can one "bow haul" solo ?

[normanmarshman]

Hi All,

 

Silly question perhaps, but can one "bow haul" solo ? I mean a 20ft cruiser.

 

Any tips apprec. Engine not well !

 

Cheers John

[Paul C]

Yes

[Grace and Favour]

Well I bow-hauled a 69' NB up the LLangollen (against the flow) for a couple of miles

 

So you'd be able to do it with 20' cruiser! (assuming no personal infirmities or injuries)

[normanmarshman]

Ta fellas

Any hints to acheive it ?

ta j

[luctor et emergo]

Yes, attach the towing rope between 1/4 and 1/3 lenght from the bow, to achieve a level of 'self steering'. Any further forward, and it will simply pull into the bank.

[GUMPY]

Yes, attach the towing rope between 1/4 and 1/3 lenght from the bow, to achieve a level of 'self steering'. Any further forward, and it will simply pull into the bank.

Or on a cruiser possibly easier to set the rudder so it slightly turns the bow away from the towpath, haul from the stern cleat with a rope to the bow cleat stopping the bow going away from you.

If you see what I mean

[matty40s]

pull

[normanmarshman]

many thanks

[casper ghost]

Yes, but when I had to pull mine, it wasn't long before a fellow CWDF member chugged past and offered me a tow...

If you're intending to do it permanently as a Ccer, then C&RT don't like issuing a licence as a Ccer without an engine.

Casp'

[DHutch]

Only time I've 'bow hauled' on my own I tied a longish line to the handrail about 1/4 the way from the back, and a line front, and then stood roughly along side the bow, pulling on the rear line and steering with the front line.

 

This is an adaptation of what I would do with two, where we go one on each line.

 

Punting with a suitable shaft also works.

 

 

 

Daniel

[MtB]

Casp is right. Start bowhauling and in about ten minutes a CWF member will stop and tow you. This certainly happened for me a few years ago..

 

Even better if you make and display a sign saying "Tow Please!"

 

 

MtB

[Ange]

or tell us where you are and where you need to go and there's a chance someone might be in the area who will give you a hand.

 

Worth a punt

[David Mack]

 

Yes, attach the towing rope between 1/4 and 1/3 lenght from the bow, to achieve a level of 'self steering'. Any further forward, and it will simply pull into the bank.

Or if your ropes are long enough tie the ends of the bow and stern ropes together and pull from inside the loop. You can then adjust your position in the loop as necessary to steer the boat.

[bizzard]

Its best to do it properly by donning a horses towing harness. This will make it much easier, leaving your hands free for when you trip over whilst trying to avoid dogs muck on the path and prevent you from grazing your knees.

[Radiomariner]

Oh dear. Opened this thread by mistake, in senior moment I thought of "Keel Haul" and looked forward to and interesting thread!

[normanmarshman]

Hi

Many thanks to all

Good tips - espesh the harness idea !

I have to shift it from chester to northwich soonish, and even when the engine is repaired the petrol cost and general noise and smoke from the old british seagull is off-putting !

JM:)

[Paul C]

How do you cope with a long line of moored boats, all with their aerials, chimney, boat pole, junk etc on the roof?

[bizzard]

How do you cope with a long line of moored boats, all with their aerials, chimney, boat pole, junk etc on the roof?

You slap your own section 8 on em a fortnight before hand. If they're not gone on the day use a razor edged rope. Or from a tall mast bolted to your scalp to a tall mast on the boat.

Edited May 11, 2013 by bizzard

[LEO]

How do you cope with a long line of moored boats, all with their aerials, chimney, boat pole, junk etc on the roof?

 

Interesting! Sue Day 'horse boated' from the Midlands to the IWA festival a few years ago and a friend who helped on some sections said that moored boats caused lots of problems and the boat they used (Maria) had to be poled past lines of boats ,In some instances they had a long lightweight pole to lift the line over some boats.

 

I had to bow haul my boat from Duke's Cut to Thrupp in 1989 and there were very few boats moored along that length then. I found a long rope fixed about one third of the way down the boat gave the best leverage for pulling.

 

Leo.

[Radiomariner]

How do you cope with a long line of moored boats, all with their aerials, chimney, boat pole, junk etc on the roof?

This will annoy someone on another thread! You clamber on board the moored boats and pass the tow over or around the obstructions!

Edited May 13, 2013 by Radiomariner

[p6rob]

As a novice I had to do a fair bit of solo bow hauling last month. My left leg is broken (held together with lots of metal) It was slow going but not too difficult (I am a stubborn git though). I think the most successful bits were when I used all three lines. once the boat is moving you can set the course reasonably straight. Not sure I could have coped against the flow though.

 

I was lucky in that I didn't pass any moored craft while solo bow hauling and it was reasonably easy to pull the boat closer to the towpath to be passed, just lost a bit of momentum and occasionally got beached.

[Rebotco]

Once I got it moving, I think I'd prefer to use the boat pole as for punting - seems to work OK for those thingys in Oxford!

Or, better idea, what about swapping the rudder for a long oar thing - that works alright in Venice! Might have to consult

Bizzard on the finer points.

[bizzard]

Whether you haul it or pole it, wind speed and direction will be the governing factor. I'd pick a calm day.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

This will annoy someone on another thread! You clamber on board the moored boats and pass the tow over or around the obstructions!

Or you pole it past?

someone poling on the front and another on the back.

 

 

Edit to add; I didn't read all the post, it's been said

Edited May 27, 2013 by Goliath

[ditchcrawler]

Or you pole it past?

someone poling on the front and another on the back.

 

 

Edit to add; I didn't read all the post, it's been said

The only bit you missed was he is by himself so no engine at the back, just the bow