Ignorant Boaters...........

[Dekazer]

Haha, bet they don't play Gary Numan in the middle of the night though

 

 

*yawn*

[Naughty Cal]

Haha, bet they don't play Gary Numan in the middle of the night though

 

 

*yawn*

 

I shall give you that one, but the wind dont half howl through the rigging of yachts in a Force 8

[Guest]

NO I was not saying you close the bridge in the path of another boat, but you keep it OPEN for them.

 

Gotcha - misread it as 'You open gate - pass through - close gate' even if there are other boats waiting - apols.

Edited July 20, 2011 by MJG

[Naughty Cal]

Gotcha - misread it as 'You open gate - pass through - close gate' even if there are other boats waiting - apols.

 

I think you have misread it again.

 

He opens the gate, passes through, then lets any following boats or boats coming the other way through before closing the gate and carrying on.

[Guest]

I think you have misread it again.

 

He opens the gate, passes through, then lets any following boats or boats coming the other way through before closing the gate and carrying on.

 

I don't think I have.

 

I now read it exactly as you have now written it - the boats waiting could be following or coming the other way - I originally misread it as I explained.

[RLWP]

Thought this would be a brilliant thread for discussion, so why has the tone gone so wrong?

 

What's wrong with 'agreeing to disagree' while a healthy debate continues to be thrashed out?

 

Ironically, this thread has a good title.

 

You may have joined the wrong forum Jenny

 

Richard

 

[AlanH]

I shall give you that one, but the wind dont half howl through the rigging of yachts in a Force 8

Known as "Frapping Halyards" I believe.

[CanalWalker]

I don't ever recall the L&L being so busy that it was no real hardship to hold a bridge open for an oncoming or following boat.

 

 

some of the roads can get busy at certain times of the day, some drivers do not appreciate having to wait for another boat to sail up and pass through. You cant keep the bridge open all day or delay yourself indefinitely esp. if you are working rather than just on holiday or a day out.

[Guest]

some of the roads can get busy at certain times of the day, some drivers do not appreciate having to wait for another boat to sail up and pass through. You cant keep the bridge open all day or delay yourself indefinitely esp. if you are working rather than just on holiday or a day out.

 

It's about being sensible surely' don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting holding a gate open for an approaching boat that is some distance away but if one is very close or moored ready to come through (a single hander for example waiting for help through) then I don't see any real problem. I normally give a wave of thanks if anybody has been held up by me opening a bridge anyway.

 

As I say unless things have changed dramatically since we were last there in 2009 it is a pretty rare event to meet another boat at a swing bridge anyway, unless perhaps somewhere a little busier like Skipton.

[vicvdb]

having been boating for forty-two years (started on Thames with little clinker thing and thing just went downhill) I have to say that I think that people were generally more friendly back then m(or is that old age talking) although there were always queue-jumpers, people speeding past moored boats and the like even then. Now having in the Midlands for the past eight years I have noticed an increase in poor and ignorant boaters with (alcohol and kids with legs in water included) and an the increase of those doing 'rings' which I think i(along with societal standards) s sometimes the prime mover for the ignorance noted in this thread. We get so many who engage in poor lock work and the formula one racing car transitting of moored boats because they have to be somewhere at a specific time rather than chilling and going out thus far and returning (a problem for hire and private boats when it comes to holidays).

 

I used, quite often (only frequent Fradley and the like at the moment with a static boat), to hear people, equally split between hire and private boats, talking about how quickly they did the such-an-such flight and how they'd either made or were doing well with regard to their circular trip and regularly saw the same people cutting corners, doing wrong stuff, and exhibiting attitudes that were best placed on motorways rather than waterways.

 

Having read this thread I am glad it mirrors the forum's view regarding hirers, after all many who are boaters today were yesterday's hirers and (as was rightly said) some hirers are more experienced boaters than some of those pivateers who sneer.

 

Thanks for an interesting and provocative read,

 

V

[steelaway]

Its the way they say it,in an overbearing pompous manner.

I've repaired Glass reinforced plastic boats,and can state that it is a very strong and resilient material,some of the hire boat hulls are an inch or so thick,as strong as 6mm steel,easily repairable and looked after will outlast steel boats by many many years. I used to teach sailing, and also raced GRP sailing dinghy's and the punishment that the material can stand is astonishing.I think there is an element of jealousy amongst the steel hulled boat owners, that refer to Glass reinforced polyester resin built boats as plastic or tupperware,nasty habit,very school playgroundish.

Indignantly bizzard.

 

 

Its no worse than the 'plastics' calling our narrowboats 'skips'

Chill out abit - Its all done tungue in cheek and never to be taken seriously.

 

Alex

[Dorman]

Its no worse than the 'plastics' calling our narrowboats 'skips'

Chill out abit - Its all done tungue in cheek and never to be taken seriously.

 

Alex

 

Some of the GRP boats on our mooring refer to steel boats like ours as "Ditch diggers"--often feels like that too

[Naughty Cal]

Some of the GRP boats on our mooring refer to steel boats like ours as "Ditch diggers"--often feels like that too

 

Mike, the lockie at Boston Grand Sluice, refers to narrowboats as flat beds.

[Tiny]

A suggestion for the future...

 

Once the boat in front knows that you are going to close up if he opens, there is no need to drop your crew off and have them cross the other boat.

• Front boat lands crew, who walk to bridge and raise it.
• As front boat passes through, the crew member boards his boat.
• As second boat passes through, crew member disembarks.
• Crew member lowers bridge and boards boat

 

This has been our prefered method for many years but while hirers do get the idea some privates and share boaters just don't get it and many who open up and wait then expect you to come through behind them then sort of fit in the tiny gap left by their boat while they wind down and get back on their boat and leave. This year one couple doing this had a massive boat jam either way having wound down on the back of one boat with a number more by now waiting. Had the stepped on and left it up there would have been no problem.

 

That was on the Llangollen but on the L&L I well remember a complaint by John Gagg that,having let one through another raced up and another and another until he had more than 10 through and, as there were locks round the corner when he dared to suggest they let him through first he was told to wait his turn. He put this in a letter to Waterways World and they received letters from L&L moorers saying he should let boats through and expect to wait as that was how it was done.

[Naughty Cal]

This has been our prefered method for many years but while hirers do get the idea some privates and share boaters just don't get it and many who open up and wait then expect you to come through behind them then sort of fit in the tiny gap left by their boat while they wind down and get back on their boat and leave. This year one couple doing this had a massive boat jam either way having wound down on the back of one boat with a number more by now waiting. Had the stepped on and left it up there would have been no problem.

 

That was on the Llangollen but on the L&L I well remember a complaint by John Gagg that,having let one through another raced up and another and another until he had more than 10 through and, as there were locks round the corner when he dared to suggest they let him through first he was told to wait his turn. He put this in a letter to Waterways World and they received letters from L&L moorers saying he should let boats through and expect to wait as that was how it was done.

 

Because thats how it is done. You dont let a car out of a junction and then expect it to pull over and let you past to be forst in line for the traffic lights. So why expect it in a boat?

[Tiny]

If there is room for two boats to pass each other then there is room for one to hang around and let the other one pass by whilst the bridge is closed. The boat that has then passed through would hopefully let you do the same at the next bridge.

 

It is safer for the same person to remain in control of the lift/swing bridge whilst the two boats pass than it is to pass responsibility of that bridge over to a second person midway through the operation. There is far less chance for misunderstanding with the one person operating the bridge.

Sorry but narrow canals are not lovely wide waterways and one boat passing another is often not that easy. On the canals up north a lot now require keys which won't come out until the bridge has been up and down. On narrow canals I can think of just four bridges like that - all the others are wind up and walk away for someone else to wind down.

 

So in a procession of three boats, Mr or Mrs middle boat never lifts or lowers a bridge?

 

Guess where we prefer to be.

Edited July 20, 2011 by Tiny

[RLWP]

For me, I'm a bit bemused as to why there has to be only one way of doing this. I'm struggling to remember exactly how we would go about this as we tend to wing it on the day.

 

The last time, IIRC, the front boat waved us through as they were going to stop at the next pub

 

Richard

[Tiny]

On the holding and passing bit on the Llangollen (for example) there are two lift bridges within walking distance. Below the first is a winding hole so in theory the canal is wide enough to let a boat pass. But abouve the second is a blind bend opposite moored boats. This means the waterway is not wide enough to get past unless one boat takes ropes ashore and, if it does, as the Llangollen is very busy then more often than not before the boat has moved off round the bend will come a boat heading downstream and wanting to put crew off for the bridge but the mooring is occupied by boat who just let other boat round. This means the average downstream boat will hit something.

 

In our case we (knowing the problem) drop crew a long way before the bridge and they walk round to it and work it. Meanwhile I wait until over the bushes I see the bridge raise and even then go slow as there might be a boat coming through which I will meet on the blind bend just before the bridge. This way we minimise the problem of what may happen but never quite eliminate it given you can't see until you are lining up for the bridge. Of course when the canal was built there never were such problems as the horse and handler was well in front of the boat and so blind bends didn't really exist.

[Deepinvet]

As the originator of this topic it has come as no surprise to some of the replies.....as in all walks of life it takes all sorts.

Some replies are very good and some are extreamley condensending!!! I won't pick them out but the "them and us" is blatantly obvious.

And has the end of term come early????? Kids eh you just can't leave your computer switched on these days....Some people need to extract their heads from their backsides.........

I don't post on here very often nor do I 'Lurk' in the backgroud, the reason why is that alot of topics tend to become "I'm so much better than you"

See you all on the cut sometime later in the year.

[Guest]

I won't pick them out but the "them and us" is blatantly obvious.

 

is that as in

 

them = 'owners' us = 'hirers'

 

or

 

us = 'owners' them = 'hirers'

 

I'm confused????

 

 

 

..

Edited July 20, 2011 by MJG

[BelgiumBrit]

Haha, bet they don't play Gary Numan in the middle of the night though

 

 

*yawn*

 

What's WRONG with Gary Numan ? Saw him at Coventry Theatre on 'The Pleasure Principle' tour in 1979, and followed him since ( apart from the Early to late 90's when he was was indefencibly shite ), but he's done some great stuff in the last 10 years. And he's a boat owner !!!!!!

[canalman1946]

What's WRONG with Gary Numan ? Saw him at Coventry Theatre on 'The Pleasure Principle' tour in 1979, and followed him since ( apart from the Early to late 90's when he was was indefencibly shite ), but he's done some great stuff in the last 10 years. And he's a boat owner !!!!!!

 

Think he use to own this!

 

[BelgiumBrit]

Indeed, that's the one, it was a 'Harvard' US NAVY Plane, but painted up in Japanese ' zero ' markings for some reason.

Edited July 20, 2011 by BelgiumBrit

[RLWP]

Indeed, that's the one, it was a 'Harvard' US NAVY Plane, but painted up in Japanese ' zero ' markings for some reason.

 

Film work I would guess

 

Richard

[Dekazer]

Funnily enough my motorbike is named Gary Numan. (Well the boat gets a name...!). But Cars is not want I want to hear blasting across the canal in the wee smalls