Setting of early in the day

[blackrose]

Its ridiculous advice for all the reasons already given. And it would only benefit a late riser moored close to you anyway. Its makes no difference to those you pass once under way.

 

I use 1m mooring stakes so it's usually me smacking them sideways with a hammer to get them out that wakes people up!

Late starter are you?

First light is the time to leave.

 

First light? Luxury...

[Keeping Up]

My brother and I are both fond of a bit of a lie-in, so on the various weekends I've spent on his boat I've often been woken up by the sound of the odd boat chugging past at some ungodly hour like 8am. That's fine, navigation is what canals are for, and it's a lot more pleasant sounding than my alarm clock.

 

If people want to move their boats early in the morning, or even all night, all I would expect is that they do their best to keep noise to the minimum necessary, running the engine just long enough at the mooring to be sure it's good and ready then moving off at a gentle pace.

 

I hate early mornings, such as are needed to catch the tide, with an absolute passion (so why have I entered the BCN challenge this year?) but I have never been so wonderfully disturbed from my slumbers as I was last year (again the BCN challenge's fault) by the sound of Crane's Bolinder passing at 3.30am half an hour before my alarm clock.

[David Mack]

First light? Luxury...

If we're going to get into a Four Yorkshiremen discussion, can I suggest you might be better off setting off the previous day, then it would still be light!

[pete harrison]

But isn't that exactly what working boaters did to avoid alerting others they were setting off, so they got to the next lock first?

Yes it is, and last done by me in 2007 when I wanted to get ahead of all of the other 'working' boats leaving Stoke Bruerne and all heading for Braunston. My pair were tied up at Braunston before lunch.

 

Lots of 2-pot old thumpers can't move off straight away if their batteries are low! Well not quickly anyway.

And semi diesels are even worse as they are rarely started by a battery

[zenataomm]

 

Lots of 2-pot old thumpers can't move off straight away if their batteries are low! Well not quickly anyway.

 

I've tried looking at this from every angle, but don't follow it.

The only thing low batteries will affect is turning it over to fire it up in the first place (assuming no handle start) certainly not how long until you move off or how quickly.

 

I guess my brain starts differently to yours?

[Loafer]

 

I've tried looking at this from every angle, but don't follow it.

The only thing low batteries will affect is turning it over to fire it up in the first place (assuming no handle start) certainly not how long until you move off or how quickly.

 

I guess my brain starts differently to yours?

 

A geezer with a Ruston Hornsby once told me that he had to run his engine for a while, to take the brunt of the battery recharge, before he could develop enough spare horsepower to move off.

 

Was that horses**t?

[pete harrison]

 

A geezer with a Ruston Hornsby once told me that he had to run his engine for a while, to take the brunt of the battery recharge, before he could develop enough spare horsepower to move off.

 

Was that horses**t?

Yes, that is 'horses**t' as once an old diesel is running then it will not stop until it is mechanically stopped, and the batteries will charge through the day's boating. A Ruston Hornsby will easily overcome the power requirement of a dynamo / alternator, even if at full electrical load

[Loafer]

Yes, that is 'horses**t' as once an old diesel is running then it will not stop until it is mechanically stopped, and the batteries will charge through the day's boating. A Ruston Hornsby will easily overcome the power requirement of a dynamo / alternator, even if at full electrical load

 

Right. That's it.

 

I'm now desperately trying to remember who it was so I can chase him and start MY engine 40 mins before I untie!!

[The Bearwood Boster]

I love really early starts in the summer months-nothing to compare with being in the 1st lock by 6 am.It doesn't bother us If someone sets off early if it's a day when we're not moving-we just have a nose to see who it is.Boating is all about chilling & enjoying.We do try to be as quiet as poss when making an early start but other early starters have never caused us hassle.

Trina

Edited February 27, 2015 by The Bearwood Boster

[Bettie Boo]

My brother and I are both fond of a bit of a lie-in, so on the various weekends I've spent on his boat I've often been woken up by the sound of the odd boat chugging past at some ungodly hour like 8am. That's fine, navigation is what canals are for, and it's a lot more pleasant sounding than my alarm clock.

 

If people want to move their boats early in the morning, or even all night, all I would expect is that they do their best to keep noise to the minimum necessary, running the engine just long enough at the mooring to be sure it's good and ready then moving off at a gentle pace.

 

My feelings exactly - we live on a boat, hence we expect to see & hear other boats on the move

 

Don't understand what the problem is really

 

If people expect the quietness of a little cul-du-sac that's where they should live; not on a canal

 

We always start the engine before we untie, and as others have mentioned, we make more noise tapping the pins loose than our engine does. But with that said, an early start for us is around 8:30 / 9:00 after breakfast and the dishes are done

[system 4-50]

Excellent idea. Then we can go on to ban road traffic between 11pm and 8am. And a ban on night shift workers having large motorbikes. And cockerels to be fitted with silencers. There must be more...

[blackrose]

The noise of engines or passing boats while I'm still in bed doesn't bother me either.

 

The only thing that does irritate me a little is the sound of a crew shouting at each other - often it's hire boaters who don't seem to realise other people are asleep and they don't really need to shout.

Edited February 27, 2015 by blackrose

[Naughty Cal]

Excellent idea. Then we can go on to ban road traffic between 11pm and 8am. And a ban on night shift workers having large motorbikes. And cockerels to be fitted with silencers. There must be more...

Don't forget church bells.

[matty40s]

 

Denham deep at sunrise today.

 

 

River Gade misting off.

 

 

Widewater lock at 8am

[Sea Dog]

Crack on at however early in the morning you like folks - as long as you're as considerate as you can be, whether you have an old thumper, hire boat, or rowing boat. Even if you wake me up, I don't mind as long as you're doing your best not to.

 

Conversely, if you're an inconsiderate git, get up early, bu99er off home and find another interest, preferably on a very small desert island a long way away.

[FadeToScarlet]

4:30am, on our old boat.

 

 

We have moved boats by bow hauling before, rather than starting the engine, to avoid waking other people up.

 

The moorers at Norton Canes probably wouldn't have been very happy with a very noisy air cooled Armstrong Siddeley AS2 starting at 3:30am! But then it was the BCN challenge.

Edited February 27, 2015 by FadeToScarlet

[roland elsdon]

Hmm very sensible. Untie butty, ( don't start its engine....)untie motor, drop into engine room, handcrank lister ,which may start, exit engine room, hopefully onto bank but it may not be there , walk down engine ole gunnels ( may icy , ) put on tiller bar, never start engine with tiller bar on, stop motor paddling like hell because listers usually do, look for butty, wait for engine to warm up so lister box will accept reverse, reverse to butty, pick up cross straps, jump off motor push butty stern out run down towpath push out motor bow, return to counter engage drive sort out cross straps. Whilst avoiding shiny paint of permanent moored continuous cruisers.

Alternative. Get up start engine put on tiller arrange cross straps untie motor untie butty go boating, having woken up the people who forget the canals are primarily not a residence.

 

Incidentally whilst living in London in the 80s everyone pushed their ford escorts around the corner to avoid waking others with the dawn chorus..

[alan_fincher]

 

I hate early mornings, such as are needed to catch the tide, with an absolute passion (so why have I entered the BCN challenge this year?) but I have never been so wonderfully disturbed from my slumbers as I was last year (again the BCN challenge's fault) by the sound of Crane's Bolinder passing at 3.30am half an hour before my alarm clock.

 

So which boat was your alarm clock on when it passed half an hour after Crane did?

[Keeping Up]

 

So which boat was your alarm clock on when it passed half an hour after Crane did?

 

On the Curly Wyrley spacetime continuum it was probably Cliff Richard's hovercraft.

[Loafer]

 

So which boat was your alarm clock on when it passed half an hour after Crane did?

His alarm clock must have passed him first.

[FadeToScarlet]

I hate early mornings, such as are needed to catch the tide, with an absolute passion (so why have I entered the BCN challenge this year?) but I have never been so wonderfully disturbed from my slumbers as I was last year (again the BCN challenge's fault) by the sound of Crane's Bolinder passing at 3.30am half an hour before my alarm clock.

It must've been very early in the morning for you to mistake the S type Petter (no hit and miss) for a Bolinder

[Keeping Up]

It must've been very early in the morning for you to mistake the S type Petter (no hit and miss) for a Bolinder

 

Being woken by it at 3.30am, I'm surprised I could even tell the difference from a misfiring BMC - but it still sounded a thousand times better than an alarm clock!

[Dave_P]

I do try to be as quiet as possible when setting off early. I wouldn't cast off before starting the engine, but I can't really see any harm in it on the canal if you don't have a vintage engine. When I have a really early start planned, I try and moor away from other boats.

[roland elsdon]

Besides in the old days around London the fishistsists had already woken you by 0500 on the weekend dragging trolleys up the canal and yelling at each other to stop disturbing the fish

[MHS]

I love peaceful early morning starts.

 

You're much more likely to see wildlife. We see more kingfishers early on. I've always assumed that it's easier for them to catch fish, as the water will be clearer before the boats churn everything up.