Rooffythehirer

Many thanks all. Gonna do it next spring, all crew still being alive. Will report.

Anybody done it and how did it go? We are experienced crew of 6 and don't mind early starts/late finishes.

What are they, or were they?

Thanks all for your helpful advice! Hiring from Braunston, Ditchcrawler.

Will be turning back north on the South Oxford in central Oxford. Is there any point in entering the Thames at Isis lock and rejoining the canal via Dukes Cut? And in a hire boat, would there be a charge for one hour on the river?

Had no idea it would be so contentious Jim. It became so because of some others' knee jerk reactions, don't you think? So now this gives them another opportunity

Good words TC! And to those who have accused me of being inconsiderate, please read my original post again, where I said we always slow down. But the extent to which we slow down will depend on the conditions at the time as judged by our not inconsiderable experience.

I don't get you. Anyone approaching a lock is going to wait behind you, aren't they? (If it was us meeting a single hander we would offer to assist through the lock) and anyone leaving the lock would hardly be going fast enough to cause a problem. Maybe it would be better to use your centre line on a bollard anyway?

Surely if you place your pins in poor ground then you are not pinning your boat well? And are passing craft expected to know the condition of the ground?

Surely if you place your pins in poor ground then you are not pinning your boat well? And are passing craft expected to know the condition of the ground?

Thank you Arthur! This is what I was saying in the original post. Obviously I didn't put it very well.

I've been following the discussion on the CRT's Boaters Update about slowing down past moored craft. A bloke called Nick Roberts wrote a piece suggesting that we don't have this issue properly addressed. I think he expected a backlash to his suggestion that expecting everyone to pass your moored boat at tickover was unrealistic. What seems to have happened is that almost all responders agreed with him, pointing out that if you choose to moor in the cut it's up to you to make sure your boat is properly and safely moored. This was not to suggest that we shouldn't slow down but that anyone shouting abuse at a passing boat might like first to consider factors like how well they were moored to avoid movement, whether they were in a silly place, wind speed and direction, maintaining steerage way, etc. From the point of view of hirers like me, this was music to my ancient ears. If you are only out for a week and you need to get back to base in time, there is little more frustrating than passing mile after mile of moored boats and being expected to move at tickover speed. Canals were made for boats to move, not moor! We do of course slow down. But having read this discussion we will make our own decision on speed according to prevailing conditions. The many comments on Boaters Update are well worth reading.