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Boat draught


MrsM

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A quick post aimed at those looking for their first narrowboat. There is understandably an emphasis on boat length when you are looking to buy - with 57' the widely accepted most accessible length. However, please bear in mind the boat's draught - ie how deep it is under the water. We are in our 4th season of boating in our 58' NB and are finding ourselves frequently on the bottom, despite a draught of only 2'. Many deeper draughted boats are really struggling. Given the water issues the network faces please take note of your perspective new boat's draught when looking. 

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Its a difficult one, if everybody gets shallower boats then the canals just get shallower. There is an argument that we need more deeper boats to maintain the channel. Also note that deeper boats do handle better (till they hit the bottom).

A deeper boat with a chine would be a nice option but that does loose a bit of interior space, but can work well on widebeams. Avoid "Birmingham Square".

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31 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I have been boating on ex working boats drawing 3 feet for over 30 years (and smaller boats before that). When I first got involved with Fulbourne we frequently went aground, and that would always seem to involve crew heaving on ropes and pushing on poles or rocking the boat to get free. These days it is much rarer to go hard aground, and getting free when we do seems easier.

The canals haven't got deeper in the last 30 years, so I conclude it is my boat handling that has got better - an ability to read the channel to avoid the danger spots, feeling when the boat starts to ground and taking corrective action, slowing down in shallow water so you aren't sucked onto the bottom etc. 

There are plenty of 3 ft-ish drafted boats navigating the entire system, so if there is enough depth for them, then the 2 ft boats shouldn't really be having too many problems.

 

Absolutely agree. The problems we've had have been mostly when we've had to move out of the main channel, passing oncoming boats etc. Not helped by one of the long pounds on the Caldon dropping 7-8" yesterday!

Edited by MrsM
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Nothing new about this, so many boaters cut of the bends instead of keeping to the outside thus moving silt into the channel which has been established over many years by the working boats of the past and present. I see no reason why a 2 foot deep boat should go aground in the channel unless the pound is very low.

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I ballasted Innisfree to give as level a stance fore and aft as reasonably possible and finished up with approx 21" hull draught at front of cabin and 23" just before the start of stern swim, 2" difference between fore and aft, an average of 22" hull draught and the boat looked level, but it was 28-29" to bottom of skeg, unavoidable but in 5 years of ccing over majority of canals there were no issues with grounding (unless a pound had been emptied!) 

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In the 80s we had a long shaft out at all times on the cabin top , and a chainwinch in the hold.

Got a lot of use.

Now we have the long shaft in the hold ( cant remember when last used.

Chain winch gone.

 

One consistent is both boats town class .More mud less huge lumps ( cars safes supermarket trolleys )than used to be.

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2 hours ago, MrsM said:

Absolutely agree. The problems we've had have been mostly when we've had to move out of the main channel, passing oncoming boats etc. Not helped by one of the long pounds on the Caldon dropping 7-8" yesterday!

Roger Fuller was up there a couple of weeks ago with an ex working boat collecting timber

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If you are regularly runing aground with a 2ft draught boat, your boat is either deeper than you think, or you are cruising too close too the edge. Helvetia had a draught of 32" under way and, yes, we did run aground sometimes, but not that frequently. Experience is the best tutor for handling your own boat and, perhaps, a few more seasons and you will wonder what the problem was. Of course, I had the benefit of helping to work a Small Northwich for five years in the 1960's,  after that 32" seemed like floating on the top.

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It’s a fair point for the OP. I overlooked the draught when getting my boat and presumed they were all much the same!
 

However as the weather has got fairer and the water clearer where I am and I started to notice I have a deeper draught than most, someone even asked me if my boat has a keel!

 

It doesn’t but did make me look it up and she has got a draught of 2ft 4’ which presumably is deeper than the average NB?

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49 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

If you are regularly runing aground with a 2ft draught boat, your boat is either deeper than you think, or you are cruising too close too the edge.

When I started boating, boats travelling in opposite directions would routinely pass with 6 inches or less between the two hulls. Now so many boaters seem to want as many feet between the boats, so it is inevitable that sometimes they will stray far enough from the channel to touch the bottom.

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16 minutes ago, Owls Den said:

It doesn’t but did make me look it up and she has got a draught of 2ft 4’ which presumably is deeper than the average NB?

 

Bear in mind 'average' is rather meaningless in this context. After all, the 'average' human being has slightly fewer than two arms.

 

 

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1 hour ago, David Schweizer said:

If you are regularly runing aground with a 2ft draught boat, your boat is either deeper than you think, or you are cruising too close too the edge. Helvetia had a draught of 32" under way and, yes, we did run aground sometimes, but not that frequently. Experience is the best tutor for handling your own boat and, perhaps, a few more seasons and you will wonder what the problem was. Of course, I had the benefit of helping to work a Small Northwich for five years in the 1960's,  after that 32" seemed like floating on the top.

We are not regularly running aground but have witnessed several deeper draughted boats that have. We have however  been scraping the bottom when having to come out of the channel. I know you are all far too skilled and clever which was why this post was aimed not at yourselves but at newbies who are looking for their first boat and might not consider draught, not experienced boaters such as the commenters here. 

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8 minutes ago, MrsM said:

We are not regularly running aground but have witnessed several deeper draughted boats that have. We have however  been scraping the bottom when having to come out of the channel. I know you are all far too skilled and clever which was why this post was aimed not at yourselves but at newbies who are looking for their first boat and might not consider draught, not experienced boaters such as the commenters here. 

 

David Mack's point is a good one. Having quite a deep draught we always stayed in the middle, until comparatively close to an appproaching boat, when we slowed a bit and moved about 4ft the right, assuming that the approaching boat would do the same. If they chose to move over more than 4ft, that was their decision, but unneccessary. People manage it easily in tunnels, so why not on an open canal?

 

 

Edited by David Schweizer
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18 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

 

David Mack's point is a good one. Having quite a deep draught we always stayed in the middle, until comparatively close to an appproaching boat, when we slowed a bit and moved about 4ft the right, assuming that the approaching boat would do the same. If they chose to move over more than 4ft, that was their decision, but unneccessary. People manage it easily in tunnels, so why not on an open canal?

 

 

That is exactly what I do and often wonder why an approaching boat is running up the bank or fighting with the trees when there have given 6-8ft between us.  I have been waved at to move over and someone did once say I was too close to them but my response was we didn't touch so I was plenty far enough away.

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38 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Bear in mind 'average' is rather meaningless in this context. After all, the 'average' human being has slightly fewer than two arms.

 

 

Without checking I’m pretty sure an average human has two arms.

 

But I get your point all boats are different. 
 

However.. There are a few types that seem pretty common, Liverpool, reeves etc and was wondering what their draught is like compared to 2ft 4’ !

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20 minutes ago, Owls Den said:

Without checking I’m pretty sure an average human has two arms.

 

But I get your point all boats are different. 
 

However.. There are a few types that seem pretty common, Liverpool, reeves etc and was wondering what their draught is like compared to 2ft 4’ !

 

Nope, a few have one or zero arms but AFAIK nobody has more than two -- so the average is slightly less than 2, that's how averages work... 😉

 

The same applies to legs, eyes, ears, testicles etc. -- but probably not nipples... 😉

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8 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

Nope, a few have one or zero arms but AFAIK nobody has more than two -- so the average is slightly less than 2, that's how averages work... 😉

 

The same applies to legs, eyes, ears, testicles etc. -- but probably not nipples... 😉

There is at times a load of b******s on here so that average must surely be higher?

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I am often surprised when some people speak about draught and yet have never checked that the figure they were given when they purchased is  l accurate. In some. In some shallower waterways a difference of few of inches can be important if you want to avoid running aground. Trim and fuel/water tanks full or empty can all affect the draught not to mention bags of coal on the roof, and other unaccounted weight such as additional internal wood paned etc.

 

A boats draught can, and does, vary depending on all these factors so boaters should at least be aware of this fact rather than always working of the same draught without mentally  allowing for any changes.

Howard

Edited by howardang
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