canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat January 2018 59
NARROWBOAT TRUST
been built on top of the old one, its pier
bringing the towpath to an abrupt halt, so
I was interested to see how entry was
managed. Steve started the butty moving
then jumped on to the bow. I thought he
might have been going to leg the boat
through the bridge (I’ve always wanted to
see that done) but the momentum was
enough to get us under and he scrambled
up the other side in time to continue
pulling.
The next day was a long one: 12 and a
half hours, including a break for supplies
and sanitation at Banbury. Once we got
moving again, I went to open the lift bridge
and couldn’t work out which way to turn
the handle because it keeps moving as
long as you turn it, even when the bridge
is fully up or down. That’s a mean trick!
Both Chris and I, separately, managed to
get the butty wedged between the motor
and the edge of a lock approach because
the butty came up too fast, but we got free
both times with a scoosh of water from
the lock. I also managed to lose the tow
when we were getting the butty out of a
lock – I hadn’t fastened it properly to the
motor stern and saw it unravel too late to
grab the end. Luckily it didn’t get
wrapped round the prop; slowing the
motor allowed the butty to come back
within range and I sorted it out without
too many people noticing, I think. On the
plus side, I was very chuffed to get a
thumbs up from Steve after a tricky set
of bends.
We heard, just as we were thinking of
stopping for the night, that work was due
to start the next day on the balance beam
at Claydon. In the event, it wasn’t replaced
until a couple of days later, after they’d
pulled us out of Napton, but we didn’t
know that then. It would have meant a
day’s closure and we hadn’t time for that,
so we delayed our dinner of Coq au Canal
and Cropredy plum crumble and cracked
on past the affected lock, with another
boat close behind us. We’d built up a good
relationship with them by the time we
parted for the night, and it was lovely to
see them on their return journey just as
we reached Alvecote.
We worked our way through the narrow
section near Fenny Compton without too
much trouble, mainly because we stopped
for nobody. I sat at the motor bows
holding the Towing sign and almost
everyone got out of our way. As one
boater put it, it was a matter of self-
preservation for them as much as
kindness to us. We did go aground twice,
the first time in a bridge-hole where we got
a pull first from a passing pedestrian (no
effect),then from butty (ditto) before a
passing boat tugged us out of trouble. The
second time rocking the boats did the
trick. My journal for the day says “Moored
half-way down the Napton flight – could
have done all of them (we moored at 6.15)
but there was nowhere to moor further
down”. With the benefit of hindsight, I’m
glad we didn’t try!
The day we spent at Napton was the
second crew-change day, Friday. Rayarrived and almost immediately departed,
taking Steve and Chris back to Chris’s car,
optimistically parked at Alvecote (we had
been due there that day). The round trip
took him over 4 hours; meanwhile we
sunbathed, filled the water cans, emptied
the cassette and picked blackberries.
Andrew joined us again later, during a
boozy evening in the Folly, ready for a last
push to Alvecote.
The following morning we started early
and only had one minor grounding. The
boat behind us thanked us for “letting him
through”, obviously not realising our
predicament – at least, I hope that’s why
he didn’t offer to help. I was steering the
butty as we came down Hillmorton double
locks, changing from one side to the other
as locks became available, which meant
“rowing” the stern of the butty to get it in
line with the lock. I’d thought the
technique was only used on butties but
I’ve since seen people use it on motors to
good effect, too. (If you’re not familiar
with the word, it means pushing the tiller
hard in the direction you want the stern to
go, then allowing it to come back to centre
before repeating the process. It gives the
stern a shove round; hard work but
effective and, especially on an engine-less
boat, very satisfying.)Cross straps
Thames lock queueWinding queue at Alvecote