Reversing

[fender]

HORN SIGNALS

One short I am altering course to starboard (my right)

Two short I am altering course to port (my left)

Three short My engines are going astern

Four short (pause) one short I am turning round in the fairway to starboard

Four shot (pause) two short I am turning round in the fairway to port

Five short You are taking insufficient action to avoid me

Two long, one short I wish to overtake on your starboard (right) side

Two long, one short I wish to overtake on your port (left) side

Long, short, long, short You may overtake me

One very long I am about to enter the fairway.

25316[/snapback]

 

 

Wouldnt 'one very long' blow perhaps mean 'I am about to scoff a tub of pot noodles?' Honestly I dont think boaters use horn signals in the way they were intended these days. Its like morse and other things like old navigation signs and warnings (triangles and balls and those other bizarre combinations) which have virtually disappeared - apart from some remaining use in larger shipping applications.

Edited July 15, 2005 by fender

[Liam]

As for the somewhat imprecise boring of Barnton, there was always a pub directly above, perhaps that has something to do with it.

25249[/snapback]

There's also one over Saltesford, and Preston Brook aswell

[Trelawney]

It's easy to remember: the number is the number of syllables except it isn't it's the other way.

  Well that's how I remember it anyway.

 

 

Me too!!

 

While logically counting syllables it would be 1 short=Port, and 2 short=Starboard, if you remember that it's the other way round then you get it right.

 

1 short = Starboard

2 short = Port

 

(and 3 short = Astern, I remember that one all too vividly from my days learning to sail as a 10yr old in Falmouth harbour. We were sailing our small Mirror dinghy in the harbour and while tacking we got stuck in the irons, meanwhile a very large Russian survey vessel gave 3 toots and started backing out of the slip towards 2 very frightened sailors. I will never forget the 3 shorts=astern)

[David Schweizer]

Has anyone ever bothered to memorise that lot, I certainly haven't and by the time you have looked up what the other chap is trying to tell you, you've probably hit him.

 

25322[/snapback]

Yes John. I had to learn them all and be able to memorise them for the Boatmasters licence practical examination. However I agree that it was a complete waste of time, because virtually no one knows or uses them.

 

I can relate one tale when I was bringing the Trip boat back onto it's mooring, which required me to manouver it from the right hand side of the canal to the left hand side. The boat approaching us was owned and operated by the Officers of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm, I gave the corerct manouvering signal, and recieved the correct manouvering signal in return, they then moved in completely the wrong direction!!! almost causing a colision. If the Navy can't get it right, what hope is there for mere civilians?

[matt]

I just move out of the way, put into neutral and let people past, I've come across so many morons I've lost the will to try and communicate, besides it's not like I'm in a hurry.

[anthony]

and there's me thinking keep to the right of on comming boats and everything will be all right!

[anthony]

on the subject of reversing its impossible to a point without using a barge pole at least.

[Keeping Up]

 

1 short = Starboard

2 short = Port

 

(and 3 short = Astern,

The sound signals seem to have minor variations according to which waterway you are on. One other I have encountered is 4 short hoots to indicate "I cannot steer".

 

This gives rise to the fact that the signal for "I am going astern, I cannot steer, I need to pass to the port side of you, get out of the way" is 3 short then 4 short then 2 short then one long blast. Conveniently this happens to be the Morse code for S then H then I then T - which, if the other boat can understand Morse code, conveys much the same message!

[gaggle]

so now you say reversing is a tall order.

three weeks i have been wondering what the hell i have been doing wrong.

good job i have bought a pole from b&q today.

8ft round hand rail £21.18.

thats my practice for tomorrow sorted out.

[Carrie]

Horn Signals - 'I'm about to charge..'

[DHutch]

Reversing is pain, you get very little stearage in reverse, so you eather have to keep sliding it into fwd's, or use a pole, or you bowthruster.

 

As far as horns are conserned, we've already won.

- Doesnt matter how/when we sound our horn, people get out of the way!

 

 

Daniel

[mykaskin]

on the subject of reversing its impossible to a point without using a barge pole at least.

 

I reversed over a mile in my 60ft narrowboat on the River Lea just below Waltham Abbey. No pole, around corners, past fishermen, at times reaching 4mph (GPS). Practice makes perfect.

 

Mike

[John C]

A tip I have just been given regarding reversing is to throw a 56lb (or similar) weight over the bow, attached to a rope, (obviously!). This will help greatly with staying on course while reversing. I've not tried it but I am assured it works, something to try at the weekend? The tip apparently came from John Gould of K&A fame.

 

John C

[Breals]

And help to dredge the canal at the same time! I find once you have backwards momentum, little blasts of forward with the tiller right over helps keep a straight course.

[iteldoo4me]

Like the wife ,for example ?

[John Orentas]

Like the wife ,for example ?

 

 

No I think you will find a 56lb weight is better, wives tend to float a bit.

 

Once read a fascinating article about logging operations in Australia. Timber would be loaded onto big unpowered barges for a long downstream river trip down to the coast, long heavy chains were fixed to the stern of the craft then they were pushed out into the river for their unescorted trip.

 

The chains would drag on the river bed, slowing the barges down and keeping them pointing downstream. Over a period of time they had also dredged a groove down the centre of the channel the barges were in that way kept in the mid channel. It was said the the boats complete with cargo's would duly arrive at their destination hundreds of miles downstream with rarely a hold-up.

Edited December 24, 2005 by John Orentas

[DHutch]

Interesting idea.

 

- Shame someone nicked out 56lb weight then!

[alan_fincher]

I must admit I'd always believed that in many circumstances, reversing was only really possible by either.....

 

1) Fairly regular bursts of forwards to restablish the correct line.

 

or....

 

2) Having a second person well placed, ready to use a pole if required.

 

I'm still not great at reversing our boat very far without resorting to one or both of these aids.

 

But I can't help noticing that our local engineer at the marina seems to be able to pull just about any boat of it's mooring, and head more or less full pelt in reverse, achieving a pretty accurate line, with very little corrective "forwards" bursts required. I've seen him go the whole way along the marina, (about 50 berths each side), in a single run, not correcting at all....

 

Large bits of it are very restricted in space, he always makes these moves completely alone, and I've never seen him lose it at all, let alone come close to hitting anything.

 

I must reluctantly concede, therefore, that most boats can reverse quite efficiently, and that I simply haven't yet learnt fully how to do it.

 

Obviously this guy has done it over, and over, with many boats, and it really does seem to be a case of "practice makes perfect".

 

(Or he has a strong electromagnet down the middle of the marina, which he energises only when he has to move someone's boat!...)

[Richard Bustens]

Yes i think that the electromagnetic theory is correct, as i bounce from one side to the other i seem to be drawn to alternating boats along the way. and if the wind is blowing i have been known to hit one on one side with the bows and one on the other side with the stern simultainiousley.

Edited December 22, 2005 by Richard Bustens

[Big COL]

The trick is not to over do the revs when reversing, if you use too many revs the prop throw will push you off line. Strike a balance where the prop throw is just pushing the boat off line then use the rudder as a paddle to counteract it and you should keep the boat straight. Bowthrusters come into their own when reversing.

[John Orentas]

It is the paddle-wheel effect that does it, the prop. pushes harder sideways at the bottom of it's revolution than does at the top. A normal type of gearbox will reverse the direction of drive of the engine going forward so in reverse the prop. rotates anti-clockwise viewed from the stern. Most boats will therefore try to constantly turn to the right (when stood looking back-wards).

 

This information of course is of no use whatsoever as you can't anticipate anything. All these people that tell us that they can do it are deluding themselves, I can do it perfectly too when no-one is watching. Having said that, some boats behave better than others.

[Keeping Up]

This information of course is of no use whatsoever as you can't anticipate anything. All these people that tell us that they can do it are deluding themselves, I can do it perfectly too when no-one is watching. Having said that, some boats behave better than others.

Absolutely right, John, the first rule of reversing is to make sure that there's NOBODY watching.

 

Then secondly, when reversing I don't waste time trying to anticipate the course, or correct it. I spend the time more profitably in thinking out my excuses as to why that's where I really wanted to get to.

 

Speaking practically, 'Keeping Up' will steer tolerably well in deep water in reverse as long as I keep gently accelerating. As soon as the boat catches up with the prop speed it starts to go off course, and if I throttle back the front tries to overtake the back (useful if that's what you wanted it to do), but if I keep on gently increasing throttle it will steer quite well until eventually I run out of revs and have a REALLY high-speed erutnevda.

[Pete of Ebor]

Absolutely right, John, the first rule of reversing is to make sure that there's NOBODY watching.

 

Then secondly, when reversing I don't waste time trying to anticipate the course, or correct it. I spend the time more profitably in thinking out my excuses as to why that's where I really wanted to get to.

 

Speaking practically, 'Keeping Up' will steer tolerably well in deep water in reverse as long as I keep gently accelerating. As soon as the boat catches up with the prop speed it starts to go off course, and if I throttle back the front tries to overtake the back (useful if that's what you wanted it to do), but if I keep on gently increasing throttle it will steer quite well until eventually I run out of revs and have a REALLY high-speed erutnevda.

 

That's it - It's obvious - why didn't anyone think of it before - it's all to do with quantum mechanics. I bet Schrodinger's cat could reverse a narrowboat... as long as no-one looks !

[carlt]

Absolutely right, John, the first rule of reversing is to make sure that there's NOBODY watching.

 

Then secondly, when reversing I don't waste time trying to anticipate the course, or correct it. I spend the time more profitably in thinking out my excuses as to why that's where I really wanted to get to.

 

Speaking practically, 'Keeping Up' will steer tolerably well in deep water in reverse as long as I keep gently accelerating. As soon as the boat catches up with the prop speed it starts to go off course, and if I throttle back the front tries to overtake the back (useful if that's what you wanted it to do), but if I keep on gently increasing throttle it will steer quite well until eventually I run out of revs and have a REALLY high-speed erutnevda.

And can I be the first to wish "Allan's post" a happy 2nd birthday, for next week!

[ChrisG]

The chains would drag on the river bed, slowing the barges down and keeping them pointing downstream. Over a period of time they had also dredged a groove down the centre of the channel the barges were in that way kept in the mid channel. It was said the the boats complete with cargo's would duly arrive at their destination hundreds of miles downstream with rarely a hold-up.

 

Back in the days of engineless wherries on the Norfolk Broads, this was a common technique for dealing with the bridges at Yarmouth - after dropping their masts, they'd drop the mudweight and by lengthening the rope or shortening it, could control their speed as the river current took them through. Steering was just about keeping the boat in the middle of the span.

 

I think that Thames barges did a similar trick.