Windy

[Bettie Boo]

It's very windy here at Leighton Buzzsard today - looks like we'll be staying put today as ours tends to handle like a floating football pitch when the wind is up.

 

It's not too bad when coming from either head on or a "tail wind" but when it's blowing across the cut it's a different story altogether.

 

How's everyone else making out with this wind?

[mrsmelly]

It's very windy here at Leighton Buzzsard today - looks like we'll be staying put today as ours tends to handle like a floating football pitch when the wind is up.

 

It's not too bad when coming from either head on or a "tail wind" but when it's blowing across the cut it's a different story altogether.

 

How's everyone else making out with this wind?

 

I am at Trent lock on the Trent and its at least a force 8 absolutely unsafe to be on the river in a narrowboat. 2 have just gone past flat out going sideways, absolute stupidity.

 

Tim

[Tom Richmond]

Luckily I have no plans to go anywhere, but I did get out of bed in the night to check that all the plant pots were still on the roof.

[Ray T]

Holed up in Trinity Marina. Boat rocking beautifully, reminds me of being offshore.

[Rob-M]

It was pretty windy yesterday as I came out of the Icknield Port loop, through the Oozells Street loop and then tried turning left to head back to Icknield Port. Three times the wind thought I should turn the opposite direction and I ended up needing someone on the bank with a line to help pull the bows round.

[Naughty Cal]

We made sure we got back to the marina and had refuelled and got back on our berth before the wind got up yesterday.

 

Was definitely a day for doing jobs rather than battling with the wind.

 

Naughty-Cal is a bit like a leaf on a pond in windy weather!

[mrsmelly]

We made sure we got back to the marina and had refuelled and got back on our berth before the wind got up yesterday.

 

Was definitely a day for doing jobs rather than battling with the wind.

 

Naughty-Cal is a bit like a leaf on a pond in windy weather!

 

A floating crisp packet is the term I like

 

Tim

[Murflynn]

now, now !!

[alan_fincher]

Certainly is winy, isn't it!

 

Our 71' 6" of fairly heavily ballasted antique is staying on it's mooring, but because it is a pontoon out across the exposed cut, the wind is catching most of the boat side on.

 

Don't really expect a boat of this bulk to be keeling over quite as much.....

 

 

....... except I have been removing water pipes in the engine room bilge I thought were redundant! Now off to check none are actually connected to the canal!

Edited March 29, 2015 by alan_fincher

[Naughty Cal]

 

A floating crisp packet is the term I like

 

Tim

Either or. Both have the same effect!

[Phil Ambrose]

We have been sat on the bottom for over 3 weeks due to a breach downstream of us but.....today they allowed the level to come up and we are floating again , the wind is bouncing us around and we discovered we have been sat on the bottom fir so long our sea legs have gone!! Weird but true.

Phil

[Pie Eater]

Nearly got pinned on the offside when winding near the Axe and Cleaver on the Bridgewater Canal today.

 

Steve

[mark99]

Out today single handing "down" the Grand Union in rain and huge wind. (I much prefer going "up"!).

 

Oh the joys, boater in front was leaving both lower gates open leaving muggings to close them before filling lock. I tried to catch him but failed.

 

Found a new way of keeping troublesome "upper" lock gates closed (which kept blowing/falling open). When one upper gate closed, tie rope from upper gate (iron handle) to first upper bollard. Takes 20 seconds and is a real timesaver.

[matty40s]

The lock landings on the Nene are all notoriously short, a 70 footer would overhang the end on virtually all.

 

So coming down to Woodford Lock with the wind right to left, and wier to the left, finding this dicksplash having lunch on the upper lock landing did not leave kind words as greetings.

 

 

at Titchmarsh Lock I gave up for 20 minutes as it was impossible to see through the driving hail.

Edited March 29, 2015 by matty40s

[Murflynn]

The lock landings on the Nene are all notoriously short, a 70 footer would overhang the end on virtually all.

 

So coming down to Woodford Lock with the wind right to left, and wier to the left, finding this dicksplash having lunch on the upper lock landing did not leave kind words as greetings.

 

 

just breast up to him without asking and walk across his boat to set the lock. silly sod!

[mrsmelly]

just breast up to him without asking and walk across his boat to set the lock. silly sod!

 

Thats what I do and usualy with a good whack of the boat, trouble is it can be awkward climbing over another boat especialy when wet.

 

Bloody idiot.

 

Tim

[Tom Richmond]

just breast up to him without asking and walk across his boat to set the lock. silly sod!

 

Then do your best to find some mud to walk in before crossing back over his boat... Better yet cow pat!

[DeanS]

The lock landings on the Nene are all notoriously short, a 70 footer would overhang the end on virtually all.

 

So coming down to Woodford Lock with the wind right to left, and wier to the left, finding this dicksplash having lunch on the upper lock landing did not leave kind words as greetings.

 

 

at Titchmarsh Lock I gave up for 20 minutes as it was impossible to see through the driving hail.

 

I agree completely with your post, but find it a little humourous that in a gale, crab walking the boat down the canal...you still had the ability to take a perfectly focused photo. Well done ;-)

[Guest]

The problem is when you challenge nuggets like this they look at you with incredulity, as if you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

It's the same selfish mentality that leads people (With no blue badge holder on board) to park in blue badge spaces or parents who disregard keep clear zig zags outside schools, the rules that apply to everyone else don't apply to them.....we need to understand this.

Edited March 29, 2015 by MJG

[Bettie Boo]

 

I agree completely with your post, but find it a little humourous that in a gale, crab walking the boat down the canal...you still had the ability to take a perfectly focused photo. Well done ;-)

 

Sorry slightly; but what is "crab walking the boat" mean?

[Ange]

We were planning to set off from our winter mooring this weekend but decided otherwise, which is a shame because Dave will move the boat while I'm at work, and I was looking forward to at last doing a bit of boating.

 

Anybody know what tomorrow and Tuesday are looking like weather wise? We have to be off this mooring by Tuesday at the latest.

[Phil Ambrose]

Bettie, hiya, crab walking means that due to a high velocity side wind you have to drive with your bow into or towards the wind and doing so causes the boat to travel not straight but at an angle so sort of moving sideways like a crab. Of course you need to straighten up for bridge holes etc.

Phil

[bizzard]

Old vehicles with rear leaf springs would also crab along when a spring centre bolt sheered and the axle shifted in a saddle. But the boat crabbing problem can be alleviated by quite a large extent by bashing out all the windows so allowing much of the wind to whistle straight through the boat and out the other side so easing the pressure.

[Bettie Boo]

Bettie, hiya, crab walking means that due to a high velocity side wind you have to drive with your bow into or towards the wind and doing so causes the boat to travel not straight but at an angle so sort of moving sideways like a crab. Of course you need to straighten up for bridge holes etc.

Phil

 

Thanx Phil

 

I thought it would be something like that, tried googling it, but it just came up with crab boats and such.

 

Sounds fairly similar to what I used to do when I was first learning control of the tiller; although with me it was more of zigging and zagging

[Scholar Gypsy]

just breast up to him without asking and walk across his boat to set the lock. silly sod!

 

Yes, I had to do this once, arriving at 0800 at Whiston lock to find someone who had stopped overnight. If people really must stop briefly for lunch, they can do so on the landing stage below the lock which is much less likely to inconvenience other boaters....