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Long barge pole


blackrose

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Which canals do you need a 14' pole to check the depth ?

Aire and calder

9 minutes ago, ivan&alice said:

I'm amazed that some people consider poles optional! We have a short (5') that we keep at the stern and a medium pole (10') that we keep at the bow and a boat hook. They came with the boat - wish they were a bit longer. Use them almost every cruise. Maybe we're doing it wrong?

 

Bow thruster.

Stern thruster.

Most effective way to steer in reverse.

Punter when run aground.

Depth checker when considering a mooring.

Keep hands clean when fending against dirty things e.g. lock walls

Retrieve litter and things overboard.

 

Most importantly, if you don't have at least a ten foot barge pole, what do you use to not touch things with...?

Sounds to me like you need driving lessons old sport rather than an assortment of poles ;)

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4 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

If my boat ran around and I couldn't get it off with the engine I very much doubt my body weight and upper body strength would be able to free it with a pole. It depends on the situation I suppose but there's a bit of a difference in trying to do that depending on the size and weight of the boat.

 

Correct use of lines and poles can make a massive difference to manoeuvring a boat in a tight space.

 

Try it with a borrowed shaft.  Most people don't appreciate the difference pushing against something solid makes compared to spinning a fan in the water.

 

I bet I can stop your boat moving against the full power of your engine by using a line and a tree or bollard.  The same principle applies to pushing with a pole, compared to a blast on your bowthruster.  I admit that it's much easier to use the thruster from the other end of the boat though.

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1 hour ago, ivan&alice said:

 

Most importantly, if you don't have at least a ten foot barge pole, what do you use to not touch things with...?

 

A boat couple I knew were given a pole as a wedding present "for you not to touch each other with".

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46 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

I bet I can stop your boat moving against the full power of your engine by using a line and a tree or bollard.  The same principle applies to pushing with a pole,

not quite.   trees and bollards are inanimate and well anchored, the human body is not.    

using a pole safely is entirely different.

 

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2 hours ago, ivan&alice said:

Most effective way to steer in reverse.

I find a bucket and length of rope makes it much easier to steer in reverse than a pole.

Or you can use a 25kg weight if there is not to much rubbish in the waterway ;)

 

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9 minutes ago, Murflynn said:

not quite.   trees and bollards are inanimate and well anchored, the human body is not.    

using a pole safely is entirely different.

 

Granted, but I did specify "correct use."

 

I have seen some very creative suicide attempts using a boat and a pole, some of which end comically rather than tragically. 

 

Mind you, my pet hate is watching people try and stop a moving 20 ton boat with a hand or foot between the boat and the wall.  That tearing, snapping sound makes me queasy ...

 

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50 years ago a long shaft was an essential bit of kit. And for deep drafted boats a winch was often handy too.

Whatever people say about current maintenance of the waterways, the dredged depth is now much better than it was in BTC/early BWB days. I haven't needed a long shaft for several years.

The best and most athletic use of a long pole I witnessed was when a crew member of a firmly grounded boat used it to pole vault to the bank. Once there he fixed a winch line to a sturdy tree ………….. halcyon days!

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14 minutes ago, PhilR said:

50 years ago a long shaft was an essential bit of kit. And for deep drafted boats a winch was often handy too.

Whatever people say about current maintenance of the waterways, the dredged depth is now much better than it was in BTC/early BWB days. I haven't needed a long shaft for several years.

The best and most athletic use of a long pole I witnessed was when a crew member of a firmly grounded boat used it to pole vault to the bank. Once there he fixed a winch line to a sturdy tree ………….. halcyon days!

The Dutch are still doing it ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP32iWoqjnQ

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26 minutes ago, PhilR said:

 

The best and most athletic use of a long pole I witnessed was when a crew member of a firmly grounded boat used it to pole vault to the bank. Once there he fixed a winch line to a sturdy tree ………….. halcyon days!

 

12 minutes ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

The Dutch are still doing it ...

 

 

The Dutch were never very athletic or quick at tying knots to trees.

 

The best the Dutch have ever done in the Pole Vault was when Rens Blom came 3rd in the European Indoor Championships at Birmingham in 2003

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35 minutes ago, PhilR said:

50 years ago a long shaft was an essential bit of kit. And for deep drafted boats a winch was often handy too.

Whatever people say about current maintenance of the waterways, the dredged depth is now much better than it was in BTC/early BWB days. I haven't needed a long shaft for several years.

The best and most athletic use of a long pole I witnessed was when a crew member of a firmly grounded boat used it to pole vault to the bank. Once there he fixed a winch line to a sturdy tree ………….. halcyon days!

I have to agree. I cant go back fifty years on the inland system but have lived on it now for over thirty years and it is undoubtedly much better today than 1989 and early nineties in very many ways. Simply not having to dodge settees, sofas and cars on the Coventry for just one place of many.

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22 hours ago, Old Son said:

I use an aluminium scaffold pole with a plastic cover on each end. No rot, no rust and not much difference in weight.

Tried that, they don't float!

I have a long pole with a mud pommell on one end, never use it. I find if I get stuck reverse always works. I have a shorter one that gets used for gate closing and sealing up streaming gate mitres.

I have found a short boat hook very handy, its not too unwieldy for that quick dip in the cut to retrieve something, like dog, fender, firewood, miss thrown rope etc.

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3 hours ago, Loddon said:

I find a bucket and length of rope makes it much easier to steer in reverse than a pole.

Or you can use a 25kg weight if there is not to much rubbish in the waterway ;)

 

A tyre on a rope works well, doesn't get stuck much and if you lose it less tears, till the guy behind [in front, reversing?] finds it on his blade.

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3 hours ago, Murflynn said:

is it just me or does everyone see a shadowy black cow ready to receive the drink, which only disappears when I touch the play button?

I don't think my son's GF will be happy that you think she's a shadowy black cow... ?

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1 hour ago, IanD said:

I don't think my son's GF will be happy that you think she's a shadowy black cow... ?

I thought you both did well to only spill 2 small mouthfuls. And I also thought your son's GF looked really nice …. and enjoying her boating too.

Moments like that are worth recording. …. Cheers.

Phil

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18 hours ago, PhilR said:

I thought you both did well to only spill 2 small mouthfuls. And I also thought your son's GF looked really nice …. and enjoying her boating too.

Moments like that are worth recording. …. Cheers.

Phil

He's the one holding the pole, and came up with the idea after she'd told him she really wanted a beer -- luckily I always take a roll of gaffer tape on holiday. Just like Apollo 13... ?

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A pair of aluminium scaffold poles are dang useful.

 

Poling off a bank when you don't want to use the motor. 

Rigged to hold your boat out when mooring on a waterway that is tidal (or flooding).

Repelling drunken boarders (I've used a barge pole for that purpose, just had to heft it and tell them to sod off. They left when I picked up the pole.)

Rig a temporary cockpit cover. 

 

Loads of uses. 

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  • 2 months later...
28 minutes ago, Opener said:

Haven't read the whole thread but why all the fuss over delivery problems - ain't you not heard of Amazon lockers?

It might be worth reading the whole thread - I doubt that the Amazon lockers are big enough for a 20 / 22 / 24 foot length of wood.

Certainly our local 'Amazon Lockers' are not much bigger than our old lockers at school - just about for a pair of pumps and a towel into them.

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