IanD

Agreed -- but when I posted something similar there was a shower of comments on the lines of "why change what isn't broken, I can handle my boat just fine with a flat plate rudder". Luddism is alive and well on CWDF... 😉

No vents on mine... 😉 Note that I'm not saying that what I'm proposing is the right solution for everyone, just that it is for me -- on a boat that's rather different to the norm...

I'm not sure most narrowboaters would have a clue what kedge and bower anchors are, all they want/need is something they can chuck overboard in a rare (maybe never) emergency like an engine failure on a river. I know you've said many times that people should not only have a high-holding-power anchor but know how to deploy it and even practise the same, but in reality most narrowboats have a Danforth (with too short/light chain/rope) in the bows which has never been used and probably never will be, and which might -- as you point out repeatedly -- not even do the job if it's ever needed. Compared to that a Fortress 37 in the stern with the recommended chain and rope (my solution) is likely to be a lot better, even if it doesn't meet with the high standards of perfection of grizzled mariners like you 😉

Like I said, the only case I would ever anticipate possibly needing an anchor would be engine failure on a river (e.g. Trent, Ribble Crossing) -- I've never moored at anchor in a tideway and have no intention of ever doing so. If drifting towards a weir or bridge with no power then there's only one anchor, it's not an "additional braking device", and in this case it makes little difference which end it's at, and you *do* need to deploy it quickly. And should this ever happen, having one is still *far* better than having none... Yes if you spend a lot of time moored up in rivers or tideways or estuaries (like you?) then a better solution might be needed -- logically, bow *and* stern anchors. But that's simply not the case here... 😉

At the stern, where it would also be deployed from if ever needed -- which again is unlikely... In theory it could also sit on top of the potter's cabin at the bows, but then you'd have to get there in a hurry and deploy it from the small bow deck -- much safer to do it from the stern. Bear in mind this isn't an ocean-going vessel which needs to anchor regularly, if something ever goes wrong on a river (e.g. loss of power) then you could be going upstream or downstream so the odds of the anchor being at the "right" (upstream) end are 50:50, and if you deploy from the "wrong" end the boat will swing round. You could say this is not ideal, my response would be that very few boaters on narrowboats ever have to deploy an anchor in an emergency over their entire boating career, and it's more important to have one that's suitable for the boat (probably a Fortress) and be able to deploy it safely -- in my case, from the stern -- than worry too much about which end of the boat it's at. No doubt Alan or someone else with a lot of maritime experience will come along to tell me this is all wrong, but then I'm not going to be regularly mooring a yacht off a rocky lee shore in a gale... 😉

Perhaps, but I don't like Houdini hatches (looks, condensation drips), the roof is mostly covered in solar panels -- and as I keep saying, I'm perfectly happy with the side doors as an emergency exit, as is the BSS 🙂 Anyone genuinely worried about the (extremely small) risk of their boat sinking in a narrow lock in a way that meant they needed to get out of side doors but couldn't might also want to think about things which are many *many* times more likely to kill them -- so don't drive to your boat (car crashes), don't cycle to get the shopping (cyclist deaths), don't cross the road to get to the pub (pedestrian deaths) -- and when you get there (or on the boat) don't eat any peanuts or anything chewy (risk of choking to death)... 😉

Just in case anyone is wondering what they do to delicious healthy potato chips in the Black Country to make them orange... https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-country/how-make-your-black-country-18039073 https://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/9661552.orange-chips-still-flavour-of-the-month-in-the-black-country/