How common are sunken narrowboats?

[Laurie Booth]

19 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

That should be normal practice, I wonder if the boat handling courses teach it. I also wonder if the maintenance courses do as well. However I must admit I never specifically taught it because I thought it was standard prcatice after you have been down the weed hatch.

I must admit I have never tested the weed hatch. I will in future

 

[tree monkey]

16 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

 

 

Glad I'm not the only one who gets those. They rival the "I've got a Uni finals   exam today and done no revision and didn't go to most of the lectures" dream that I still have decades later. 😱

 

 

 

 

Last night as it happens, my first sinking dream for ages, an odd mix of engine bilge full of water and seeing it pouring into the cabin bilge whilst on hard standing on a generic high street, odd bloody things dreams, I blame it on rapidly approaching decrepitude and the resulting decision by my brain to forget how to sleep properly, apparently waking at 1 o'clock and only allowing occasional short dream filled snoozing is the new norm

 

 

[MtB]

39 minutes ago, Bee said:

Hope it works out for Jess. She and others like her might just introduce some happy faces and enthusiasm to the cut. After all, for what should be an enjoyable pursuit there does seem to be an awful lot of grumpy, cross, irritable old gits going around complaining about everything. For some reason Mrs. Bee thinks I am talking about myself again.

 

 

I doubt it will. I bought my first boat to live on in 1977 aged 22 because I couldn't get a house, and look how THAT turned out, haha!! 

 

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

This is true but... the case is an outlier. I'll wager in-lock sinkings from cilling the boat outnumber air-vent sinkings 100 to 1.

 

If there have even ever been as many as 100 lock sinkings. We get two or three a year I guess, always from the boater not paying attention. 

 

Human error -

the overplating person didn't do his job properly

the surveyor didn't do his job properly and if he did the owners ignored his advice.

the owners were not 'aware' of what was going on.

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, Laurie Booth said:

I must admit I have never tested the weed hatch. I will in future

 

I think it is impossible to fit my weed hatch cover incorrectly, I am sure if it was possible I would have managed to do it in 20 years. The only thing that could fail would be the seal and I no longer use a strip of foam stuck round the periphery of the lid but a sheet of foam covering the whole underside of the lid

[TheBiscuits]

1 minute ago, ditchcrawler said:

I no longer use a strip of foam stuck round the periphery of the lid but a sheet of foam covering the whole underside of the lid

 

Excellent idea Brian - I'm going to pinch that technique next time I redo my seal when it gets knocked off again.

 

Simple, but a very effective way to keep the seal in the correct place.

[Jon57]

7 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I think it is impossible to fit my weed hatch cover incorrectly, I am sure if it was possible I would have managed to do it in 20 years. The only thing that could fail would be the seal and I no longer use a strip of foam stuck round the periphery of the lid but a sheet of foam covering the whole underside of the lid

Ditto. Used an old exercise mat temporary in an emergency. Been ok so far 12 months on. Mind you without the exercise mat I can’t get down now to check it😁

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Jon57 said:

Ditto. Used an old exercise mat temporary in an emergency. Been ok so far 12 months on. Mind you without the exercise mat I can’t get down now to check it😁

Thats what I started with

[koukouvagia]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

 I no longer use a strip of foam stuck round the periphery of the lid but a sheet of foam covering the whole underside of the lid

This was put on in 2010 and is still fine.  

 

[Heather22]

12 hours ago, PNB116 said:

Surely you worry about where you live at the moment? Us natural worriers can find anything to worry about - is it just different things that you hadn’t got used to worrying about?

 

In my dreams sometimes watch the boat the boat sinking, but it’s always in random ways that will never happen!

 

good luck 

 

 

Oh I worry about everything haha. I do worry about where I live at the moment but it's worrying about my landlord one day deciding he doesn't want us there anymore and giving us notice to piss off. I hate living under a landlord mainly for that reason. Well actually the main reason is my severe hatred of landlords but that's another issue. 

[Heather22]

12 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Tbh if you are a natural worrier then boating may not be for you as anything can happen to cause problems. It’s extremely unlikely to especially with experience though then it’s easy to get over cocky.

 

Perhaps try hiring a boat a couple of times first.
 

It is great fun but you do need to keep your wits about you. It’s not one to crack open the Stella or Pims at 9am 

then expect to travel 20 miles trouble free afterwards though many try that😉

I think that my worrying nature actually, ironically, makes things less likely to go wrong because I'm always on guard. It might sound odd but I'd rather have the possibility of something going severely wrong from me messing up, than to live in a flat and have all control (and money) in the hands of someone else. That said, I definitely won't be on the rum and coke at any point while moving a boat until I'm way way way more experienced, and maybe not even then.  

[Heather22]

9 hours ago, Jon57 said:

IHaving watched this programme I'm not surprised 😬

 

 

What does a boat sink in that show?. I'll have to watch that it'll be interesting bc that's mainly what got me considering the idea. Always loved boats so why not live on one? 

[Heather22]

8 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

I doubt it will. I bought my first boat to live on in 1977 aged 22 because I couldn't get a house, and look how THAT turned out, haha!! 

 

 

 

How did it turn out? Not at all bc I'm also 22 and considering boat living...  😛 

[Mad Harold]

23 minutes ago, Heather22 said:

How did it turn out? Not at all bc I'm also 22 and considering boat living...  😛 

If you stick it out as long as MtB you will probably turn into a grumpy old bag lady .😜

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Heather22 said:

 . Well actually the main reason is my severe hatred of landlords but that's another issue. 

and you dont even know me

[blackrose]

15 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Tbh if you are a natural worrier then boating may not be for you as anything can happen to cause problems. 

😉

 

I disagree. Being cautious, even overly cautious, can actually mean one has fewer problems than people who take a more casual approach to boating. I'm a natural worrier and I've been living on boats for the best part of 25 years.

 

I do get stressed about things like tidal passages but it means I plan ahead and make sure I know what I'm doing. As long as the worrying doesn't become debilitating then it's fine 

2 hours ago, Heather22 said:

I think that my worrying nature actually, ironically, makes things less likely to go wrong because I'm always on guard. It might sound odd but I'd rather have the possibility of something going severely wrong from me messing up, than to live in a flat and have all control (and money) in the hands of someone else. That said, I definitely won't be on the rum and coke at any point while moving a boat until I'm way way way more experienced, and maybe not even then.  

 

Yes

[blackrose]

14 hours ago, PNB116 said:

 

In my dreams sometimes watch the boat the boat sinking, but it’s always in random ways that will never happen!

 

I had one of those once where I was shooting down some wild rapids and over waterfalls on my widebeam! 🤣

[ditchcrawler]

15 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

I had one of those once where I was shooting down some wild rapids and over waterfalls on my widebeam! 🤣

Only once, lucky you

[Ianws]

11 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

That should be normal practice, I wonder if the boat handling courses teach it. I also wonder if the maintenance courses do as well. However I must admit I never specifically taught it because I thought it was standard prcatice after you have been down the weed hatch.

I'm pretty sure the rcr maintenance course I went on didnt refer to the weed hatch. Good course though. 

[Stroudwater1]

12 hours ago, Heather22 said:

I think that my worrying nature actually, ironically, makes things less likely to go wrong because I'm always on guard. It might sound odd but I'd rather have the possibility of something going severely wrong from me messing up, than to live in a flat and have all control (and money) in the hands of someone else. That said, I definitely won't be on the rum and coke at any point while moving a boat until I'm way way way more experienced, and maybe not even then.  

That’s all good then, I’ve spoken to plenty of people who couldn’t boat due to over anxiety. We recently had someone on here who couldn’t go through tunnels. Agree with posters that a degree of anxiety is good. I believe most car accidents happen a few miles from home, presumably their guard is down a bit. 
 

still think you would be wise to hire for a week to really get some idea. It can get cold damp and things like needing to fill with water or empty toilets need to be tried before committing to buy a boat.  
 

Some would say that canal and river trust may not be a great Landlord/ canal custodian especially if you aren’t moving your boat often enough and you don’t moor in a marina/ boat club mooring

[MtB]

12 hours ago, Heather22 said:

How did it turn out? Not at all bc I'm also 22 and considering boat living...  😛 

 

 

I lived aboard for a few years with no particular problems other than getting evicted from my mooring, at which point I was able to get a house. Boating was in my blood by then and as money got easier I scrimped, saved and finally got another boat. Had one boat or another ever since, living aboard intermittently and posting on this forum more or less since its inception.

 

 

[David Mack]

On 31/03/2022 at 10:41, Jon57 said:

IHaving watched this programme I'm not surprised 😬

 

 

Just watched this on iplayer.

Unlike so many of the lifestyle articles in the media, this one pulls no punches! Some of the difficulties of living afloat are shown, along with warnings about sinkings, boat fires, breakdowns and non-moving CCers being at risk of having their boats removed.

Jess admitted she knew nothing about boats, and she was hamming it up a bit in front of the camera, but on the whole she seemed to cope.

Edited April 1, 2022 by David Mack

[Athy]

12 hours ago, David Mack said:

Just watched this on iplayer.

Unlike so many of the lifestyle articles in the media, this one pulls no punches! Some of the difficulties of living afloat are shown, along with warnings about sinkings, boat fires, breakdowns and non-moving CCers being at risk of having their boats removed.

Jess admitted she knew nothing about boats, and she was hamming it up a bit in front of the camera, but on the whole she seemed to cope.

I can't make your link work, I'm afraid. I pressed the arrow, then the "download" symbol, but nothing happened.

[MtB]

15 minutes ago, Athy said:

I can't make your link work, I'm afraid. I pressed the arrow, then the "download" symbol, but nothing happened.

 

That'll be because it's just a screenshot, not a link!

 

 

[Tacet]

On 31/03/2022 at 09:49, koukouvagia said:

Don't forget the well known case of the boat that sank in 10 seconds on the Thames.  It had been overplated and sat lower in the water, thus allowing rapid inundation via an air vent.

 

When was the 10 seconds in which it sank measured from?  Maybe 10 seconds before it sunk?