Boat Sunk at Grindley brook

[nb Innisfree]

Pure speculation but could it be more boats on the cut due to the recession i.e. cheaper holidays on boats instead of going abroad which results in a higher proportion of boating beginners whereas previously it attracted more experienced and skilled enthusiasts.

[Guest]

shame you have to resort to swearing to win a discussion!

 

Oh dear, grow up hammy - this is not a convent school it's a discussion forum on the internet...

 

Glad you acknowledged the point was won though...

[cheshire~rose]

yes i'm not decrying the efforts of experienced people like you, its just as you rightly say there is bad and good both sides of the fence!

 

It is comments like those you have made on this thread that make people feel that ALL volunteers are no good. As you say there will be good and bad and a lot of "in the middles"

 

It is the same as saying all hire boaters haven't a clue what they are doing. Some hire boaters have shed loads more experience than many of the people who own their own floating caravan that never leaves the marina

 

The trouble is that you really cannot tar everyone with the same brush and the only thing your comments do is cause a feeling of mistrust about volunteer lock keepers which is not helpful or entirely fair

[Keeping Up]

Pure speculation but could it be more boats on the cut due to the recession i.e. cheaper holidays on boats instead of going abroad which results in a higher proportion of boating beginners whereas previously it attracted more experienced and skilled enthusiasts.

 

There are fewer hire boats around than I have ever seen before at this time of the year. OTOH there do seem to be a lot of private boats, which is unusual as they often hide when the school holidays start.

[the grinch]

It is comments like those you have made on this thread that make people feel that ALL volunteers are no good. As you say there will be good and bad and a lot of "in the middles"

 

It is the same as saying all hire boaters haven't a clue what they are doing. Some hire boaters have shed loads more experience than many of the people who own their own floating caravan that never leaves the marina

 

The trouble is that you really cannot tar everyone with the same brush and the only thing your comments do is cause a feeling of mistrust about volunteer lock keepers which is not helpful or entirely fair

 

I wasn't tarring everyone, and I don't see that my comments should make people feel that "ALL" are no good far from it. my comment was "what will happen when a volunteer mucks up?" not that all are likely too!

 

 

 

Glad you acknowledged the point was won though...

 

no you can't win because: if it doesn't happen it still could - I win by default because you can't say it will never happen

if it does happen - oh yes I win!

Edited August 6, 2012 by hamsterfan

[Guest]

I wasn't tarring everyone, and I don't see that my comments should make people feel that "ALL" are no good far from it. my comment was "what will happen when a volunteer mucks up?" not that all are likely too!

 

 

 

no you can't win because: if it doesn't happen it still could - I win by default because you can't say it will never happen

if it does happen - oh yes I win!

 

Nice edit - as I didn't say it actually could never happen.

[cheshire~rose]

On one of the previous "sunken boat" threads - (I don't know which, there have been a few of them!) Someone suggested that there are a lot of people out and about having recently bought boats but with very little knowledge of how to operate them. Certainly there are some bargain basement prices about as people who are desperate to sell accept very small amounts to get rid of a boat before they have to throw more money at it. Many people see an opportunity to own a boat and maybe not all these people have thought it through or done much in he way of investigation into how to go about moving their new boat safely.

 

We met a boat going through Audlem last week and the crew were causing a few problems. It appeared to me to be a typical live aboard boat and yet the female who was wielding the windlass had not got a clue. She admitted that it was her first day of locks. That is fine, we all had to start somewhere.... The lock was in their favour but had leaked so she needed to open a paddle. The opened the gate paddle, waited for a moment or two then closed it again, I told her the lock was not ready yet and she needed to open the paddle again, She did so, for a few moments then closed it again. The bloke and I both said in unison that she had to leave it open until we got the gate open. The boat had a small fibreglass tender being towed behind. The bloke moved the boat into the lock but stopped it before the tender was within the lock and jumped off with his windlass and headed towards the lower gate where the woman was waiting- I called him back advising him I could not close the gate as his tender was in the way. He jumped back on and shuffled the boat forward in the lock before jumping off and again going to the front of the lock again. I was still uncertain as the tender would have gone onto the cill. I know it probably would have dragged off without any problem but there was plenty of room for boat and tender to be well forward of the cill so I suggested he could still move forward further just in case. He did so and jumped off again going to the front where the woman was leaving me to close the top gate on "their" lock.

As we waited for the water level to go down the woman told me he had owned the boat for 7 years but this was the furthest it had ever been. They were taking it for blacking. The woman was very excited about being out and about on the boat and shouted to me as they moved off that living aboard was the best life anyone could possibly wish for and we ought to try it!

 

 

Maybe what we are seeing is a result of a few years of people owning "floating caravans" that never leave the marina and when for some reason they finally have to they don't have a clue?

[Idunhoe]

Pure speculation but could it be more boats on the cut due to the recession i.e. cheaper holidays on boats instead of going abroad which results in a higher proportion of boating beginners whereas previously it attracted more experienced and skilled enthusiasts.

 

Not sure about that one. Two of the larger hire companies in this area are complaining about just how few boats they have out, particularly when taking into account it's school holidays

[Guest]

We have occasionally encountered crews on private boats who clearly haven't got a clue and briefly I've thought why the heck don't they know what they are doing - but when engaging them in conversation it transpires they are borrowing the boat from family or friends....

[nb Innisfree]

Not sure about that one. Two of the larger hire companies in this area are complaining about just how few boats they have out, particularly when taking into account it's school holidays

 

Yes I have a change of mind, the 'floating caravan' idea seems more plausible, maybe the increasing tv coverage of canal boating has encouraged more inexperienced boat owners to leave their moorings. It does seem to me that rarely a day goes by without a glimpse of a narrowboat on tv, seems to be the in thing at the mo?

[alan_fincher]

Haven't seen a volunteer since Droitwich

There were no less than three at Stoke hammond Three Locks a few days ago. Not a lot of "customers", but three compentant and helpful volunteers.

 

For 4 days including the weekend there were no lockeepers of any description. Funny enough all the boaters including hirers were happy to take full responsibility to work themselves uk or down the flight. This is how it should be rather than a blame game. However I can't remember so many boats in trouble.

 

I agree they have largely now "gone missing" from the major GU flights. There does seem to be some coverage at Buckby, but often only the top lock it seems, which doesn't do much for the rest of the flight.

 

Not sure about that one. Two of the larger hire companies in this area are complaining about just how few boats they have out, particularly when taking into account it's school holidays

Perhaps that is why some of the major hire firms now seem happy to start hiring again to single sex parties clearly out "on the piss".

 

I don't know if the Napton Narrowboats boat we encountered at Braunston actually left the hire base with a full keg of lager, gas cylinder and beer taps set up in the front well deck, or if they loaded that on a bit later, to conceal the idea.

 

Either way it hardly inspires good vibes about what could happen, does it ?

[the grinch]

Nice edit - as I didn't say it actually could never happen.

 

 

[jenlyn]

Most of the lockies we have met this year have been boaters.

[Graham Davis]

no i'll stick wih when! not saying it will happen this week, next week but i'm sure it will happen as you get more of these volunteers who think they and only they are right!

 

As you are such a keyboard warrier who seems to like knocking VOLUNTEERS, perhaps you would let us know when you are going to volunteer.

[alan_fincher]

As you are such a keyboard warrier who seems to like knocking VOLUNTEERS, perhaps you would let us know when you are going to volunteer.

You may have picked the wrong target in this case - I believe Hamsterfan is actually a very active volunteer in canal restoration.

[Argey_bargey]

Not Again.... So sad to hear of all these cillings. Anyone no wot boat it is?

 

Also when was cruising the Llangollen back in may there was a lock keeper on way up & down!

[the grinch]

actuallly part of the management team these days having done volunteering work on no less than 6 canals for over 30 years and being a london wrg member in the 80's was 1 of the founder members on the north walsham & dilham canal restoration

 

kennet & avon, basingstoke, chichester, wey & arun,huddersfield narrow, monty and nw&dc. so its 7 not 6.

[Graham Davis]

You may have picked the wrong target in this case - I believe Hamsterfan is actually a very active volunteer in canal restoration.

 

Then he should know better than to criticise any other volunteers!

[GoodGurl]

we came down the flight yesterday and there was two full time keepers on, i am not suprised at the sunken boats on here this week as a lot of the hirers we have met really do not have a clue, a hire boat hit us coming out of the flight going up, we also had one drive straight into us today on a straight bit of canal.

Edited August 6, 2012 by goodboy

[Argey_bargey]

we came down the flight yesterday and there was two full time keepers on, i am not suprised at the sunken boats on here this week as a lot of the hirers we have met really do not have a clue, a hire boat hit us coming out of the flight going up, we also had one drive straight into us today on a straight bit of canal.

 

You do have a fair point. Most of the bigger hire companies have got so many boats being turned around they dont have the time to show them how to work locks etc. ESP with the Llangollen if you hire from Anglowelsh at Trevor or black prince at Chirk abc at Ellsmere there are no near locks for them to take the hirers through. So when theses hirers get to the locks they just use it as they think. Which is wot I done when we first hired from Ellsmere back in 2007 but I'd watch videos on YouTube & online advice so knew the dangers and briefly how to work them

[cotswoldsman]

So having read the thread am I right in concluding it is all the fault of volunteers or hire boaters? So as soon as we rid the canals of these vermin the better.............ah well at least it is not the fault of CCers so I will carry on knowing that I will never make any mistakes.

[john6767]

I couldn't believe it when I saw this thread. So that is 2 boats on this canal in a week, what is going on.

 

We came up Grindley Brook on Friday and there was professional lock keeper on then. We will probably be going back down this Friday, assuming it is moved as efficiently as the other one was.

[jelunga]

That's a clever piece of speculation.............

 

Were they also black, terrorists, paraplegic, part-time, single mothers, unemployed pikeys?

You forgot gay, lesbian bakers.

Now if they were Bankers or Newspaper owners I could understand it.

[cheshire~rose]

You forgot gay, lesbian bakers.

Now if they were Bankers or Newspaper owners I could understand it.

 

Crikey - what have the bakers done (and should I be scared of them?)

 

I suspect when I read the next line it should have been bankers but could equally have been bikers? People seem to forget they are supposed to be really scared of bikers these days - perhaps we should do something to make people scared of us again

[alan_fincher]

People seem to forget they are supposed to be really scared of bikers these days - perhaps we should do something to make people scared of us again

Actually, just the fact that so many of them are now so old is fairly scarey!.........