ChrisG

I hope you're both okay after what sounds like a very worrying event. The reality, of course, is that you are enjoying a leisure activity which has dangerous aspects, and these cannot be avoided by the very nature of the activity itself. For instance, had the same event happened on a muddy towpath, would you suggest that towpaths aren't safe for purpose? Jumping (ie not stepping) ashore is probably the most frequent cause of falling in from any kind of boat, and it should be routine for skippers to brief their crews properly about coming alongside. Most of these accidents involve jumping from a still moving vessel onto an uncertain landing point, often a wooden jetty or quayheading. Boaters of all sorts have been doing this for hundreds of years, and there has always been a major slip hazard on these surfaces in rain, or when water has been spilled from hose or container. "Jumping" implies that there's a powerful forward impetus to the body, and the inertia generated from that is what causes the slip - that why seamen step off, rather than jump. I think that instances like this are more like to result in more calls for safety training for skippers and crews, rather than modification to facilities. Your report also seems to imply that boats' equipment should be more extensive, so perhaps BSCs should have a longer list of required safety equipment . . . Now personally, I'm not in favour of either of the above actions - but I am hugely in favour of boaters learning to handle their sometimes very large and awkward vessels in a safe manner, and managing their crews in a similar way.

here 'tis: clicky They aren't cheap to hire, but neither are narrowboats! You'll be able to see a half-hour programme about our particular trip on the UK Boating Get Afloat TV show, which premieres on Sky 167, Friday 9th May at 7.30pm It's really still moderately chancey, Allan! The problem isn't from general waves and movement, but from unexpected waves in combination with ferry/ship washes that would worry me. I imagine you'd get some stability benefit from lashing two together, but the lashing would have to be right around the hulls, to prevent damage to either. The problem would then be that the increased stability might lead to waves breaking over the bow and flooding the boat . . .

Just spent a few days filming for a new edition of UK Boating on the French canals - canal de Somme around Amien - and was delighted to see how little things have changed since last there, eight years ago on my own boat. You get boats you can walk around on without bumping into each other, good moorings in big cities, towns and villages, and a genuinely friendly and interested welcome from some locals. Its only 3 hours from London, plus the ferry, and I rate it a serious improvement over some UK hiring . . .

We worked down the Oxford a few years ago in a 26ft grp boat in company with a 23ft similar - it meant we had double the winding power, and had a jolly time, too. The only difficult moment was on a lock where the maximum beam was highre than the average nb, so we had to drop the tiny pound by a couple of inches to get out. The nb folk were both helpful and understanding, apart from an american lady who came up and made an a-se of herself. But it didn't take her long, she was most of the way there before she started to speak . . .

I spent a year in a small 23ft yacht a few years ago; a Virgo 23, the smallest boat in which I could stand up (vital for comfort), and with a diesel engine. I went around the UK East and South Coasts, northern coast of France, took the mast down to go into the French canals, etc., and spend a surprisingly small amount overall - but UK south coast marinas were pretty expensive, the rest fine. French canals are cheap to do, there's only a small licence cost, which is based upon sq metre size. It's very enjoyable. I'd recommend that anyone doing this would need to get themselves some coastal sailing experience (UK canal experience is not very relevant), do a Cert of Competence (essential wih your own boat in France), get a coastal skipper or day skipper cert (essential for knowledge) and a VHF qualification. Gaining at least some experience is the most important thing - usually every summer there's a newspaper piece or ten about a "Captain Calamity" who buys a boat and sets off without any knowledge, putting a lot of other people into danger or at least to inconvenience, and looks a prize pratt. If you bought a boat this year, and sailed a lot during this season, you might be ready to kick off next year.

I spent about a year living in a small boat (seagoing), but went into the French canals, etc., and I love it - but couldn't do it now with partner, business commitments, etc. I actually rather like living in relatively small spaces - don't find it too bad at all. And, of course, on a seagoing boat, no licence payments, no taxes, etc. although you have to pay marina charges when you spend a night or three in one. But I think two or three sets of comments from real boat dwellers could redress the balance of what sounds like a silly article.

I'd be keen to film some people who've (a) made it through thr or four years afloat and plan to continue, and ( some people who've found it didn't work for them. Ideally be living in the eastern side of England . . . and be happy to be filmed for UK Boating.

We're now coming up to a new filming season for our little UK Boating TV show on sky - we've now produced around 20 programmes, and I think its definitely becoming more like the show I wanted it to be. We've got a couple of inland waterway shooting days planned so far, but have more time available. Specifically, we have a day planned on a regular canal cleanup operation, a trip on a charitable organisation's boat for disabled people, and a look at French inland waterways. We're also following the progress of some people restoring a Dawncraft narrowbeam cruiser on the Fens. What are you suggestions and ideas? You can see some clips from programmes already completed here: http://www.uk-boating.tv/video.html

The idea of introducing "super-regions" is to reduce the number of programmes produced, and appeal to a larger audience, not to smaller or more specialist ones . . .

Very nice boat, Fuzzy. Crewed on one through the French canals 6 or 7 years ago - Calais to Sete - had a little engine trouble around Montargis, which was fixed by a local garagist!

There's a specialist barge harbour at Port Werburgh, Hoo - just on the North side of the Medway, which is easy for Dartford, and they seem to encourage residentials . . . although you pay by the metre, so a narrowboat pays more for the same square footage as a widebeam. I had a wander around when I was in Hoo marina - it's seems like a very good spot.

Howard's spot on right of course - I've sailed a steel boat, years ago, and the mag compass helped us cross from the UK to Norway in a reasonably straightish line, twenty years before GPS. The pic is excellent, haven't seen it before, so well-found. The wiggles are seriously boring - means that as a single hander you have to hand steer a lot, and the amount of rubbish you sometimes see makes you worry about your prop! Once you've done the bit below Tower bridge, where the new apartment blocks seem to go on for ever, a couple of times, you won't find it so interesting . . .

Cracking thread - I'd just love to read the comments if someone went out with this owner, fell in and/or got hurt . . . "what! no insurance!" etc . . . The gent is question is offering a business transaction, for which he requires money. You, in return, should expect an appropriate level of security and safety for your person. I have no doubt that were the worst to happen, you'd be quick to say "what about the insurance!".

The best waterway guides are the Navicarte series, which are in French and English - there's six of them, but you can choose which to buy depending on where you plan to go. I went through the french canals a couple of times a few years ago, and found these really useful. The French price is about £15 each, but I think they cost quite a lot here - but you can get them online. I think the Imray map is a useful overall guide, but it isn't very detailed. Most towns and villages have free moorings, but in a few specific places you may have to pay a bit - but most are considerably cheaper. Inland waterways marinas aren't as frequent as here, and many might have problems accomodating a long narrowboat - everything is widebeam there, even the smallest canals being designed around the Freycinet gauge, 5m beam, by 15m long. In the north and on the Rhone, locks are much, much larger! Remember that you need an ICC to skipper your own boat there, and if you have good french, a VHF (and an appropriate training qualification) can be handy. I think narrowboats are regarded as a bit of an oddity there - dutch barge styles, converted peniches, and steel cruisers are extremely popular.

Many peniches have folding wheelhouses - I watched a remarkably ancient barge lady take her full-width hutch down on her own in about 3 minutes whilst the barge continued to idle towards a lock bridge . . . mind you, she probably did it every day!

Indeed - but we're only going to Brummie to film at the Boat Caravan and Outdoor show!

When the canals were booming in their heyday, the Broads were too - but both systems were supplying London-bound trade largely, rather than each other. Norfolk's vast agricultural trade output was taken to Lowestoft and Yarmouth, and shipped south, while the incoming bulk trades, like coal, came from the North East - there wasn't much coming from or going to the Midlands, and what there was (factory products, perhaps) probably went to London anyway, and were shipping north again. Even today, going west towards the Midlands from East Anglia is a miserable train journey, and only us lucky people who live at Felixstowe and west of there have the A14 to speed us towards Brummie - thanks to conainer lorries, whose cargo should be travelling by barge on a 1500 tonne industrial canal from the Wash westwards!

We'll definitely be running something about the snags a new owner can run into with a new build - should be on air in March, I think. But I'd be a little concerned in getting involved with the lovely Chloe - I'm not too sure I'd want the owner to have to relive that stress and unhappiness, more than anything. I might see what he says, however.

That seems like a very straightforward analysis . . . although I'm not entirely sure how fair it is to most builders.

This one clearly shows the relationship between th main waterway system and the fenland waterways, linked by the GU Northampton Arm: http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/Inland-...of-England.html This one gives a clear showing of the completely unlinked Broads: http://www.waterscape.com/map/ I know that several narrowboats have made the trip to the Broads one way or another - mostly, I suspect, on the back of a truck.

I'm not entirely surprised - but so far, we haven't got one boater with a poor buying experience/building tale, who is willing to stand up and tell their story on screen . . . It isn't that they could get into any sort of legal trouble from this, because we edit for legality as well as content, perhaps they feel it's simply easier not to make waves. It's much easier to fulminate on the forum, but harder to look people in the eye! It's all very well for me to stand up and go on about the outcome of our research, and I'll gladly do that and provide the best advice we can get, but it would be so much better if one or two boaters actually stood up to be counted. Some of the people who've been in touch do have very valid reasons for not appearing, but I must say that I'm still rather disappointed.

A rowing eight shell is a little more fragile and liable to sinking than an n/b . . . . !

Excellent pictures of a really fairly rare event . . . wonder how many weeks BW pocketmoney that cost! If you'd done it on video, would have been very keen to have it in the show!

To save Tony worries, I've drawn the UK Boating entries this morning, but of the 300 received a surprising majority were by phone, and I'm obviously not willing to publish phone numbers! But the email winners are: Janet Stevens, Sam Harris, Paul Collard, Graham, John Slee and Michael - the emails are already the way to them, and as soon as I have their postal addresses, the tickets will be in the post. The 14 UK Boating telephone winners will be contacted today or tomorrow. Any winners who don't get back to me by Friday noon will lose their tickets, and we'll redraw them. UK Boating and The Caravan Channel draws are made by assigning each incoming entries a number, then obtaining a list of random numbers giving an appropriate number of winners from the number of entrants. This is the site we use to pick winning numbers: http://www.random.org/

I think Dylan's comment is very accurate - nothing much changes in terms of what a handful (or less) of slightly under par builders, etc., are willing to try to get away with. Purely as a personal viewpoint, I've always bought secondhand boats, although mostly seagoing rather than inland. I wouldn't buy one without an appropriate survey, and in some instances having a survery is mandatory to get insurance. At that stage, I should know what I'm getting, and any unforseen problems may be between me and the surveyor. As I understand it, n/b buyers are really buying on the basis on a simple sales form, like a car showroom - standard product plus extras. They are usually asked for stage payments to pay for materials and labour, but these may not be related to the stage of completion of the actual boat. A few builders, it seems, may be happy to show a hull in build or fit to a buyer . . . but it may not be theirs really. In the commercial shipping world, build contracts are, I understand, much more stringent. There are surveys during the build, the work is overseen by the buyer's marine superintendent, and there are finally acceptance trial when the builder may have to put things right. Although I wouldn't suggest going as far as this, I would suggest that for many people, buying a £70k boat is the same as a shipping line buying a big vessel, and needs to be properly and professionally overseen, starting with a purchase contract that, perhaps, assigns specific amounts to work, and deals with the ownership of the boat to suit. I'd be interested to see how much better a boat a buyer willing to hire a marine surveyor to attend for a few hours at the builder, might get. An hour to look at the completed shell, another to inspect the engine and main mechanics, more to inspect stages of fit - if you're spending £70k already, another £2k wouldn't make much difference, especially if you got an appreciable difference at the end