Jump to content

Stopping tidily at lock landings...


MtB

Featured Posts

i give up trying to find the best way to do it, i just get the stern near the bank, jump off with center line and drag it in...

But if you do that AGES before the lock landing it looks so controlled they all think you meant it .............

 

Tidy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dun it feel good tho when you get it right and some peeps are watching.

 

Hey! Mike. Hows about fitting a very, very quiet bow thruster or two?

I won't tell anyone....honest.wink.png

 

Rob....

 

 

Well yes that would do the trick, BUT....

 

I look down on boaters who can't handle their boat without using the girlie button.

 

Which includes ME, obviously!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Step off with the stern rope?

 

This is how I do it:

david_mack_leaps_off_fulbourne.jpg

 

Photo by Andrew Denny on Granny Buttons blog. http://www.grannybuttons.com/granny_buttons/2006/08/fulbourne_at_na.html

 

 

Tried this once, onto the pontoon in the marina, nearly ended up in the water... being a non swimmer i decided it was never going to be tried again!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am just reassured that experienced boaters have trouble with this. I never found it too difficult with various hire boats over the years but in the five days I spent bringing Vulpes home I found it a struggle. I can get the bow or stern in but not both. Being only 35' long there were a couple of occasions when I nearly ended up facing the opposite way entirely. Being a deeper draughted boat with a bigger prop I now have some clues as to why. I figured I just needed practice but it seems maybe it's more than that.

 

JP

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And of course, with no one watching, I pulled it off perfectly at Cosgrove Lock today. Pointed the bow at the lock landing, swung the stern in inches in front of the boat moored next door to the landing, and stepped off as the boat came parallel to the landing and almost - but not quite - touching. Strapped the boat to a halt gently while admiring the uprooted bollard next to the one I was using. There's never an audience when you want one...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And of course, with no one watching, I pulled it off perfectly at Cosgrove Lock today. Pointed the bow at the lock landing, swung the stern in inches in front of the boat moored next door to the landing, and stepped off as the boat came parallel to the landing and almost - but not quite - touching. Strapped the boat to a halt gently while admiring the uprooted bollard next to the one I was using. There's never an audience when you want one...

 

 

I get the sort of inverse to this once in a while. I arrive at a lock landing, cock it up monumentally with a massive audience, sort it out and alight from the boat. Then a gongoozler approaches me and say something along the lines of "Ooo that was a pleasure to watch. I can see you're expert at this and know exactly how to handle a boat".

 

Had this several times now and I usually can't help myself quibbling with the bloke about whether I did it right, rather than accepting his compliment gracefully!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I get the sort of inverse to this once in a while. I arrive at a lock landing, cock it up monumentally with a massive audience, sort it out and alight from the boat. Then a gongoozler approaches me and say something along the lines of "Ooo that was a pleasure to watch. I can see you're expert at this and know exactly how to handle a boat".

 

Had this several times now and I usually can't help myself quibbling with the bloke about whether I did it right, rather than accepting his compliment gracefully!

Maybe they were just being sarcastic :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm amazed no-one has mentioned the effect a cross wind can have. In the right direction it can make even me look good, the other way and ...................!

 

I usually find there is someone ahead of me at locks so I rarely have the chance of mooring on the lock landing anyway. The times I single hand, going up, I put the bows into the vee of the gates in forward and gently open the paddles. Do it right and the boat doesn't shoot backwards and then forwards again ramming the gates (does empty the lock quicker though).

Coming down I find easier, I have even left the boat at an angle across the top gate, with the engine slow ahead - mooring by propellor!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

i'm very inexperienced having not yet had much time since buying a cruiser, as the biggest boat i have used before was a 12 ft speed boat in comparrisin for me 23 ft is like piloting narrow boat to me ;).

 

Being a Viking 6 birth with helm steering i will zone on on a mooring post and gently drift past it, i can then lean out from the stern to drop a bow line around it. i reverse while keeeping control of the bow using line slack.

 

i can then loop another mooring post, engine noe to neutral i can use both lines ti secure while remaining in the boat.

 

My wife can not help much due to replacement knee joints, and she is not confident controlling the boat, i'm not as agile as i once was. I'm sure it will generate shock and horrer in the community but works like a charm for us.

 

Casting off is much the reverse procedure of above, just must to remember to re-embark the wife first lol!

 

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

It's interesting that when we used to borrow my mate's boat it was never an issue. This was a mike Haywood /Evans & son (same hull as the fincher's "chalice") fairly shallow drafted boat. But when we got Telemachus (2'8" draft, big prop, lots of stopping power) suddenly it was a big issue.

 

Wot I to to do is: come in fairly slowly. I'll perhaps hit reverse a bit before starting to come in so the boat is going slow, then into fwd to come in at quite a sharp angle. Just before the bow is going to contact I'll give a good shove of the rudder to keep the bow off (mustn't scratch the shiny paint!) and bring the stern in. We've got a big rudder so the response even at tickover is "a lot" but I spect you have too. As soon as the angular velocity has built up - ie stern has momentum towards the bank - I'll hit reverse. Hopefully the boat stops with the back right in and front nearly so, I hit neutral and hop off with the centre line. Although the boat has stopped nearly against the bank, if I don't get the line around something pdq, T-boat will be off across the canal in a jiffy. Water swirls past between the bank and the boat (left over vortices from the reverse) for ages, pushing the boat away.

 

In fact perhaps the correct answer is to aim for the opposite bank, hit reverse and wait a few moments, then the boat will cross the canal and end up on the side you really wanted to go to in the first place. That would be called "fooling the boat" but probably it will soon get the idea and change its behaviour.

Same way i do it, very rarely dose it not work unless there is like yesterday (a pile of rocks right where the back end is and pushes it out or stops the boat)

 

I think the prob is some people come in a bit to quick but at the right angle swing the back in but because there too quick have to wind on reverse and the wash pushes them out.

 

Another thing that makes a diffrence is your prob if its set up just right you dont need to wind it right up a little reverse over a longer time can work just as good as winding it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This all goes well till the bolinder decides its turned into ether my wife or a 5 year old and thows its toys out. It was intresting that when we went to the port in 2014 watching my dads reaction to me steering when mooring was a shock of panic as i did the same thing to moor next to a boat watching him as i got closer and closer the swung it and stoped the boat in the slot with a few inches from the boat in front and an inch all the way down the side next to the other boat.

But another time youll get a gust of wind and it would all go tits up.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I've a deep drafted boat and suffered this problem for several years until a fellow boater showed me the following technique. Slow to a stop mid channel, then slow turn into the bank so that you stop bow in just kissing the bank where you want the front of the boat to end up at an angle of around 40-45 degrees or so; then tiller pointing full over at bank and apply gentle power to ease the stern in, as the bank approaches and before the bow starts to move forward or kick out apply reverse whilst still holding the tiller towards the bank - the reverse 'sucks' the stern in the last foot or so without kicking the bow out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How very strange. Our boat is quite deep-draughted (not sure of the exact draught but she has a 22" prop). I do just about everything which you do - except that when I finally apply reverse gear I point the tiller AWAY from the bank, and this seems to bring the back end in nicely, unless (as previously noted) there are people watching.

 

If there is a boat coming the other way in the lock, no problem: just bibble about in the middle until it's emerged from the lock, unless the cut is especially narrow at that point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Excellent, this is the sort of idea I was hoping for!

 

Not practical if there's a boat already coming the other way in the lock though, but fine if empty and going downhill. Not sure about it when going uphill though and the lock needs emptying to set it. Will try it out, thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gotta understand which way prop walk works on your boat in reverse. And also how many revs (or engine noise) sends up a water bulge which cancels out the prop walk.

 

Know these and you are in a better position to know how to control your bote.

 

Most boats propwalk left in reverse. And right in forward.

Edited by mark99
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gotta understand which way prop walk works on your boat in reverse. And also how many revs (or engine noise) sends up a water bulge which cancels out the prop walk.

Know these and you are in a better position to know how to control your bote.

Most boats propwalk left in reverse. And right in forward.

One way to remember which way transverse thrust/propwalk works is: With a right handed propellor, thrust is to the right going ahead, and left going astern. With a left handed propellor (less common) the thrust is to the left going ahead and right going astern. So, firtst find out whether your prop is right or left handed.

 

Howard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do just about everything which you do - except that when I finally apply reverse gear I point the tiller AWAY from the bank, and this seems to bring the back end in nicely, unless (as previously noted) there are people watching.

 

I do this, I call it munching my way to the bank.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just walked past your boat with my dog Mark, looked very nice indeed. That old BMC looked lovely sat there and surprisingly no oil leaking from it.

 

Darren

We were prob in da pub. I think their chips are made of gold cos a portion is so small. Apart from that, good ish grub. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great advice , its good to see all the different approaches.

I took Grace ( modern 57') out on my own for the first time last week and tried a few techniques.

Favourite is to come in dead slow at shallow angle so that the stern is about 3 - 4' off the bank when the bow touches. Then hook my boat hook under the armco whilst enganing reverse. I then pull the boat in against the outward trust from reverse. Usually this results in me being able to step off with the centre rope and pull the bow in. Not exactly tidy but it works well enough.

 

Another technique that worked once was , dither whether or not to use mooring, drift past slowly, decide too late to go for it , put engine in reverse. Boat stops and starts to go backwards swinging towards the correct bank keep going till it touches , put engine in forward to stop boat, wait for bow to swing in. Just like reverse parallel parking in a car. All done in flat calm conditions with ( and this is the important bit) NO audience. Tried it twice since complete and utter failure.

 

But for me the boat hook under the armco seems to be the key to it

 

Top Cat

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.