Unpleasant hire boater

[mayalld]

Dave - I think you miss the subtly of my point.....

 

as in, all that time I've never been hit by a hire boat and there are a good few 'canal time' boats on our stretch....

 

You miss the subtlety of mine!

 

I tend to screen out the type of boat, because I don't care what sort of boat hits me.

 

The question of what type of boat it is only becomes relevant in terms of getting something done about the issue.

[Guest]

You miss the subtlety of mine!

 

I tend to screen out the type of boat, because I don't care what sort of boat hits me.

 

The question of what type of boat it is only becomes relevant in terms of getting something done about the issue.

 

On that point I agree...

[jenlyn]

When you've dealt with enough crap in life, you reach a point where you are no longer willing to notch some stuff up as "trivia"

 

er hrrrrm! scuse me?

[Mick and Maggie]

The camp i am in is the one that believes approaching the police with such a story and expecting them to take any action is taking the piss , i am sure more important things are there to be dealt with. A complaint to the hire base is already made , he has asked for can of paint , end of story , get on with the boating and this very minor incident will or should be forgotten before the next bridge hole , life is to short.

 

Mr Harvey's alleged behaviour is that of an arrogant bully and his behaviour would not be acceptable in any school, workplace, on the street or in our home. Whenever you concur and accept this sort of behaviour it will happen again and again. He should get his due comeuppance as a reminder of what is and is not acceptable.

 

However, it seems that for some people, this sort of behaviour is quite acceptable on the canal. The advice given is that the action of an arrogant bully, is something we should all ignore. Furthermore, we should not report such issues to the police. I wonder who will be the beneficiary of such a course of inaction. The boater or the bully?

 

My 2p

[jenlyn]

Mr Harvey's alleged behaviour is that of an arrogant bully and his behaviour would not be acceptable in any school, workplace, on the street or in our home. Whenever you concur and accept this sort of behaviour it will happen again and again. He should get his due comeuppance as a reminder of what is and is not acceptable.

 

However, it seems that for some people, this sort of behaviour is quite acceptable on the canal. The advice given is that the action of an arrogant bully, is something we should all ignore. Furthermore, we should not report such issues to the police. I wonder who will be the beneficiary of such a course of inaction. The boater or the bully?

 

My 2p

 

cant say how i would deal with it, google and a (god) ooops, sorry, mod wont let me, so i will just have a wry

[Ange]

When you are replying, click "Options, Click to configure post options" (below the text window) then untick "Enable emoticons" then you can type

 

at the start of a line without it turning into an emoticon!

 

Martin you're a star! I've been bugged many times by the turning into a smiley with sunglasses. I did try to do an either or there but you can't turn the emoticons off mid post and switch on again so it's all or nothing for each post.

 

Back on topic - To the OP - yep that hirer was a tosser and I hope he has to buy you a tin of paint. To anyone who now feels it's kick the hirer day I'd just like to say there are tossers that drive private boats, hire boats, cars, white vans, lorries, etc etc etc

 

Like Martin we hired a lot before we bought and have a lot of empathy for hirers, who, since we moved aboard over a year ago, have been far more cheerful and fun to share locks with than many po faced owners.

[Guest wanted]

Mr Harvey's alleged behaviour is that of an arrogant bully and his behaviour would not be acceptable in any school, workplace, on the street or in our home. Whenever you concur and accept this sort of behaviour it will happen again and again. He should get his due comeuppance as a reminder of what is and is not acceptable.

 

However, it seems that for some people, this sort of behaviour is quite acceptable on the canal. The advice given is that the action of an arrogant bully, is something we should all ignore. Furthermore, we should not report such issues to the police. I wonder who will be the beneficiary of such a course of inaction. The boater or the bully?

 

My 2p

 

Whilst i agree that this geezer was rude and aggressive and all of those things, I can't help but think that in my area if I went up to a police officer and reported that somebody bumped into my boat,scratched some paint before giving me the bird, then they would laugh and probably tell me to jog on. As unpleasent as it is, I'd rather see coppers investigating some of the real crimes that happen in these parts and not doing hours of paper work about some rattled tea cups.

[jenlyn]

Martin you're a star! I've been bugged many times by the turning into a smiley with sunglasses. I did try to do an either or there but you can't turn the emoticons off mid post and switch on again so it's all or nothing for each post.

 

Back on topic - To the OP - yep that hirer was a tosser and I hope he has to buy you a tin of paint. To anyone who now feels it's kick the hirer day I'd just like to say there are tossers that drive private boats, hire boats, cars, white vans, lorries, etc etc etc

 

Like Martin we hired a lot before we bought and have a lot of empathy for hirers, who, since we moved aboard over a year ago, have been far more cheerful and fun to share locks with than many po faced owners.

 

po faced? are you meaning cassette faced? prefer self pumpout face meself

[Ange]

po faced? are you meaning cassette faced? prefer self pumpout face meself

(that was meant to be a smiley by the way but because I've turned off my emoticons it didn't work which also won't work!!

 

 

again but ...

ay up - my was the chap with sunglasses again when you replied! So I can disable the emoticons but if anyone quotes me that doesn't it switches back!

[jenlyn]

(that was meant to be a smiley by the way but because I've turned off my emoticons it didn't work which also won't work!!

 

 

again but ...

ay up - my was the chap with sunglasses again when you replied! So I can disable the emoticons but if anyone quotes me that doesn't it switches back!

 

can only happen to an essex bird ( hands back her white stillettoed thigh boot)

[Ange]

can only happen to an essex bird ( hands back her white stillettoed thigh boot)

 

Humph! <Ange fires white stiletto at Jenlyn and hopes it hits him in the eye>

[deletedaccount]

Some guy managed to reverse his hire boat into me at top speed during the week, then carried on and whacked frigateCaptains. When I asked him what he was doing he simply said "reversing". ffs.

 

do they not teach them anything?

 

I swear they need to fit speed limiters to those things.

[Naughty Cal]

I only have a few weeks experience of being a boat owner verses a boat hirer...

 

The one and only time we've been hit hard with any real significance in that time has been by....

 

 

a private owner misjudging their entry into a lock....

 

 

and he apologised....

 

You have managed to be hit already

 

Almost two years in we have yet to be hit by another boat (or that we know about anyway)

[deletedaccount]

You have managed to be hit already

 

Almost two years in we have yet to be hit by another boat (or that we know about anyway)

 

I get hit all the time on the K&A, it was only a week or so since the last time, and those are only the ones I notice because I'm at home. There's something like 10 hirebases on a 20 mile stretch.

 

Luckily I'm on the river now

 

All the plastic boats around here are absolutely covered in fenders

Edited October 4, 2010 by deletedaccount

[mayalld]

er hrrrrm! scuse me?

 

Are you having difficulty understanding the concept?

[Athy]

 

 

Almost two years in we have yet to be hit by another boat (or that we know about anyway)

 

I suppose because nobody can catch you?

[magpie patrick]

This is a subject close to my heart.Recently we were cruising on the thames near to lechlade,most of those that have done that end of the thames will know that its rather twisty turney,and most of the moorings are on fields using good old fashioned spikes.I know its a river,therefore deeper and wider.but a lot narrower than further downstream.We were safely moored up for the night.It was around 8.30pm and dark and raining.when we heard the sound of an engine coming on a bit fast.It was a narrow boat from Anglo welsh going flat out,music blasting out,and had about 6 guys standing on the roof,p**sed as farts and shouting abuse at us pearing out of our port holes.One shouted to us... "Do you wankers smoke weed all day?"

Due to their speed we we ripped off our pins,i was able to get my boots on just in time to jump to the bank before we started to drift away.

I know its a hot topic on here this sort of thing, but what is it about hire companies ??? do they not warn these idiots about the problems they cause with their speeds.One thing we have noticed every time we go on the Thames is that the Plastic boats with their 'suburban sea captains'have no respect for moored up boats on pins either.

I have contacted Anglo welsh on the Thames,and they will be having a word with the hirers,bit like shutting the stable door me thinks.

Dave

 

The bit I've highlighted, there are some incidents through ignorance, but the type of incident you've commented on here would probably only be stopped by refusing to hire to such people. They couldn't give a toss. Trouble is, no one knows they are so selfish until after the event. Also, such an extreme incident is unlikely to happen with a private boat because people simply don't buy a boat to use in this way. When it comes to Plug Ugly arrogance however, at least as many private boaters are guilty.

 

These people you describe were being no small danger to themselves either. At night, the boat is more likely to hit something, being drunk they are more likely to fall off the roof, and once in the water they may be too inebriated to get themselves out of it.

[Naughty Cal]

I get hit all the time on the K&A, it was only a week or so since the last time, and those are only the ones I notice because I'm at home. There's something like 10 hirebases on a 20 mile stretch.

 

Luckily I'm on the river now

 

All the plastic boats around here are absolutely covered in fenders

 

They are were we are as well which is why we have now taken most of ours off. We only have a few down now for mooring up. The theory being that if we do get hit it will be by a plastic boat sporting a large amount of fenders so we wont get damaged anyway.

[Guest]

You have managed to be hit already

 

Almost two years in we have yet to be hit by another boat (or that we know about anyway)

 

You come across as being surprised - not sure why.

 

We were in a lock waiting for the other boat to come along side - the skipper made a simple error of judgement entering the lock, hit the lock side bounced off and struck our stern fairly sharply - took a little bit of paint off both boats but no big deal in the great scheme of things....and as I say he did apologise.

[Naughty Cal]

You come across as being surprised - not sure why.

 

We were in a lock waiting for the other boat to come along side - the skipper made a simple error of judgement entering the lock, hit the lock side bounced off and struck our stern fairly sharply - took a little bit of paint off both boats but no big deal in the great scheme of things....and as I say he did apologise.

 

The answer was in my reply. We have yet to be hit by another boat in 2 years of owning NC (or that we know of). Even when sharing locks we have yet to be struck by another boat.

[RLWP]

<Richard starts to check routes on CanalPlanner>

[magpie patrick]

The answer was in my reply. We have yet to be hit by another boat in 2 years of owning NC (or that we know of). Even when sharing locks we have yet to be struck by another boat.

 

There is a difference though isn't there? When I took Juno into Bradford Lock we touched the other boats because Juno with fenders is about an inch narrower than the gap she's going into, all I have to do is move and she rocks enough to touch either the boat or the wall.

 

Taking Ripple into a narrow lock without touching the sides is possible, but I don't manage it 100%, taking her into a wide lock when another narrow boat is already in it is also possible not to touch either the wall or the other boat, but with probably four inches to spare it doesn't always happen.

 

If I took Juno into Bradford Lock with two other Viking 23's I doubt any of us would touch each other.

[Naughty Cal]

We are not fussy who or what we share locks with though and end up in locks with numerous craft of all shapes and sizes. The locks up to Loughborough and Ripon for example were large enough for us to sit side by side with narrowboats with plenty of space to spare and no need to touch the other boat at all.

 

The locks on the Fossditch/Witham are not quite wide enough to get two NC's side by side however with some shuffling it is still possible to get plenty of boats in the locks with no need to touch/nudge/hit each other.

[magpie patrick]

We are not fussy who or what we share locks with though and end up in locks with numerous craft of all shapes and sizes. The locks up to Loughborough and Ripon for example were large enough for us to sit side by side with narrowboats with plenty of space to spare and no need to touch the other boat at all.

 

The locks on the Fossditch/Witham are not quite wide enough to get two NC's side by side however with some shuffling it is still possible to get plenty of boats in the locks with no need to touch/nudge/hit each other.

 

Look at the bit I've highlighted. That's the clue, also, if you define hit as "clobber" then I've never done it either, but if you define hit as "gently scrape" the two NBs side by side in a lock only six inches wide than their combined width will on occasion, hit.

 

Going up Bradford Lock we were with a fifty footer and a 30 footer, we were behind the 30 footer and right at the back, so only the front foot or so of Juno was alongside the narrow boat, our pointy bit and their round bit, so loads of room. Coming down we shared with a 70 footer, so had to be completely alongside, Bradford lock is 13 feet 10 wide, our combined width was 13 feet 9. hardly "plenty of space to spare, but also not enough for any impact to be serious. Two narrow boats have about an inch more to spare, as Juno is approx 6-11 across the hips (which narrow boats don't have, being straight sided). Two inches in 13 feet 10 inches is pretty tight (see thread about leaving fenders down!)

[alan_fincher]

You have managed to be hit already

 

Almost two years in we have yet to be hit by another boat (or that we know about anyway)

It happens sometimes if you share locks on broad canals, often with the boats you would not necessarily expect to be the ones who can't steer.

 

Down in London we waited a very long while for the community boat Tarporley to follow us through Islington Tunnel, and eventually enter the lock we were in.

 

At the last minute the steerer took a dive towards our back end, and had I not rather foolishly intervened between our boat and the mass of a "Big Northwich", our cabin would have been hit, rather than just our counter. (In the event, there were no dents, only paint loss, despite fairly firm impact.)

 

Apparently the steerer was under instruction, according to the guy supposed to be tutoring him. He told us this in an off-handed way that implied that as he was a learner it was reasonable for him to hit us firmly.

 

I've since learnt from a London Waterbus steerer that Tarporley is well known in the area for not being under total control.

 

Watching "Pisces" a similar community boat, (yes, I do know it's a different builder and class, chaps!), just be diverted from it's course and straight into the piling at full chat was also a bit unexpected, but the time that happened we had fortunately already passed it.