Entitled Historic Boat Owners

[Stroudwater1]

5 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

How terrible! I was too busy replying to you on the internet to actually interact with you in person! ‘Tis a 21st century thing.

Anyway, how do you know it was me driving?

I imagine a 6’5 person was at the helm, unless another 6’5 individual had nicked your boat for a jolly?
 

Or maybe he had seen you discussing matters with a vlockie earlier? 
 

[Tonka]

13 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

How terrible! I was too busy replying to you on the internet to actually interact with you in person! ‘Tis a 21st century thing.

Anyway, how do you know it was me driving?

I don't know if it was you steering. But it was your boat

[nicknorman]

27 minutes ago, Tonka said:

I don't know if it was you steering. But it was your boat

Must have been stolen guv!

[David Mack]

2 hours ago, Tam & Di said:

 

Back in the 50s/60s, when pleasure boaters were a rarety, the most you could expect from a boatman unless you knew them well was a slight inclination of the head. We referred to it as a 'boatman's nod', but it was pretty much the same you'd get while walking in rural areas. The waving and cheering that now goes on seems to us more like a rather self-satisfied "look at me - I'm on a boat", and I find it rather embarrassing if a guest on our boat does it.

 

As a teenager on my first boat, a 17ft plywood cruiser, in the mid 70s I soon learned that the standard greeting for most other boats, was an almost imperceptible nod of the head, down and a little to one side, and so I learned to do the same. But much of my boating then was on and around the BCN where the moving boats one encountered were BW maintenance craft, Mattys boats, then still carrying phosphorous waste, or diehard BCN enthusiasts.

[Alan de Enfield]

22 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Mattys boats, then still carrying phosphorous waste, or diehard BCN enthusiasts.

 

Why were they carrying diehard enthusiasts ? Were they paying ?

Edited July 3 by Alan de Enfield

[agg221]

5 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Why were they carrying diehard enthusiasts ? Were they paying ?

The BCN enthusiasts were hoping to pick up a gentle glow from the residual phosphorous waste?

 

Alec

[billS]

On 03/07/2024 at 09:39, colinwilks said:

Not sure what your point is?

I was captaining that run back from Braunston and to be honest do not recall us failing to negotiate a bridge hole on the Northern Oxford, but any bridge hole you get through without any damage would seem to count as a success.

This was a training run for new members, so things were not always as slick as we might like. We are a volunteer organisation and put a lot of effort into presenting the boats as smartly as we can, in terms of both presentation and handling.

You are obviously a very experienced and capable boater, so perhaps you would contact the Trust? We are always pleased to learn from the experts who have shared the benefit of their experience with us over the years.

 

I think your post illustrates the point on entitlement and arrogance rather well. Of course you will not recall failing to negotiate a bridge hole on the Northern Oxford. If you had failed to negotiate it, you would still be there. I am sure however, that you will have been aware of an attempted reversal and heavy collision with bridge number 26. I note you have no comment on the earlier collision which I also refer to in the post.

[DShK]

1 hour ago, billS said:

I think your post illustrates the point on entitlement and arrogance rather well. Of course you will not recall failing to negotiate a bridge hole on the Northern Oxford. If you had failed to negotiate it, you would still be there. I am sure however, that you will have been aware of an attempted reversal and heavy collision with bridge number 26. I note you have no comment on the earlier collision which I also refer to in the post.

 

God forbid you come across a first time hirer.

 

Oh, those aren't old boats, so you wouldn't notice 

Edited July 4 by DShK

[dogless]

I suspect the smiles and laughter would give the game away  😁

 

Rog

[Hudds Lad]

Speaking of "historics", one passed us as we were moored on Tuesday evening and the chap on the back shouted, "I have the water cans from your boat, at home"

Didn't catch the boat name, and our boat has never been decorated in a traditional style, left me quite intrigued.

[Stroudwater1]

3 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

Speaking of "historics", one passed us as we were moored on Tuesday evening and the chap on the back shouted, "I have the water cans from your boat, at home"

Didn't catch the boat name, and our boat has never been decorated in a traditional style, left me quite intrigued.

That’s nice. Were they Hudson optional extras perhaps? You never know, the boat owner may drop them by the marina some time for you (so long as they can navigate in and out of the wind tunnel) 

 

Perhaps a contact via The historic narrowboat club would get further information if they don’t brave it 😊 

[Hudds Lad]

1 hour ago, Stroudwater1 said:

(so long as they can navigate in and out of the wind tunnel)

Wind? Don't know what you mean. I absolutely did not completely cock-up getting on the service dock yesterday in the wind and end up pinned on the side in the reeds next to the marina entrance where the good lady wife had to pole the front out and combined with a bit of cheaty bow thruster manage to get moving again with a very red face  

Edited July 5 by Hudds Lad

[colinwilks]

18 hours ago, billS said:

I think your post illustrates the point on entitlement and arrogance rather well. Of course you will not recall failing to negotiate a bridge hole on the Northern Oxford. If you had failed to negotiate it, you would still be there. I am sure however, that you will have been aware of an attempted reversal and heavy collision with bridge number 26. I note you have no comment on the earlier collision which I also refer to in the post.

Hello Bill

 

I have spoken to the person in charge of the motor at Bridge 26 and she tells me we had a new member under instruction on the motor. A boat came through the bridge hole and we had held back successfully. We then started into the bridge hole when a second boat appeared. The new steerer panicked somewhat and we did hit the abutment of the bridge, but avoided a collision with this second boat, which I think probably should have held back for us. I was in the butty cabin at the time, so a long way from the action.

 

I have no knowledge of the incident on the River Wey, so must take your word for that one.

 

I am sorry you seem to have a beef with the Trust, which has been going for over fifty years with the objective of preserving historic boats and practicing traditional techniques. We do try to be competent and courteous at all times!

 

I don't usually bother with social media, which in my experience fails to reflect real life, but a friend pointed out your post to me, so I felt I should respond.

 

I won't be posting on here again, but if you wish to speak to me you can message me via faceache https://www.facebook.com/share/ccia31mmgkEm1WpV/

and I will happily give you a call. I suspect speaking directly may be more useful than batting things back and forth on here.

 

Regards

 

Colin Wilks

 

 

[Stroudwater1]

2 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

Wind? Don't know what you mean. I absolutely did not completely cock-up getting on the service dock yesterday in the wind and end up pinned on the side in the reeds next to the marina entrance where the good lady wife had to pole the front out and combined with a bit of cheaty bow thruster manage to get moving again with a very red face  

My sympathies 🤣 Theres a  few chips from us. Three last time 😔

 

The diesel filler is on the left side mid and either means mooring on the right side against the prevailing gale, or a tricky reverse and hope we get to the left side before getting blown by. 

 

On one occasion we completely bailed out and slunk back to our more costly marina 🥲 

 

Those trees can’t grow fast enough 👍

[Justin Smith]

On 01/07/2024 at 06:07, Paul C said:

Justin Smith said:
One should obviously not ordinarily moor up at a water point, but how about this scenario :  it is literally starting to go dark and there is no mooring available, either because it is all taken or it is all too shallow. At that time of night it is highly unlikely any boat would want to moor for water. Is it so wrong to moor there so long as one moves first thing in the morning ?

 

Sounds like poor planning

I think that is a bit unfair. If one is using a canal for the first time it is often difficult to know where one can moor up, as regards to shallowness in particular. I can remember the first day we got our boat on the Brecon it seemed to take us hours to try and find a mooring. It was starting to go dark and we even considered tying off to an over hanging tree ! The shallowness really was that bad.

One more thing you have to bear in mind, hirers usually only have the boat for a week or so* and are paying shed loads of money, thus they are motivated to use the boat a lot more. They have not got the luxury of saying we'll moor up mid afternoon (just to be on the safe side of getting a mooring), particularly if they are on their way back to the hire base and have to get there for 9.00AM on the final day.

 

* even a week's booking isn't a week. You have to pick up the boat late afternoon and then get it back for early morning the following week, so it's nearer 6 days than 7.....

On 01/07/2024 at 09:37, cheesegas said:

Just don’t be a dick about it if someone doubles up to you at 6am like I’ve done to boats on the water point at Brentford on the way to the Thames…

 

If it’s genuinely a really crap situation then stop there overnight but if someone needs to use the point then don’t get mad. 

I agree with you.

[Graham Davis]

Reading that it sounds like Mr Smith might not have listened to the pre-trip talk by the boatyard on the B & M, as from my knowledge they all mention how shallow it is.

[Stroudwater1]

2 hours ago, Graham Davis said:

Reading that it sounds like Mr Smith might not have listened to the pre-trip talk by the boatyard on the B & M, as from my knowledge they all mention how shallow it is.

I always do lots of things till I forget on occasions. There are so many instructions given out it’s easy to forget even if it was said. 
 

I can’t remember being advised on mooring up at all when I hired for 6 different boats, including taking boats on the Avon, Severn, Bristol Avon or Thames. I’ve not hired on the B&M though. 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

On 28/06/2024 at 16:48, David Schweizer said:

 

Outside the Greyhound in 1968:-

 

 

 

joy of joys when I arrived to see no boats, great I can moor in front of pub,

nope no mooring rings! and the bollards are clearly marked lock landing only. I could have gone to lengths to tie up but I’d clearly be in the way of what is needed as a winding hole. 
guess I’ll dry me washing somewhere else 😃
 

 

[Justin Smith]

On 07/07/2024 at 16:41, Graham Davis said:

Reading that it sounds like Mr Smith might not have listened to the pre-trip talk by the boatyard on the B & M, as from my knowledge they all mention how shallow it is.

But how is that actually going to help you find a mooring ?

[Graham Davis]

Funny, but I thought Mr Smith had me on his Ignore list and didn't read my posts!

From recollection nearly every hire boat on the B & M has a map and guide which lists all the "registered" mooring points, some of which are for the electric boats, plus lists of other suggested points, many of which are in or near the villages, pubs and restaurants, but like any canal you can moor basically where ever you want, but you are more than likely to need your boarding plank due to the shallow nature of the canal.

As I said, it appears Mr Smith didn't listen and didn't look. Not surprising with his history!
 

[agg221]

I’ll share what happened to us on the one occasion we moored on a water point.

 

We bought Oates from Redhill and were weekending it to our mooring in Market Drayton. We had travelled the Shroppie once before in a hire boat a few months earlier. This meant we didn't really know the boat or the route.

 

During the trip, various issues came to light with the work of the PO on the boat. One of those issues was with the engine and we had arranged to meet someone at The Wharf at Goldstone and then to have dinner there. It was the last night on the boat so we had run down the food and hadn’t yet got to grips with stocking up on non-perishables.

 

Heading out of Gnosall the cooling system sprung a leak through a failed outlet gasket on the head. My wife jammed her thumb over it and we kept going. Heading into Norbury the whole gear change linkage fell off the ceiling as it turned out it was only held in place with a single half inch screw. My daughter stood by the lever and pulled it up and down in response to hand signals from me and we limped it to Norbury.

 

I bought some instant gasket and some proper screws and scrounged a 1/4” bsf nut to replace the chewed up one I had to take off. An hour and a half later we were underway, heading for Goldstone.

 

It was late October and fully dark by Knighton. We arrived at Goldstone at 7:30 and all moorings were full. The choices which occurred to me were:

 

Keep going for 2.5hrs through Woodseaves and Tyrley in the dark and hope we could make it to a supermarket or takeaway, not getting the uncertain engine looked at and hence if it failed having to extend that time by bow hauling in the dark.

Moor half on the water point, get the engine looked at, have some dinner and move first thing in the morning.

 

We did the latter. I got up and was ready to move if any boat needed water. As soon as the first boat moved off the moorings I poled us down to it, around 8am.

 

So, was that poor planning and what would people have done differently?

 

Alec

Edited July 10 by agg221

[Derek Porteous]

Most times that we pass, or indeed moor, at Goldstone, there is inevitably a moored boat on the water point by late afternoon/early evening. The visitor moorings fill up quickly here. I personally don't see the harm in it if they are prepared to have another boat moor alongside to get water. Don't know how you determine whether they "are prepared" or not, but guess the default must be, if moored at a water point, be prepared to be boarded.

[Rob-M]

I would have stayed at Norbury and gone to the pub or done exactly the same as you did, used the water point and be up early ready to move off or assist anyone wanting water.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

ah, yes of course, I’d have limped to the Anchor. 
(I think they’ve always made sandwiches on request.)

[Tacet]

3 hours ago, Graham Davis said:

Funny, but I thought Mr Smith had me on his Ignore list and didn't read my posts!

From recollection nearly every hire boat on the B & M has ....
 

B & M is a rival to Poundland.

 

The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is in Wales - same as the Canal Montgomery.