Navigations and bankside erosion

[Guest waterman1013]

Have any (many) of you experience of fishing navigations?

 

On a stretch of the Ouse in Huntingdon I notice year on year we lose bank to erosion. There is a speed limit, which most boaters observe, but even at 5 m.p.h. some hull designs put up huge washes.

 

It seems to me that he river boards and the EA should be more concerned with acceptable hull design than with speed on rivers. There is an increasing tendency for larger and larger "gin palaces" to be using the rivers, boats totally unsuitable to their location.

 

Comments, ideas, anything?

 

Mike

[Guest badger (at home)]

Mike,

I was watching Country File the other day and noticed that they were talking about a new scheme to protect navigation from bankside erosion. I'm sorry i cant remember more details but the general concept was 'Bio-engineering'. It involved using fences woven from hazel i think it was, they are shoved into the base of the bank and within the year they start to grow. The root systems and foliage help to stabilise the bank and protect it from erosion. They said that it had been very successful and was a darn sight cheaper and less ugly than concrete and the like. Might be worth looking into?

Cheers, Dave.

[Guest waterman1013]

Thanks Dave

 

I think it was probably quoir matting which is used quite extensively in protecting lakeside banks from wind erosion. The problem is that on rivers you probably don't want to destry the undercuts and other habitats that exist right under the bank by dressing the faces with material and plants. The EA do not have the funds availbale to construct such defences over a large area anyway and if we are to protect the banks from erosion I just feel that we should be putting together a campaign with the RFACS to look at hull design and suitable boat types for use on inland navigations.

 

MIke

[Guest Leon Roskilly]

Originally posted by waterman1013:

Have any (many) of you experience of fishing navigations?

 

Hi Mike,

 

It's not only the bankside wash which is a cause of concern, as we know to our cost on the Medway.

 

We had one boat which was sucking everything off the bottom!

 

If you are interested, email me and I'll pass on details of the club secretary's address. I know that he has had an interest in this kind of problem for a few years now.

 

Tight Lines - leon