Kintbury Horse Boat

[carlt]

I feel I am straying into territory belonging to Dave Mayall.

 

The last time we strayed into this territory Dave was wrong.

although I believe that he was regarded (by him) as "right".

[RLWP]

Yep, two days into injun country

 

Keep yer eyes peeled pardners

 

Richard

[Gillie]

I think it's a different owner from 4 years ago. I think the original owner still runs the day boat.

It is the same owner as it was 4 years ago..

The day boat was owned and operated from Newbury , Greenham Island, but when the owner (Pete) passed away a few years ago the horse boat people took it on too I can't remember when but think maybe 4 or 5 years ago..

[billS]

I talked to the guy prepping the day boat for some hirers at Easter this year. He said that he had owned the horse boat but had sold it on, but that he had kept on the day boat.

[Gillie]

I talked to the guy prepping the day boat for some hirers at Easter this year. He said that he had owned the horse boat but had sold it on, but that he had kept on the day boat.

Still the same address on the web site and in other places on the internet...

[luctor et emergo]

First post, and straight into the mellee. Not providing any detail, just badmouthing somebody who tries to manouvre a horse drawn boat.

 

Try bow hauling your boat past a line of moored boats...

 

Either provide some detail, or context, or grow a thicker skin.

 

 

To add some balance, I was tying my boat along a customer a few weeks back, in quite a challenging wind. Halfway through the job, a hireboat approaches, but managed to slowly manouvre past. Moments later, a small corpulant chap on the towpath shouts up to me (I'm on the customer's roof, pulling my boat in) : 'I have no experience'..

I ignore him, concentrating on the task in hand.

He shouts at me again, 'I have no experience..'

I ask him what that has to do with me.

He shouts 'how am I going to get past you?'

This is all you need when you have a trying day....

Pointing out that another hire boat just went past.

He then whinched that 'he was told not to go close to the bank, otherwise he would get stuck'

 

At this moment I lost my patience, and nearly my cool...

 

What I wanted to reply was: 'If you have no experience, why the f*** are you out in this weather, or indeed out here in the first place?'

 

Instead, mindfull of the customer's boat that I was on top of, I told him that I was busy, and had no time to assist him. Fairly politely.

 

There are moments, when people just say the wrong thing, at the wrong time. Shrug, and move on..

[RockSodem]

I have a feeling that this is probably a dispute of CC abuse. Living in Kintbury, I have seen a boat abusing the terms of the licence. It was sat on water point for nearly a week, then just moved a hundred yards down the canal. It has been in the village for the best part of three weeks and is now moored up in a position that even I can tell is difficult for the horse boat to turn/navigate by. If this is the boat in question, then his argument of just "live peacefully" goes out of the window in my mind.

[RLWP]

Quite a big assumption that, isn't it?

 

Richard

[billS]

Quite a big assumption that, isn't it?

 

Richard

Might be - but the op has been very reluctant to provide more detail, and has not disclosed what sparked off the incident in the first place.

 

My own dealings with the horse boat crew have always been positive, a view which seems to be shared by other posters here, so it does leave me with the impression that the incident is either exaggerated or that there was at least some degree of provocation.

Edited June 7, 2013 by billS

[MtB]

Assumption is the mother of all cock-ups.

 

 

MtB

[naema sufi]

1. He lost control of the horse and his boat ploughed into us, It took ages to sort the insurance. In fact we were unable to move for almost 6 months re all the engine repairs. Others complained about him running over the boat roof following a heated exchange. Police said it was trespass.

[magpie patrick]

I doubt the police have a full working knowledge of the law relating to operating boats on a navigation somehow.

 

For all those complaining about access onto boats etc, the situation is that the boat is in the middle of the waterway and it's motive power is on the towpath connected by 100 feet of rope. That rope is going over any moored boat one way or another, that's the law of physics not the law of the land. The only alternative is that he stops at your boat and waits until you are gone, by which time his passengers will be cold and hungry and probably late for work the next day.

[Guest]

I have no knowledge of the hose boat operator in question, so can't comment. I did however once volunteer to assist a different horse boat operator who turned out to be one of the rudest and most ignorant people I have ever had the misfortune to meet. I am sure that most horseboat operators are nice people though.

 

From my very limited experience, it would be impossible to operate such a boat without boarding moored boats at some point.

Edited June 8, 2013 by Guest

[RockSodem]

 

1. He lost control of the horse and his boat ploughed into us, It took ages to sort the insurance. In fact we were unable to move for almost 6 months re all the engine repairs. Others complained about him running over the boat roof following a heated exchange. Police said it was trespass.

 

Still waiting for news on how on earth the horse boat caused that amount of damage?? http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=53829&page=1

[ditchcrawler]

Still waiting for news on how on earth the horse boat caused that amount of damage?? http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=53829&page=1

Me too

[grahame r]

We passed this boat yesterday. It's a wonderful sight, something you don't see every day and our guests were thrilled to see and photograph it. It was heading east, we west, we pulled over to the left to allow them to pass unhindered and got a cheery thanks and a wave from crew and passengers. It's obviously not the easiest boat to handle and anything we can do to make it easier we will.

[Andy Mob]

Hi All

 

Thank you all for your responses... Very enlightening!!

 

I am happy to say the matter has come to a swift and frindly conclusion... with a litlle more respect from both sides.

 

I understand that some people will think I was in the wrong to bring this subject to this forum but I felt what happened was the worst thing that has happened to me on the canal.... And that includes people jumping on my boat at 3am and breaking down in the middle of the Blisworth ( and I mean in the middle) ..... But that is maybe for another blogg!!

 

Thank you for all your opinions ... positive and negative, they did help reslove the situation!!

 

Intersted in the private property thing... The police said that it is private property and you can defend it as if it were your house (Reasonable force) - Theft from a boat is treated as burglary - I assume that means something legal terminolgy!!

 

Definitive answer would be good though!

 

Still can't find Spell Check!! Should move to Google Chrome I suppose!!

 

Keep blogging

 

TTFN

[Starcoaster]

Was it last Friday you broke down in the middle of Blisworth tunnel, by any chance?

[kremmen]

As an aside.

 

Good to hear that the horse is well after this incident.

 

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/2013/firefighters-rescue-shire-horse-from-a-kintbury-lock

 

Paul

[blackrose]

The police said that it is private property and you can defend it as if it were your house (Reasonable force) - Theft from a boat is treated as burglary

 

 

You can certainly use reasonable force against someone who's breaking into your boat (if you happen to be there at the time), but I thought your problem was someone stepping on your boat in order to be able to manouvre their boat around yours, so why are you talking about "defending it"?

 

If the owner of any unpowered boat needs to step onto your boat it would be reasonable for them to knock and let you know before they stepped onboard and it wouldn't be reasonable for you to refuse unless you had a very good reason like you'd just painted it and it was still wet. It's certainly not reasonable for anyone to use force in that situation.

 

It sounds to me like you've completely overreacted by trying to defend your boat when it's not actually being attacked.

Edited June 26, 2013 by blackrose

[Starcoaster]

That exact thing with the wet paint happened to me last month. Someone tried to breast up to me while I was on a clearly marked private mooring (without asking and with no life or death reason other than that he wanted to go to the shop and all of moorings outside of the shop itself were full) the afternoon after I had painted.

I flew out and said "please don't, all of the paint on the roof, handrails and bow is tacky." The guy gave me a proper filthy look and took hold of my handrail anyway!! Then looked in total surprise at his hand (I can only think he assumed I was making it up about the paint!?) which was covered in tacky blue paint, and without thinking, then took hold of his own yellow handrail.

He left without saying a word. It fecked up my new paint a bit, but to be honest it was badly done anyway, and easier to correct than I assume it was on his!

[Jim Batty]

Has anyone else experienced aggressive and bullying behaviour from the owner of the horse boat on Kintbury (K&A Canal)? We are trying to decide on a course of action (i.e. whether to report him to the Police for his threatening behaviour yesterday) If he was just having a bad day, I might let it rest, if it a common occurrence I will take the matter further.... I think that is fair, is it?

 

Hi Andy

 

I just came across your post searching on 'Kintbury + horseboat' to see if anyone else had had problems very similar to those you describe.

 

I know what you mean by wanting to keep a level head and remain as objective as possible. And it seems strange to be accusing someone who runs something as traditional and utterly 'picturesque' as a horse boat of having such antipathy towards other boaters.

 

We have a nice boat, uncluttered and have always acted with full courtesy towards this fellow. Each summer for the last four years we have stopped in Kintbury -- usually for one or two weeks. As you know, it is a very pretty village surrounded by beautiful countryside and this should be the perfect place to stop. We never overstay the permitted times and we have always taken the trouble here to move our planters into the bow and semi-trad stern, leaving a clear run across the whole roof. I have told him (the owner) a number of time's it was fine to walk over our roof or along the gunwales when we are not around to ease the rope over the boat as the horse and boat passes.

 

Despite this, this fellow has sometimes been VERY aggressive towards us. We have witnessed him being EXTREMELY aggressive towards other boaters: literally yelling at them and verbally abusing them on the towpath. There are a number of incidents that have offended us and made us uncomfortable being here. Which is a real shame.

 

We too have tried to make our peace with him. But he doesn't seem to distinguish between 'good boaters' (helpful, on his side) and 'bad boaters', so as a result ALL boaters become a kind of enemy that 'get in his way' and 'try to wreck his business'. He honestly believes that boaters shouldn't be allowed to tie-up along this stretch of the K&A for more than a day or two. Seriously.

 

It's a strange world on the cut.

[MtB]

Well there are at least two overstayers at Kintbury at the moment. Or yesterday at least. I had a bike ride along the towpath yesterday afternoon and on my way back noticed two boats had Patrol Notices attached. Maybe the guy is on a short fuse because of the overstayers making like difficult for him, day in, day out.

 

No need for the unprovoked aggressive behaviour you describe, even so.

 

Andy, was it you we encountered broken down bang in the centre of the Blisworth tunnel and towed out a couple of weeks ago, Stoke Bruerne Festival weekend?

 

 

MtB

[Starcoaster]

If not, there must be something funky in the middle of Blisworth tunnel.

[Jim Batty]

Well there are at least two overstayers at Kintbury at the moment. Or yesterday at least. I had a bike ride along the towpath yesterday afternoon and on my way back noticed two boats had Patrol Notices attached. ...

 

 

MtB

 

Hi Mike

 

Well, it's interesting you noticed the patrol notices and came to the conclusion everyone who had one was an overstayer. Those were not overstaying notices. I was surprised to see one on our boat, having only arrived three days beforehand on a 14-day stretch of the towpath.

 

They were a blanket message from the C&RT Boating Trade Team politely asking people to help the horseboat guy in various ways. When I rang the manager of the team she was very apologetic and clearly dismayed that the message had been conveyed in such a 'formal' and negative way.