Editing Calder and Hebble Navigation (section)

==Current use==
Since the demise of commercial carrying in 1981, the navigation has only been used by leisure boaters, to whom it represents both an attractive cruising ground, passing through beautiful countryside and traditional Yorkshire industrial areas. For many years it was effectively a cul-de-sac, with the only access from the Aire and Calder Navigation at the eastern end.{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |p=90}} However, the growth of the restoration movement resulted in the reopening of the [[Rochdale Canal]], to which connection was made in 1996 with the opening of Tuel Lane Lock, just beyond Sowerby Bridge, and it is now possible to reach [[Rochdale]] and [[Manchester]].{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |pp=255,257}} The canal always provided access to the [[Huddersfield Broad Canal]] at Cooper Bridge Junction, but this was another short cul-de-sac, until it was reconnected to the trans-Pennine [[Huddersfield Narrow Canal]], restoration of which was completed in 2001. This links the far end of the Broad canal to [[Ashton-under-Lyne]],{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |p=150}} and onwards to the [[English Midlands|Midlands]] and Wales. From the eastern end, the Aire and Calder Navigation provides links to [[Lancashire]] via [[Leeds]] and the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] in the west, and to [[Selby]], [[York]], [[Goole]] and the [[Humber]], [[Keadby]] and the [[River Trent]], and [[Sheffield]], [[Rotherham]] and [[Doncaster]] in the east.{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |pp=51-53}} The reopening of the Rochdale and Huddersfield Narrow Canals mean that the navigation now forms part of three cruising rings, the [[South Pennine Ring]],{{sfn |Cumberlidge |2009 |p=90}} the [[North Pennine Ring]] and the [[Outer Pennine Ring]].

The canal and the connected Huddersfield Broad Canal were built to accept {{convert|57|by|14|ft|m|adj=on}} [[Humber Keel|Yorkshire Keels]] coming up the [[Aire and Calder Navigation]]. The first four locks on the lower Calder and Hebble, from Fall Ings to Broad Cut Top Lock have since been extended, and can accommodate boats which are {{convert|120|by|17+1/2|ft|m|abbr=on}}, but the remainder restrict the size of boats that can use the navigation. They are among the shortest on the connected network of English and Welsh inland waterways, but while wide beam boats are restricted to {{convert|57|ft|m}} in length, it is possible for experienced boaters to fit narrowboats up to about {{convert|60|ft|m}} long, but only {{convert|7|ft}} wide, into the locks,{{sfn |Nicholson |2006 |p=40}} by allowing them to sit diagonally in the restricted space. This may require expedients such as removing fenders, having shore parties pole the boat into position, and going down locks backwards. In particular, an inexperienced crew of any boat longer than about {{convert|57|ft|abbr=on}} might find it impossible to negotiate the middle lock of the "Salterhebble Three", which is the shortest of all.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/calder/locks.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219173954/http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/calder/locks.htm |archive-date=19 February 2020 |url-status=live |title=Calder and Hebble Navigation Lock Size |publisher=Pennine Waterways |access-date=15 March 2018}}</ref>

It was the disparity in boat sizes between the Calder and Hebble and the Rochdale canal which made Sowerby Bridge, at the junction of the two canals, so important, as long boats coming over from Lancashire had to have their cargoes unloaded, stored, and transferred to shorter boats at Sowerby Bridge Wharf.{{sfn |Nicholson |2006 |p=48}}

A quirk of the Calder and Hebble locks is the [[handspike]], a length of {{convert|2|by|4|in|cm|0|adj=on}} timber shaped at one end to provide a comfortable two-handed grip. Calder and Hebble boaters have to carry these in addition to the more usual windlass, in order to lever open the simple lock gear which lifts the lock paddles to allow a full lock to empty or an empty one to fill.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/calder/handspike.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223172705/http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/calder/handspike.htm |archive-date=23 February 2020 |url-status=live |title=Calder and Hebble Handspikes |access-date=6 January 2009}}</ref> Because the navigation includes river sections, locks which give access to such sections are fitted with gauge boards, which show the condition of the river using a colour-coded scheme. A green band indicates that river levels are normal, and that navigation is therefore safe. An amber band indicates that levels are higher than normal, and that extra care is required when proceeding along the river section. A red band indicates that water levels are sufficiently high that the lock has been closed, and navigation on the river is unsafe.{{sfn |Nicholson |2006 |p=40}}