The Canals Are Alive

[Guest]

You can't always assume it's hireboaters who need help.

 

We met a 'private' crew today at Pollington, as we left the lock with the gates open for the boat coming in. I was going to see them in close the gates and depart.

 

However lady crew member jumped off and immediately accosted Jan waiting on the lock landing asking if 'her husband' would mind showing her what to do. We get few if any hire boats up here on these parts so my ears pricked up.

 

It turned out it was her mum's boat which they had loaned for the Easter week end and she'd had a brief talk through as to what to do at the locks.

 

She had been (Understandably) flumaxed by Sykehouse Lock and Swing Bridge so had lost a bit of confidence.

 

I did feel a bit chuffed if I'm being honest being able to impart a little bit of what we have learned whilst being up here.....

 

 

 

..

Edited April 9, 2012 by MJG

[Ange]

I can well remember the day we arrived at the Wigan Flight as fairly new boat owners - we'd never wielded a handcuff key and had not a clue how to use it! In fact we'd read that we'd need one and bought one only to realise there were 3 on the boat - we just didn't realise what it was!!

 

We waited at the bottom of the Wigan Flight for a boat to come down so I could ask what I had to do with the damn thing!!

[Janet S]

I did feel a bit chuffed if I'm being honest being able to impart a little bit of what we have learned whilst being up here.....

 

I think that's one of the things I love about now doing hireboat handovers....after ten years of hiring it's fabulous to be able to help and encourage new hirers. After each handover I go home on a little "high", knowing that I've helped someone, possibly first timers, to go off on a cruise, hopefully to return as enthused as we were after our first trip.

 

Janet

[Athy]

I've never trusted Vikings after watching that film Odin!

Judging by its title, a silent movie I assume.

[Doorman]

Here's who does the handover process at Viking Afloat Hire Boats.

 

 

 

Judging by its title, a silent movie I assume.

 

 

You must have mis-read it as 'Oh, din!'

 

All of our movies are in black & white and silent. You have to be careful with the special offers on at Aldi!

[Athy]

Here's who does the handover process at Viking Afloat Hire Boats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You must have mis-read it as 'Oh, din!'

 

!

Nearly. It comes of many years' tackling the Torygraph cryptic crossword, in which "0din" could be an answer to a clue about no noise, just as "Opal" was the amswer to "semi-precious stone with no friend".

[Doorman]

Nearly. It comes of many years' tackling the Torygraph cryptic crossword, in which "0din" could be an answer to a clue about no noise, just as "Opal" was the amswer to "semi-precious stone with no friend".

 

 

Ah, The Torygraph crossword, now there's a challenge!

[casper ghost]

The only time i've ever seen one of the men from the hire company come out with the new hirers for a fair distance and help with the lift bridges was when the hirers were all young ladies on a hen do

Casp'

[Doorman]

The only time i've ever seen one of the men from the hire company come out with the new hirers for a fair distance and help with the lift bridges was when the hirers were all young ladies on a hen do

Casp'

 

That's men for you!

 

If ever we have to hire from these characters, I'm going to wear a pair of stillettos, fish net tights and talk like your typical bimbo on a hen do. Only then, should I expect to get a decent level of instruction from the hire company!

 

They should be reported to Ann Summers.

 

On a more serious note. If you compare what Casper says about the incident with the hen party, with say a car/van hire company, would anyone in their right mind expect to see a hire company allow a party of drunken men/women hire one of their vehicles for a night out, knowing that one of them is going to be at the wheel? I don't think so!

 

Yet, here we are, in a very similar situation, whereby the boat hire company willingly allows the same thing to happen, regardlessly. What astounds me even more, is that some forum members on here, even condone it!

Edited April 9, 2012 by Doorman

[Guest]

OK confession time - even relatively experienced boaters get it wrong some times -

 

Just managed to take our cratch board out on the wide walkways on Barmwith lock, busy squeezing the Dog House into what is quite a short lock and suggested Jan came in diagonally which she duly did, only for the unusually wide walkway to ride over the bow and into the cratch... while we were making sure she had cleared the cill mark.

 

Amazingly the perspex hasn't broken and the frame has actually given at the top joint and it's hinged at the bottom so it just needs re-assembling and re gluing/screwing back to together - hey ho!

 

I also won't mention the fact that at Thorne Lock today I thought I could only get one side of the gates working so Jan had to single gate into and out of the lock...

 

der stupid there is buttons for both sides which are operated separately...

 

Still learning..

[Tiny]

We had a Viking Afloat boat follow us through the locks on the S&W today - bloody brilliant! They arrived at each lock just as we'd got the boat in and insisted we both boarded because they'd take care of the rest. Happy smiley faces, enthusiasm, grateful acceptance of advice, much better than some of the grumpy, judgemental private boaters we also met today.

 

We were hirers three years ago, and that's why we're where we are now.

 

We find where the Vikings start from can effect their attitude. The ones near Casper are often first timers who are on their way back and think they know how to do the lift bridges near Casper. One old dear insisted her husband worked the bridge open and closed which he did very slowly forcing a number of boats bothe private and hire to literally pile up on both sides of the bridge. Meanwhile the lady driver bounced off the boats on Caspers side waiting for him to get aboard and drive them to the next bridge 200 yards away.

 

On another occassion, after five really hot days day 6 was hot wet and windy making it freezing cold. Normal gear that hirers bring was hardly warm enough as evidenced by the vast majority of the Viking LLangollen fleet heading home flat out passing us and other moored boats at speeds vastly greater than normal - as in 'we are cold so tough!'

Edited April 9, 2012 by Tiny

[Doorman]

On another occassion, after five really hot days day 6 was hot wet and windy making it freezing cold. Normal gear that hirers bring was hardly warm enough as evidenced by the vast majority of the Viking LLangollen fleet heading home flat out passing us and other moored boats at speeds vastly greater than normal - as in 'we are cold so tough!'

 

Last Summer, we were navigating through the Bratch Locks on the Staffs & Worcs canal. Whilst taking instruction from the lock keeper, a hire boat was coming up through the locks and one of their crew - who was wearing clothes more suitable in Benidorm - was struggling to operate the 'cranked' balance beam on the lock gate. The fact that he was wearing 'Flip-flops' didn't help!

 

It's all very well commenting on here about the crazy antics of some hirers, after we've had the benefit of five years experience on the water and it must be frustrating for the regular hirers who are more often courteous and considerate during their hire period. We have all made daft mistakes, and continue to do so, that's just being human.

 

I still believe that some of the hire operators should adopt a more diligent approach when it comes to handover time and not just for attractive young ladies either!

 

Mike

[cheshire~rose]

The only time i've ever seen one of the men from the hire company come out with the new hirers for a fair distance and help with the lift bridges was when the hirers were all young ladies on a hen do

Casp'

 

I think people should be extremely careful before they start stereotyping another group of the population here!

 

I borrowed a boat for my hen weekend - an ex hire boat. We operated a lock too! I hope we did not scare too many other canal users in the process. The hens that formed the crew were myself, Mrs Tawny Owl (who owns the boat) Lemontoes (who has just managed to get her boat to Calf Heath banter from up The Macclesfield with only her 14 year old son assisting with crewing) Ange (who would be one of the least likely live aboarders to ever be accused of being a continuous moorer) Odana (yet another female boat owner) and another forum member - Ally (who I understand also has a little experience in boating!) We had two non boaty girls with us who were very keen to assist with the locking process indeed! The boat is a 70' boat which required winding (twice).

 

The only assistance we had from men was in loading the copious quantities of scrummy food and a liitle tipple or three on board

[Richard T]

Had a lovely time over the bank holiday on the Erewash - only saw 8 boats on the move over 4days!! Its well worth the trip up to Langley Mill. All the locks worked with minimal leaks - some are a bit heavy but no worse than many others. Had no agro despite it being a BH. We were made to feel very welcome at Langley Mill.

Back on the TandM - loads of boats. Neither bottom gates at Stenson would open fully which meant 2 full length boats were not able to share. Further more Andy Rothen had left a work boat in the middle of the morrings at the bottom of the lock!!

[matty40s]

Had a lovely time over the bank holiday on the Erewash - only saw 8 boats on the move over 4days!! Its well worth the trip up to Langley Mill. All the locks worked with minimal leaks - some are a bit heavy but no worse than many others. Had no agro despite it being a BH. We were made to feel very welcome at Langley Mill.

Back on the TandM - loads of boats. Neither bottom gates at Stenson would open fully which meant 2 full length boats were not able to share. Further more Andy Rothen had left a work boat in the middle of the morrings at the bottom of the lock!!

 

That was there last Monday morning too, so it's been there 8 days, and there were massive branches on the other part of the lock landing, luckily for singlehanding me, someone was coming down so I just drifted in the middle and waited.

[Doorman]

I think people should be extremely careful before they start stereotyping another group of the population here!

 

I borrowed a boat for my hen weekend - an ex hire boat. We operated a lock too! I hope we did not scare too many other canal users in the process. The hens that formed the crew were myself, Mrs Tawny Owl (who owns the boat) Lemontoes (who has just managed to get her boat to Calf Heath banter from up The Macclesfield with only her 14 year old son assisting with crewing) Ange (who would be one of the least likely live aboarders to ever be accused of being a continuous moorer) Odana (yet another female boat owner) and another forum member - Ally (who I understand also has a little experience in boating!) We had two non boaty girls with us who were very keen to assist with the locking process indeed! The boat is a 70' boat which required winding (twice).

 

The only assistance we had from men was in loading the copious quantities of scrummy food and a liitle tipple or three on board

 

Ah, so it was you lot of rebel rousers who woke me and Mrs Doorman up at three in the morning then! Have they repaired the roof yet after all of your stilletto heels had dislodged the the paint!

Edited April 11, 2012 by Doorman

[Doorman]

I knew that we'd kept some footage of the girls that night!

 

 

http://tinypic.com/r/2zel4i8/5]view

Edited April 11, 2012 by Doorman

[casper ghost]

I think people should be extremely careful before they start stereotyping another group of the population here!

 

 

The only assistance we had from men was in loading the copious quantities of scrummy food and a liitle tipple or three on board

I'm not saying they gave the party extra tuition because they thought the ladies needed it, more that they wanted to be on the boat as long as possible with a boat full of nice young ladies

Casp'

[cheshire~rose]

I'm not saying they gave the party extra tuition because they thought the ladies needed it, more that they wanted to be on the boat as long as possible with a boat full of nice young ladies

Casp'

 

Perhaps that is where we went wrong - I suspect most of the party might have to try and use a very loose definition of the term "young" to fit the stereotype - although I think they are all very, very nice!

[Cheshire cat]

We met two hire boats from Overwater Marina yesterday at Hack Green locks. They were being given instruction by a lady from Overwater. I was impressed. It must be a two mile walk back to base.

[Ange]

Was more than a tad embarrassed at Gailey the other day. We were in a bit of a hurry to get back to easy commuting distance for me and were hoping that the Viking Afloat base at Gailey wouldn't be handing over when we passed through at 3pm. Working the lock with a fellow private boater, we had that sort of conversation "we all had to start somewhere, but it's a bit of a pain to be held up by them starting out" and "I'm thinking they're not handing over on Easter Sunday - phew" when we overheard the instructor teaching a very enthusiastic group of brand new hirers within earshot!

 

I dearly hope they were too intent on their lesson to hear us grumpies I did feel a bit ashamed as I'm the first to jump up and defend hirers, it's just that if you do need to get somewhere by a certain day, let alone time, it can be a bit of a bugger when you pass a hire base on handover day

 

And before any smarty pants jump up and say "if you're in a hurry choose another form of transport" my home is my boat - 90% of the time we amble, it's just every now and then we need to get somewhere by a certain time

 

After saying that we were very ably helped by the wonderful crew of the Viking Afloat boat that followed us that day on the S&W and hastened our journey, so I eat humble pie.

Edited April 12, 2012 by Ange

[Doorman]

We met two hire boats from Overwater Marina yesterday at Hack Green locks. They were being given instruction by a lady from Overwater. I was impressed. It must be a two mile walk back to base.

 

Yes, the owner of the hire boats does that quite regularly (in all weathers), to her credit.

 

Quite a shame really, because if you ever get to see the condition of the bows of her fleet, you'll come to a simiar conclusion as us, that much of her dedicated tuition is wasted! It would appear that many of her clients look upon bridge holes as funnels. They clobber either side and eventually the bow finds it way through the hole!

 

At least she shows a duty of care in trying to teach new boaters safe operating techniques.

 

Mike

Edited April 13, 2012 by Doorman

[Cheshire cat]

I think you are being a little bit harsh Mike. If they turn right out of the marina rather than left they are confronted by the Audlem flight. This week there was quite a flow down from the top.

 

The cross current caused by the bywashes is strong enough to push any boat off course. It catches out experienced crews so inexperienced or out of practice crews are unlikely to fair well. I would say that collisions with the lock entrance walls are almost inevitable at some point during the flight.

 

As an aside, on several of the locks the cross current is actively undermining the bank.

[Doorman]

I think you are being a little bit harsh Mike. If they turn right out of the marina rather than left they are confronted by the Audlem flight. This week there was quite a flow down from the top.

 

The cross current caused by the bywashes is strong enough to push any boat off course. It catches out experienced crews so inexperienced or out of practice crews are unlikely to fair well. I would say that collisions with the lock entrance walls are almost inevitable at some point during the flight.

 

As an aside, on several of the locks the cross current is actively undermining the bank.

 

Quite possibly so, but it's not so much the locks that they aim for!

 

We were moored towards the Bridge 80 end of the marina and you could hear the collision between the boats and the bridge hole. The owner of the hire boats based at Overwater Marina is a qualified instructor and as such, I would imagine that she takes her time in ensuring her clients are given the safe instruction they deserve. Once she leaves the novices to their own devices, it's up to them to heed her advice. I must say though, we very rarely see the trademark 'children on the roof' giveaway when one of her hire boats approaches.

 

With regard to the Audlem Flight, it can be tricky to negotiate, even as you say, for experienced boaters. We've come to the conclusion after trying various methods, that it's best to approach the lock jaw at a slow enough speed to avoid collateral damage to the boat. Gauging the cross current is quite difficult, specially when another boater is emptying the next lock up from you.

 

As we now live in Audlem, we get the chance to see the flight throughout the year and during the rainy season, the byewash creates quite a torrent of water on most of the locks, but lock 12 in particular. The wasted energy from these byewashes is tantamount to being criminal. A local group of renewable energy residents have conducted a study on this subject and calculate that there is enough potential energy to power in excess of twenty homes in the village. The income from this would be welcomed in maintaining the canal along this stretch of the cut.

 

Mike

Edited April 14, 2012 by Doorman

[Doorman]

The infamous Lock 12 on the Audlem Flight at winter time. Believe it or not, this is not a black & white photo.

 

 

 

 

Exit or enter this lock at speed and you'll think you're in a pin ball machine!

Edited April 14, 2012 by Doorman