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Whats scarier than meeting a Large Northwich/Woolwich at a Bridge Hole?


Rufford

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Possibly a loaded pair of the same origins on a long lime. Even if you stop the motor, the butty will soon be along to remedy that.

 

You'll know when it's stopped - it'll be pretty much sideways across the cut.

 

Edited to add: Was it us? I believe they're on the South Oxford.

Edited by twbm
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I believe it was Whitby and Darly? I think, I was too busy flapping to take in names! And yes, I finally got the deal done and picked her up on Saturday. Going through the first lock was a bit nervous (will she fit length ways AND width ways??)

 

Other noteable occurances were; my mate taking the helm for 5 minutes while I popped inside, I came back out just in time to see him nearly write off not one, not two but a Marina full of plastic boats, he also broke the gear stick lever when he panicked and slammer her into reverse (and this chap is an engineer AND lives on a plastic boat! Thankfully the gear lever has the same diameter as a lock handle, so now I dont have a gear stick but rather a 'gear peddle' stamp once for neutral and twice for reverse, and give it a good shove for forwards).

 

After that I pretty much glued myself to the tiller, they are such big heavy boats to steer - the right line must be taken and a moments lapse of concentration will send the boat off the correct line and into boats/banks/marina's. I really have no idea how 'back in the day' the boatmen used to do it. I did a 16 hour day on Sunday and Im buggered. And that is not taking into account the strong wind we had or the shallow patches where all steering is lost (and Im pretty sure Rufford is not as deep as many ex working boats, so god knows how they cope!).

 

Also I have discovered that the drinking water on Rufford is not safe to drink. (Discovered that the hard way). We also got stuck a few times, I have a rather titanicesque photo of Rufford at a good 45 degree angle which I shall be posting as soon as it loads.

Im still just flabbergasted at how different to handle Rufford is to my small 55ft boat, so much heavier and it doesnt turn in the middle but slightly forward of the middle, and forget stopping her with a rope when mooring up, reverse HAS to be used. Im sure I will get used to her and gain more confidence - it doesnt help when you have a slightly mad frenchman on the bow shouting out warnings and not knowing when it is our right of way (got fed up of reversing/stopping when their was either enough room to get past or we were at the bridge hole first/passing a moored boat first etc). I think I am going to put a camera on the bow - that should help a fair bit.

 

What a weekend! 44 miles and 17 locks in 23 hours and certainly not a boat I would like to single hand!

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I'll tell you what is scarier than meeting a Large Northwich/Woolwich at a Bridge Hole, its me driving my newly aquired Northwich and meeting two Large Northwich/Woolwich boats at a bridge hole. Damn do these things even stop?

It and/or you having a Bolinder installed, so its a lottery if either of you are going to stop.

Congrats on finalising your purchase, and what a good description of why a full size traditional boat is such a handful, it does get easier,but the level of alertness you have to keep has to remain, because not only are you thinking what you are going to do but what the other boats are going to do.

We had one leap out in front of us so they could claim the lock ahead, only to stem up across the cut in front of us, that was a bit hairy.

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Possibly a loaded pair of the same origins on a long lime. Even if you stop the motor, the butty will soon be along to remedy that.

 

You'll know when it's stopped - it'll be pretty much sideways across the cut.

 

Edited to add: Was it us? I believe they're on the South Oxford.

we are moored just to the South of Banbury and 'your two' went past last evening. A cheerful wave by all on board.

 

Martyn

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Oh Rufford does handle like a dream, especially now I am getting a little used to her - I think was mainly ballsed up the journey was a) not knowing the canals and having a shite map and B) trying to rush. Normally I like to go everywhere on tick over - however seeing as we were 'on a mission' we were shifting a little (still a lot slower than other boats may I add!). Also the difference in rev's and speed is odd, just a few extra rev's and she seems to go twice the speed so I must admit that the speed can creep up on you. And the bloody gear changes are hardwork!

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I know how you feel, having gone from an 11 ton 48' boat to a 26 ton 72' boat! Some very scary moments.

 

The main difference I found between steering a modern shallow boat and a deep drafted full length boat is the effect that the depth will have on steering.

 

The back end if you're slightly out of the channel will want to head towards shallow water. This can make steering hard work and problematic to say the least! You can use it to your advantage on corners- put the back end near the outside of the bend at the right time and the boat will steer itself around without using the tiller- it's like magic.

 

I really recommend Chris Deuchar's "A Boater's Guide To Boating" to explain all this clearly and well, and membership of HNBC if you're not already a member.

  • Greenie 1
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Speaking of bows, I would quite like to know why the bow of Whitby is bigger than Rufford. Is it because of the weight of the cabin? Or is it just a smaller bow?

 

And yes, I do have bow envy, I want the biggest bow!

*pedantry alert* fore end.

 

It's the same size, but you've probably got a fair bit of ballast under the floors which will keep the fore end down.

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I shall have to address the problem then, I will be putting a 400kg generator in the engine room so I would imagine that will bring the back end down and the front end up smile.png

 

Only slightly. WHITBY probably only draws about 6" at the fore end unladen which is why the bows appear so high.

 

RUFFORD on the other hand is carrying several tons of cabin conversion and contents I'd say, and no amount of weight added to the back (within reason) will bring the fore end as high out of the water as an unconverted and unladen big Northwich.

 

MtB

P.S. congrats on your eventually successful purchase by the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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You certainly don't want the front end anything like as high out of the water as Whitby, unless you want to possibly remove some of the cabin conversion on something unexpected!

 

My impression of the boat is that the ballasting was about right and sensible, and until you have gained good experience of it, don't do too much to alter it very much.

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It is listing slightly to port (every bloody boat I buy always lists to port!) and the generator (400kg) will be going on the starboard side, and then 750kg of batteries underneath the bed, once that is all done I'll have to see about rebalasting her. Fun :P


Also I may need a new cratch cover thanks to a pesky low bridge and a lapse in concentration :(

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After that I pretty much glued myself to the tiller, they are such big heavy boats to steer - the right line must be taken and a moments lapse of concentration will send the boat off the correct line and into boats/banks/marina's. I really have no idea how 'back in the day' the boatmen used to do it. I did a 16 hour day on Sunday and Im buggered. And that is not taking into account the strong wind we had or the shallow patches where all steering is lost (and Im pretty sure Rufford is not as deep as many ex working boats, so god knows how they cope!).

 

Im still just flabbergasted at how different to handle Rufford is to my small 55ft boat, so much heavier and it doesnt turn in the middle but slightly forward of the middle, and forget stopping her with a rope when mooring up, reverse HAS to be used. Im sure I will get used to her and gain more confidence.

 

 

It will soon get easier. You will soon learn that everything takes a bit longer with a boat like this, and you need to anticipate gearchanges earlier than on a lightweight boat with a morse lever and an eggwhisk! You will also gain the ability to 'feel' the channel - once you have this the steering gets a whole lot easier.

 

If it feels like you are forever wrestling with the tiller, proceeding in great S-bends down the cut and quite unable to keep the boat going in a straight line, then knock the revs down a bit. Not only will the steering get easier, but the boat speed will barely change - it may even go a little faster. Too much revs in a shallow channel just sucks the back end down, so you drag on the bottom, lose steering, burn more diesel and create more engine noise.

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Im sure it will get easier, and also I will get fitter - the strength/weight required to swing the tiller round is not exactly miniscule. I must admit I have a new found dislike for any boat that moors near a bridge, on a bend or near any low over hanging trees - they can certainly make travelling challenging. And I did find that the difference between tick over and more rev's is very minimal, we even had to turn the tick over down - I still think it needs turning down a little more.

 

I really want to get back on her tonight and move again, but after 16 hours yesterday im knackered...might do an hour or two later tho :)

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Congrats on your new boat, and good luck with doing it up and learning the ropes!

 

I would disagree that living on a boat means you don't get the work done - although it is very stressful, living on it and relying on it for your daily life does sharpen the mind!

 

Also another vote for Chris Deuchar's Boater's Guide to Boating for reading up on steering a full length boat - you can buy it from http://hnbc.org.uk/shop

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This is quite a refreshing topic. Ex working boats occasionally get a bit of stick on here, sometimes deserved I'll admit, but it's good to read about someone's experience of converting from a modern cruiser and finding out just how different it is.

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