Horns: does anyone use them anymore?

[Tonka]

What is the official number of beeps for getting the other half's attention when they are in the cabin

[GUMPY]

30 minutes ago, Tonka said:

What is the official number of beeps for getting the other half's attention when they are in the cabin

I use a really short bleep too short to be a sound signal. But then I have a very attentive wife 😉

[ditchcrawler]

18 minutes ago, GUMPY said:

I use a really short bleep too short to be a sound signal. But then I have a very attentive wife 😉

I ring the bell, 

 

[GUMPY]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I ring the bell, 

 

 

I am resisting  the temptation to post a Leslie Philips meme.

 

[Tam & Di]

2 hours ago, Tonka said:

What is the official number of beeps for getting the other half's attention when they are in the cabin

 Why isn't she out there on the tiller so you can have a nice peaceful lie-in?

 

Tam

[MtB]

On 10/06/2023 at 12:33, Arthur Marshall said:

As the average age of boaters I saw last week must be around seventy, and we're all standing on top of diesels, I doubt whether more than 2% of boaters will hear a horn signal however often you blow it. I couldn't even hear mine last week after a fortnight being Listered.

 

 

And people say a proper engine room is a waste of space! 

 

The quiet cruising you get is bliss. 

 

 

 

 

14 hours ago, enigmatic said:

Can you throw the lock key if they're not looking at you? Asking for a friend 

 

 

Aren't they a bit small for attracting attention?

 

 

[Lily Rose]

 

I've got one of those sheets Ray hands out, from the man himself but not because I made rude comments to him I hasten to add!

 

Nicely laminated so it's still in good condition almost 8 years later. Kept in a cubby hole within easy reach of my steering position. The trouble is there's never enough time to grab it and refer to it and I've never managed to learn it. Apart from no. 7 that is. I'll have to try and find somewhere I can attach it so it's always visible.

 

[LadyG]

25 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

 

I've got one of those sheets Ray hands out, from the man himself but not because I made rude comments to him I hasten to add!

 

Nicely laminated so it's still in good condition almost 8 years later. Kept in a cubby hole within easy reach of my steering position. The trouble is there's never enough time to grab it and refer to it and I've never managed to learn it. Apart from no. 7 that is. I'll have to try and find somewhere I can attach it so it's always visible.

 

There is a system or logic to them, so you don't learn them by rote as seems obvious.

Here is my method. you adapt it to your own thoughts.

 

One long blast, get out of my way, I'm coming through!

 

Two short toots is about PORT ,  two drinks in one glass is a double. Turning to port

So one toot, a single, is turning to starboard.

The bit about overtaking is just a long followed by either two short toots, or one short toot.

If someone is steering a boat on an inland waterway they will generally steer on the midline and ease over to starboard if meeting another boat head on. 

The boats then pass port to port.

This is why I found it difficult to overtake a trip boat, (which would be helmed by a qualified skipper). He was not on the centre of navigation or just to the right of centre, he was not maintaining a good lookout, he was travelling very slowly, and most damming, when I gave a quick blip to let him know I was there, he then went over to starboard when he should have moved over to port. This meant I had to overtake on what can only be described as the unconventional side,  my starboard to his starboard.

 

I don't think I have ever used five short blasts "what the hell are you doing?" This would be to prevent a collision situation, and would likely be used after exchanging signals, which have been ignored or mi misunderstood. This does happen.

 

I quite often give a toot, maybe in a musical  rhythm if approaching a lock and there appears to be human activity. Quite often there are picnickers, sometimes CRT painters, sometimes boat crew, or CRT lockies.

Edited June 11, 2023 by LadyG

[Ianws]

1 hour ago, LadyG said:

There is a system or logic to them, so you don't learn them by rote as seems obvious.

Here is my method. you adapt it to your own thoughts.

 

One long blast, get out of my way, I'm coming through!

 

Two short toots is about PORT ,  two drinks in one glass is a double. Turning to port

So one toot, a single, is turning to starboard.

The bit about overtaking is just a long followed by either two short toots, or one short toot.

If someone is steering a boat on an inland waterway they will generally steer on the midline and ease over to starboard if meeting another boat head on. 

The boats then pass port to port.

This is why I found it difficult to overtake a trip boat, (which would be helmed by a qualified skipper). He was not on the centre of navigation or just to the right of centre, he was not maintaining a good lookout, he was travelling very slowly, and most damming, when I gave a quick blip to let him know I was there, he then went over to starboard when he should have moved over to port. This meant I had to overtake on what can only be described as the unconventional side,  my starboard to his starboard.

 

I don't think I have ever used five short blasts "what the hell are you doing?" This would be to prevent a collision situation, and would likely be used after exchanging signals, which have been ignored or mi misunderstood. This does happen.

 

I quite often give a toot, maybe in a musical  rhythm if approaching a lock and there appears to be human activity. Quite often there are picnickers, sometimes CRT painters, sometimes boat crew, or CRT lockies.

Unless I'm completely misunderstanding you, I don't know how you could physically manage to overtake passing starboard to starboard. I thought the general opinion was that (in most but not all circumstances) the overtaking boat would move over to port and pass on the left (their starboard side passing the other boat's port side). The trip boat moving over to starboard would have helped you to do this.

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Ianws said:

Unless I'm completely misunderstanding you, I don't know how you could physically manage to overtake passing starboard to starboard. I thought the general opinion was that (in most but not all circumstances) the overtaking boat would move over to port and pass on the left (their starboard side passing the other boat's port side). The trip boat moving over to starboard would have helped you to do this.

 

 

Good point. This reminds me of those memes where the people in charge of a public staircase decide to make the traffic flow more easily by putting up signs requiring people to ascend on the left, and descend on the right. 

 

 

[Ianws]

Referring to the other thread about dawdling boats, but also relevant to this. Its always best to not make assumptions about what another boat or car is likely to do and make sure you are in control of your vessel/vehicle regardless of what the other person does. You can't deal with last second changes by the person in front of you but it's best to give yourself enough wriggle room to remain in control of your own situation where ever possible. 

[LadyG]

3 hours ago, Ianws said:

Unless I'm completely misunderstanding you, I don't know how you could physically manage to overtake passing starboard to starboard. I thought the general opinion was that (in most but not all circumstances) the overtaking boat would move over to port and pass on the left (their starboard side passing the other boat's port side). The trip boat moving over to starboard would have helped you to do this.

Yes, sry I meant to edit that but was

not allowed . Very bad signal here today.

I understood that a boat on a narrow navigation goes down the centre, but moves to the right if a boat approaches. If the navigation is wider then the boat can elect to use the right hand side of the fairway.

45 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Yes, sry I meant to edit that but was

not allowed . Very bad signal here today.

I understood that a boat on a narrow navigation goes down the centre, but moves to the right if a boat approaches from the opposite direction.  If the navigation is wider then the boat can elect to use the right hand side of the fairway.

I generally expect to overtake on the outside, that is to say, it is my choice to find a place that is deep enough and free of vegetation. If I expect the boat in front of me to move over to the right, I am pushing him in to the bushes or shallow water.

That is what is was trying to say but wrote it down badly then unable to edit.

45 minutes ago, Ianws said:

Referring to the other thread about dawdling boats, but also relevant to this. Its always best to not make assumptions about what another boat or car is likely to do and make sure you are in control of your vessel/vehicle regardless of what the other person does. You can't deal with last second changes by the person in front of you but it's best to give yourself enough wriggle room to remain in control of your own situation where ever possible. 

Fair enough but you cannot be absolutely sure what anyone is going to do in all circumstances.

An oncoming boat may pick up a log, steering jams and the next thing he's coming straight at you.

The expectation when driving a car is that on coming vehicles will know the UK protocols and act accordingly, just the same with boats. 

Obviously maintaining control of your boat is a good idea, but in order to maintain steerage one needs to use the engine, it's a bit tricky when the boat in front is going so slowly that , as in this case I had to operate astern propulsion as he was slower than my tickover.

45 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Yes, sry I meant to edit that but was

not allowed . Very bad signal here today.

I understood that a boat on a narrow navigation goes down the centre, but moves to the right if a boat approaches. If the navigation is wider then the boat can elect to use the right hand side of the fairway.

I generally expect to overtake on the outside, that is to say, it is my choice to find a place that is deep enough and free of vegetation. If I expect the boat in front of me to move over to the right, I am pushing him in to the bushes or shallow water.

That is what is was trying to say but wrote it down badly then unable to edit.

Fair enough but you cannot be absolutely sure what anyone is going to do in all circumstances.

An oncoming boat may pick up a log, steering jams and the next thing he's coming straight at you.

The expectation when driving a car is that on coming vehicles will know the UK protocols and act accordingly, just the same with boats. 

Obviously maintaining control of your boat is a good idea, but in order to maintain steerage one needs to use the engine, it's a bit tricky when the boat in front is going so slowly that , as in this case I had to operate astern propulsion as he was slower than my tickover.

I did not signal my intention to overtake, I was drawing his attention to the fact I was behind him. I must suppose he wanted to move towards the bushes, but if it was me at the helm, I would probably have moved left towards the  centre of the navigation, opening up the outside to the overtaking vessel.

Maybe this is covered in The Boaters Handbook? 

OK, well the Boaters Handbook suggests the boat in front indicates to the boat behind which side he should overtake, usually the left, it says. I"m not sure what would happen on a commercial waterway if I tried talking to the skipper! 

Logic tells me that is not a good plan, but I'll just keep my powder dry. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by LadyG

[Tam & Di]

5 hours ago, LadyG said:

This meant I had to overtake on what can only be described as the unconventional side,  my starboard to his starboard.

The only way I can imagine for you to overtake him starboard to starboard is for one of you to be travelling in reverse. In my world when you overtake someone the starboard side of one vessel will be adjascent to the port side of the other.

 

Tam

Edited June 11, 2023 by Tam & Di

[LadyG]

4 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

The only way I can imagine for you to overtake him starboard to starboard is for one of you to be travelling in reverse.

 

Tam

I was operating reverse propulsion, but momentum intervened! I don't think sound signals would have help clarify the situation.

[Ianws]

The only way to be "overtaking" starboard to starboard, or port to port, is if the 2 boats are facing in opposite directions, and that's not overtaking. 

 

When @LadyG says I was  operating reverse propulsion, but momentum intervened! I have an image in my head of her hurtling towards the trip boat, doing the equivalent of a handbrake turn and sidling past in reverse, to prove it is possible to overtake that way after all.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by Ianws

[Iain_S]

18 minutes ago, LadyG said:

This is why I found it difficult to overtake a trip boat, (which would be helmed by a qualified skipper). He was not on the centre of navigation or just to the right of centre, he was not maintaining a good lookout, he was travelling very slowly, and most damming, when I gave a quick blip to let him know I was there, he then went over to starboard when he should have moved over to port. This meant I had to overtake on what can only be described as the unconventional side,  my starboard to his starboard.

I find this hard top follow. If you were overtaking, you cannot pass  starboard to starboard, as that , as with the conventional port to port, would mean that the boats were facing in opposite directions.

 

Other things being equal, it is conventional to overtake on the port side, so the trip boat may have anticipated this and moved to starboard to give you a bit more room.