Trent - VHF, Nav lights and anchors -

[Barry]

Good thread Martin

 

I've just ordered three guides from here (clicky) ready for my boating adventures this year

 

5 quid apeice plus another fiver for postage - not bad I reckon

[Hairy-Neil]

Short morning run up to Newark (Kings Marina - Toilets, water, diesel, launderette, pump out) or stop just past the bridge by the castle and have a walk around Newark. A couple of hours up to cromwell lock (pontoon mooring, water and electicity, toilets - buy a card from the Locky - nothing else for miles and miles. No pubs, no chippy just fields.)

 

 

The Muskham Ferry, riverside at North Muskham, though the pontoon moorings aren't idealy suited to narrowboats.

[nigel carton]

But won't you need a VHF operator's licence to go with that or do you already have one?

 

You can monitor without a licence, just can't transmit....

[Jim Riley]

Had a trip from Keadby last autumn, 5 1/2 hours to Torksey, got in at dusk, moored on pontoon, great fun. However the lockie had locked up for the day and gone home, swmbo was most perturbed by this, who would have known if we'd sunk and drowned? We didn't see another soul on the river all day. We were on a Dawncraft 22 with 10hp honda, navlights, anchor, chain and warp as recommended, and mobile phone.

 

Edit ps: can monitor vhs without licence, but can't one also transmit in an emergency?

 

What would be the best course of action if the engine had died - throw out the anchor and fix it, yes, or join river rescue on the phone then call 'em out. However how much does the river rise and fall, is there a possibility of coming to rest on a very sloping bit of river bed or is it unlikely one would hit the bottom. There are sandbanks around, some not visible. What other risks do people forsee and what steps might be taken?

 

We spent a 2 nights at Torksey, had a trip to Saxilby for petrol and supplies, set off at 7.30am from Torksey as the sun came up.

 

Edited March 6, 2011 by Jim Riley

[Timleech]

 

Edit ps: can monitor vhs without licence, but can't one also transmit in an emergency?

 

 

If it's a real emergency, then whether or not it's legal to transmit will surely be the least of your worries

I'm fairly sure it is officially 'allowed', though.

 

Best thing is to do the course, and listen to how the 'pros' do it when you have a chance, then you'll be in less of a panic about how to do it if you do have an emergency.

 

Tim

Edited March 6, 2011 by Timleech

[Keeping Up]

On the tidal Trent I've often met the sand barges, but always it's either been at relatively slack water or else we've both been travelling in the same direction with the current.

 

On a couple of occasions when I've been travelling with the current a a ridiculous speed and have struggled to stay on track around a sharp corner, I've thought to myself that it was a good job I hadn't met a sand barge coming the other way. I then wonder to what extent do they travel against the peak of the current (which can easily reach 7 or 8 mph in places) or do they time their journeys always to avoid doing so?

[journeyperson]

>snip<

 

We spent a 2 nights at Torksey, had a trip to Saxilby for petrol and supplies, set off at 7.30am from Torksey as the sun came up.

 

 

Lovely photo.

[blackrose]

You can monitor without a licence, just can't transmit....

 

Not much use then if you need to announce your presence to other river traffic as Tam & Di was talking about earlier.

[nigel carton]

I found my radio usefull.

[Guest]

Quite simply a full set of navigation lights are not really necessary on most inland waterways. Nice to have on bigger rivers and probably essential (and a legal requirement) when travelling at night or during poor visibility on tidal waterways.

 

Having said that, we have been up the Trent as far as Torksey without navigation lights.

 

What we do if obliged to travel at night on the bigger waterways is put our lights on - that is tunnel light up front and cabin lights. That way we can be seen clearly by other craft.

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

That'll be Chris.

 

He did some nice splicing on the nylon line too - FOC....as he said he would prefer to do that rather than me mess it up.

 

Given I would not have a clue where to start I appreciated it.

Edited March 6, 2011 by MJG

[Guest]

Good thread Martin

 

I've just ordered three guides from here (clicky) ready for my boating adventures this year

 

5 quid apeice plus another fiver for postage - not bad I reckon

 

It really is great down here - even on the non tidal bits. The hydraulic locks are a cinch (though I guess less fun when the locky's do it for you - Easter to Oct 'in hours')

 

You do need to keep your wits about you though - we had a 'hairy moment' at Stoke lock this morning when the wind and current caught Jan off guard and swung the boat away from the lock landing. Soon recovered it though.

 

Heading for Newark tomorrow....we'll turn back after that.

[Guest]

MJG - a nice days run up to Gunthorpe - good pontoon mooring, BW keyed gate to get off and a choice of pubs 100yds away.

 

Moored there now, nice indeed.....

[Guest]

But won't you need a VHF operator's licence to go with that

 

I don't know - do you?

[NB Alnwick]

I don't know - do you?

 

You cannot use a maritime VHF set to transmit unless you have an operators licence which will only be issued to those who have completed the necessary course of instruction and have satisfied the instructor/examiner of their competency. You will also require a 'Ship Portable Radio Licence' if you intend to use or carry the equipment on your boat. The links below may be helpful.

 

Marine Radio SRC

 

Ofcom

Edited March 6, 2011 by NB Alnwick
Poor connection!

[Alan de Enfield]

Isn't this a 'nice' thread, stayed pretty much on topic, helpful, and no back biting, sniping, trolling or garbage which seems to commonly appear on many of the threads by the end of the second page.

 

Thanks guys & gals - a pleasure to read.

 

Alan

[Guest]

Thanks Graham - will check them out.

[Naughty Cal]

You are missing out the best bits by turning around at Newark

 

Still Newark is a nice place to spend some time. The floating pontoon outside the BW office is probably the safest mooring but is noisy during the day as it is opposite a working scrap yard. We have found the river wall opposite the castle to be the nicest mooring in the town.

 

The Muskham Ferry is about 40 minutes further downstream and does fantastic food at great prices. The moorings are not great though (even worse since someone drove a truck into them!!) and you may need to sling out your hook to keep the bow/stern in place, the moorings are very short and designed for cruisers really.

[Guest]

You are missing out the best bits by turning around at Newark

 

Still Newark is a nice place to spend some time.

 

Newark is nice I agree - reminded me of York.

 

Time is agen us, and I didn't fancy the mooring faff about at Muskham (which I'd read about already).

 

I realise now we would have got to the tidal bits with more boating hours in each day but something to save for the future, but we also like to moor up when the mood takes us which it did this afternoon after which we lit the BBQ...

 

Currently happily moored at Nether lock watching the East Coast Main line trains hammer by...

 

will turn in the morning and head home.

[paddy r]

Newark is nice I agree - reminded me of York.

 

Time is agen us, and I didn't fancy the mooring faff about at Muskham (which I'd read about already).

 

I realise now we would have got to the tidal bits with more boating hours in each day but something to save for the future, but we also like to moor up when the mood takes us which it did this afternoon after which we lit the BBQ...

 

Currently happily moored at Nether lock watching the East Coast Main line trains hammer by...

 

will turn in the morning and head home.

look for the otter on the far bank

[Guest]

look for the otter on the far bank

 

Dark at the mo...

 

Bino's out am..

 

Cheers.

[Josher]

You cannot use a maritime VHF set to transmit unless you have an operators licence which will only be issued to those who have completed the necessary course of instruction and have satisfied the instructor/examiner of their competency. You will also require a 'Ship Portable Radio Licence' if you intend to use or carry the equipment on your boat. The links below may be helpful.

 

Marine Radio SRC

 

Ofcom

 

Even then - watch out for 'sticky buttons'!

 

Fisherman’s blunder blocks distress signal

 

8 Mar 2011 Herald

 

IT was the kind of mistake anyone could make. You’re out on a day’s fishing trip and fancy some music, so you turn on the radio. But then you suffer “sticky buttons” on the boat’s transceiver radio and, instead of just listening to Radio 1’s Chris Moyles, you end up broadcasting the BBC station to a 40 square mile area around you.

 

Worse still, that blocks the emergency distress channel, meaning any other seafarers in peril nearby won’t be able to summon help.The bizarre incident, which happened yesterday to an unnamed salmon fisherman off Orkney, sparked a personal plea over the airwaves from Moyles and, when that failed, Shetland Coastguard had to send its helicopter crew to fly low over the boat and end an hour and 20 minutes of radio interference. Had someone been in trouble, this would have been very serious, as we had no way of hearing any distress calls

 

It was about 8.45am yesterday that coastguards in north-east Scotland tuned in to their emergency VHF radio channel and found themselves listening not to the sounds of life on the high seas, but the loudmouth DJ and his breakfast team on the station’s flagship morning show. Quickly realising that a unsuspecting mariner had accidentally blocked the VHF emergency channel by tuning in to the BBC radio station, coastguard officials frantically tried to get in touch with the vessel to turn the microphone off to enable other ships, potentially in trouble, to reach them. In desperation, the coastguards turned to the BBC, and asked the broadcaster to get a message to the fisherman to turn off the microphone.

 

Moyles was then given the unusual task of interrupting the programme just before 9.30am to ask the guilty sailor to clear the airwaves. “Maybe you’re listening on a boat around the Orkney Islands. Are you on a boat listening to us now around the Orkney Islands area? “Well you need to switch off because we’ve just been informed that someone is listening to the show on a boat – this is true, it’s not a joke – around the Orkney Islands area and they are, maybe unbeknown to them, transmitting the show on the emergency service channel,” Moyles said. “This means they are blocking people from using the emergency service for emergencies. “So if there is someone right now going ‘Hello, help, help’ all they are going to hear is Dominic reading the news in 30 seconds. “So, if you’re on a boat and you go ‘Oh my God, hang on, I thought I’d wired it through so I could listen’ – switch it off.”

 

Clearly bearing ratings in mind, Moyles added: “Get us on your phone instead, or we’ll send you a tape of the rest of the show so you don’t miss anything.” Aled Jones, the Radio 1 show’s producer, then read out a statement from the coastguard: “Shetland Coastguard have asked us to notify vessels in the area to check it is not them re-broadcasting on International Distress Channel 16.”

 

But the boat’s skipper could not have been listening to his favourite DJ very closely as he continued with the broadcast for another half hour. It was then that Shetland Coastguard deployed its helicopter, which eventually contacted the fisherman and the transmission ceased. The offending boat – which is understood to belong to Northern Isles Salmon Ltd – was eventually found in the Bay of Carness, near Kirkwall Harbour, and the problem solved.

 

Earl Smith, a Shetland Coastguard watch officer, said it was thought that the switch on the vessel’s radio had been accidentally jammed in the “on” position, blocking the emergency channel. He added: “We use a channel called Channel 16 which anyone in distress can use to make an emergency call to us. It’s a channel that should be open at all times. “Had someone been in trouble, this would have been very serious, as we had no way of hearing any distress calls around the Orkney area.”

[Gunna Do]

The nav light problem can be solved with a set of battery lights available very cheaply and kept in a locker for the unlikely event. Not quite legal but to be fair I've yet to see a fully legal (with collision regs) set of lights on a Nb!

[ditchcrawler]

The nav light problem can be solved with a set of battery lights available very cheaply and kept in a locker for the unlikely event. Not quite legal but to be fair I've yet to see a fully legal (with collision regs) set of lights on a Nb!

Even ones with an RCD certificate

[NB Alnwick]

The nav light problem can be solved with a set of battery lights available very cheaply and kept in a locker for the unlikely event. Not quite legal but to be fair I've yet to see a fully legal (with collision regs) set of lights on a Nb!

 

We have a couple of ex-MOD Bardic lamps that have been modified with LED units and longlife batteries to do this job in an emergency. They dont comply 100% with COLREGs but they might help to avoid a problem and they out perform the cheap and totally inadequate nav. lights that are so often fitted by narrow boat owners.

 

Proper side navigation lights, for a narrow boat (over 39ft long), need to be visible at a distance of two miles through a prescribed arc ranging from directly ahead to 22.5° abaft beam on the appropriate side.

[Tam & Di]

We have a couple of ex-MOD Bardic lamps that have been modified with LED units and longlife batteries to do this job in an emergency. They dont comply 100% with COLREGs but they might help to avoid a problem and they out perform the cheap and totally inadequate nav. lights that are so often fitted by narrow boat owners.

 

Proper side navigation lights, for a narrow boat (over 39ft long), need to be visible at a distance of two miles through a prescribed arc ranging from directly ahead to 22.5° abaft beam on the appropriate side.

 

and a white one strapped to the stern so the boat about to run you down can see to hit you better?