The Canal and River Trust are exploring ways of trying to remedy this and improve how vegetation is managed and to overcome some of the present problems.
One of the difficulties encountered by contractors brought in to maintain vegetation is that on certain canals it is not easy to move machinery along the towpath because of the narrowness of the towpath through bridgeholes. Doing the work by hand on long stretches is not really economical.
In addition, C&RT also receive many complaints from boaters about overhanging vegetation on the off-side which narrows the channel available for navigation and, in some cases, reduces visibility on bends.
Now canal chiefs believe they may have found a solution. It was noted that rural councils often use tractors fitted with large mower/trimmer devices that can trim grass verges or hedges as the tractor dives along. In a simple extension of this idea, such trimmers have been fitted onto a boat. They are attached to hydraulic arms so that they can be adjusted to any height or angle.
There are separate grass mowing and hedge trimming devices so that the operator can move the boat along the middle of the canal, simultaneously mowing the grass along the towpath edge and trimming back the vegetation along the offside.
Prototype trimming boat on trial.
The boat is also going to be fitted with a third arm that has a standard dredging scoop attached so that small spot-dredging jobs can be tackled while the boat is in the vicinity.
The head of the Canal and River Trust's Blue Sky Thinking section, Maureen Wring, said that this re-affirms the Trust's commitment to boaters. "We are calling it the Edge Veg Hedge and Dredge Pledge," she explained.
The new boat has not satisfied everyone, however, with one towpath walker remarking: "It's all very well trimming the grass but what about all the mess left as a result of thoughtless dog-owners? The boat could do with being equipped with a super pooper scooper."
Unabashed, Ms Wring continued: "You could describe the boat as a floating swiss army knife. There is no end to the variety of attachments that we could include eventually. Our C&RT technologists are working on a scanner attachment which bounces radar beams off the canal bed at 45 degrees that can show up potential leaks and weaknesses. We call this our Oblique Leak-Seek Technique. It could save the Trust a fortune by nipping problems in the bud."
The Trust is working in partnership with All Purpose Roving Implements Limited to develop this truly fantastic boat, which makes a special appearance on the morning of Easter Monday. Those of you interested in seeing it at work are advised to check the date.
For more information about All Purpose Roving Implements Limited and the design of the boat, please click here.
