Disabled Boater Forums for 2022.

[Ray T]

CRT PRESS RELEASE

 

14th February 2022

 

DISABLED BOATER FORUMS FOR 2022.

 

The Canal & River Trust has published its programme of Disabled Boater Forums for 2022. To improve accessibility, the charity has arranged a British Sign Language interpreter to be present at the online meetings.

 

The informal forums are places for disabled boaters to discuss the challenges they face when using the inland waterways and to share their views about how to make positive changes. Boaters can also expect to get updates from the Trust on work to address these issues and improve the boating experience.

 

Matthew Symonds, national boating manager at Canal & River Trust, said: “The waterways are there for everyone to enjoy and many people report the benefits of being on or by the water. We recognise that boating can be more challenging for people with physical or mental health impairments and actively work with disabled boaters to identify and solve problems where they arise. Accessibility means more than simply addressing physical barriers to visiting or getting on the water: making sure we improve communication for deaf people is important and we hope that, by inviting a British Sign Language interpreter to our regular forums, more boaters will be able to get involved.”

 

The virtual Disabled Boaters Forum meetings usually take place on the third Wednesday of alternate months from 4-6pm. Meeting dates for 2022 are:

 

Wednesday 16 February 2022 – register on Eventbrite here
Wednesday 20 April 2022
Wednesday 15 June 2022
Wednesday 17 August 2022
Wednesday 19 October 2022
Wednesday 21 December 2022

 

Please check Boaters’ Update for the Eventbrite link or contact the Trust to receive notice of upcoming meetings: rachel.hayward@canalrivertrust.org.uk. These forums also appear on the Inland Waterways Accessibility Forum site on Facebook.

 

For more information on enjoying the Trust’s waterways if you are disabled, or for further support, please visit: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/do-you-know-a-vulnerable-boater/disabled-boaters-information

 

ENDS

Fran Read (she/her)

National press officer

I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays

M  07796 610 427

E  fran.read@canalrivertrust.org.uk

[blackrose]

8 hours ago, Ray T said:

Accessibility means more than simply addressing physical barriers to visiting or getting on the water:

 

 

While I'm all in favor of looking at the physical and other types of barriers which restrict access for disabled people, I'm also slightly concerned in case this results in removal, replacement or retrofitting of waterside structures that have existed possibly for centuries in order to facilitate greater access. It's a bit like the threat to traditional countryside "furniture" by the removal of stiles and kissing gates on footpaths in the countryside in order to meet local authority accessibility regulations.

 

It's a difficult balance to strike and I may be overstating the issue, but I don't really buy into the premise that absolutely everywhere should be accessible to everyone regardless of their physical condition. Where would that end? The countryside and the waterways a maze of tarmac footpaths and wheelchair & mobility scooter ramps?

 

I remember being moored up on the Thames about 15 years ago and a middle-aged guy on big GRP cruiser with a high deck asked if he could moor up alongside as the moorings were quite busy. I grabbed a rope and helped him to tie up. He got off his boat and tried to help his wife get down onto my stern deck but she was having a lot of difficulty because she was slightly disabled and also not in the best of health. She understandably became very irate indeed, but I hadn't done anything wrong and she wasn't particularly pleasant to me, talking down to me almost as if I had taken their mooring. I'm afraid I couldn't help thinking that she had no business being on a boat in her condition. How would she escape quickly if there was a fire onboard or if the boat started sinking? What should take priority; the politically correct notion of inclusivity for all whatever the disability, or not being killed in a boat fire if you can't get off the boat quickly enough? I know it's not going to be a popular view but it's my honest opinion. I'm not a monster, I just want a sense of proportion and practicality in these things. 

Edited February 14, 2022 by blackrose

[Beo]

It’s accurate information and the little things that make the most positive difference for us (wheelchair user). On more than one occasion  I have asked on this forum for local knowledge regarding accessibility on a specific area of the network and have always received very helpful, up to date and accurate advice which has enabled us to plan successful trips.

 

The biggest help would be simply making any gated access from the towpath to the highway wide enough for a wheelchair or mobility scooter to get through. We don’t want to be travelling through a tarmacced landscape any more than anyone else does but a tiny bit of thought by CRT/local councils wouldn’t go amiss. It’s quite often the case that we would quite like to spend money in coffee shops and pubs but are prevented from doing so by poor access. 

[Ronaldo47]

6 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

While I'm all in favor of looking at the physical and other types of barriers which restrict access for disabled people, I'm also slightly concerned in case this results in removal, replacement or retrofitting of waterside structures that have existed possibly for centuries in order to facilitate greater access. It's a bit like the threat to traditional countryside "furniture" by the removal of stiles and kissing gates on footpaths in the countryside in order to meet local authority accessibility regulations.

 

This reminds me of the locks at Stratford on Avon connecting the canal basin to the river. When we visited (not by boat) on a damp day in the 1980's, the slightly raised arc of bricks  at the lock beams that had  provided grips for the feet  when we had locked through in the 1970's, had been encased in cement, presenting a completely smooth surface that was causing problems of lack of foot grip to the crew we saw locking through. No doubt the raised arc had been considered to be a trip hazard for the many Stratford tourists. 

Edited February 14, 2022 by Ronaldo47
typos

[TheBiscuits]

5 hours ago, Beo said:

The biggest help would be simply making any gated access from the towpath to the highway wide enough for a wheelchair or mobility scooter to get through.

 

This was one of our pet hates with little BobBiscuits when he was in an offroad pram the width of a wheelchair.  We spent more time lifting him and the pram full of stuff over access gates than we did pushing the pram on the towpath.

[rasputin]

8 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

I'm afraid I couldn't help thinking that she had no business being on a boat in her condition. How would she escape quickly if there was a fire onboard or if the boat started sinking? What should take priority; the politically correct notion of inclusivity for all whatever the disability, or not being killed in a boat fire if you can't get off the boat quickly enough? I know it's not going to be a popular view but it's my honest opinion. I'm not a monster, I just want a sense of proportion and practicality in these things. 

I agree with you all the way up to here, (quoted above)

 

Ask 15 disabled boaters on what could help with their boating experiences  and you will get at lest 10 different answers, but one of those answers wont be I want to stay at home where it is safe and watch soap operas on TV., The last thing they want to hear is, "you shouldn't be boating" and as the carer of a wife with MS, who has been in a wheelchair for over 20 years, we have heard it often. We have even been reported to the marina authorities, and been banned from the pontoon at a sailing club.

 

You could also say disabled people shouldn't be in cars because they might be killed in a vehicle  fire if they can't get out the car quickly enough. It's probably more dangerous for an able bodied person to drive a car than it is for a disabled person to be on a boat.

Edited February 15, 2022 by rasputin
adding stupidity