What Do You Do When You See Kids About To Throw Bricks At Your Boat

[Dave_P]

I have this Bizzard-style idea of installing a water cannon on the back of my boat. Would work a treat surely? Suck up water from the canal and thoroughly drench the stone-wielders with it! All you would need is a big pipe going into the water, a powerful water pump and a flexible hose for aiming with. Maybe you could even use the boat engine to power it?

 

On a more serious note, I also generally find engaging with them works best but I have experieced stone throwing even after having a friendly chat with the kids on the towpath. As soon as my back was to them, the stones starting flying.

 

Unlike previous posters, I would never allow strangers onto my boat. It just seems like it's asking for trouble. These sort of kids are used to pushing the boundaries of what they can do. Once you've let them on your boat, you risk them sticking to you like limpets and eyeing up more opportunities to cause trouble, theft vandalism etc. I always say I'm not insured to let them on.

[PaddingtonBear]

Get my chav beater or keb out, works at home, the buggers never walk past the house let alone even think of doing anything - that is if they are capable of thinking at all. I suppose that the reason that NC had such success was that they recognised a chav boat

[onionbargee]

have a flash camera handy, charged up ready, one flash and you will never see their feral faces again. works everytime.

[paul68]

I stand on bridges sometimes but my mum told me never to accept sweets from strangers.

with half bricks in hand......

[dmr]

Like...........where's the nearest police station or detention centre?

 

No, I don't think that is entirely what I had in mind!

 

A few years ago we shared some locks with a boat going up the Hanwell flight in Brentford and he had an app on his mobile phone that showed how many ASBO's there were in the local area. This certainly helps you decide if you want to moor for the night or just push on!

 

.............Dave

[Black Ibis]

The only time we had stones thrown was on the Stratford. Unfortunately the perpetrators were hidden so engaging wasn't an option, and I did get my camera out, but they remained out of sight, and a few more were lobbed. Luckily no damage was sustained.

[Jerra]

On the Caldon going through Milton. The bridge they were on was quite highand a bit far off for a conversation without shouting - which immediately sounds like either aggression or fear!

The only time I have had a problem with thrown stones was probably the same bridge in March this year. Two teenage girls one small stone and they wandered off when a camera was pointed at them.

[Hair Bear Bunch]

Think yourself lucky with the half bricks...

We were approaching a bridge with some kids on, they waved, we waved, they dissapeared below the parapet and came back up with the top 3' or so of a brick gate post. As luck would have it the boat was only a 14' plastic, and an engine faliure earlier in the day meant my canal engine had been swapped for the larger inshore engine so an unexpected handfull of throttle saw the post land behind us but still within splashing distance. If it had landed on us there's no doubt it would have gone straight through. The wharf beside the bridge was full of large expensive caravans but I couldn't possibly suggest they were connected with the individuals involved.

Also had bottles and glasses thrown from a pub garden and stones from anglers after one shouted 'slow down' and I asked if they had licences. I think I got my answer!

[Darren72]

I'd tend to do an emergency stop and let OH and the dogs off. If they do then lob the half charlies, I shout " Hope you can run?"

[stickleback]

The only time I have had a problem with thrown stones was probably the same bridge in March this year. Two teenage girls one small stone and they wandered off when a camera was pointed at them.

[junior]

Is it only up north this happens?

[PaulG]

A kid threw a biscuit at us today. Does that count as a serious assault?

[stickleback]

To my very great surprise, after we had gone under and beyond the bridge, the kids popped up again - all girls, all about 15 / 16 (though not easy to be sure given distance and makeup) and three of them. I had expected them to be boy thugs not girl thugs!!!

A kid threw a biscuit at us today. Does that count as a serious assault?

If this is in any way a serious reply to what I had hoped might be a serious thread - then it depends on the age of the biscuit and who had made it. I do remember a friend of my mother who used to make aptly named Rock Cakes

[Ray T]

Is it only up north this happens?

No happened to us in Coventry a couple of years ago.

 

Again a camera was the answer.

[Dyertribe]

A kid threw a biscuit at us today. Does that count as a serious assault?

Crumbs!

[Keeping Up]

I spotted a similar group of brick-carrying youths on the Wyrley and Essington once. As I approached I pointed the broken, old camera (that I keep for just such an occasion) at them and shouted "OK everyone stand still and smile please, it's group photo time" and to my utter astonishment they all put down the bricks, lined up, and smiled for the camera!

[Ange]

We got pelted with apples once in Birmingham. No chance to talk to or engage with the kids, the first we knew they were there was when the apples started hitting the boat. The worst of it was that it soon became apparent that they were aiming at Millie

[DeanS]

I spotted a similar group of brick-carrying youths on the Wyrley and Essington once. As I approached I pointed the broken, old camera (that I keep for just such an occasion) at them and shouted "OK everyone stand still and smile please, it's group photo time" and to my utter astonishment they all put down the bricks, lined up, and smiled for the camera!

 

I'm going to get my old camera out as a prop too Worried about my solar panels...and stones.

[nebulae]

Had a rain of railway ballast hit us aproaching main line railway bridge in Wolverton(Grand Union).Lept off boat making angry noises.(one smashed window). This is the main line 4 track railway. Three small juveniles ran across tracks and diapeared. Phoned police who said <what do you expect us to do about it>Next to encouraging children to play in the fast lane of the M1,I cant think of a more dangerous place for them to be.

[Biggles]

Most of the time when we cruise I have a timelapse camera taking an HD photo every 2 seconds. So that would get them, but of course prevention is better than cure. The time lapse camera is not that obvious so getting a nice big camera out and pointing it at them would probably prevent them.

 

Thing is if word got around that boats have a CCTV system running it would eventually penetrate social media like You Tube of such acts of vandalism enough to make the media savvy youf of today to find another pastime.

[MHS]

How about putting a Jimmy Saville mask on. That should get them running!!

Edited August 7, 2013 by MHS

[DHutch]

Engage them in conversation as soon as you are within shouting distance. Not agreessive but just asking things like do the live round here etc. Keep chatting as you go past and look back and continue the conversation. I have found that the stones or bricks are usually casually dropped behind them as they seem to have a dislike of chucking stuff at someone who is talking to them. Has worked for us several times

This would be my tack.

If they are off their heads on drink or drugs then just take cover, but otherwise engage them in conversation.

Also this!

[MaryP]

My worst experience was going out of Brum on the Grand Union. I'd just been thinking how easy Brum had been when.....

 

Up on a really high bridge I saw some teen boys. As usual I smiled and waved - as close as I could get to engaging them. One of them said "oh look, she's waving".

 

Next moment, one of them who was positioned perfectly lifted a small tree / large branch over the parapet, and smiling at me aimed perfectly for the boat. It made contact with a loud thump about 3 feet from me. If it had hit me I'd have been badly injured, but my tough little Springer didn't even get a dent!

 

As I was single handed, and as the kids could have out run the boat, I just carried on as if nothing had happened - didn't give them the satisfaction of any reaction at all.

Once I was half a mile away, and out of sight of the bridge I phoned 999. They sent someone straight away, but as there was no actual damage done to me or the boat, I didn't hear anything.

 

The incident scared me witless, and I didn't stop until I was at Copt Heath Wharf. That night, every time I heard a sound I was wide awake.

 

Me and my little boat have done about half the system with friends / family / single handing, but I have not felt that frightened before or since.

[Doorman]

A few years ago we shared some locks with a boat going up the Hanwell flight in Brentford and he had an app on his mobile phone that showed how many ASBO's there were in the local area. This certainly helps you decide if you want to moor for the night or just push on!

 

.............Dave

What a brilliant idea!

 

Although there will be some of the 'my bleeding hearts' brigade on here who will complain that the ASBO information is an infringement of the little darling's human rights.

 

Forearmed is forewarned.

Edited August 8, 2013 by Doorman

[Keeping Up]

A few years ago some youths dropped a lump of parapet on the front of our boat as I passed under a bridge on the Old Main Line. It bounced off the roof first but still hit Pingu on the head hard enough that she had to go to hospital and be put back together again. The police weren't the slightest bit interested, saying that the kids would probably have run away by now so there was no point in them attending.

 

A couple of days later another lump of the same parapet was dropped from a bridge 50 yards away - except this bridge went over the M5 motorway and the bricks went through the windscreen of a lorry. The driver was killed (actually by having a heart attack at the shock, apparently) and of course the area was then swarming with police, TV crews, newspaper reporters, etc. If the police had bothered to take notice of our incident, the following day's events might have been prevented.