Where to stand

[nigel fryer]

None. Last time I fell in it was at Napton trying to pole off the mud. I went in in about 30" of water , got mud on my bum and wet from head to foot, O and my cap stayed on.

 

Is it an automatic self inflating cap

[John Holden]

On the Llangollen this year we saw a hirer reverse into the bank at full speed and get knocked over the stern rails of his cruiser deck by the tiller. He ended up hanging from the rails, which meant that he was safely out of the water and was able to pull himself back on to the deck. If there had been no rails he would have been knocked straight off the deck into the water with dire consequences.

 

 

But without the stern rail he could surely just have stepped onto the bank?

[Keeping Up]

But without the stern rail he could surely just have stepped onto the bank?

 

Somehow I doubt it, the boat was going flat out in reverse gear, stopping after coming downstream through a lift bridge so as to wait for the crew, so the boat was still only arta shallow angle to the bank and if he'd gone off the stern he'd have been a lot nearer to the rear of the prop than to the bank.

[Nine of Hearts]

On the Llangollen this year we saw a hirer reverse into the bank at full speed and get knocked over the stern rails of his cruiser deck by the tiller. He ended up hanging from the rails, which meant that he was safely out of the water and was able to pull himself back on to the deck. If there had been no rails he would have been knocked straight off the deck into the water with dire consequences.

 

The circumstances of this incident remind me of a Not the Nine o'clock News parody of a contemporary road safety film. This was the one where the "presenter" had several items of overripe fruit on the desk and invited you to imagine a cricket bat with a breeze block nailed to it was your car. After ensuing carnage, the message was, "think once, think twice, think don't drive your car on the pavement".

 

I think in the quoted instance, the problem is not with where the hirer is standing, but more a case of "think once, think twice, think don't drive at full speed into the bank".

[churchward]

In the interests of accuracy, this is not correct, I think.

 

My understanding was the boat was going uphill, and the steerer ended up getting flushed back or reversing into the bottom gates.

 

No cill could hence have been involved.

 

Certainly the opinion seemed to be that as the rudder had hit the gates, it had swept the tiller around, upending her over the low stern rail that those boats have.

 

EDITED: To add News report of inquest.

 

In the Alrewas incident with a Canaltime boat the boat was reversed at an edge, and again, IIRC, the low stern rail helped guarntee that the steeer was fully upended over the back.

 

It is not at all a nice thought, but in both cases the steerer then ended up trapped in propeller.

I think I may have confused two incidents. The Oxford one was going uphill. There was a an incident where the person was thrown off the back onto the cill but I can't remember where now it may have been the Oxford as well. It was longer ago than the Varney lock accident.

 

It is a horrible thought that a pleasurable past-time or holiday can result in serious injuries or loss of life. There are however many other activities that have accidents caused by the individual or outside their control. Compared to boating driving your car is highly perilous activity.

 

The world is not a safe place (I know it is a shock for some) and it is not possible to sanities all activities so that accidents are fully eliminated. I am not saying we should not look for ways of improvement. We also need to take responsibility for our own actions and treat what we do with some caution.

[Pykebird]

I tend to drive, whilst standing inside the hatch, or sit on the roof and use my feet to move the throttle. When I changed my boat from a cruiser to a trad, I made sure I could reach tiller & throtle from both sides of the roof. That way there is more room on the counter for the dogs!

[Maffi]

Not something that would work for me. I regularly reverse a mile or so from my mooring on my own. I stick the engine in reverse at about 300 rpm and then go to the bow to steer.

 

I would have to over-ride such a system

 

 

Yep me too and I used to do that reverse every two weeks.

 

Fair enough, even though I would consider that a potentially dangerous thing to do anyway, IMO it's up to a private individual to do as they wish as long as it doesn't endanger anyone else, but I do think my idea should be compulsory on hire boats.

 

 

The main danger is the idiot that tries to overtake you rather than wait.

 

I tend to drive, whilst standing inside the hatch, or sit on the roof and use my feet to move the throttle. When I changed my boat from a cruiser to a trad, I made sure I could reach tiller & throtle from both sides of the roof. That way there is more room on the counter for the dogs!

 

You have the inkling of a solution there. Personal thought, but is a Cruiser stern a suitable design for a first time hire boat. Would the Varney's Lock incident have happened if the boat was a Trad or Semi-trad?

[John Holden]

Somehow I doubt it, the boat was going flat out in reverse gear, stopping after coming downstream through a lift bridge so as to wait for the crew, so the boat was still only arta shallow angle to the bank and if he'd gone off the stern he'd have been a lot nearer to the rear of the prop than to the bank.

 

Even stepping out over water would still have taken him further from the prop than a direct drop into the water.