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Tow needed - Shardlow area


Ash55

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Hello, I need a tow for a 60' narrowboat from the Trent & Mersey canal near Shardlow, Derbyshire to Shardlow Marina. Total distance no more than about 5 miles. Is anyone able to help or point me in the direction of someone who might be able to? Not looking for a freebie. I expect to pay.

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12 minutes ago, Ash55 said:

Hello, I need a tow for a 60' narrowboat from the Trent & Mersey canal near Shardlow, Derbyshire to Shardlow Marina. Total distance no more than about 5 miles. Is anyone able to help or point me in the direction of someone who might be able to? Not looking for a freebie. I expect to pay.

Welcome to CWDF.

Have you asked Shardlow Marina if they can provide this service or if they know someone who could?

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I've asked Shardlow Marina and I'm waiting for them to come back to me but I know they are very busy as we come out of lockdown so I'm not confident that they'll be able to help. Hence asking here.

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You may not get a huge number of offers as most boat insurance policies do not cover them for towing, if they ran into something whilst towing, or you ran into something then the insurers would not pay out.

 

Particularly if you are paying, it become a commercial tow and the regulations are much tighter.

 

You may find someone who can 'just tow you around the corner" unofficially, or maybe not.

 

Have you considered walking it there (bow hauling) ?

You can easily do 2 or 3 or 4 miles a day

Once it is moving it is not difficult to keep it moving.

 

 

According to Jerome K Jerome's best seller "Three Men In a Boat" There is nothing more exciting than being towed by girls.

Quote............

 

Of all experiences in connection with towing, the most exciting is being towed by girls. It is a sensation that nobody ought to miss. It takes three girls to tow always; two hold the rope, and the other one runs round and round, and giggles. They generally begin by getting themselves tied up. They get the line round their legs, and have to sit down on the path and undo each other, and then they twist it round their necks, and are nearly strangled. They fix it straight, however, at last, and start off at a run, pulling the boat along at quite a dangerous pace. At the end of a hundred yards they are naturally breathless, and suddenly stop, and all sit down on the grass and laugh, and your boat drifts out to mid- stream and turns round, before you know what has happened, or can get hold of a scull. Then they stand up, and are surprised.

"Oh, look!" they say; "he's gone right out into the middle."

They pull on pretty steadily for a bit, after this, and then it all at once occurs to one of them that she will pin up her frock, and they ease up for the purpose, and the boat runs aground.

You jump up, and push it off, and you shout to them not to stop.

"Yes. What's the matter?" they shout back.

"Don't stop," you roar.

"Don't what?"

"Don't stop — go on — go on!"

"Go back, Emily, and see what it is they want," says one; and Emily comes back, and asks what it is.

"What do you want?" she says; "anything happened?"

" No," you reply, "it's all right; only go on, you know — don't stop."

"Why not?"

"Why, we can't steer, if you keep stopping. You must keep some way on the boat."

"Keep some what?"

"Some way — you must keep the boat moving."

"Oh, all right, I'll tell `em. Are we doing it all right?"

"Oh, yes, very nicely, indeed, only don't stop."

"It doesn't seem difficult at all. I thought it was so hard."

"Oh, no, it's simple enough. You want to keep on steady at it, that's all."

"I see. Give me out my red shawl, it's under the cushion."

You find the shawl, and hand it out, and by this time another one has come back and thinks she will have hers too, and they take Mary's on chance, and Mary does not want it, so they bring it back and have a pocket-comb instead. It is about twenty minutes before they get off again, and, at the next corner, they see a cow, and you have to leave the boat to chivy the cow out of their way.

There is never a dull moment in the boat while girls are towing it.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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Maybe you can  'breast up' with someone, isn't wide down there? Then you would not be breaking the rules on towing. I once picked up a cruiser on the Rhine and the authorities were happy with it being tied alongside but towing another boat was strictly forbidden.

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A couple of times when I have been hard aground, I have asked the next passing boat for a snatch. Most boaters are happy to help, at least for a short while.

Money never changes hands on these occasions, but brown glass bottles of amber liquid have been known to cross the gunwales from one boat to the other.

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

A couple of times when I have been hard aground, I have asked the next passing boat for a snatch. Most boaters are happy to help, at least for a short while.

Money never changes hands on these occasions, but brown glass bottles of amber liquid have been known to cross the gunwales from one boat to the other.

Yeah! Ran aground in the middle of the cut on some silt near Foulridge. Asked a passing hire 'for a snatch'. Passed over a rope which the guy on their stern stood holding while they motored away. Surprisingly when the rope became taut it didn't pull us off......

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5 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Have you considered walking it there (bow hauling) ?

You can easily do 2 or 3 or 4 miles a day

Once it is moving it is not difficult to keep it moving.

 

Ah yes, get to the confluence of the Derwent and Trent, try to stop the boat carrying on to Sawley whilst ploughing through mud and reeds on the corner.

Fling the line under Fathorse Bridge and run to catch it on the other side whilst keeping the boat moving forward against the Trent...chuck it over a couple or 6 40 foot trees, no problem...

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Just now, matty40s said:

Ah yes, get to the confluence of the Derwent and Trent, try to stop the boat carrying on to Sawley whilst ploughing through mud and reeds on the corner.

Fling the line under Fathorse Bridge and run to catch it on the other side whilst keeping the boat moving forward against the Trent...chuck it over a couple or 6 40 foot trees, no problem...

 

If something is too easy, its probably not worth doing.

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I really don’t get this “insurance doesn’t cover towing” thing. I’ve towed plenty of boats over the years….it’s really not tricky and it’s just the right thing to do if someone is in a pickle. Im sorry im not closer or I’d be happy to oblige. 

5 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Have you considered joining RCR (breakdown and rescue - including towing) ?

Are you serious!?? I wouldn’t let those cowboys anywhere near a boat if you want it to be safe!! 

Edited by frangar
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2 minutes ago, frangar said:

I really don’t get this “insurance doesn’t cover towing” thing. I’ve towed plenty of boats over the years….it’s really not tricky and it’s just the right thing to do if someone is in a pickle. Im sorry im not closer or I’d be happy to oblige. 

I agree, we met a guy in Alrewas a few years ago who had waited two days for a tow down the river section. I was happy to tow him.

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4 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

I agree, we met a guy in Alrewas a few years ago who had waited two days for a tow down the river section. I was happy to tow him.

I’ve met some excellent people who wanted a tow. I also work on the theory than one day it may well be me in need! 

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26 minutes ago, frangar said:

I’ve met some excellent people who wanted a tow. I also work on the theory than one day it may well be me in need! 

 

 

I too have invlalidated my insurance by towing a boat that broke down and was on his way to being swept over Cromwell weir. I towed him back to Newark.

 

I was simply making the OP aware of the implications of a tow,

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38 minutes ago, frangar said:

I’ve met some excellent people who wanted a tow. I also work on the theory than one day it may well be me in need! 

I have also towed a few people in my time and would probably do so again, but have you looked at your insurance policy?....closely?:huh:.

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5 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I have also towed a few people in my time and would probably do so again, but have you looked at your insurance policy?....closely?:huh:.

Tbh what’s the worst you are going do to your own boat if you have half an ounce of sense…if things go very wrong then lose the tow. Even a heavy cruiser that lost steering on the Severn partings wasn’t too much stress…if you aren’t comfortable then don’t do it 

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When I have looked at insurance policies there is a prohibition on towing commercially I.e. for money, but generally no ban on towing otherwise. The one example I can remember that said no towing made an exception for cases of emergency, which would cover Alan's Cromwell example.

I have however been asked on a proposal form whether I intend to tow inflatables carrying children. Now, about that blow-up butty...

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11 minutes ago, David Mack said:

When I have looked at insurance policies there is a prohibition on towing commercially I.e. for money, but generally no ban on towing otherwise. The one example I can remember that said no towing made an exception for cases of emergency, which would cover Alan's Cromwell example.

I have however been asked on a proposal form whether I intend to tow inflatables carrying children. Now, about that blow-up butty...

 

I did question my previous insurers about this, they said towing was prohibited except when saving life or property, or when customary. On the cut it is customary to help a boat in trouble ?

 

................Dave

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10 minutes ago, David Mack said:

When I have looked at insurance policies there is a prohibition on towing commercially I.e. for money, but generally no ban on towing otherwise. The one example I can remember that said no towing made an exception for cases of emergency, which would cover Alan's Cromwell example.

I have however been asked on a proposal form whether I intend to tow inflatables carrying children. Now, about that blow-up butty...

My GJW policy reads,"...We will not insure you or the Vessel during any time that the Vessel tows another Vessel or is

towed by another Vessel except in emergency or when it is customary.....". As said, I have both towed people and breasted up to pass through locks (Hatton, Caen Hill,) but you need to be aware that a contact with a shiny boater who may want to put in a claim may well come out of your own pocket;).

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15 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I can remember that said no towing made an exception for cases of emergency, which would cover Alan's Cromwell example.

 

I wonder when the 'emergency' was no longer an emergency ?

 

I could have just taken him the 300 yards from the weir and tied him up to the lock approach, or the visitors pontoon - would that have been emergency over ?

Instead I towed him several miles back to Newark which was (probably) unnecessary and (probably) invalidated my insurance, but, it got him back to his home mooring in the marina so he could make repairs.

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