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Taking a narrowboat to Europe ?


NewCanalBoy

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10 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Your in the wrong area if its some ancient political matter from several years ago? is that what you meant? try elsewhere if it is ;)

  • Location:NOT the eu
  • 2016...2017...2018...2019...2020...2021...2022...2023....:D

Pots and kettles - and with every post no less!

 

Tam

Edited by Tam & Di
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18 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

This is one of the reasons I have bought in Wales. The population density of England as a whole is 434 peeps per square foreign thingy, in Wales it is 150 so moocho better. The county I live in is actualy only 40 people per square foreign thingy 😀 absolootely fabulouso

Is the population per square Kilometre increasing or decreasing over the last 10 years?

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36 minutes ago, Jerra said:

Is the population per square Kilometre increasing or decreasing over the last 10 years?

Not sure? I think its increasing a tad as people move out to quieter areas?? I spose its similar where you are? There are definately lots of English here at present.

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22 hours ago, IanD said:

A narrowboat is *really* badly designed for the open sea from so many points of view (stability, buoyancy, freeboard, power, fittings...), it would be difficult to come up with a vessel less suitable for crossing the Channel if you tried...

You could, the hamsters dampervan.

 

Top-Gear-DamperVan.jpg

 

 

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1 minute ago, NewCanalBoy said:

Obviously that was a bit tongue in cheek - and Europe isn't just France 😉

That's true -- there are EU countries that some posters hate even more... 😉

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I talked to Chris Coburn about 20 years ago, I had a 70ft Hudson tug and was thinking about taking her across by water as I had been across a few times in sail boats.   His advice I remember was that insurance would be difficult but a tug deck would be ideal for when the bow dipped under the waves.   The boat had a day tank so easy to keep sediment from being stirred up and just to block off all hull outlets while keeping the windows and portholes shut.   Steve was keen to do the crossing with us but I decided not to do it as a 70 ft with old engine would be difficult on fast flowing rivers, so went back to sail.

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2 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Not sure? I think its increasing a tad as people move out to quieter areas?? I spose its similar where you are? There are definately lots of English here at present.

I was interested as up here while a little more crowded hasn't changed in the last 10 years.

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If you want to get your narrowboat to Europe here's what you do. Sail your boat to Goole and moor up next to one of the big ships that has a crane. Talk nicely to the captain and ask them if they wouldn't mind hoisting your NB on board and taking it to wherever they happen to be going. Hopefully it will be somewhere with access to the European inland waterways. When you get there they hoist you off and there you are. No expensive lorries or ferries. Simples 🙂

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On 09/03/2023 at 18:55, Alway Swilby said:

If you want to get your narrowboat to Europe here's what you do. Sail your boat to Goole and moor up next to one of the big ships that has a crane. Talk nicely to the captain and ask them if they wouldn't mind hoisting your NB on board and taking it to wherever they happen to be going. Hopefully it will be somewhere with access to the European inland waterways. When you get there they hoist you off and there you are. No expensive lorries or ferries. Simples 🙂

Good idea, when I passed through the Midi in 1970, I went alongside a British ship in Bordeaux and they obligingly craned my mast up for a carton of 200 Cigarettes I bought duty free in Malta for 10 shillings and six pence.

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On 08/03/2023 at 17:44, JamesFrance said:

I talked to Chris Coburn about 20 years ago, I had a 70ft Hudson tug and was thinking about taking her across by water as I had been across a few times in sail boats.   His advice I remember was that insurance would be difficult but a tug deck would be ideal for when the bow dipped under the waves.

 

I just came across this picture of Chris en route to Dunkirk May 1990 for the 50th Anniversary commemorations of the Dunkirk Little Ships. We went aboard when he was in Dunkirk, and 'Progress' was rolling far less than many of the other boats there - probably because a narrow boat has square chines. He did have a more sensible sea boat which crossed in tandem with him 'just in case'.

 

Tam

 

ChrisCoburnProgress.jpg.cf7bb19d25c23d77bea35e8cc448c743.jpg

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Crumbs, that looks a bit scary but then again the camera does tend to make a rough or choppy sea look a bit flatter than it really is.so the boat is actually coping quite well. I would not like to try that in our boat- 10m x 3.4 with chines and a shallow v bottom and a tendency to roll uncomfortably (but probably safely) Anyway, we will never know as although she has crossed the channel twice it has been on the back of a lorry.

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Chris had all windows, doors etc sealed to prevent water ingress (other than at the steering position 😁). One problem was where to keep the charts so they were visible - I seem to recall that Alan Boswell of Uxbridge Marine held them, just inside the hatches.

 

Tam

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I would think he would have used a chart plotter which were available by then, with charts for backup.   It is so much easier since those were introduced as there is not the same need to study tidal charts and try to take unreliable radio bearings to know where you are.

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Narrow boats do roll as we found out on Lough Alan in Ireland where a wind had blown up waves at 90 degrees to our route. We were once moored at Soisons with our barge and a small narrow boat was also there, every time a commercial went past it really rolled frightening the owner who jumped ashore.

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