Page updated 11 May 2001
This page contains two submissions:
The first, submitted in 1999, concerns the maximum dimensions of the navigation. The second, submitted in May 2001 by a well known commercial user of the waterway, provides notes on the best approach for taking a pair of boats through the waterway.
The Guide gives the maximum beam of the K&A (Newbury to Bath) as "12 feet". This is incorrect. The K&A Canal was built to a gauge of 4.3m. (The Avon and Kennet river navigations were much larger). In recent years, problems with a collapsing lock at Foxhangers caused BWB to state a maximum width of 4m. This lock has now been repaired. During the summer of 1999 there was still a problem at Semington Locks with gates which would not go right back into the recesses, but this was scheduled for repair during winter 1999/2000. A 3.8m-beam barge was taken through from Reading to Bristol in the summer of 1999 with no width problems. The beam passable then was about 4.1m. As of spring 2000 it should be 4.3m throughout. The maximum length of (broad) craft at present is 21.5m, caused by errors in restoring Sulhamstead and Burghfield locks (The owner of the barge measured both of them). All other locks are longer than these. Note: This does not allow for the "narrow boat on the diagonal in wide locks" trick.
Can be done abreast Reading to Aldermaston, but not advisable except when river is running very hard, in which case it is probably better to tie up!
With empty or light loaded (ie Hotel boats) I would go single from Blakes to Garston upstream, and abreast from there to Aldermaston. Deep loaded you are best going single all the way.
GU motors will not pass uphill through Burghfield or Sulhamstead locks paired up, but GU motors with butties will! Also it is difficult to work GU boats downhill in these locks because of the length of the top sill. Two motors won't go, but a motor and butty will with some fiddling.
Aldermaston lock is no problem, but Woolhampton bridge is a stinker both ways. Going up you have to avoid a shoal on the towpath side below the lock (it is supposed to have been dredged recently [Early 2001 - Ed]), but the lock entrance is too narrow to let a pair in abreast. Going down in fast water you need to get the bridge open before leaving the lock and try to cut the bend whilst avoiding the shoal (virtually impossible) and keep sufficient engine power in reserve to pull the butty round the double bend into the bridge, while the butty steerer holds "wrong road" to compensate for the current.
Above here you should be able to go to Newbury abreast if light loaded or empty, but some locks can jam you if the water level is low, or there is rubbish behind the gates. We always work it single unless the stream is very strong or we are short of crew. For K & A work you need a crew of at least four for a pair, two being on the towpath to lockwheel and prepare swingbridges.
Officially wide, but some locks can jam pairs of boats, especially GU boats which are a bit wider than others. Places to watch are; Guyers lock, Higgs lock, Kintbury lock, some of the Devizes locks and the Seend flight. Also some gates, especially top ones, won't open fully because some genius has placed handrails on them which jam on the ground paddles. Again there is no trouble if the boats are worked single in the GU style (viz, a short "snatcher" for loaded boats or cross straps for empties). You can get through Bruce tunnel abreast, we did it at night when filming "The Wench is Dead", but BW don't go much on the practice!
No trouble at all. This was used by wide barges until the mid-sixties, so the waterway is wide-boat friendly.