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Single handed locking (on the GU)


Galeomma

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Looking at the video I reckon the tiller string has slipped off at the wrong moment.

 

Purely guessing, but the speed he crosses the gates and shuts the offside one tells me he intended to jump on the counter from the offside. Unfortunately, with the string off, the tiller has swung over and pushed the stern towards the towpath and out of reach.

 

Nothing left to do, but whistle and pretend it was all meant to happen.

 

What I do know is that the person who uploaded the video to Youtube is the same one operating the boat. Quite courageous really. I think I would have kept that one to myself!

 

George ex nb Alton retired

I think you're probably right about the tiller string, but if he needed to shut the bottom end up, he shouldn't have been doing it that way in any case. The right way (the way it was done) is by staying onboard, holding back as the counter passes the gates and pushing on the ends of the balance beams with the cabinshaft.

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I think you're probably right about the tiller string, but if he needed to shut the bottom end up, he shouldn't have been doing it that way in any case. The right way (the way it was done) is by staying onboard, holding back as the counter passes the gates and pushing on the ends of the balance beams with the cabinshaft.

Yes, I was just analysing what I think may have happened, not endorsing it, although I have used that method on deep locks when the reach up to the balance beam can get difficult. Of course, I have always been holding back so that when things go wrong at least the boat comes back to you.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

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What a complete wanker. Looking at all that, you could begin to think that the boat was glad to be rid of him. I've never seen anything like it . . . . . absolutely clueless from beginning to end. I wonder if the bloke with his flies undone was expressing an opinion about what was about to happen next.

 

I agree. He's trying all these tricks to make himself look good and just making a mess of the whole thing.

 

At the end of the video it looks like the boat might be grounded on the off-side. Why would anyone allow an unoccupied boat to leave a lock in gear? What did he think was going to happen? It's bound to hit something. Or perhaps he thought he'd have closed the lock gates and got back down to the boat ready to step on as it went past - in which case he should have shut the off-side gate first.

 

There are much simpler ways of single-handing boats. I sometimes bring my widebeam out of locks and then stop it and just leave a stern rope on the bank in case it does drift while I'm shutting the gates. it's just as quick as what he's trying to do and a lot less damaging to the boat and the lock gates.

Edited by blackrose
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The right way (the way it was done) is by staying onboard, holding back as the counter passes the gates and pushing on the ends of the balance beams with the cabinshaft.

I love it when there's a groove worn into the coping stones by boatmen and women doing just that, and your own cabin shaft goes in the same groove. There's some lovely ones down Tardebigge.

 

Maybe I'm just weird, though!

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I love it when there's a groove worn into the coping stones by boatmen and women doing just that, and your own cabin shaft goes in the same groove. There's some lovely ones down Tardebigge.

 

 

They're likely to be the last remaining evidence of the practice now, I would think. I can't imagine there are many gates and balance beams left that are old enough to have all the little holes in them that the shaft head made.

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Looks like a young Malcolm Burge to me.

Spot on Mike.

At least he was honest enough to put this video of 'getting it wrong' in the public domain.

He's posted a lot on youtube under the username Bargeeboy. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bargeeboy

 

He's a great character and I suggest that if Tony Dunkley calls in at Grendon dock or Alvecote he can call him a w**nker to his face. Shame how some people mouth off on this forum before knowing the facts.

Edited by Flyboy
  • Greenie 1
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Spot on Mike.

At least he was honest enough to put this video of 'getting it wrong' in the public domain.

He's posted a lot on youtube under the username Bargeeboy. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bargeeboy

 

He's a great character and I suggest that if Tony Dunkley calls in at Grendon dock or Alvecote he can call him a w**nker to his face. Shame how some people mouth off on this forum before knowing the facts.

 

 

Fanx!

 

It was an easy guess once I saw the name of the josher whacking the bottom gates so hard after the failed attempt at strapping to a halt!

 

GREYHOUND

 

 

MtB

P.S. And meant also to say, yes very sporting of him to post it. Bound to result in endless ribbing and piss taking at the next Avlecote rally!

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Spot on Mike.

At least he was honest enough to put this video of 'getting it wrong' in the public domain.

He's posted a lot on youtube under the username Bargeeboy. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bargeeboy

 

He's a great character and I suggest that if Tony Dunkley calls in at Grendon dock or Alvecote he can call him a w**nker to his face. Shame how some people mouth off on this forum before knowing the facts.

 

All these 'facts' you're on about are there for me, and everyone else, to see on that video clip throughout the entire length of it . . . there was a lot more to it than just the bit where the boat got so sick of him that it went off on it's own. It was't a clip of somebody 'getting it wrong', . . . that can happen to the best, and frequently did, but this was somebody who didn't have a clue how to get it right. Obviously you think otherwise and you're entitled to your opinion, but as far as I'm concerned that puts you in the same category as him.

  • Greenie 1
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All these 'facts' you're on about are there for me, and everyone else, to see on that video clip throughout the entire length of it . . . there was a lot more to it than just the bit where the boat got so sick of him that it went off on it's own. It was't a clip of somebody 'getting it wrong', . . . that can happen to the best, and frequently did, but this was somebody who didn't have a clue how to get it right. Obviously you think otherwise and you're entitled to your opinion, but as far as I'm concerned that puts you in the same category as him.

And what category would that be then?

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And what category would that be then?

 

You'll be able to work that out for yourself if you watch the video clip all the way through and see if you can spot everything he was doing wrong. The bloke who appeared 2 or 3 minutes in with his flies undone might be a clue . . . . . it wasn't you, was it ? . . . Flyboy ?

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You'll be able to work that out for yourself if you watch the video clip all the way through and see if you can spot everything he was doing wrong. The bloke who appeared 2 or 3 minutes in with his flies undone might be a clue . . . . . it wasn't you, was it ? . . . Flyboy ?

No, not me, sorry to disappoint. What's the relevance of the bloke with his flies undone, please enlighten me ?

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Or did he post it to illustrate getting it wrong?..cos otherwise why post summit like that of yourself?

 

I don't think that's very likely . . . . Granddad summed him very well in Post #67 -- ' confident and incompetent'.

There's another thread on here titled ' Captain Cargo, Brighton, Greyhound etc.', with links to two videos(the second one shows up after viewing at the end of the first) called 'Wisbech- Old glory'. In both videos there's quite a lot of Captain Crappo successfully keeping his boating down to the same standard.

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  • 1 month later...

 

I don't think that's very likely . . . . Granddad summed him very well in Post #67 -- ' confident and incompetent'.

There's another thread on here titled ' Captain Cargo, Brighton, Greyhound etc.', with links to two videos(the second one shows up after viewing at the end of the first) called 'Wisbech- Old glory'. In both videos there's quite a lot of Captain Crappo successfully keeping his boating down to the same standard.

Look mate, whilst your entitled to your opinion I assume you have never and will never get the opportunity to operate day in and day out Bolinder powered working narrowboats with butties and with out butties, loaded and empty on rivers and canals on jollies and for financial reward trained by those who were boating families.

 

So until I hear what YOUR credentials are I suggest you SHUT UP and stop calling people W*****S.

 

Enough said.

 

By the way I have had conversations with many old boatman who in their latter years confess to 'missing the motor' whilst working single handed on flights or indeed adopting a time saving technique of allowing the boat to run the shorter pounds on it's own whilst they worked the flight. The old 13 was one such flight where this is possible and I have first hand experience of this.

 

In 'old glory' most of the boating is carried out by retired professional ex-working boatmen.

Edited by giveitsomeoil
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Look mate, whilst your entitled to your opinion I assume you have never and will never get the opportunity to operate day in and day out Bolinder powered working narrowboats with butties and with out butties, loaded and empty on rivers and canals on jollies and for financial reward trained by those who were boating families.

 

So until I hear what YOUR credentials are I suggest you SHUT UP and stop calling people W*****S.

 

Enough said.

 

By the way I have had conversations with many old boatman who in their latter years confess to 'missing the motor' whilst working single handed on flights or indeed adopting a time saving technique of allowing the boat to run the shorter pounds on it's own whilst they worked the flight. The old 13 was one such flight where this is possible and I have first hand experience of this.

 

In 'old glory' most of the boating is carried out by retired professional ex-working boatmen.

 

Well, you did get one thing right in that load of tripe, the motors I worked all had National, Lister or Armstrong engines.

You'd have done better to find out about my 'credentials' before you started sounding off .

Edited by Tony Dunkley
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I'm pretty sure that none of us have the "credentials" to call someone (particularly someone who had the good grace to publicly post their own feck up on the internet almost 20 years later for their peers to enjoy!) a "wanker" with impunity based on one YouTube video, posted by the person who made the mistake and clearly titled to indicate such!

I mean, to me, that's just asking for karma to smack you upside the head pretty hard next time you go out boating.,..

Edited by Starcoaster
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