There is an element of safety in the tunnel gauge at the last lock.The pound
was
lowered a little in recent years making it possible for me to get my Dobson
cruiser through,albeit with no engine and using fingertips on the tunnel roof.
We went to the very end of the basin and yes it is very weedy.I have a draught
of 2ft 8inches which was OK.At one time a pub existed right on top of the
tunnel
and in the early sixties my late friend, Ben Fradley anxious to get his wooden
boat (Colleta) through enlisted the help of the pub regulars, with the promis
of
a free pint,they all piled on board and with the extra ballast through he went.
Did they get a second pint for coming back I dont know.The outcome was that
Ben
won the the Barraclough Bowl for the most meritorious cruise to the Stoke
National Rally that year. That was the last recorded complete passage of the
canal before closure.Do have a go at getting through even, if like me, you have
to unscrew a few things from the cabin roof to make it possible.You will be
well
rewarded. CKP
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