Interesting narrow boat

[Ray T]

Passing through Braunston this morning.

[Lily Rose]

 

I said hello to him as he went past us, heading north, whilst we were moored up about 25 minutes North of Braunston. 

 

[IanD]

"Interesting" is probably the right word. The looks are a matter of opinion, but personally I can think of few things less appealing than a narrowboat with wheel steering from the centre... 😞

[GUMPY]

Parglena has about ten feet of boat plus the rudder behind the steering position and it took an age to get used to it especially when making hard turns.

Edited May 30, 2023 by GUMPY

[Roper]

2 hours ago, IanD said:

"Interesting" is probably the right word. The looks are a matter of opinion, but personally I can think of few things less appealing than a narrowboat with wheel steering from the centre... 😞

But what about single handling?

[adam1uk]

He’s returning from the Crick Show, where he was moored on the towpath.

[pig]

Aye, just come past us near Barby. First thought, apart from the different steering experience, was that it is an excellent use of narrowboat limited space.

 

[Guest]

Surely it's no different to steering a (rather long) centre cockpit cabin cruiser?

 

I'm no fan of wheel steering but just watch what the back end is doing whilst manoeuvring.

[Bee]

He must be pretty good at steering it, the back end looks to be free from scrapes and dents. Bee, being a small harbour tug, steers from a forward wheelhouse and the back end has a few marks where rubbish steering has caused the back end to wallop things with a bit of a clang.

[matty40s]

Bet that's a pig to moor up, and very little outside space, no front or rear.

Theres quite a bit of damage visible , especially to the bottom back end.

 

[IanD]

27 minutes ago, M_JG said:

Surely it's no different to steering a (rather long) centre cockpit cabin cruiser?

 

I'm no fan of wheel steering but just watch what the back end is doing whilst manoeuvring.

 

The problem is that on relatively narrow canals/bridges/locks you need to watch what both ends are doing, and given that most people only have eyes in the front of their heads this is a lot harder -- especially for a long narrowboat -- than steering from the stern. Even more so with a wheel which unlike a tiller gives no direct feedback of which way the tiller is pointing and which way the rudder is pushing the stern -- which is also harder to keep track of because that's not where you're standing, it's thirty feet behind you on a boat like this.

 

Wheel steering and especially from a central position is fine for shorter boats (like cabin cruisers) in less constricted waters (rivers/estuaries/the sea), but tiller steering from the stern is better suited to narrowboats on the narrow English canals. In my opinion... 😉

[TheBiscuits]

3 minutes ago, IanD said:

tiller steering from the stern is better suited to narrowboats on the narrow English canals.

 

Nah, joystick controlled fly-by-wire is the future ....

 

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

The problem is that on relatively narrow canals/bridges/locks you need to watch what both ends are doing, and given that most people only have eyes in the front of their heads this is a lot harder -- especially for a long narrowboat -- than steering from the stern. Even more so with a wheel which unlike a tiller gives no direct feedback of which way the tiller is pointing and which way the rudder is pushing the stern -- which is also harder to keep track of because that's not where you're standing, it's thirty feet behind you on a boat like this.

 

Wheel steering and especially from a central position is fine for shorter boats (like cabin cruisers) in less constricted waters (rivers/estuaries/the sea), but tiller steering from the stern is better suited to narrowboats on the narrow English canals. In my opinion... 😉

 

Yes. Extra caution is required.

[IanD]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

Nah, joystick controlled fly-by-wire is the future ....

 

Whitefield... 😞

[TheBiscuits]

Just now, IanD said:

Whitefield... 😞

 

Didn't she sing "Saturday Night" back in the nineties?

 

😁

[IanD]

3 minutes ago, M_JG said:

 

Yes. Extra caution is required.

And eyes in the back of your head. And the ability to tell which way the rudder is pointing by intuition or looking at a dial, not just by where the tiller is in your hand.

 

Lots of disadvantages, and no real advantages that I can see -- though surely there must be some, otherwise nobody would build a boat like this... 😉

Edited May 30, 2023 by IanD

[Guest]

1 minute ago, IanD said:

And eyes in the back of your head. And the ability to tell which way the rudder is pointing by intuition or looking at a dial, not just by where the tiller is in your hand.

 

Lots of disadvantages, and no real advantages that I can see -- though surely there must be some, otherwise nobody would build a boat like this... 😉

 

Yes as I said. Im not a fan of wheel steering.

[David Mack]

12 hours ago, matty40s said:

Bet that's a pig to moor up, and very little outside space, no front or rear.

Theres quite a bit of damage visible , especially to the bottom back end.

 

And the centre cockpit looks to be too small to use as outdoor socialising space.

[matty40s]

I am wondering if the roof bit of the back end comes off, or lifts up, both to sit out and maybe a tiller insert??

[IanD]

21 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I am wondering if the roof bit of the back end comes off, or lifts up, both to sit out and maybe a tiller insert??

If you zoom in on the photo the back panel looks to be solidly constructed from steel, so unlikely -- but maybe there's a roof hatch over the opening side door so you can get out there? If not, getting on and off from the centre wheel position would be a trip hazard, assuming you could get it in to the bank.

 

If you had a tiller at the stern (with space for it!) why on earth have wheel steering from midships?

 

The only reason I can think of that is whoever designed the boat -- like Whitefield? -- had little or no experience of steering a long narrow boat on narrow canals, and assumed that what works on open waters -- where maybe they did have experience, and were familiar with centre wheel steering? -- would also work well there.

Edited May 31, 2023 by IanD

[alan_fincher]

12 hours ago, matty40s said:

Bet that's a pig to moor up, and very little outside space, no front or rear.

 

In respect of whee you can access the main cabin, (but not where the steering position is),this bears similarities to our Flamingo, with the only access from a cross deck immediately in front of the original engine room.

 

 

The problem being that if you can't get BOTH ends against the bank, then you can't get that cross deck particularly close either - something our now ageing dogs struggle to cope with.

 

It also means when we do events or festivals where we have to breast up, and not against the bank, we are severely limited  in options, because we need to align with something on the other boat where the dogs can cross.

 

All far more of a problem on a 3 footed drafted boat than a 2 foot drafted one, of course, but i suspect the owner of this "interesting" boat will find occasions where they would be better off if it were accessible from an end.

[PeterF]

It looks like the boat we met on the T&M a couple of years ago when it was new. AFAIR there was a father and son on it and they were German. It was also hybrid / electric from memory.

[David Mack]

52 minutes ago, matty40s said:

I am wondering if the roof bit of the back end comes off, or lifts up, both to sit out and maybe a tiller insert??

Looks to me to be fairly conventional side door (except its a single side door opening towards the bows as there is nowhere for a rearward opening door to lie when open) and flipover roof hatches right at the back of the cabin on both sides.

It would have made little difference to the internal space to have this as an open stern deck with a central doorway into the cabin. Pretty much like a trad (if square) stern, and with the option of tiller steering.

Edited May 31, 2023 by David Mack

[enigmatic]

Not being able to just get the stern in and sort the rest of the boat out with a centre line must make mooring and stopping at lock landings a lot more hassle, especially on windy days or less-than-perfectly-straight banks

[IanD]

30 minutes ago, enigmatic said:

Not being able to just get the stern in and sort the rest of the boat out with a centre line must make mooring and stopping at lock landings a lot more hassle, especially on windy days or less-than-perfectly-straight banks

Indeed, but probably not as much hassle as having thirty feet of boat a*se-end hanging out behind you when you're manoeuvring and bashing into things -- bridges, lock entrances, other boats...