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Sunken boat, Droitwich staircase


gatekrash

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15 minutes ago, Jimbobs said:

According to one of the Facebook groups our little gang of Einsteins decided to moor overnight in the lock. The lower gates leaked during the night and hey presto!

I wonder what the angle got to before the first one woke up??

On one of our early Broads hires our boat was pushed back into the badly piled bankside out side a popular Riverside pub where the moorings are stern on by a strong wind.

 

As the tide went down the stern bump strip hooked up on the piling leaving the stern in the air and the bow down in the water. The boat was at quite an angle.

 

It didn't wake us up and it was only when we naturally woke up at about 7.30am and got out of bed that we realised something was amiss when wr couldn't stand up straight 🤣🤣🤣

 

Had to go and find a big lump of wood to lever us off the bankside. Joy landed with a bit of a splash when she sat back in the water.

 

No harm done we were on our way again pretty quickly.

 

We did hang NC on the Broads at St Olaves Staithe. The tide dropped and we hadn't left enough slack in one of the two stern ropes, the tide drops a long way at St Olaves. It wasn't the angle of the boat that woke us up but the creaking of the rope as it tightened on the cleat.

 

Fortunately the rear cleats are rated at 3.5t each so no damage done.

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If the lock did drain off slowly and the stern hung on the cill, then the bows would have dropped to the point that water came in through the well deck drains, and up to the threshold of the front doors. If the doors had been open the front end of the cabin would have rapidly filled with water and the front of the boat would have sunk to the bottom of the lock, with the chamber still half full, and so the cabin may well have been completely under water at the front. But if this sank during the night, the front doors were presumably closed. And at some point someone inside became aware of the slope of the boat and the sound of water leaking round the front doors, and the occupants could escape to the relative safety of the stern. A parlous walk along the cabin top would then give access to the lock ladder.

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24 minutes ago, AndrewIC said:

I am not a lawyer, but I’m not sure that would wash. Any one of the (all male) party (or even all but one) could argue that, had they been female, the hire would been allowed, and therefore they were being discriminated against on the ground of their sex.

 

Given that gender reassignment is also a protected characteristic, it would be a brave company that waded into that territory.

 

As it happens, the party of chaps we met on a pair of ABC boats on the Bridgewater & T&M a couple of weeks ago couldn’t have been nicer, even the ones dressed as pirates.

I'm not a lawyer so I don't know with any certainty. And as you say not all single sex groups are a problem, in general it is the ones that do cause a problem that get remembered/noticed, after all if a boat isn't causing a problem are people really likely to pay particular attention to the crew.

 

I think the more important issue is the behaviour and attitude of any hirers when they arrive to collect the boat, hire companies should be more prepared to say no at that point, and are legally entitled to if the decision is based on safety, not sex/gender, race, sexuality or anything else protected by anti discrimination law.

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We were moored up at a riverside pub in Abingdon some years ago when a cruiser from a nearby hire base turned up with a couple of people on board. They didn't go into the pub, but shortly afterwards 3 or 4 lads climbed over the roadside wall carrying kitbags and several cartons of beer, got on board and the boat left. So I guess they told the hire company there were just two of them, and the rest of the booze cruise crew joined around the corner from the hire base.

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14 minutes ago, David Mack said:

We were moored up at a riverside pub in Abingdon some years ago when a cruiser from a nearby hire base turned up with a couple of people on board. They didn't go into the pub, but shortly afterwards 3 or 4 lads climbed over the roadside wall carrying kitbags and several cartons of beer, got on board and the boat left. So I guess they told the hire company there were just two of them, and the rest of the booze cruise crew joined around the corner from the hire base.

That's what happened on a day cruiser that sank on the Broads some years ago. The boat sank with one person trapped inside who sadly died.

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49 minutes ago, Barneyp said:

I'm not a lawyer so I don't know with any certainty. And as you say not all single sex groups are a problem, in general it is the ones that do cause a problem that get remembered/noticed, after all if a boat isn't causing a problem are people really likely to pay particular attention to the crew.

 

I think the more important issue is the behaviour and attitude of any hirers when they arrive to collect the boat, hire companies should be more prepared to say no at that point, and are legally entitled to if the decision is based on safety, not sex/gender, race, sexuality or anything else protected by anti discrimination law.

 

One hire company has advertised that they will pre-stock the boat with lager if requested, so the hire companies know exactly what type of customer they want to attract.

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47 minutes ago, David Mack said:

We were moored up at a riverside pub in Abingdon some years ago when a cruiser from a nearby hire base turned up with a couple of people on board. They didn't go into the pub, but shortly afterwards 3 or 4 lads climbed over the roadside wall carrying kitbags and several cartons of beer, got on board and the boat left. So I guess they told the hire company there were just two of them, and the rest of the booze cruise crew joined around the corner from the hire base.

We saw this on the Llangollen last year, hire boat stopped in a bridge hole and a big group joined them with plenty of crates of beer.  No idea where they were all going to sleep.

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45 minutes ago, dmr said:

 

One hire company has advertised that they will pre-stock the boat with lager if requested, so the hire companies know exactly what type of customer they want to attract.

And if something goes wrong to the point of people getting injured or worse the hire company could be held responsible, even if the injured parties were the hirers who had breached the terms of the hire agreement. The hire company say don't drink and operate the boat or locks, but if they're providing the alcohol they are at best sending a mixed message.

Edited by Barneyp
Wrong hire/higher
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Darwin award candidates abound.

We got used to seeing boat roofs part covered in empties when they had only done 2 or 3 locks and a couple of miles from picking the boat up from the hire base.

 

There was one that went back to base after 2 weeks booze cruising where the roof was actually totally covered with cans and bottles, they thought it was really funny.

I think it is pathetic.

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Maybe it’s because of my day job but I have a rule of no alcohol till moored up & finished for the day. ….friends I’ve taken on day trips don’t see why but if the worst happens and I end up being called to a coroners court Id rather say that I wasn’t impaired by alcohol…if that’s boating or running a show. 

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Alcohol eh? The government approved heavy drug of choice.

Rather a lot of people equate how much fun they're having with how drunk they are, it's a fact!

Then some of them find they can't enjoy themselves without being drunk.

Then some of those become alcoholics who can't even function without it.

A slippery slope for some.

I used to love getting completely fall down drunk when I was a youngster, in the pub every night for 5-6 pints of real ale was just normal and even at college I had a couple every lunchtime. Got bored of it eventually.. or maybe it was when I had kids... or maybe it was when the weekend hangover lasted all week.

Don't drink at all these days or go to the pub to be bored stupid by drunk people who think they are amusing. Sober people should probably be banned from pubs, we ruin the atmosphere. :)

 

 

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31 minutes ago, frangar said:

Maybe it’s because of my day job but I have a rule of no alcohol till moored up & finished for the day. ….friends I’ve taken on day trips don’t see why but if the worst happens and I end up being called to a coroners court Id rather say that I wasn’t impaired by alcohol…if that’s boating or running a show. 

That's our rule too. I keep a couple of cans of Guinness 0.0 and a couple of bottles of non alcoholic cider in the fridge if we fancy a 'drink' at lunchtime, nowadays the non alcoholic stuff is pretty good, the cider especially.

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I always get given a box of various real ales at Christmas by several people, none of whom have noticed I hate the stuff. Luckily my wife likes it, and whisky,  which was my tipple of choice until it struck me that I was up to two or three bottles a day and it possibly wasn't too healthy. I haven't touched the stuff since. If we get invited to a party I make sure I'm driving as it saves bothering with explanations. I was never an alcoholic, I just could never see the point of stopping drinking until the bottle was empty.

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35 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

That's our rule too. I keep a couple of cans of Guinness 0.0 and a couple of bottles of non alcoholic cider in the fridge if we fancy a 'drink' at lunchtime, nowadays the non alcoholic stuff is pretty good, the cider especially.

 

Which cider? the one I tried tasted like sweet apple juice?  The Guiness 0 is quite convincing, and olcohol free punk IPA is quite good. Trouble is I need more wees in the night drinking the alcohol free stuff than with real beer.

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I'm trying to imagine a stupider place to moor overnight than a full lock, and then I remembered the next bit of the Droitwich in that direction is the tunnel under the motorway with no airdraft to spare on a bit which is river navigation...

 

 

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3 hours ago, David Mack said:

If the lock did drain off slowly and the stern hung on the cill, then the bows would have dropped to the point that water came in through the well deck drains, and up to the threshold of the front doors. If the doors had been open the front end of the cabin would have rapidly filled with water and the front of the boat would have sunk to the bottom of the lock, with the chamber still half full, and so the cabin may well have been completely under water at the front. But if this sank during the night, the front doors were presumably closed. And at some point someone inside became aware of the slope of the boat and the sound of water leaking round the front doors, and the occupants could escape to the relative safety of the stern. A parlous walk along the cabin top would then give access to the lock ladder.

Apparently the fire brigade were called who helped them off the boat. This story just gets worse!

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4 hours ago, dmr said:

 

One hire company has advertised that they will pre-stock the boat with lager if requested, so the hire companies know exactly what type of customer they want to attract.

 

I'll bet the hirers get a shock when they find the boat stocked with.alvohol free... 🤣😂

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It may be floating but it's still abandoned at the top of the lock. Engine won't run. 

 

It'll need total refitting inside, it looks like they'd already trashed it before it sank, most of the internals have been broken. The whole boat is reeking of stale alcohol from about 6 foot away, even though it's been under water, I'd guess from the tide mark about 4 foot deep most of the length of the boat.

 

Apparently it was a group of Welsh rugby players. One of them arrived driving a Lamborghini, so clearly paying for the damage isn't going to bother them.

 

IMG_20220522_171244.jpg.8ae323c30ad264e89e2007a43b3b4ade.jpg

 

IMG_20220522_171220.jpg.269e04516a2b3856b559e22c3d40ac7d.jpg

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24 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

It may be floating but it's still abandoned at the top of the lock. Engine won't run. 

Surprising, since from the photos it looks as if the back end of the boat stayed above water.

 

I wonder what state the other two boats are in.

25 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

 

It'll need total refitting inside, it looks like they'd already trashed it before it sank, most of the internals have been broken. 

25 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

Apparently it was a group of Welsh rugby players. One of them arrived driving a Lamborghini, so clearly paying for the damage isn't going to bother them

 

Sinking could be regarded as an unfortunate accident. Trashing the interior is not. If paying the repair bill is not going to trouble them, perhaps a prosecution for criminal damage will.

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On 21/05/2022 at 09:42, Big Bob W said:

A few years ago you could not make all male/all female bookings. I'm not sure when that changed, but it looks like most hire companies. permit it now.

It all comes down to money. The 10 / 12 berth boats are nice little earners.

Out of interest, I just checked online how much a 10 berth ABC boat would cost next weekend. £1550 for 3 nights. 

I wonder if the hire companies insurance covers them for the loss of a boat in circumstances like this? I mean, who in their right mind would hire out 3 boats to a stag do and not expect trouble?

 

Some hire companies will not hire out certain boats to all male/female parties and normally ask for an additional security deposit for those that they do.

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