Paul C

I suppose that's an interesting variation of "The Stranger".

Where is the breach? (Its not in the video)

(Its a bit of a rhetorical question, I am 99% sure of the answer but.....) Why are they not legal?

There was a girl in my class whose nickname was "sperm whale".

I've not misinterpreted anything. You just disagree with what I say. Occasionally you see people do this. Not for the "meeting a boat head on around a corner" scenario though. In the real world......how much experience of narrowboats on canals is this based on? I've not been impolite but you've personalised it (why? Its against the rules). Put simply, narrowboats don't steer in reverse because the water isn't flowing over the rudder. Blind bends really aren't that rare on canals (try the Shroppie Middlewich branch, or the upper stretches of the Llangollen, for one of many examples) and its just one of those things where with a little bit of real-world experience you will develop skills. Its basic stuff, hirers "get it" within the first few hours or days. So given there isn't really a scenario where you're finely juggling both tiller and throttle (and given the tiller is kinda fixed), the throttle control position isn't really that important. So just keep it on the left rather than overthinking it. "Don't reinvent the wheel"

Hard as it may be to believe, I've never stopped urgently using both those controls. I've only used one of them at a time. I've either stopped with reverse, or I've kept the throttle as-is and steered the boat to avoid/etc. Because despite my vast experience, I have never quite managed to break the laws of physics yet.

If its a REALLY tight blind bend, I'll slow down so I can stop in half the distance I can see. Use the horn. Even if the other boat doesn't beep back, they've probably heard the horn and slowed or whatever. 9/10 the other boat will actually position themselves to allow a close pass, even in a bend. On the odd occasion, you'll meet a boat that's "fluffed it up" and you'll need to stop. But what I DON'T do is flap around with tiller and throttle together, trying to steer in reverse gear!!!

Best of luck with that

Or just long lines of well-organised moored ones? Yes, the lone moored boat is a PITA to pass. I normally check 1) if they're tied up on mooring pins, 2) if they're occupied, before slowing down.

Just do an out and back trip, and drive it backwards on the second half of the week

You SO need to actually get out there and do it. A lot of what you say, shows the gaps in your knowledge. Winter hiring is very cheap.

Is #10 or #22 a flap wheel? I'd try a flap wheel for rust.

The reason you've not had a direct answer is because its a complete non-issue, something you'd have quickly realised in the first hour of driving a narrowboat. I am lefthanded and our boat is assymetrical, in that its a semi-trad stern with a built-in bench seat on the left, a wide enclosed area to the right and a door on the right to the cabin. Its actually pretty comfortable, to sit on a stool on the right and hold the tiller with the left hand. You see, throttle adjustments don't happen very often - you're not planning on slowing down through bridges or stuff like that?? For passing moving boats, it really doesn't matter if you're on the left or right, you can judge where the boat is. Just like you know where the kerb is when you're driving a car. My girlfriend is also lefthanded but drives stood up and can do it both ways.

There's various stages of "battery monitoring", approximately: 1. A thing which shows green/amber/red LEDs according to voltage 2. An actual voltmeter with numbers on it 3. A voltmeter properly installed and of a decent quality so you can trust the number shown is accurate 4. A crappy old ammeter, probably installed in the wrong battery bank anyway 5. A hand held clamp ammeter which you can manually take measurements with 6. A shunt ammeter (actually installed on the correct battery bank). 7. An amp-hour counting battery monitor 8. An amp-hour counting battery monitor with some kind of algorithm(s) to be vaguely accurate 9. I've not included Merlin Smartgauge - which is (3) but with an algorithm to attempt to give a capacity; or taking specific gravity readings from the cells of the battery, which probably lies around 3 and 5. Or a workshop battery tester, which does something a bit different and (attempts to) give a reading of battery capacity/health. Each of the options gets progressively more expensive in return for more accuracy and less "caveats" with its readings. Given its not your boat, buying a decent multimeter for about £20 and a DC Clamp ammeter makes a lot of sense at this stage.

Canals perform a role in flood management, many of them would have to stay in water for that reason. And they'd need at least the bare minimum of assets (eg weirs, embankments, aqueducts etc) maintained as such.

Its more a case of, you need to appreciate that not everything is online. I've never suggested you don't post, all I want you do to is fully appreciate the subject matter. Almost every time you post, you display a lack of knowledge. You're not censored but your posting style renders your posts ignorable. 3 choices and another option? 3+1=4, right?

Ha ha

I believe it was a vote with 4 options? So the most popular option is very likely to have "more vote against" it anyway, so its a bit of a daft thing to endlessly debate.

How many documented cases are there of narrowboats in tidal or wide-ranging berths? Given that the "normal" of a non-tidal river is normally the lowest it would be, it would be very unlikely you'd want to "go lower" than what you cruised to, moored up at, then would rise again then depart. For example, think of a flood-safe river mooring. You may well want/need to moor to it in flood, but you'll also want to be floating and depart from it later. Hence why they are purpose-designed to go up and down and allow mooring/unmooring in all conditions. And.....a narrowboat simply isn't designed for waters in the same way as a sea-going boat (some of which ARE designed to work well in tidal moorings). Its inlets/outlets are the lowest of any boat, I'd not want to be taking chances. Having said all that, the mud will definitely loosen up once the dried-out mooring is flooded again, so its unlikely to hold with much force over the boat's buoyancy, so I'll put it down as "myth" too!

I meant geographic areas I know - as in, been there, multiple times, in a canal boat. Hence why I don't get much involved with "London" and "K&A" matters. Canals, more than most things, aren't something you can encapsulate very well into an online experience - its about being there, dealing with the challenges it throws at you, soaking up the unique atmosphere it creates. Have you heard of the expression "stay in your lane"?

Having driven a 58' narrowboat between all 6 permutations (the 3 combinations of route in both directions), it is difficult/impossible to do it any other way than the shortest/most direct route. It is similar to mini roundabouts with a 30' rigid truck - if the roundabout is impossible to negotiate due to the size of the vehicle, you can ignore the painted central area and drive over it. (Highway Code Rule 188) (except it can be interpreted as, with a large boat at Old Turn, you can go the "wrong" way round if you need to).

I restrict my comments to the areas I know.