Jump to content

Day tripers


sdraper78

Featured Posts

I'm new to boating and recently moved aboard my 52 boat with my westie, she has become so nervous due to the day hire boats on the Llangollen canal speeding up and down causing such a wake, no response from emails I've sent to local companies, what can be done other than leave a place I love, steve

 

 

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, sdraper78@live.com said:

I'm new to boating and recently moved aboard my 52 boat with my westie, she has become so nervous due to the day hire boats on the Llangollen canal speeding up and down causing such a wake, no response from emails I've sent to local companies, what can be done other than leave a place I love, steve

 

 

 

Unfortunately there is little you can do as boats move.

 

Do you have a permanent mooring or are you just tying up to the bankside and moving very few days ?

 

What may help is if you learn to tie your boat up correctly using both bow and stern lines and spring lines as well.

 

You see so many people who just tie up loosely and then jump out of the boat shouting slow-down as they come past you and its all down to bad mooring practice.

 

Lines No2 and 3 are called spring lines and will stop excessive movement fore and aft, they should be manufactured from Nylon (not polpropylene) as they will act as shock absorbers.

Lines 1 and 4 (which most people use) simply stop the bow / stern swinging out but do not stop any forward and backwards movement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yacht_Mooring_Lines.jpg

Edited by Alan de Enfield
  • Greenie 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As A de E says use spring lines, although on narrowboats it is more usual to have two lines at each end, each going at 45° away from the dolly (so there is a 90° angle between the two lines), rather than connected at differing points along the hull.

 

Finally, never use the centre line to moor. It will dramatically exaggerate movement when a boat goes past.

Edited by cuthound
Clarification
  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is moving an option? Day boats have limited range due to them having to get back by dinner time so you can easily moor somewhere where you won't encounter them. 

As @Tracy D'arth says wait till the summer. Last August I got stuck behind 4 dayboats as I came over the Ponta thingy aquaduct. Seems they all pile out of Trevor in the morning but they only went just past the Chirk aquaduct before they all turned in a mass comedy pile up and headed back!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have chosen one of the most popular canals to moor on. It's also the canal that most first time holiday makers chose. It will get worse as lockdown ends and the summer starts. Can you find a marina to moor in?

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, sdraper78@live.com said:

I'm new to boating and recently moved aboard my 52 boat with my westie, she has become so nervous due to the day hire boats on the Llangollen canal speeding up and down causing such a wake, no response from emails I've sent to local companies, what can be done other than leave a place I love, steve

 

 

It's all about having tight lines and a decent bit of rubber between you and the bank. My side fenders are old anti-shimmy aircraft tyres about 5 inches thick. Dont go for kart tyres waste of time and money. Once moored I rarely move, maybe an inch or two, despite being moored on the out side of a breasted pair. and the lift bridge traffic is myopic. Never laid a spring in 15 years. 

 

You can shout at the speeders as much as you like it will not change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, cuthound said:

As A de E says use spring lines, although on narrowboats it is more usual to have two lines at each end, each going at 45° away from the dolly (so there is a 90° angle between the two lines), rather than connected at differing points along the hull.

 

Finally, never use the centre line to moor. It will dramatically exaggerate movement when a boat goes past.

Absolutely this. We moor on the Grand Union, so hardly a backwater. I add a single spring when on my home mooring for any length of time, but otherwise 45 degree head and stern lines almost always suffice.  If you throw in a centre line, then it's Rock and Roll time, and you can spend your relaxing hours with a red face shouting "Slow Down" at passing boats as so many seem to do! ;)

 

  • Greenie 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not mentioned is the use of  fenders - not the useless bits of hosepipe type but 'proper salty stuff' fenders about 4 - 6" in diameter.

Put them fore and aft by the cabin end and tension the mooring lines so that passing boats just reduce the boat's movenment to a gentle sway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Not mentioned is the use of  fenders - not the useless bits of hosepipe type but 'proper salty stuff' fenders about 4 - 6" in diameter.

Put them fore and aft by the cabin end and tension the mooring lines so that passing boats just reduce the boat's movenment to a gentle sway.

 

But pleeeeese don't forget to lift them when going through narrow locks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Old 10" mini tyres. Dont tie rope around tyre. Rope will wear through and deposit tyre in the cut and you will not be popular. 2 holes trough the tread with a fairly heavy duty hole cutter, 1 hole in the bottom to drain water out. Only thing that works against heavy duty piling

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Victor Vectis said:

 

But pleeeeese don't forget to lift them when going through narrow locks!

For canal folk  - yes, for river and sea use folks leave them down......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

In my experience, no more than about 1 boat in 10 actually travels too fast past moored boats. If when moored you disagree with this figure, it almost certainly means that you have not moored properly.

had the fastest  ever pass me this week, day boat at almost full chat, he was still accelerating. I was moored against that very heavy steel interlocking piling so had a pair of wheelbarrow wheels down, bow and stern at 45° but it dragged the hull out and gave us bit of a tip, enough to open draws and no I didn't have a centre line on, it just pivoted from the bow and stern dollies. But that is so unusual 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/05/2021 at 17:43, David Mack said:

Boats move. You (and your dog) have to get used to it. Tieing up properly helps. 

And most of the boats passing you will be weekly hire boats and private boats, not day hire (not that it makes much difference).

Dont tie up with centreline, if it is tight boat rocks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 09/05/2021 at 01:41, matty40s said:

Actually, it depends on honeycomb, spiral/reed,  or smooth tripe, depends on the local tripe expert.?

 

I've always found that weak tripe is quite unpleasant but the daily version is much more appetising.  My dogs love it, even westies usually love tripe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 08/05/2021 at 14:16, sdraper78 said:

I'm new to boating and recently moved aboard my 52 boat with my westie, she has become so nervous due to the day hire boats on the Llangollen canal speeding up and down causing such a wake, no response from emails I've sent to local companies, what can be done other than leave a place I love, steve

 

 

I sympathise, I had a long term mooring on the Llan for a good few years right in the middle of the day boats range.

Practically apart from proper use of lines when mooring theres not much you can do, it's fairly pointless moaning to the hire base because once out of sight they have no control of how the boats are handled, plus if you moor in the area it's useful to keep them onside as they provide many useful services, fuel, dry dock, pump outs etc.

I did complain about 1 day boat more because of the abuse they were shouting to all and sundry and the wild steering and multiple crashes, as I understand it they lost their deposit but that was exceptional, if you moor on the Llan you just learn to live with with and look forward to the winter.

 

On the plus side I met and chatted to loads of lovely people all having a lovely time and it's a beautiful canal, so it's not all bad

 

Oh and use the Monty for a 2 week break a few times a year

Edited by tree monkey
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a thought - do you react to these boats yourself? Dogs (particularly in new environments) are very reactive to their owners' emotions. If you get stressed or angry at speeding boats, your dog might perceive this as being a sign of a threat nearby. Similarly if you over-comfort a dog in a stressful situation, they can also become unsettled as it comes across as out of the ordinary. Often the best thing to do is act as if nothing has happened.

 

I don't think you'll ever stop people speeding on the canal, but if you can find a way to be at peace with it your dog might follow. Not meaning to sound patronising, but it I've seen it work wonders for some dogs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe a bit more research and a few walks down the canal could of spotted the potential problem before buying a boat and moving on.

  I see similar in the Marina I’m in. They send an Email to the owner who promises them the world and answers all there questions, then when they arrive and aren’t on the prime moorings their face just drops and they look at you in bewilderment. Then you ask if they have ever visited the Marina and asked the boaters there what’s it like and they reply with “No”

Top tip to all Newbie’s go and check where your going to moor before you buy a boat and please remember you chose to buy a boat, no-one forced you and you can always move.

 I don’t think the speeding day boats are going to stop, the only thing that’s going to change is the person speeding/steering them every day.

Edited by PD1964
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.