Simon Kelley wrote: > I'm currently in the process of buying a narrowboat which I'm > intending to keep at Bill Fen Marina at Ramsey on the Middle > Levels. I want to cruise the Great Ouse system as well as the > canals and the Fenland waterways. > > The narrowboat in question has a rather deep draught - about > 2'10", the significance of which has rather escaped me 'till > now. I know about Stanground Lock: I talked to the > lock-keeper and it will be possible to lock down by turning > above the lock, entering the lock backwards and then turning > again below the lock. > > What I'm not sure about is any other shallow bits. Is this > boat going to be a complete liability in the Fens, or is it > OK once through Stanground?
We took Fulbourne to the National at St Ives via Stanground, March, Well Creek and the 100 Foot River. At 3ft draft we had no problems with depth on the Middle Level, most of which was much deeper than most canals. Well Creek was a bit slow, but no real problems apart from the first bridge beyond the bend at Outwell, where we grounded on the inside of the bend. A second attempt further across the channel saw us through without too much more difficulty. Because the old part of Stanground Sluice is shallow we had to go through backwards (we grounded solid when we tried to go through forwards some years ago). Consequently we had to reverse along Kings Dyke for a mile below the sluice, turning at the junction with the (now unnavigable) Farcet River. Fulbourne is normally a bit of a pig in reverse, but here we had plenty of water beneath us and after a couple of bursts of forward and reverse to line us up with the channel, we did the whole mile at mid revs in reverse, steering with the rudder, and without any need for poles, ropes, or bursts of forward to keep the boat pointing in the right direction. We didn't have time to explore the bits off the through route, but from the bits we did experience, I would have thought that you will have few problems with a draft of 2ft 10 in. David Mack
