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LadyG

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4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

12 inches = 1foot

3 feet  = 1 yard

22 yards = 1chain

10 chains = 1 furlong

8 furlongs = 1 mile

 

Surprising how often the rhymes & mnemonics you learnt as a child come in useful

 

5 furlongs would be 1100 yds.

Some other rhymes I remember:

Two and a quarter pounds of jam weigh about a kilogram.

A litre of water's a pint and three quarters.

A metre measures 3 foot 3; its longer than a yard you see.

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16 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Canalplanac gives measurements in miles at furlongs 

It would appear that in modern usage Furlongs are only used for horse racing and canal measurement. I've managed 7 decades plus without knowing that.

 

Edit to add that seems to be used in London underground measurement,

http://thewordden.blogspot.com/2019/10/word-to-use-today-furlong.html

Edited by reg
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13 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

5 furlongs would be 1100 yds.

Or about 10 minutes on a Narrowboat going backwards. (Disclaimer: times may vary with boaters ability and the Zig Zag factor)

Edited by PD1964
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4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

A pint of water weighs a pound and a quarter.

Got a house point for that around 1965, used it give the weight of a gallon of water which is 10 pounds.

Edited by reg
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24 minutes ago, reg said:

It would appear that I'm modern usage Furlongs are only used for horse racing and canal measurement. I've managed 7 decades plus without knowing that.

Good heavens, it's pretty standard: 5 and 6 furlongs for speedy sprinters, 7 furlongs and one mi!e races are for the more mature types.

PS

I love those willow wren training videos, esp the crew, who has a great time, doing perfectly practiced dismounting from that very docile little boat.

I suppose the lockdown made their business very difficult.

Edited by LadyG
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24 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

Maybe she’s just after a tow to save diesel and prefers spending the Summer 1km back the way she came😂

Given that the last thread the lady asked for a tow went on for 24 pages I'd say we have a treat in store!   

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4 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Given the thread about Willow Wren Training you could watch their video for some reversing hints

 

It looks refreshingly simple done this way. Keep your eyes on the bows, not twisting behind to see where you are going.

A technique that worked well enough for me on the open practice range called Tixall Wide, but which hasn't stood up well when used on smaller waterways, in wind, or passing other boats.

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There's some branches in the water, so I'll need to keep looking back,  I've walked back the five furlongs, I'll cope.

I tend to point the blade of the rudder to my destination, maybe that works best when there is a decent keel and plenty of thrust,  but it should work on any boat, in theory.

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I've steered a selection of boats over the years. Some go backwards, some simply do not. Hired a boat last year from Stone,  a very ordinary hull and it was really brilliant going backwards. Our last narrowboat (a Colecraft)  was pretty good, various cruisers were damned nearly impossible and our present boat will go a few yards before the bow starts to swing and once that happens there is very little that you can do. Narrow boats are usually pretty good, those slab sides keep the boat straight but shallow draught boats with a bottom like a  saucer are usually hopeless.

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4 minutes ago, LadyG said:

There's some branches in the water, so I'll need to keep looking back,  I've walked back the five furlongs, I'll cope.

I tend to point the blade of the rudder to my destination, maybe that works best when there is a decent keel and plenty of thrust,  but it should work on any boat, in theory.

 

Depends on prop direction and the resulting prop-walk.

 

You are now pulling water over the prop and rudder from the stern instead of pushing it over the prop & rudder from the bow.

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16 minutes ago, LadyG said:

There's some branches in the water, so I'll need to keep looking back,  I've walked back the five furlongs, I'll cope.

You should of hand hauled the boat at the same time, nice night for it.
  40 years of sailing backwards😂 pity not one of your sailing skills have seamed to of migrated to your Canal life.

 Once again you seam to be making a massive mountain out of a small mole hill.  

Edited by PD1964
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12 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Depends on prop direction and the resulting prop-walk.

 

You are now pulling water over the prop and rudder from the stern instead of pushing it over the prop & rudder from the bow.

Is that what happens when you reverse really then?  Heck.

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56 minutes ago, reg said:

It would appear that in modern usage Furlongs are only used for horse racing and canal measurement. I've managed 7 decades plus without knowing that.

 

Edit to add that seems to be used in London underground measurement,

http://thewordden.blogspot.com/2019/10/word-to-use-today-furlong.html

Railways were generally laid out in miles and chains, a chain being 22 yards or 1/10 of a furlong (and the length of a cricket pitch) and thus there are 80 chains to the mile.

In highway and railway engineering, although distances are now measured in metres, the longitudinal distance measured from the start point is still referred to as the "chainage".

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12 minutes ago, PD1964 said:

You should of hand hauled the boat at the same time, nice night for it.
  40 years of sailing backwards😂 pity not one of your sailing skills have seamed to of migrated to your Canal life.

 Once again you seam to be making a massive mountain out of a small mole hill.  

It keeps the old grumpies like yourself in their daily moan and groan.

I try to post things of general interest, and put folks with nothing useful to contribute on ignore. In this instance curiousity overcame me, I won't make that mistake again.

 

Edited by LadyG
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28 minutes ago, LadyG said:

It keeps the old grumpies like yourself in their daily moan and groan.

I try to post things of general interest, and put folks with nothing useful to contribute on ignore. In this instance curiousity overcame me, I won't make that mistake again.

 

Things of General interest, really? more like a calamity of errors with you, I’ve already had a laugh with your comment of 40 years sailing backwards experience, yet you’re asking how to sail backwards for 10 minutes😂

Edited by PD1964
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1 hour ago, LadyG said:

There's some branches in the water, so I'll need to keep looking back,  I've walked back the five furlongs, I'll cope.

I tend to point the blade of the rudder to my destination, maybe that works best when there is a decent keel and plenty of thrust,  but it should work on any boat, in theory.

 

You can do it and just think how you will feel when its done.

Good luck. 

 

 

 

Edited by Chagall
still trying hard to remain in the sisterhood!
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1 minute ago, zenataomm said:

Instead of a tyre try a bucket

A bucket was what was used in the old days but modern buckets are rubbish or worse plastic and the rubbish in the canal will probably rip it off.

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