Age question

[seadog42uk]

Does anyone know the age at which a child can:-

(1) Either steer a boat alone

(2) Steer with an adult present (without experience)

 

Regards,

 

Stuart

[Keeping Up]

There is no specific rule, unless the particular insurance company with whom the boat is insured imposes some restriction; although even then, I am not sure whether breaking such a rule, and hence being uninsured, would actually be an offence on the canals (you need insurance to licence the boat, but I don't think you need insurance to steer it, although I could be wrong on that)

 

If the child is old enough to be competent, that is usually satisfactory. That usually implies being strong enough to operate the tiller, and tall enough to see when standing on a box - but I have see a boat being competently steered by a young lad who could only see where he was going by letting go of the tiller and looking down the side of the boat.

[WJM]

Probably a legacy from when working boats boats were operated by whole families.

 

Unlike a car on the road, it is very hard to do any real damage with a narrowboat so there is no great reason to restrict kids from operating them.

[Kentboycamper2]

Probably a legacy from when working boats boats were operated by whole families.

 

Unlike a car on the road, it is very hard to do any real damage with a narrowboat so there is no great reason to restrict kids from operating them.

 

I think you can do quite a lot of very real damage with a narrowboat! If I was sitting in my boat on the cut and someone slammed into me who knows what could happen.

 

[RLWP]

I think you can do quite a lot of very real damage with a narrowboat! If I was sitting in my boat on the cut and someone slammed into me who knows what could happen.

 

 

I don't agree with that, mostly because it's very hard to deliver anything other than a glancing blow with a narrowboat. I've been bumped several times by other boats and never had any serious damage

 

Richard

[carlt]

I don't agree with that, mostly because it's very hard to deliver anything other than a glancing blow with a narrowboat. I've been bumped several times by other boats and never had any serious damage

 

Richard

Metal on metal, maybe but, having had little jets of water coming into my dawncraft, when a nb broadsided me and popped the screws on the rubbing strakes, below the water line, I've seen the damage they can do, to splitters.

[KenK]

I'm with Carl, back in 1970 due to circumstances beyond by control, I managed to cut a plastic cruiser in half with an ex working boat.

 

Ken

[Chris-B]

I'm with Carl, back in 1970 due to circumstances beyond by control, I managed to cut a plastic cruiser in half with an ex working boat.

 

Ken

 

Was that on the L&L by any chance ????

[bag 'o' bones]

Does anyone know the age at which a child can:-

(1) Either steer a boat alone

(2) Steer with an adult present (without experience)

 

Regards,

 

Stuart

 

No specific rules as far as I am aware so just a case of being sensible really.

 

I certainly don't have a problem with young folk at the tiller as long as they know what they are doing!

[Chris-B]

edited due to duplicate posting

Edited March 15, 2010 by Baldock

[JonL]

I'm with Carl, back in 1970 due to circumstances beyond by control, I managed to cut a plastic cruiser in half with an ex working boat.

 

Ken

 

Tell us more, sounds like a great story !

[zenataomm]

Deja Vu

[Phil Ambrose]

On the Broads the bylaws state; No child under 8 yrs may steer a boat and children aged 8yrs to 14yrs may only steer under certain circumstances please contact head of navigation for advice.

[Boatgypsy]

I would point out that if the Captain and/or owner of a boat allows a minor to control the boat and an accident takes place with loss of life, that responsible person may well be prosecuted for manslaughter - as happened a few years ago on the Severn at Stourport, when (I think) a 14 year old capsized a cabin cruiser, resulting in the deaths of two passengers.

 

The risks of a child managing a boat might not be the same as, for instance, a car, but the possibly outcome might be just as fatal. My two sisters were passengers on that boat and only very narrowly survived themselves.

[nbfiresprite]

Probably a legacy from when working boats boats were operated by whole families.

 

Unlike a car on the road, it is very hard to do any real damage with a narrowboat so there is no great reason to restrict kids from operating them.

 

The large dent in my old boat would disagree on that, Go through a closed lock gate, cut a plastic boat in half and could kill someone.

 

 

Firesprite

 

Middle levels

[WJM]

The intent of my comment was that it ok for kids to steer when conditions and their age/experience match - a straight empty canal or a wide deep river.

 

But you knew that already, didn't you?

 

:-)

[sueb]

Don't let children enjoy boating, they may want a boat when they grow up and spoil it for the rest of us.

Sue

[Smudge]

Does anyone know the age at which a child can:-

(1) Either steer a boat alone

(2) Steer with an adult present (without experience)

 

Regards,

 

Stuart

Going by how our 2 were i think it depends on how confident the kids are,Dale our eldest was 12 when he started to steer the Farie but he has allways been confident and willing to learn(cocky at times aswel). On the other hand Beth our youngest not so confident only started at 13 but you have to stay with her or she panics.Having said that we are on a wide river with not much traffic

[Hairy-Neil]

Don't let children enjoy boating, they may want a boat when they grow up and spoil it for the rest of us.

Sue

 

 

I recall a friend's son confidently steering the breasted pair, Nuneaton & Brighton up the whole of the Hatton flight, under supervision the whole time (from the bank). He was just 10 at the time.

 

My own daughter was boating from 16 months and steering from age 5 or less. At 13 she was regularly steering that and other pairs.

 

 

She was a much better steerer than her mother, who had been steering for years, but saw all advice as criticism and usualy did the opposite.

Edited March 19, 2010 by Hairy-Neil

[wrigglefingers]

Don't let children enjoy boating, they may want a boat when they grow up and spoil it for the rest of us.

Sue

 

How true! Ellen keeps wittering on about a boat. I reckon she's got enough to do steering mine, lockwheeling, doing The Toil, paying for my diesel, routine maintenance and making cups of tea for me. Such impertinence!

[Teadaemon]

I would point out that if the Captain and/or owner of a boat allows a minor to control the boat and an accident takes place with loss of life, that responsible person may well be prosecuted for manslaughter - as happened a few years ago on the Severn at Stourport, when (I think) a 14 year old capsized a cabin cruiser, resulting in the deaths of two passengers.

 

The risks of a child managing a boat might not be the same as, for instance, a car, but the possibly outcome might be just as fatal. My two sisters were passengers on that boat and only very narrowly survived themselves.

 

In the case you mention (I'm assuming it was Sweetie Pie in 2005), the prosecutions weren't for allowing a 12 year old to briefly helm the boat (which had bugger all to do with the capsize, as at the time the boat went down she was being helmed by a 48 year old man), they were for massively overloading the boat (16 people on board, or approx 10 more than it was designed for). Also, for the sake of accuracy, only one person died in that incident.

[Tiny]

I don't agree with that, mostly because it's very hard to deliver anything other than a glancing blow with a narrowboat. I've been bumped several times by other boats and never had any serious damage

 

Richard

 

Having been rammed by a hire boat whose steerer (passing us moored on a wide bit of a canal at speed) decided to duck down and get a coat, I can assure you there are bumps and bumps. In this case his boat swung across the cut and rammed into the side of us, nose first, inches from the window just as I glanced out. The bump caused the hire boat to swing and the front side to hit us a bit further down, then finally chummy dived up, grabbed the tiller swung it wide swinging the back end in to make a third dent as he swung away and off round the bend. We got up off the floor and were left putting things straight and picking things up. Nearly 10 years on the dents are still in place.

 

This was not a lone incident - there are some real plonkers around. One, for example, decided to drive at speed into a wide lock next to us as ' I know this lock will take two boats even though the book says different.' It turned out it didn't.

 

 

On the subject of children steering I knew a kid of seven who was a natural. (And these are rare.) He instinctively took the right line on canals and rivers in cross flows and winds. On canals, with me sitting next to him, he steered up that narrow bit from Fron to Llangollen without ever causing a movement under the boat - let alone a bump, even though boats were coming the other way and some were not being helpful with their positioning.

Of course being a kid he had limits. One was that with me he was OK but when his dad (who hated boats as in the smells of elsan and engine making him sick, the boredom and so on) appeared he would start instructing the kid (wrong) and the kid would show off and loose concentration. The other time he did this was when his brother - a right little... who could do no wrong in his parents eyes - came and made mischief for which elder brother would be blamed by (for example) grabbing the tiller crying it was his turn then - if he got his way - walking off but his blocking brother from getting to it - at which time an argument would start with steering forgotten. (Meaning I steered and elder brother got told off by father arriving who then would comfort younger son for his being bullied by elder who would not let him steer!)

 

The bottom line of this is I would say 7 for working paddles and steering BUT most kids need a responsible knowledgable adult there to control the speed and grab the tiller as necessary - and a responsible adult is not a kid two years older, a mum or other who hasn't a clue and so on. This is even more true if the child is helping to work locks - it only takes a second here for someone to get hurt.

 

[Brian422]

I don't agree with that, mostly because it's very hard to deliver anything other than a glancing blow with a narrowboat. I've been bumped several times by other boats and never had any serious damage

 

Richard

Some years ago, I was witness to the results of a young boy being left at the helm whilst mum and dad went below.

The boat rammed the top gate of a flight of three and was left balancing on the top gate which was one hell of a shock to the occupants of the boat in the lock.

Resulted in bad damage to lock gate and the flight being closed.

[WJM]

Statistically, more accident are caused by adult steerers - minors have an excellent track record. So I suggest that the helming of boats is confined to under 18s

[mayalld]

Statistically, more accident are caused by adult steerers - minors have an excellent track record. So I suggest that the helming of boats is confined to under 18s

 

And you have a copy of these statistics to hand?

 

I suspect that the facts may well be that a majority of accidents occur when somebody over 18 is at the tiller, but given that the majority of steerers are over 18, that would hardly be surprising.

 

Statistically, Jack Russell Terriers are the safest steerers, as there is not a single case of a JRT steering a boat being involved in an accident.