Posted by Jock on December 27, 2009 at 00:43:04 user Jock.
In Reply to: Re: The Amazon Boathouse at Flood Tide posted by Claire on December 26, 2009 at 15:26:41:
It would be great to have the water at the old level at Peel Island. It would then actually be possible to sail a dinghy with the centreboard down between Peel Island and the shore, which these days is impossible when the lake is at its usual summer level.
At some point in its history the bed of the River Crake was lowered to diminish the effect of the occasional floods on lakeside landowners. This is why the current summer level is lower than it was in Ransome's day. Going back still earlier there was once a wooden dam - with removable sections - across the Crake. This was to maintain the level of the lake at times of drought in the days when copper ore was carried across the lake by barges. These barges were loaded at Coniston and unloaded at the jetty next to the so-called 'Amazon boathouse'.
The solution to both problems - maintaining adequate depth of water and getting rid of flood waters quickly - would be to excavate the bed of the Crake still further and at the same time construct a dam which would maintain a decent depth of water.