Another fabulously naive question

[georgekatkins]

Greetings!

 

When mooring up on a canal, can you moor on either side? I presume the answer is "yes" if both shores are capable. If only one shore is available and you are on the other side, do you just cut over and moor, or do you have to turn your boat around and then moor, going in the opposition direction?

 

George

[LadyG]

Moor on the towpath side, which is usually looked after by the CRT. The other side may be privately owned.

There is no strong flow, so no need to turn.

The boats are often  longer than the width of the canal, so there are turning points known as winding holes [name derived from using the wind to assist].

Not all areas are suitable for mooring, some popular areas have mooring rings, other places you have to use metal spikes which you carry on your boat, or "nappy pins" and "goat chains" to tie up to metal barriers [Armco] on the bankside.

Wide rivers with a strong flow, it may be better to moor pointing in to the flow 

[Scholar Gypsy]

A pedant writes:
1) there are a few canals (the Birmingham new main line is the obvious one) with towpaths on either side,
2) you asked about canals. On rivers the  concept of a towpath is more fluid - sometimes you can moor on the left bank, sometimes on the right, sometimes not at all. Any path can quite often jump from one side to the other, usually at the location of a long forgotten ferry,

[Tony Brooks]

And on rivers the adjacent land owners also own the river bank and bed be there a towpath or not so many prohibit mooring and others make a charge for it. On canals CaRT do not make a charge but  at certain sites will time limit mooring to as little as one or two hours in a few places. These are normally outside shops. Typical time limits 24 or 48 hours or 14 days if no signs say otherwise.

[MtB]

3 hours ago, georgekatkins said:

Greetings!

 

When mooring up on a canal, can you moor on either side? I presume the answer is "yes" if both shores are capable. If only one shore is available and you are on the other side, do you just cut over and moor, or do you have to turn your boat around and then moor, going in the opposition direction?

 

George

 

You've not looked that closely at pics of our canals I suspect!

 

The vast majority are significantly narrower than the length of a boat, so turning is mostly impossible except at specifically excavated "winding holes'. The next winding hole could easily be an hour or two cruising time away!

 

So basically yes you cut across to whichever bank is the towpath side and moor facing the way you are going.

 

 

[Arthur Marshall]

If CRT own the usual ransom strip on the offside, I've always wondered if it's legit to moor on it. Also if there's a right of way path on the offside, as there often is. Plus, if it's piled on the off, even if private land, could you drop a hook in legally without ever getting off the boat? 

[Tony Brooks]

50 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

If CRT own the usual ransom strip on the offside, I've always wondered if it's legit to moor on it. Also if there's a right of way path on the offside, as there often is. Plus, if it's piled on the off, even if private land, could you drop a hook in legally without ever getting off the boat? 

 

Not on a river without the riparian owners consent but on a canal probably but bylaws may prohibit anchoring.

[Peter X]

George,

Welcome to the forum. Lots of good advice already given, basically on a canal you normally moor on the towpath side still facing the way you're going, partly because there are limited opportunities to turn around. On a river people often turn to face the flow when mooring, but not necessarily; the important thing there is to get the upstream end of the boat tied first (and well) to prevent the current catching hold of it and swinging the boat around.

Finally, in central and east London, and a few other hotspots around the system, it's not easy to moor because there are way too many boats wanting moorings! But do get over here and try boating on our canals, lots of people do it and really enjoy it.

[Paul C]

On 18/08/2019 at 09:27, Arthur Marshall said:

If CRT own the usual ransom strip on the offside, I've always wondered if it's legit to moor on it. Also if there's a right of way path on the offside, as there often is. Plus, if it's piled on the off, even if private land, could you drop a hook in legally without ever getting off the boat? 

No because its not the towpath. The T&Cs indicate that you are okay to moor beside the towpath. If you weren't planning on getting off, I can't see how stopping by the offside could be "trespass" but as soon as you attach something to the eg piling, that's going to 1) be considered mooring (see previous explanation for why its not okay) and 2) have to, by definition, encroach upon the "boundary" so at least something will be over it. I think even if you didn't physically make a connection with the bank, eg mudweights or whatever, it could be called mooring and thus be not permitted on that side, although it would not be trespass per se.

[Machpoint005]

There is no "right side" or "wrong side" when cruising, You don't steer up the right-hand side of the cut, you usually go along bang in the middle, but if you meet another boat coming towards you, you pass port-to-port (ie to the right of the other boat).

[georgekatkins]

On 18/08/2019 at 02:40, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

You've not looked that closely at pics of our canals I suspect!

 

The vast majority are significantly narrower than the length of a boat, so turning is mostly impossible except at specifically excavated "winding holes'. The next winding hole could easily be an hour or two cruising time away!

 

So basically yes you cut across to whichever bank is the towpath side and moor facing the way you are going.

 

 

Mike,

Thanks for the response. I'm afraid the question was question was badly framed, as I was unconsciously thinking of my 26'  hire boat, rather than the normal larger-sized narrowboats. But I appreciate the confirmation about mooring to whichever side is required, in the direction I'm moving.

[georgekatkins]

To LadyG, ScholarGypsy, Terry Brooks, Peter X, and MachPoint005, et al., thanks for your input! The Wife and I are really looking forward to our Midweek Break on the K&A. We've watched lots of YouTube videos and read what we could. But I was stuck on this small (but otherwise obvious) point. 

[Tony Brooks]

Oh dear. The K&A has an interesting be profile in many places that means it can be difficult to get flat bottomed canal boats alongside apart from where there are proper moorings. It is still possible to moor on the tow path side but it often involves a leap of faith with a rope and then walking the plank to get on and off the boat.

 

If your 26' hire boat is a small narrow boat then it probably is flat bottomed. If its a GRP cruiser then it is likely to be slightly V bottomed so you can get alongside the bank in many more places.

[Graham Davis]

Does anyone on the K & A have a 26" hire boat, as I can't find one listed?

[Tony Brooks]

26' (ft) not 26" (in) so maybe a day boat let for a longer period or a GRP job.

[Alan de Enfield]

21 minutes ago, Graham Davis said:

Does anyone on the K & A have a 26" hire boat, as I can't find one listed?

Could just be a Face-Book contact who has said "I'll rent you mine" - we don't know and don't really need to know.

[Cheese]

The hire company / boat was mentioned in the OP's previous thread.

[Alan de Enfield]

32 minutes ago, Cheese said:

The hire company / boat was mentioned in the OP's previous thread.

Hello! However, my wife and I are going on holiday in England and hope to hire a narrowboat for a short break. It is a new experience for us. We ran across one company known as "Kennet & Avon Canal Boat Hire" and wonder if anybody knows anything about the company (experience, boats, etc.) they could share with us. George

[Graham Davis]

Found it:
https://www.kennetandavoncanalboathire.co.uk/boats/

Not sure I fancy a weeks holiday in something that small.

[Tony Brooks]

9 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Hello! However, my wife and I are going on holiday in England and hope to hire a narrowboat for a short break. It is a new experience for us. We ran across one company known as "Kennet & Avon Canal Boat Hire" and wonder if anybody knows anything about the company (experience, boats, etc.) they could share with us. George

I think the above was a quote from the OP that Alan transferred to this thread.

 

My answer would have been "beware websites but don't give a business address - however swish the site looks". Ar least I have not seen the address on that site, just says the boats are based at Bathampton.

 

 

[Chewbacka]

1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

I think the above was a quote from the OP that Alan transferred to this thread.

 

My answer would have been "beware websites but don't give a business address - however swish the site looks". Ar least I have not seen the address on that site, just says the boats are based at Bathampton.

 

 

I was curious so had a look too.  They say they are opposite the school in Bathampton.

 

Their address I think is 

Kennet and Avon Canal Boat Hire,

Tyning Road, Bathampton,

BA2 6TQ

 

so now you can look at them on google street view if you wish.....

[Tony Brooks]

46 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

I was curious so had a look too.  They say they are opposite the school in Bathampton.

 

Their address I think is 

Kennet and Avon Canal Boat Hire,

Tyning Road, Bathampton,

BA2 6TQ

 

so now you can look at them on google street view if you wish.....

 

Personally I don't want to investigate the company but if things go wrong and that address just turns out to be the turn round base then effective legal action might be difficult.

[Graham Davis]

Google maps/Streetview(Towpath view) just shows tow path moorings along that length, and a Bloomsbury Boat Co hiring boats as well.

[georgekatkins]

FYI - The Wife and I rented a narrowboat for a short week this past September from K&A Canal Boat Hire. Their boats are, indeed, moored along the towpath in Bathampton. Richard and Sue Warren run the family business and, with only 3 boats, I reckon that is not enough to have their own marina. Still, we had a very nice time. Richard was our instructor and was very helpful and friendly. The boat ran without any mechanical or nautical problems. Aside from my own poor seamanship, we had no problems with the hire. We would happily use them again.

George

[robtheplod]

I think its lovely that so many Americans come over and have a go - I often end up having a chat to one or two each time we go out....