Hornblower

Regarding bridges and tunnels I remember a very small tunnel on the Droitwich Canal. I couldn´t even stand and look over the roof (its also very short). You can´t have anything but the pole and the plank on the roof. Another very small tunnel with low headroom is the Gosty Hill tunnel on the Dudley No 2. Edit: But I can´t tell you much about the depth, as the hireboats don´t go very deep.

Thank you for your answers. That are more companies than I expected. A boat that was originally planned as a private one sounds very good and I like the fotos. Also the very traditional "Willow" is amazing, I never thougt that you could hire a boat with boatman cabin and even a vintage engine!

Hey, most of the narrow boats we hired had a cruiser stern and one with a semitrad stern. I would like to try a trad strern but that seems to be quite rare among hireboats. Can anyone name companies who offer tradsterns for hire? Cheers

Thanks for your thoughts. That the bowshape doesn't make so much difference at canalpace will be right. But I would use it on canals and on rivers. I remember the turbulent water of the Thamse near limehouse basin. Another similar question: We just returned from another great journey, our 2nd on the Thamse. Beside our hired narrowboat we met a lot of grp-cruisers. It seemed to me that they were creating more waves than we did even when going at about the same speed. The only reason I can imagine is that a glide-hull seems to create more waves than a displacement-hull (at the same displacement speed). Am I right? (Not relevant for my future boat, I'm just curious.)

I like the sharp bows of river inspection launches (for optical reasons). But how is their bevaviour and handling compared to the "normal" more bulky bows of most of the narrowboats? One might think the sharp bows are more efficient, cut with less resistance through the water and make less waves. But I think it is the other way round, isn´t it? And is the handling different?

Finally I could contact Industry Narrowboats via Facebook and they gave me the informations and fotos I was looking for: It's a not finished replica of a Bridgewater tug. Meanwhile the boat was gritblasted and got a basic paint. Windows are ready to get installed. Industry Narrowboats plan to sell it for self fitout. Unfortunately I am far away of buying my own narrowboat. Here are two up to date fotos I got from Industry Narrowboats and an older one I found online:

While diging through my fotos I came along the one I posted here. Unfortunately I still don´t know anything about this boat and how it looks today (a request via mail to "Industry Narrowboats" wasn´t answered). Is anyone here who can give some newer infos about the boat or even better a foto? Cheers

I just want to "lift" this thread up, maybe there are new movies or series. At least I could see some docus on YouTube: Barging Round Britain Series 1, Great Canal Journeys Series 1&2, some with Fred Dibnah, Scenic Journeys on British and Irish Waterways and finally a documentary serie whith a female journalist enlighting different aspects of the canal network. That´s such a nice way to keep in touch from here. Unfortunately here in Germany I do not allways notice if there is a new movie, serie or documentary about the British canals, so maybe you can name some. Cheers

Thanks for the pics. Your bow and stern are not only efficient, they also look very elegant. Who built the hull? As bow for my narrowboat I often immagined a river-inspection-launch-style one (very sharp). How would that behave compared to a normal bow?

Interesting point, is a double curved swim really better than a straight one? I know that long swims are better but not often used with short boats because of the space inside. But if you ignore the missing space, would a long swim on a short boat have disadvantages with stability (rocking,...)?

Hello, I recently found an unusual bow-design on the web: Eco-Hull by ABC Boat Building. http://www.abcboatbuilding.com/extras.html (scroll down) It seems to have some hydrodynamic advantages, so it should be interesting for intensive cruising boats (hireboats and continous cruisers). But I think I have never seen one on the canals (even not on ABC hireboats). Is it new? Is it to expensive to build? Is it because of the nontraditional look? Has someone here such a bow? Cheers Hornblower

The tip to do at least one holiday on a NB before buying one is a bit late, isn´t it? I always like to immagine buying one and every time after a hireboat-holiday I know a bit better what would suit me best (size, layout, equipment,...). So one day ... Anyway, in Germany we say "Luck is with the brave ones." and living on a NB is a very nice option if your job is flexible enough.

ups... I mixed Thames / Themse (german name) ... even in the headline

I have some experiences with my GRP cruiser on the german river Elbe, which can have strong current at times. A long and heavy narrowboat is more difficult to maneuver but the challenge would ad to the adventure for me. I remember a situation some years ago when we had to wait on the Severn just in front of the lock into Gloucester dock. It was tricky because of the strong current but also exciting. I think we will only leave the Thamse if it is forbidden (showing red boards?). And even then we will enjoy the "extra fun" on the Kennet

When the conditions of the Thames and the Kennet & Avon are usually the same, I need a new Plan B... As there are no other options from Aldermaston Wharf, the hirecompany will have to book us spontaniously to one of their other bases around the system. They will prefer that to chancel our booking completely ... same with me. But anyway I hope that we can travel the Thames.