How shiny are you

[Guest]

 

Back on topic...well it certainly was at Middlewich the other week in the chaos at and under the bridge at the junction of the T&M and the Middlewich branch. Fairground dodgems would have had less contact.

That is because Maureen is no longer around to keep things moving. She would have had none of this dodgem stuff on her Wardle Arm.

[Jo_]

I like my boat being shiny and clean. I like my house being shiny and clean. I like shiny and clean. I like showering. I like perfume. I like polish. I like nice smells. I like flowers. I like clean windows. I like clean things with clean written on them. It pleases me. And, as they say, whatever floats your boat ....... So there!

 

And the sun is shining and it's a beautiful evening and we have friends coming in for a meal. The water is glittering, the wind has dropped and it's time to crack the first bottle of wine!

[DeanS]

I have just done the L&L, and then turned round and did it again in the other direction. I lost all my fenders on lock gates on the way there, so by the time I got back again, all my sides have been scratched.....and trees have scratched the rest..

 

No worries! I just found a 1litre tin of matt black paint, and spent the morning touching up one side

[Guest]

I do wonder sometimes where people find the time to keep the boats we sometimes see 'so' shiny.

 

We like to care for and keep our boat looking tidy and reasonably smart but some we see look like they have just been craned in at the builders (despite us knowing they haven't)

 

Keeping a boat looking tidy takes time enough, keeping one really 'shiny' must take oodles of time that could be spent actually boating......

[john6767]

 

...don't talk to me about bloody contact sports! Son travels home yesterday to help out his old football team by playing today. Now in hospital with definite broken ankle and possibly broken leg as well.

Football's for sissy's get him playing a proper game like rugby, then you will get on first name terms with the staff at A&E.

[Québec]

Blimey, That's bad luck, hope he's better soon.

 

Seconded. Hope it's a quick recovery.

 

Back

Thanks....just the ankle, thankfully. Clean break but also badly torn ligaments. Plaster cast for c. 6 weeks.

He's a student so could be worse in terms of timing, but going to hit his (non-existent) bank balance as he also does regular part-time work on zero-hours contract...so no protection, and they won't give him any work as long as he's in plaster.

 

ETA @John6767 - he's been playing football since he was 7, and he is intimately known to A&E in at least eight of our local/regional hospitals. He also used to play rugby - managed to acquire a couple of bruises at most.

Edited August 25, 2013 by Québec

[Guest]

I do wonder sometimes where people find the time to keep the boats we sometimes see 'so' shiny.

 

We like to care for and keep our boat looking tidy and reasonably smart but some we see look like they have just been craned in at the builders (despite us knowing they haven't)

 

Keeping a boat looking tidy takes time enough, keeping one really 'shiny' must take oodles of time that could be spent actually boating......

That is about my take on it; I try to find a balance.

[john6767]

 

ETA @John6767 - he's been playing football since he was 7, and he is intimately known to A&E in at least eight of our local/regional hospitals. He also used to play rugby - managed to acquire a couple of bruises at most.

Just realised I forgot to say, I hope he is ok, if was a tongue in cheek comment which would have had a smiley had I not been posting in a phone.

 

On topic, our boat is very not shiny. But we have just been talking about getting it painted after next years BCN Challenge, not sure how I will cope with a shiny boat though.

[Guest]

Just realised I forgot to say, I hope he is ok, if was a tongue in cheek comment which would have had a smiley had I not been posting in a phone.

 

On topic, our boat is very not shiny. But we have just been talking about getting it painted after next years BCN Challenge, not sure how I will cope with a shiny boat though.

Don't worry about it. You can get "dulling spray" which photographers use on too shiny a surface

[Theo]

I am more than happy to have a brushed on look with the paint and a bit of mud and the odd battle scar but I do hate dull brass. Particularly the tiller.

 

This proves that I, too, am a sad old git...

 

 

N

[Guest]

I am more than happy to have a brushed on look with the paint and a bit of mud and the odd battle scar but I do hate dull brass. Particularly the tiller.

 

This proves that I, too, am a sad old git...

 

 

N

I too dislike dull brass, so much so that I painted the roof vents. Like most metals, it is the easiest way to stop oxidisation.

Edited August 25, 2013 by Guest

[Neil2]

I too dislike dull brass, so much so that I painted the roof vents. Like most metals, it is the easiest way to stop oxidisation.

Do you know I'd never thought of that, and no I'm not being sarcastic. What a good idea, my last boat I tried everything to get the mushrooms shiny to no avail.

[Guest]

Do you know I'd never thought of that, and no I'm not being sarcastic. What a good idea, my last boat I tried everything to get the mushrooms shiny to no avail.

The mushroom vents on our boat are the only things that don't need any work to stay really really shiny.

 

I have no idea why but they look as good now as they did over three years ago when we bought the boat, with no work other than being washed occasionally. The boat was four years old when we bought it.

 

Sadly the same could not be said of the crap 'brass effect' tunnel light and horn which we have just binned, tarnished beyond repair.

 

I'd love to know where Bath Narrow boats sourced our vents from as I would freely recommend them.

[Guest]

Do you know I'd never thought of that, and no I'm not being sarcastic. What a good idea, my last boat I tried everything to get the mushrooms shiny to no avail.

Me too. I tried all kinds of stuff; oven cleaner, brown sauce, brasso and other stuff. I decided I preferred sailing to polishing so off to bandq for some Hammerite Special Metlals primer (good tack). Fine wet and dried the beggars down, then primed, u/c and painted. Much better now. The only improvement for me would be to have no roof vents at all (my pet hate.)

[Nightwatch]

Not to impress prospective customers. then?

 

Nice.

Nah! Dun away with that idea. The devil you know etc..... For the time being anyway.

 

May win the lottery one day.

 

Delay in reply as we are now home.

 

Martyn

[Naughty Cal]

Contact between boat and other boats and boat and dry land/pontoons/jetties etc is normal whatever your boat is made out of, but owners of grp boats for obvious reasons go to a little more trouble to make sure there's a fender between the boat hull and whatever it's coming into contact with. Because most NB's are steel, it's not as important to buffer the contact zone, and I think this does lead to a slightly sloppier approach and the ubiquitous cry of "it's a contact sport" every time an unintentional collision occurs, as if it was a reasonable excuse for poor technique.

 

But on the other hand I remember the guy who taught me navigation, (and he had a Sealine ocean cruiser worth £200,000) said the only way to make sure you never scratch your boat is to leave it in the marina.

 

As for this slowing down past moored boats business as I said the last time it was aired, the response should be go onto the Thames and try telling passing boats to slow down.

 

It's funny how only the members of this forum seem to know how to tie up their boats properly.

We have done a reasonably good job of going out (a lot) without scratching the boat in the last few years. So I don't really buy the chaps theory.

 

Some seem to use the contact sport reasoning as an excuse for bad helming rather than making an effort to moor up with no contact. I don't buy that either.

[luctor et emergo]

I wonder if fishing boats come into harbour, bouncing of other boats? Or ferries? Or oil tankers? Or grain barges? Or container ships? Or cruise liners? Oh' well maybe Italian cruise liners do....

 

The canal is a completely different area to move a boat, because it is by it's nature shallow, which limits the control under certain circumstances. But it is never an excuse for crap handling skills

[Delta9]

We have done a reasonably good job of going out (a lot) without scratching the boat in the last few years. So I don't really buy the chaps theory.

 

Some seem to use the contact sport reasoning as an excuse for bad helming rather than making an effort to moor up with no contact. I don't buy that either.

I recently did my Helmsmans course. The method for mooring up that the instructor taught us involved the front of the boat making contact with the bank. I was hesitating while doing it as I normally try to avoid it, but he said "don't worry about hitting the bank, boating is a contact sport."

[luctor et emergo]

I recently did my Helmsmans course. The method for mooring up that the instructor taught us involved the front of the boat making contact with the bank. I was hesitating while doing it as I normally try to avoid it, but he said "don't worry about hitting the bank, boating is a contact sport."

 

That's crap.

 

Teaching people to step of the front of the boat, is bad practise.

 

And apart from inclement weather conditions, you should be able to bring a boat 'along side' without hitting the bank.

[Delta9]

That's crap.

 

Teaching people to step of the front of the boat, is bad practise.

 

And apart from inclement weather conditions, you should be able to bring a boat 'along side' without hitting the bank.

He didn't teach us to step off the front, in fact he specifically warned us against it. What gave you that impression?

[luctor et emergo]

Why else would you let the front of the boat make contact with the bank?

[sooty]

Everybody has an opinion but ....... two narrowboats in a lock = contact sport !

I try and keep the cabin sides 'nice' anything below that and its not worth the stress.

Patch up the scratches to stop the rust and a quick coat of paint around the gunnels every year.

Having just done the chesterfield canal ..... don't take your 'shinny' boat up there....... without lots of Tcut :-)

[Delta9]

Why else would you let the front of the boat make contact with the bank?

No idea, that's just how he taught us. To be honest I try to avoid it when I'm on my own.

[luctor et emergo]

No idea, that's just how he taught us. To be honest I try to avoid it when I'm on my own.

No idea, that's just how he taught us. To be honest I try to avoid it when I'm on my own.

Indeed, that's why i questioned it. He taught wrong.

Everybody has an opinion but ....... two narrowboats in a lock = contact sport !

I try and keep the cabin sides 'nice' anything below that and its not worth the stress.

Patch up the scratches to stop the rust and a quick coat of paint around the gunnels every year.

Having just done the chesterfield canal ..... don't take your 'shinny' boat up there....... without lots of Tcut :-)

Only if you don't know what you're doing.

Edited August 25, 2013 by luctor et emergo

[Delta9]

Indeed, that's why i questioned it. He taught wrong.

fair enough. The entire course seemed to be a bit of a waste of time and money.