24th July 2017
This was the sight at the Mill pub at Brimington today. Derbyshire County Council’s Countryside Service had arranged for Water Plant Ltd. to do some weedcutting.
A bit further along was the weedcutting boat itself.
It drives along like a paddle steamer cutting the weed …..
….. followed by the other boat that collects the cuttings …..
….. and eventually dumps them on the off bank.
Then John Varley arrived on a charter.
A quick bit of manoeuvering and the way was clear.
Adjustments then had to be made.
The cutting boat had to be pulled …..
….. because its paddles had to be flipped over …..
….. in order for it to fit in the lock.
Even so, there was not a lot of room.
Coming out it was a tight squeeze to get the blades under the pipe and the bridge.
The cutter is very simple. The outer teeth are fixed and there is a long inner blade …..
….. that moves back and forth driven by this mechanism.
Click here to see a video of the cutter in action. You can clearly see the blades moving.
Off they go towards Bluebank. They will be on the canal all week, slowly making their way down to Staveley.
Please don’t think that weedcutting only takes place on the Derbyshire section of the canal. This photo shows contactors working fo the Canal & River Trust on the Turnerwood flight last month.
(Photo by David Blackburn)