boat hook query !

[trackman]

The cabin hook has one vital role on our boat, clearing the prop.

 

I probably lift the weed hatch less than once a year because it's so much easier to use the hook from the bank.

 

It has to be a proper steel hook with a sharp point though. Not one of those silly brass or plastic things with a ball shaped tip!

 

The only things to defeat the hook have been mountain bike tyres. Both times with these I had to get down the hatch with bolt cutters to sever the steel bead wires.

 

Otherwise the hatch comes out only during bottom blacking.

[little duck!]

Alan i never thought of using my boat hook to push me against the wall in a broad lock - i will now though, very useful tip thank you! I use mine to pass rope up to other half to put round bollard as i'm not good at throwing!

[Alan Saunders]

It depends on where you boat and how many agile crew you have.

Coming into a wharf in calm conditions, I never refuse assistance but usually, the boat ends up stationary and 6-12" from the side.

I just step off and tie up.

 

Imagine you have a deep drafted boat and you are single-handed on the K&A:

You put the bow into the bank and make your way (70') forward, centre-line in hand,

Alight from the bow only to see the bow drift out - the whole boat is now 7' from the bank!

It would be handy to have a boat-hook, even a short one, to pull the bow back in.

 

Now, you need the bow and stern lines:

Hook them up!

 

Similarly, your 35', six ton boat is blown across the canal by high winds;

Hook the handrail and drag it in.

 

I also have a length of 4x2":

Leaving a mooring (on the K&A) where the stern is invariably aground:

Stick it in the mud, lever the stern out a few inches, repeat until you can reverse off.

Poles, shafts etc. break when used as levers.

 

Please do not use your spike on my paintwork; however poor consider it.

Poles, shafts etc are useful if you know how/when to use them.

See above; my favourite is holding position in a wide lock.

Similarly, you can hold position in a short pound by sticking a shaft into the mud on the offside.

 

Alan

[Radiomariner]

A "manual Bow-thruster"?

I have a short pole, about 9 feet with A Pommeled end for use in wide locks when the other boat takes too long. Anything much longer is difficult to handle in the confined space. Also have a long pole about 15 feet (Never used) and a shaft about 11ft with hook often used for stopping the gate on other side from swinging open or sometimes to push to stop it from closing. Handy. Also when in deep locks and for some reason a rope is required a quick turn around the hook to pass the rope up to SWMBO at the lock edge is better than clobbering some poor unwitting soul with a flying rope.!

[Phil Ambrose]

Never really seen the point of boat hooks. We bought one when we bought the boat and have never used it. Still cart it around mind "just in case"

 

We often laugh when we see boat crews preparing for the landing one crew member stood at the bow wielding the boat hook. What do they expect to achieve with it? I find the rope a far more suitable mooring aid!

They do have their uses, when we had our 40ft GRP cruiser my wife was very adept at hooking rings to hold the boat in while I hopped of with the ropes, not every mooring has handy sticky up things so a rope would not be any good in these situations.

 

Phil

[Naughty Cal]

They do have their uses, when we had our 40ft GRP cruiser my wife was very adept at hooking rings to hold the boat in while I hopped of with the ropes, not every mooring has handy sticky up things so a rope would not be any good in these situations.

 

Phil

We still dont use it for mooring to rings. Easier to step off the boat with bow and stern lines to hand and then sort out the mooring from the bank.

It depends on where you boat and how many agile crew you have.

Coming into a wharf in calm conditions, I never refuse assistance but usually, the boat ends up stationary and 6-12" from the side.

I just step off and tie up.

 

Imagine you have a deep drafted boat and you are single-handed on the K&A:

You put the bow into the bank and make your way (70') forward, centre-line in hand,

Alight from the bow only to see the bow drift out - the whole boat is now 7' from the bank!

It would be handy to have a boat-hook, even a short one, to pull the bow back in.

 

Now, you need the bow and stern lines:

Hook them up!

 

Similarly, your 35', six ton boat is blown across the canal by high winds;

Hook the handrail and drag it in.

 

I also have a length of 4x2":

Leaving a mooring (on the K&A) where the stern is invariably aground:

Stick it in the mud, lever the stern out a few inches, repeat until you can reverse off.

Poles, shafts etc. break when used as levers.

 

Please do not use your spike on my paintwork; however poor consider it.

Poles, shafts etc are useful if you know how/when to use them.

See above; my favourite is holding position in a wide lock.

Similarly, you can hold position in a short pound by sticking a shaft into the mud on the offside.

 

Alan

That is one thing we tend to do now refuse assitance.

 

Too many times we have passed someone a bow or stern line and they have started pulling on it which then makes it more difficult to moor up as they are pulling against what you are trying to do with the boat. We now politely refuse assistance.

 

I would rather have a couple of goes at getting in than have the bow/stern pulled into the bank/wall.

[Phil Ambrose]

Hi Rachael, I usually agree with you on most things nautical, however on this occasion you have neglected to take into account the different handling characteristics of say Nauti Cal and my previous boat.

Size is one instance, Amber Rose was 40ft X 12ft, then there is the fact that Amber Rose was "on shaft" whereas Cal has a stern drive (steerable prop to those who dont know)

The other factor to take into account is age, you may well be able to hop of with the ropes now but get a few more years under your belt and it will be a different matter, I and Chris have passed the age of just hopping of, age infirmaty, failing eyesight (Chris's not mine) all lead you to finding easier less athletic means of mooring up.

 

Phil

It is not a boat hook, it is a cabin shaft.

Oh dear another Pendant surfaces, go to any Chandlers on the Broads and ask for a cabin shaft and see what response you get, ask for a boat hook and you will get a "stick" with a hook on the end ie a boat hook as it is known to many thousands of boaters. The fact that it WAS known as a cabin hook is about as relevent as saying "we used to row across the Channel but now we go by Seacat.

 

Phil

[FadeToScarlet]

ilOh dear another Pendant surfaces, go to any Chandlers on the Broads and ask for a cabin shaft and see what response you get, ask for a boat hook and you will get a "stick" with a hook on the end ie a boat hook as it is known to many thousands of boaters. The fact that it WAS known as a cabin hook is about as relevent as saying "we used to row across the Channel but now we go by Seacat.Phil

It still is known as a cabin shaft to some people. A great deal of history is entwined with the names that things are given, and it's important that these are retained; they are part of heritage in the same way as colour schemes or techniques like thumblining. It's important that at least some people continue talking about cabin shafts, deckboards, back cabins and fore ends, rather than boathooks, cratch boards, boatman's cabins, and bows.

 

Either way, if you went into a Chandlers on the Severn estuary and asked for a boathook, you'd get a blank look, unless you asked for a hook shaft.

[Phil Ambrose]

Totally agree that heritage is something to be preserved however the majority of the general population would be more familiar with the term "Boathook" than the term "Cabin Shaft" or for that matter "Hook Shaft" and throwing in the fact that some people call a Boathook a Cabin Shaft adds nothing to the discussion.

I shall now sling my Hook

 

Phil.

[Radiomariner]

Cabin Shaft? Sounds like a lot of baloney to me. I've been involved with ships and boats all my life. Never heard of "Cabin Shaft". At my school the gig, whaler, lifeboat and some of the dinghies all had "boat hook" on their inventories. The same applied to all the lifeboats on the ships I sailed on, even the totally enclosed boats. (Though they were sometimes termed "Shaft with Hook")

Most of these did not have any cabin so the term "Cabin Shaft" for this item seems extremely unlikely. Now a "pole" is something I have only seen on Inland waterways probably the origin of the term "Barge Pole" (Which you wouldnt touch things with) but modern leisure craft owners do not call their boats barges. thus a simple "Pole" or "Shaft" is used and as these usually rest on the cabin top I can imagine the term "Cabin Shaft" coming about for that item

Edited July 2, 2013 by Radiomariner

[Timleech]

Cabin Shaft? Sounds like a lot of baloney to me.

 

Cabin Shaft is a specific Narrow Boat term, from working boat days. The Cabin Shaft is a short shaft with hook which rests on the cabin top within easy reach of the steerer, handy for pushing lock gates shut (on easy narrow locks), clearing rubbish from the blade (propeller), and generally pushing and pulling things.

The Long Shaft is what it says, a long shaft with or without hook which would be stowed in or above the hold and used for moving the boat around, pushing from bank or canal bottom.

Other boating systems/traditions doubtless had their own particular styles of shaft/pole, the Leeds & Liverpool Motor Boats had a Fan Shaft which was their equivalent of a Cabin Shaft but necessarily a bit longer and with no Cabin in the Narrow Boat sense to keep it on.

 

Tim

 

edit for shpilling

Edited July 2, 2013 by Timleech

[billh]

 

 

On "Sickle", (no weed hatch), it is also the primary tool for clearing fouled blades.

 

We use ours all the time, though not generally for anything relating to mooring.

 

As Paddington Bear says, "boat hook" is a more "nautical name" - the correct canal names are usually"cabin shaft" or "short shaft".

The weapon of choice for clearing fouled blades and no weed hatch is a railway shunter's pole (aka Curly Wurly pole) . Get the end of it on or near the prop shaft, forward of the blades and rotate clockwise to engage the rubbish, then pull like hell, most plastic,cloth, wire or rope can be got off quite easily. The problem with a normal cabin shaft is that the hook gets caught in the blades if you try to rotate it and misses the target debris. I have used the shunter's pole for around forty years , it's certainly needed in these parts,I wouldn't leave the moorings without one on the cabin . I think they are available from the Railway Supply Co. or similar.

Bill

[Chris Pink]

Ever curious i turned up this (even looks a bit like you Bill)

 

I personally would never be without my boat hook. Someone knicked my very old knackered shaft and I was very reluctant to go boating without it.

 

It is the only way of grabbing things you can't reach for whatever reason.

 

Boats, ropes, lock gates, bits of old floating rubbish, even the dog once. I just used one 15 minutes ago to pull the boat in as it was starting to drift out.

 

I would quite like a keb as well but it's a luxury rather than the necessity of a boat pole.

 

I disagree with Bill about clearing the prop, although you can hook a blade or the shaft, you generally can tell and pulling the blades round is one way of unwrapping things.

 

One thing I have noticed is that with my new shaft the pointy bit is longer and it's not as versatile. When i find my round tuits I'm going to adjust it.

[Black Ibis]

The weapon of choice for clearing fouled blades and no weed hatch is a railway shunter's pole (aka Curly Wurly pole) . Get the end of it on or near the prop shaft, forward of the blades and rotate clockwise to engage the rubbish, then pull like hell, most plastic,cloth, wire or rope can be got off quite easily. The problem with a normal cabin shaft is that the hook gets caught in the blades if you try to rotate it and misses the target debris. I have used the shunter's pole for around forty years , it's certainly needed in these parts,I wouldn't leave the moorings without one on the cabin . I think they are available from the Railway Supply Co. or similar.

Bill

We found one in an antiques shop for £20. It's been very useful.

[Timleech]

Ever curious i turned up this (even looks a bit like you Bill)

 

I personally would never be without my boat hook. Someone knicked my very old knackered shaft and I was very reluctant to go boating without it.

 

It is the only way of grabbing things you can't reach for whatever reason.

 

Boats, ropes, lock gates, bits of old floating rubbish, even the dog once. I just used one 15 minutes ago to pull the boat in as it was starting to drift out.

 

I would quite like a keb as well but it's a luxury rather than the necessity of a boat pole.

 

I disagree with Bill about clearing the prop, although you can hook a blade or the shaft, you generally can tell and pulling the blades round is one way of unwrapping things.

 

One thing I have noticed is that with my new shaft the pointy bit is longer and it's not as versatile. When i find my round tuits I'm going to adjust it.

 

I never had much success with a shunter's pole other than for its intended purpose, found a cabin shaft with proper hook much better. I did do a bit of shunting in my yoof, got quite good with the pole after a while.

 

Tim

[dave moore]

Hi.

 

Like Tim, I've been around canals for a long time and agree totally about the terms cabin shaft and long shaft, along with their uses. In working boat days, boaters had their own terms for equipment and boats, often totally unrelated to accepted nautical terms, so no baloney intended, Radiomariner!

 

For example: The towpath side of the cut was the " inside", the other the " outside "........not port or starboard as on the sea. To " hold back" was to engage reverse gear or to slow/ stop a boat using straps (not warps). Similarly they are steered, not driven nor helmed.

 

It's a pity, IMHO that the old terminology is seldom used except among us grumpy oldies. Sorry!

 

Dave

[Naughty Cal]

Why is it a pity?

 

Times move on

[Timleech]

Hi.

 

Like Tim, I've been around canals for a long time and agree totally about the terms cabin shaft and long shaft, along with their uses. In working boat days, boaters had their own terms for equipment and boats, often totally unrelated to accepted nautical terms, so no baloney intended, Radiomariner!

 

For example: The towpath side of the cut was the " inside", the other the " outside "........not port or starboard as on the sea. To " hold back" was to engage reverse gear or to slow/ stop a boat using straps (not warps). Similarly they are steered, not driven nor helmed.

 

It's a pity, IMHO that the old terminology is seldom used except among us grumpy oldies. Sorry!

 

Dave

 

There are plenty of others, nobody 'moored (up)', that's what lumpy water boats do when tying to a buoy, they 'tied up'.

As for sides of a Narrow boat (rather than of the cut), there's the 'Chimney (or Range) side' and the 'side bed side'

 

Tim

[pquinn]

i have a barge pole with a boat hook attached to the end.i am going to call it a BORGE POOK.

[Phil Ambrose]

Why is it a pity?

 

Times move on

Well said Phylis, after all a bicycle used to be called a velocipede but in fact the majority of people in the English speaking world know exactly what you are talking about if you say "Bike"

This thread is getting silly, dredging up archaic terms and suggesting that they are common parlance.

 

Phil

[Timleech]

Well said Phylis, after all a bicycle used to be called a velocipede but in fact the majority of people in the English speaking world know exactly what you are talking about if you say "Bike"

This thread is getting silly, dredging up archaic terms and suggesting that they are common parlance.

 

Phil

 

I've not personally made any suggestions about common parlance, though some of what you may regard as archaic terms are ones that I have always used.

 

Tim

[furnessvale]

 

I've not personally made any suggestions about common parlance, though some of what you may regard as archaic terms are ones that I have always used.

 

Tim

The desire to forget the traditional names for things is mirrored in the strange desire to paint below the gunwales in gloss paint and have fenders dangling at all times from steel boats.

 

Sad really. Lets all don sailor hats and drink pinkers!

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[Black Ibis]

Don't worry, there are a fair few of us "young people" who want to make sure these terms aren't lost Have no objection to people calling a pole with a hook on whatever they like but I'll call it a cabin shaft, thank you!

[FadeToScarlet]

The desire to forget the traditional names for things is mirrored in the strange desire to paint below the gunwales in gloss paint and have fenders dangling at all times from steel boats.

 

Sad really. Lets all don sailor hats and drink pinkers!

 

George ex nb Alton retired

"And may I congratulate you on a fine piece of seamanship? I thought you handled them rather well..."

[Phil Ambrose]

I rather think that there is an issue here in as much as a number of people can only think "Canal" and forget that there are many members who use other waterways, I for one have never been on a canal in all my life, but I have been to sea and spent a lot of time on rivers (13 years living aboard in fact)

 

I agree with keeping the old terms alive but I do not agree with those who choose to ignore all else just so they can say "Well it's traditional"

For example "inside" and "outside" when port and starboard makes more sense, the former can only truly be used where there is a towpath, many, if not most rivers do not. However using the latter it matters not where the boat is nor in what direction it is travelling.

 

So lets all not get to tied up with one type of boating and remember there is a lot of water out there to be enjoyed.

 

Phil