Moving your first boat

[DShK]

When I bought my (first) boat, first time using it, as I was trying to manoeuvre it in the marina (not something I'd done before) - the throttle linkage fell off so I had no control of how fast my prop was spinning. Given I was also fighting wind and quite intense prop walk, it was probably one of the most stressful moments of my life (specifically trying to avoid ramming other people's boats!).

 

You only learn by getting out there and doing. (As an interesting note. An ex-colleague of mine works for a company bidding to make UK canal simulations for training purposes. I think this is pretty gross and indicative of the modern world we have come to have).

 

Read up on the etiquette, how to moor (and lighterman's hitch + T-stud hitch) and how to do the locks safely and you'll be fine. Ask boaters along the way, most people will be happy to advise.

Edited September 28, 2023 by DShK

[Francis Herne]

3 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

My first time out on a hire boat from Penkridge I went the wrong way and had to work out how a lock worked

Surely you can't get far in either direction from Penkridge without hitting a lock!

 

To the original poster: go for it!

 

Do enough research to think you know what you're doing, then go out and prove you don't. In a few weeks you mostly will.

 

I wrote a lot of detailed advice but my phone has just eaten it, may try again in the morning.

 

When are you setting off? I'm in Cheshire at the moment, could possibly cycle over for advice/moral support on day 1.

Edited September 29, 2023 by Francis Herne

[blackrose]

If you're nervous about moving your boat for the first time why not ask if anyone here is available to help in the crew swap section of the forum? It might be good to have someone experienced onboard for the first few hours at least. 

 

Locks are dangerous places, more than most new people realise. But with such a short boat there's no reason for it to be anywhere near the gates so you should be fine if you take your time and think it all through. Don't get distracted by talking to people around locks. To be honest you only want to be travelling with a couple of crew, not a whole noisy crowd.

Edited September 29, 2023 by blackrose

[howardang]

17 hours ago, bluelapsing said:

Hi all,

 

I've (finally) completed the purchase of my first boat! Thanks to many of the threads on this forum I've got the peace of mind that everything is as satisfactory as it could realistically be at this stage, and at a fair price thanks to one of the surveyors regularly recommended here.

 

So as not to bombard you with a million and one questions at once, I'm curious if it would be possible and advisable for a few people with no boating experience to attempt to move a 35ft NB from Nantwich to Nottingham without a Helmsman's course? The person at the marina isn't available in time but I might be able to do one locally/elsewhere - or would it be safer to pay someone to move the boat for me?

 

Any advice much appreciated!

 

TIA

I would look at this way. As long as the boat is in reasonable condition mechanically and you are happy that it is capable of doing the trip, pretend that you have decided to have a holiday on the waterways and treat the trip as a learning experience, and enjoy it as such. Every year many people hire boats for a week or longer, never having had any boating experience beforehand, and the largest majority have a totally  enjoyable experience. Look on line for a copy of The Boaters Handbook, free from CRT on their web site, which is full of tips and advice aimed at newcomers like you, and if you come across something in the booklet you are confused about, ask this forum and someone will be able to help.

 

Good luck and just remember that all boaters have gone through the same concerns and have gone on to enjoy their waterway experience with no issues.

 

Howard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

20 hours ago, David Mack said:

Of course. Hire boaters do it all the time. Various online resources already suggested will give you more idea than many newbies have. Just f***ing do it!

 

Most hires are told or shown how to work a lock or steer the boat

18 hours ago, Francis Herne said:

Surely you can't get far in either direction from Penkridge without hitting a lock!

 

That very true but I had still never worked or been through one before

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by ditchcrawler
Spilling

[Ken X]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

Most hires are told or shown how to work a lock or steer the boat

That very true but I had still never worked or been through one before

 

One of our early hire companies was Club Line at Coventry.  They used to meet their boats at Sutton Stop to train hirers on lock operation.  I often wondered what first timers thought when they got to Hillmorton or Atherstone Locks and looked at the size of the gates. 😀

[Momac]

I moved my first  boat on the day I paid for it.

Fossdyke to Torksey and then the Tidal Trent to Cromwell, in mid March.

Got to Cromwell and the lock keeper had gone home. It was wet and windy.

Still boating so it must have been a good experience.

[Tony1]

18 hours ago, blackrose said:

If you're nervous about moving your boat for the first time why not ask if anyone here is available to help in the crew swap section of the forum? It might be good to have someone experienced onboard for the first few hours at least. 

 

Locks are dangerous places, more than most new people realise. But with such a short boat there's no reason for it to be anywhere near the gates so you should be fine if you take your time and think it all through. Don't get distracted by talking to people around locks. To be honest you only want to be travelling with a couple of crew, not a whole noisy crowd.

 

I would 100% reiterate this point.

For my first trip, the only time the boat was at serious risk was in the locks. 

On my very first lock I didnt have much of a clue so I let half a dozen other well-meaning people get involved, and the boat was very nearly sunk by one helper tying the stern rope around a bollard (which would have hung up the back end of the boat as the water went down).

If going down in a lock, always remember to stay away from the back end where the cill is.

You can mess about a lot of the time on a boat, but when in a lock DO NOT get distracted by any passers by or nearby events, however entertaining. 

Tell your crew the same- one or two can go off and have a chat on the bank, but the helmsman and windlass worker(s) must always be aware of what the boat is doing. 

Once you've done a couple of locks you'll get the hang of it no problem, but what can still catch you out is getting distracted. 

Even after two years of boating, I forgot the golden rule and got chatting to some nearby people in 1920s boating costumes, as my boat was going down in a lock, and it was dangerously close to the cill. 

The lockie was on his toes and warned me to pull the boat forward in plenty of time, but its very easy to get distracted. 

 

 

[howardang]

3 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

Most hires are told or shown how to work a lock or steer the boat

That very true but I had still never worked or been through one before

 

Many first time hirers are in exactly that situation. They have never been in a lock never mind working through one. Once you have been told or been shown how to do one by either looking at the boaters manual or seeing it demonstrated or even visiting a lock and watching what the boaters do, you will soon get the hang of how to manage. Take it reasonably slowly at first and by the end of a couple of days you will be working locks like a pro!  It honestly isn't rocket science as many first timers each year can testify.  

 

Howard

[Ianws]

On 28/09/2023 at 20:43, BEngo said:

One of the things you will encounter is leaves.  It is the leaf fall season.  The Shroppie and stretches of the T&M have lots of trees.

 

The effect of leaves is amazing. Instead of continuing to float and look pretty they form themselves into a ball around your propellor.  This makes the engine sound funny and the boat will slow down.  When you stop to investigate, all the leaves  come away from the prop before you can get the weed hatch lid  off  and nothing is obviously wrong when you dive the hole. 

Once you get used to the symptoms the solution is just to shut the throttle, wait two seconds then take it out of gear.  Wait 5 seconds and resume normal cruising.  This fools the leaves into thinking you are stopping and they all leap off the prop as soon as you take it out of gear.

 

N

 

As well as funny noises and slowing down it can result in a complete loss of forward movement and a loss of steering with no water passing the rudder, which is disconcerting if you don't know why it is happening. Clear the leaves as BEngo describes, or into neutral and a short burst in reverse if needed. 

[blackrose]

I've never had a problem with leaves on my prop, at least not that I've noticed. I once met two Irish guys in a plastic cruiser on the southern GU who kept having to stop to clear their tiny prop of leaves and weed while I had no problem at all. I wouldn't have thought big props with plenty of torque behind them as found on narrowboats would suffer from this issue. My prop just seems to cut through weed, and leaves have never been a problem.

Edited September 30, 2023 by blackrose

[Francis Herne]

Does depend on the boat.

 

My 31-footer really struggles with them; prop's 13x9 so a bit of an eggwhisk.

 

The original post says the boat here is 35ft, so may not be much better.

[cuthound]

16 hours ago, Ianws said:

As well as funny noises and slowing down it can result in a complete loss of forward movement and a loss of steering with no water passing the rudder, which is disconcerting if you don't know why it is happening. Clear the leaves as BEngo describes, or into neutral and a short burst in reverse if needed. 

 

When I had shareboats (1992-2013) the owner of the company gave a lecture every year at the annual meetings on the problems caused by leaves in the cut!

[Dharl]

On 30/09/2023 at 15:39, cuthound said:

 

When I had shareboats (1992-2013) the owner of the company gave a lecture every year at the annual meetings on the problems caused by leaves in the cut!

one of your fellow owners of the shareboat gave us a similar chat when we first joined in 2014...However on recent trip along the BCN Old MAin Line was a little enthusiastic with my "burst astern" and I ended up spending an hour down the weedhatch recovering various items we had collected from the canal bed.... (whilst drifting under the M5 as unable to get into the tow path!)    

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, Dharl said:

one of your fellow owners of the shareboat gave us a similar chat when we first joined in 2014...However on recent trip along the BCN Old MAin Line was a little enthusiastic with my "burst astern" and I ended up spending an hour down the weedhatch recovering various items we had collected from the canal bed.... (whilst drifting under the M5 as unable to get into the tow path!)    

 

Try to persuade your fellow co-owners to have a "prop protector" (a small serrated disc which fits between the hull and the prop) fitted to HS. My boat came fitted with one and the only thing that it has failed to clear without me having to intervene in ten years boating was somebody's discarded cratch cover.

[Dharl]

19 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Try to persuade your fellow co-owners to have a "prop protector" (a small serrated disc which fits between the hull and the prop) fitted to HS. My boat came fitted with one and the only thing that it has failed to clear without me having to intervene in ten years boating was somebody's discarded cratch cover.

yes "rope cutters" on blue water boats to great success! not sure how they would get on with rubble bags which is what i seemed to be wrestling with under spaghetti junction!   

[cuthound]

28 minutes ago, Dharl said:

yes "rope cutters" on blue water boats to great success! not sure how they would get on with rubble bags which is what i seemed to be wrestling with under spaghetti junction!   

 

I have cruised a fair bit of the BCN without any prop fouls, including some lesser used bits such as the Wyrely and Essington and Chasewater.

 

You can hear when the prop has caught something from the change in engine note, but by the time I have got to the side, the prop protector has chopped it up and the revs return to normal.

Edited October 18, 2023 by cuthound
To add the last paragraph

[magnetman]

When I was doing a lot of narrow boating in the late 90s and the early naughties it was interesting to observe the prop foul situation..

 

My boat was a 55ft narrow with a Russell Newbery DM2 and a square 22x22 prop. 

 

My mum ( we went everywhere together) had a 55ft narrow with a Beta Marine 1.5 and a smaller prop I don't know the dimensions but it was a bit of an egg whisk. 

 

She was often getting prop fouls but I very rarely picked anything up. We did the BCN. Leicester, Southall etc. 

 

I think the larger prop turning more slowly must have been the key. 

 

 

[Francis Herne]

Opposite experience here.

 

I've done most of the BCN and picked up very little with my little 13x9" prop. Floating stuff is the only problem; either weed, autumn leaves or once a tyre.

 

On the other hand I've been down the Wyrley recently on both a DM2 and HA2 turning 24" props. Never a minute without stuff on the blades, stopping at every second bridgehole for big stuff that wouldn't shake off in reverse.

[Dharl]

To the OP, if earlier in the year would have recommended that before going boating, take a day out to go to a flight of locks and spend some time watching how other boaters tackle them as well as asking them questions as that’s a great way to learn.    Most boaters will happily talk to goongoozlers and the offer to open and close gates is never refused! 

[manxmike]

On 29/09/2023 at 18:47, ditchcrawler said:

Most hires are told or shown how to work a lock or steer the boat

 

I fondly (?) remember coming across a hire boat with two young men opening every paddle - top and bottom - at a lock. I managed to persuade them not to do that and talked them through lock operation. When I asked why the hire base had not instructed them in locking, they said that two of the party (who were still asleep after the previous night's boozing) had been shown "the ropes". It was a stag do, I was so pleased they were going in the opposite direction to me, I hope the hire base got the boat back in one piece!

[Andyaero]

I am going to be in the same predicament in June/July. Sheffield to south of Leics on the GU somewhere. 90 mins in the car, a lot longer by boat! Not planning on being without experience Keadby to Newark!

[IanD]

2 hours ago, manxmike said:

I fondly (?) remember coming across a hire boat with two young men opening every paddle - top and bottom - at a lock. I managed to persuade them not to do that and talked them through lock operation. When I asked why the hire base had not instructed them in locking, they said that two of the party (who were still asleep after the previous night's boozing) had been shown "the ropes". It was a stag do, I was so pleased they were going in the opposite direction to me, I hope the hire base got the boat back in one piece!

 

On the Leeds and Liverpool coming down the Forge Locks staircase, we came across a boat about to come up them who asked "How do we do this, do we just open the doors?"... 🙂

 

Turned out they'd just bought the boat -- a fairly small yoghurt pot -- and picked it up and set off that afternoon, had never been through a lock before never mind a staircase, and had no idea how they worked or what a paddle or a gate was -- don't even know if they had a windlass or a BWB key...

 

I tried to explain but I'm not sure it sank in, last I saw they were going into the bottom lock we'd just left with both of them on still the boat. I wondered how they got on given that start... 😞

[Paul C]

Why do people get so confused at staircase locks? Water fairly consistently flows downhill.....

[IanD]

1 minute ago, Paul C said:

Why do people get so confused at staircase locks? Water fairly consistently flows downhill.....

 

I don't think their confusion was anything to do with it being a staircase, just a lock... 😞