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I never did like Steve Haywood


nicknorman

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16 minutes ago, howardang said:

I have come across many people who tell you that they have been boating for many years, when what they really mean is that they have  hire a boat for a couple of weeks a year, and in between time they read a lot of books about the waterways.

 

Very true, and in addition there is a further cohort of narrowboaters who will tell you they have been boating 40 years, whilst demonstrating they have learned NOTHING during that time.

 

 

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8 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Very true, and in addition there is a further cohort of narrowboaters who will tell you they have been boating 40 years, whilst demonstrating they have learned NOTHING during that time.

 

 

Or to put it another way, when someone uses the I’ve had 40 years line, I often think ‘no mate, you’ve had one years experience 40 times’

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1 minute ago, Mike Tee said:

Or to put it another way, when someone uses the I’ve had 40 years line, I often think ‘no mate, you’ve had one years experience 40 times’

Or one week's experience 40 times in some cases.

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10 hours ago, Jerra said:

I suppose you think you can't be an experienced skilled car driver unless you have driven trucks, formula 1, horse and cart, etc.

I think @mrsmelly's point was that learning how to handle a boat in the relatively safe environment of a narrow canal doesn't develop the skills/knowledge that you might encounter in other environments, or when the unexpected arises.  You don't necessarily have to have crossed the Atlantic single handed to gain credibility, but I know plenty of folk who would described themselves as "experienced" who never stray more than a few days from their home mooring. 

 

We spent a day back in August in the company of a guy who kept describing himself as an "experienced narrowboater".  Coming up through the Cheshire locks it was clear that he was anything but, and when we approached Harecastle I asked him if he had ever been through the tunnel.  No, he replied, I've never actually been through any tunnels...

 

To be fair, it takes a lot of time to gain extensive experience on the inland waterways, time that most folk don't have.   But most narrowboaters could do with being a little more humble, and Mr Haywood is a glaring example.     

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Off topic but the best example of experienced boater (Not) was a couple I knew who lived on a boat for years making the occasional trip down the river. They saved up for ages to go on a year's cruise around the country and set off one Easter. By coincidence I caught up with them on the Rochdale. Going down into Manchester they were one lock ahead. Five locks down I heard their screams of despair.  "Oh no the engine has seized up.... our lives are ruined," they cried. Looking at the situation and considering where we where I suggested it may be something large wrapped around the prop and they should look down the weed-hatch. "Weed-hatch, what's that?" they replied. After removing an old donkey jacket they carried on and fulfilled their dream

 

Edited by Midnight
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13 minutes ago, Midnight said:

Off topic but the best example of experienced boater (Not) was a couple I knew who lived on a boat for years making the occasional trip down the river. They saved up for ages to go on a year's cruise around the country and set off one Easter. By coincidence I caught up with them on the Rochdale. Going down into Manchester they were one lock ahead. Five locks down I heard their screams of despair.  "Oh no the engine has seized up.... our lives are ruined," they cried. Looking at the situation and considering where we where I suggested it may be something large wrapped around the prop and they should look down the weed-hatch. "Weed-hatch, what's that?" they replied. After removing an old donkey jacket they carried on and fulfilled their dream

 

 

And I know a boater who has lived on their NB for 30 years and never steered it anywhere.

 

Doesn't know how and isn't interested in finding out. Relies on others to do it if it needs moving. ?

 

 

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1 hour ago, Neil2 said:

 

 

To be fair, it takes a lot of time to gain extensive experience on the inland waterways, time that most folk don't have.   But most narrowboaters could do with being a little more humble, and Mr Haywood is a glaring example.     

Oh how true that is. Ever been hung up in a lock? no, nor me, well not in the first 40 years anyway. Last year though we were, tied (Loosely) to a bollard on the lockside whilst waiting for a boat half a mile away to reach us. got talking to lockkeeper, approaching boat broke down,  Lockeeper pushed buttons to set the lock working - still tied to bollard. This year sort of similar thing on French canal, Many locks have two long rods set in a channel in the lock wall, you PUSH the blue one up to set the lock going when its empty and PULL the red one if something bad happens, this stops the lock. We caught a fender in the bottom of the red rod, as the boat rose it bent and jammed the rod, couldn't stop the lock as it was the PULL rod, I'd got fed up with losing fenders so it was attached with a mighty piece of rope and it was a sod of a job to cut though it. Apart from that I never make mistakes. Oh, there was that weir, and that rock....

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3 hours ago, Neil2 said:

We spent a day back in August in the company of a guy who kept describing himself as an "experienced narrowboater".  Coming up through the Cheshire locks it was clear that he was anything but, and when we approached Harecastle I asked him if he had ever been through the tunnel.  No, he replied, I've never actually been through any tunnels...

How can you not go through any tunnels?? They're all over the place!

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27 minutes ago, NB Caelmiri said:

How can you not go through any tunnels?? They're all over the place!

I am just having a think but you could probably go from Ellesmere Port all the up the Llangollen to the other Ellesmere down to Gnosall, across the Middlewich Branch and up to Aderton, all the Weaver, up to Hearcastle, on the Macclesfield to Whaley Bridge and then down to Manchester and up the Rochdale. I make it over 200 miles of connected canal without a tunnel 

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1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

I am just having a think but you could probably go from Ellesmere Port all the up the Llangollen to the other Ellesmere down to Gnosall, across the Middlewich Branch and up to Aderton, all the Weaver, up to Hearcastle, on the Macclesfield to Whaley Bridge and then down to Manchester and up the Rochdale. I make it over 200 miles of connected canal without a tunnel 

What about Ellesmere tunnel?

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3 minutes ago, Chris G said:

What about Ellesmere tunnel?

And whitehurst tunnel and chirk tunnel, although  whitehurst is more a long bridge than a tunnel :)

 

ahh I see the limit of navigation was Ellesmere 

Edited by tree monkey
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3 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Experience has taught me that there is no up-side to locking with fenders down.

 

 

And endless drawbacks.

 

 

 

Nightwatch is only 6' 8" wide. If Its just us going through a lock our rubber fenders are down as im a lousy steerer.?If we are sharing a double lock with another boat our rubber fenders are down, down want to ram the other boat Shiney or otherwise. We do cruise with them laying on the tunnel sometimes, only because I can't be ar*^d to put them down. The one and only lock which we couldn't get through was Hurlesdon (smell chuck) button of the Llangollen. You know the thin one! 

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16 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Well, it would appear from his actions that (his claimed) 40 years experience of driving a narrowboat is insufficient to gain reasonable boat handling skills

 

The trouble is, thst to learn you have to have an open mind, and be prepared to change the way you do things.

 

Arrogance prevents proper learning, as clearly demonstrated by Mr Haywood.

 

 

 

16 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Very true, and in addition there is a further cohort of narrowboaters who will tell you they have been boating 40 years, whilst demonstrating they have learned NOTHING during that time.

 

 

 

As amply evidenced by Mr Haywood! ?

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30 minutes ago, Nightwatch said:

Nightwatch is only 6' 8" wide. If Its just us going through a lock our rubber fenders are down as im a lousy steerer.?If we are sharing a double lock with another boat our rubber fenders are down, down want to ram the other boat Shiney or otherwise. We do cruise with them laying on the tunnel sometimes, only because I can't be ar*^d to put them down. The one and only lock which we couldn't get through was Hurlesdon (smell chuck) button of the Llangollen. You know the thin one! 

The width of your boat makes very little difference when your fender catches on something, pings off, and then sometime later gets caught on the cill so the lock gate won't shut.

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12 minutes ago, adam1uk said:

The width of your boat makes very little difference when your fender catches on something, pings off, and then sometime later gets caught on the cill so the lock gate won't shut.

Or my prop, got one on the prop at the bottom of Meaford and picked a floating one up at the top. The boat ahead of me had one ping off as they entered the top lock but they retrieved that one

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