentations and reports on the detail of the progress and plans.  And there was real work to do around the Ocean basin wharf front by the former farm buildings. 

The ongoing commitment to keeping the waterside community involved with the restoration effort along the waterway means that we work with them to keep the waterside tidy.  The Ocean was dredged by the trust volunteers some time ago and many willows were felled or pollarded.  The main channel is essentially clear but the vegetation close to the gardens has grown strongly and tall.  WD were to reduce the height of the greenery and pollard the willows.
Base camp was established on the ‘Wedding Field’ by Stonehouse Court.

Richard gave training on the Grillo and Mike was on hand to give the benefit of his experience with the pole pruner/saw.

Several volunteers were given experience in working with the pole pruner and much young growth was removed from willows young and old.  So much work was done that it required 3 runs with the tipper to clear the brash away.
The greenery beyond the dock wall had been reduced by Heather from Wookey Hole and her mentee Chris using the heavy Stihl’s fitted with masher blades. These tools are very effective at reducing dense brush and greenery to a mulch which can be left to rot down or cleared as required.

During all these activities we were watched by the waterborne residents of the Ocean. The family of swans, 7 cygnets still in their grey plumage and two adults, are clearly the stars of the water.  They are ably supported by ducks and squadrons of moorhens and coots.

We had done some prior observations and watched the moorhens and coots disappearing into gaps in the reeds and were mindful of this when working and training throughout the day.

During the day the WD volunteers recorded skills in vegetation management and driving techniques which will reduce the load on those who already have them and bodes well for the work of the yard.  The intended training on strimmer tools will be re-programmed soon.  The weather was kind with yellow jackets quickly replaced with just the hi-vis waistcoats.  Fading summer tans were topped up and lungs refreshed.  The night’s sleep was well earned.
And a source within the 1B hierarchy has said that the bid review was successful with the team impressed with the work done and the evident enthusiasm of the volunteers visible on the day was commended.

But what of Reg?  He enjoyed a day away from the phone.  His primary role was as team speaker.  An essential role in any work team along the towpath as most people will stop and ask “What are you doing today?”  Reg was ideal for the role as he knows much about what we are doing now and for the future.  His forte was, and is, the emollient link between WD and the residents around the Ocean. And he set up the day for us – not sure how he managed the good weather though!

10 volunteers were trained across 5 disciplines:  Polesaw, Grillo, Tipper Driving, Trailer Towing and Jet Washer use.
Congratulations to David C, Andy J, Matt J, Vince H, Bob K, Phil S, Richard A, Steve P, , Frank L and Clive B.
Thanks go to Frank L, Richard A, Mike L, Dave C and Bob A for sharing their knowledge and experience with the group.  And of course to Reg.

Wednesday Dredging East of Ebley.

by: Andrew R.

We've dredged along the wharf wall and to the end of the landing stage two metres wide min and at full depth in the last 3 dredging sessions.

We have been digging out up to 600 mm - 2 foot of silt every bucket. As we now know now Margaret is enjoying pushing full hoppers with ease.

It would be much appreciated if vessels with motors pass slowly along this stretch so the excessive silt does not get washed from the higher middle level to fill up where we have dredged.

Tuesday Training Day on Dredger and Tug work

by: Andrew R.

Training on Patricia at Ebley Wharf. Chris K was  full flow a steadily gaining confidence. The silt bed by the wall is over 60 cm. deep and no rubble so filling the hopper was fast. 
It was agreed we would trial as an experience Dredger trainer/operator With Chris an experience tug hopper operator to trial full loading of Hoppers, then transport to Langleys field.

For those who don't know hoppers can be loaded so gunwales are level with the water. We were short of this by 15cm. More importantly we loaded the silt so it pushed the water out over the gunwales. 

This has only been done once before in the past four years on the Stroud canal.
It was great to work with Chris who showed high level skills with the tug.  In fact one of the few I have worked with or observed moving a hopper with Margaret so well.  Nearly a perfect centre channel journey.  As we agreed a lot easier with FULL hopper.

To finish, so much possible now there's a clear channel from Ebley to Ryeford

The 'Adventure' begins - Cotswold Canals Trust Wheelchair Accessible Trip Boat

Construction has now commenced on the Trusts new electric powered trip boat, a 54ft x 10ft semi-trad craft and this increase in size will allow better access and manoeuvrability for wheelchair users.  

She is powered by 2 x electric motors linked to a single prop. A large solar Photo Voltaic (PV) array on the roof will charge the batteries.  There is also a plug in power option.  It is anticipated, dependant on final choice of batteries, to have a cruising range of around 8 hours.  A recharging point will be installed at CCT's Saul Junction mooring site.  The design includes the ability to remotely monitor battery condition and systems.  In fact it even has the ability to turn on the heating, while plugged into shore power, well in advance of a charter or indeed to keep 'frost proof' during the winter months.  

The boat is designed to carry 12 passengers with a crew of 3 to 4 and will incorporate a wheelchair lift at the bow.  She will initially enter service on the Gloucester-Sharpness Canal, but will move to the Stroudwater Canal as soon as possible after the completion of the Stroudwater Navigation restoration project.

Ortomarine, based nearby in Worcestershire, will be fitting out the boat, a modified design of the excellent 'Pamala May' which operates on the Droitwich Canal.  The hull, is being fabricated in the UK by Tyler-Wilson in Sheffield.

The internal general arrangement is shown in the illustration below (click to enlarge).

We are very grateful to the organisation, Trusts and individuals who made this project possible and for their patience whilst we finalised the design and the funding arrangements.

A progress continues, look out for updates.