Newbie - More power less speed?

[Hairy-Neil]

I've managed to boat 90% of the connected canals/rivers system over the last 30+ years without once referring to a tachometer or GPS. Am I missing out on something here.....

[Janet S]

We use a hand held GPS on all our trips, mainly so we have a map of our journey to accompany my cruise log and for us to refer to when planning future trips.

 

It's great for checking your speed - we were amazed to find ourselves pushing 5.5mph on the Bridgewater recently - no wash and no disturbance...oops!

 

I've found it most useful for marking way points...usually when I spot a nice fishing float or spinner in a tree...if I can't get it on the way out, I'll collect it on the way back! Great fun, and accurate to within just a few feet!

 

It's also good to mark good mooring spots, nearby shops, pubs etc.

 

We could manage nicely without it, but what the heck! It's fun!

 

Janet

[Stormbringer]

Hi

 

Don't know if it helps you at all but I have a 50ft narrowboat with a 36hp Lister canalstar 4 cylinder jobbie and a PRM box - seems to be happiest cruising at around 1100 to 1200 on my tacho. I haven't bothered checking my speed though but I seem to be cruising at the same speed as most other boats I meet.

I am admittedly a novice but I have noticed the changes in propulsion power (at constant revs) with changing depth - and also with various degrees of crap on the prop !

Underpants were the most disruptive (not mine I hasten to add ! ) but even a smallish selection of weeds had an effect. When the prop was fouled (even lightly) it seemed to rob more thrust if the revs were increased.

 

Hope this helped (but I doubt it LOL)

 

Cheers

Andy

[mykaskin]

My Dad's boat has an echo sounder on it, and under normal conditions finds that depth has a great bearing on the normal cruising speed:

 

Depth in feet = usual speed in mph approximately (around 1200 rpm engine speed)

 

I tend to find on most canals that more power doesn't necessarily mean you go slower, but you certainly don't go any faster - until you get something around the prop!

 

The exception to this rule from my historic working boat, Victoria, is the Shropshire Union which due to it's shape and relatively shallow depth means I tend to start dragging the bottom when I wind it on. If you are in the channel, this is unlikely to happen in a modern boat.

 

Most apps I've seen for phones don't give very accurate results - often being rounded up to the near mph which isn't very good for the canals when the difference between 3.1 and 3.9 mph is huge.

 

When slowing down for boats, unless your boat is pulling the moored boats around badly, don't worry about what speed it says on the GPS. Watch what is happening around you.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[Martin Megson]

Hi Folks,

Many thanks for all the helpful advice and tips. I've just spent a week on the boat on the Grand Union between Rugby and MIlton Keynes. I know the boat much better and am really enjoying getting to know her.