The stern line

[Hairy-Neil]

two ropes is usually enough - the centre line and the stern line.......

 

On the work boats/registered tug I used to frequent the Thames on the centre and stern lines were both stern lines, little more than 12 feet apart....

[WJM]

The Thames Lockies have only one real concern (after basic safety) - that your 15 ton steel beast does not bounce around the lock and smash lumps out of the big shot city lawyer's silly plastic thingie that cost £200k and looks like an itinerants caravan without the wheels - because big shot will file a negligence lawsuit against the EA, he wont waste his time going after impoverished narrowboat man.

 

When you are the only boat in the lock they are never much bothered about what you do as long as you seem reasonably competent.

[carlt]

The Thames Lockies have only one real concern (after basic safety) - that your 15 ton steel beast does not bounce around the lock and smash lumps out of the big shot city lawyer's silly plastic thingie that cost £200k and looks like an itinerants caravan without the wheels - because big shot will file a negligence lawsuit against the EA, he wont waste his time going after impoverished narrowboat man.

Shouldn't that read 'your 15ton bath-tub that looks like a bath-tub damaging a grp boat, that looks like a boat'? It always amuses me when a narrow boat owner mistakes their tube for something remotely nautical.

[Sir Nibble]

It always amuses me when a narrow boat owner mistakes their tube for something remotely nautical.

I would agree with that. A modern narrowboat must be the most frivolous floating caravan since the dugout canoe and it ill behoves any narrowboater to sneer at the "gin palace".

[WJM]

The modern narrowboat is a thing of profound beauty and all other craft are mere troglodyte conveyances - did you not know this?

[magnetman]

Thames byelaws. Part 2. Section 48. "the master of any vessel after entering a lock shall ensure that the vessel is controlled by mooring lines from the shore to the BOW and STERN of the vessel in such a manner as to prevent the vessel from running foul of the lock gates or works or other vessels in the lock."

[magnetman]

Section 50©. "when a power driven boat enters any lock the mastes of the vessel shall after complying with byelaw 48 then immediately stop the engines...not restarted until the lock gates are opened...PROVIDED THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS BYLAW SHALL NOT APPLY WHEN NO OTHER VESSEL IS PASSING THROUGH THE LOCK AT THE SAME TIME." sod all to do with what engine you've got.

[Hairy-Neil]

.....sod all to do with what engine you've got.

 

As Mike Bryant says earlier....."a single-handed helmsman with Bolinder powered 72ft boat would have to be excused on both counts.... but that's a concession as I understand it. Pragmatism on the part of the lockie."

 

Some lock keepers have found to their cost that insisting a Bolinder engine is turned off can delay lock proceedings somewhat. The tale will then travel ahead of you from one lock to the next to by the grapevine......the next lockie along will greet you at the bottom gates of his lock and invite you to "leave it running please"......

[carlt]

The modern narrowboat is a thing of profound beauty and all other craft are mere troglodyte conveyances - did you not know this?

I believe there's another thread running discussing the various merits of different types of spectacle lenses. Perhaps you should visit there?

[Machpoint005]

I believe there's another thread running discussing the various merits of different types of spectacle lenses. Perhaps you should visit there?

 

Or perhaps the sanity thread (alien abduction...)

[Maffi]

Good grief there's some BS spoken here. My stern rope is always on the tiller pin. Only ever tied to the Starboard dolly, has never yet fell in the water and would float anyway. At the end of the day it's what works for the individual.

 

I only ever use a centre rope unless I am mooring up for the night except in Thames locks where centre and bow are sufficient. Any lockie worth his salt will be able to judge when you bring the boat in if you are competent.

 

A narrow boat may not have the sleek lines of a plastic tub but it is nonetheless a boat and in most cases isn't burned out or sunk, in which case it would be just another pile of useless junk cluttering up the system.

 

When I am sat in a lock I have to wonder why a boat would need 2 x 245 hp engines to shift a few tons of plastic when my 45 hp manages to cope admirably with my nearly 20 tons of steel. Could it be that the excess power is required to execute 'handbrake' turns and generally be an arse on the water.

 

Yes I am new to all this boating malarkey, only been at it for ten months, but having been through 650 locks and covered about 300 miles of canal and river I think I am getting the hang of it so we can dispense with comments about know-nothing-newbies.

Edited July 21, 2007 by Maffi

[carlt]

Good grief there's some BS spoken here. My stern rope is always on the tiller pin. Only ever tied to the Starboard dolly, has never yet fell in the water and would float anyway. At the end of the day it's what works for the individual.

 

 

 

I only ever use a centre rope unless I am mooring up for the night except in Thames locks where centre and bow are sufficient. Any lockie worth his salt will be able to judge when you bring the boat in if you are competent.

 

A narrow boat may not have the sleek lines of a plastic tub but it is nonetheless a boat and in most cases isn't burned out or sunk, in which case it would be just another pile of useless junk cluttering up the system.

 

When I am sat in a lock I have to wonder why a boat would need 2 x 245 hp engines to shift a few tons of plastic when my 45 hp manages to cope admirably with my nearly 20 tons of steel. Could it be that the excess power is required to execute 'handbrake' turns and generally be an arse on the water.

 

Yes I am new to all this boating malarkey, only been at it for ten months, but having been through 650 locks and covered about 300 miles of canal and river I think I am getting the hang of it so we can dispense with comments about know-nothing-newbies.

 

Your first four paragraphs lead me to enquire how you'd like your ignorance to be described if not a "know nothing newbie"?

 

Just because it's never happened to you doesn't mean it hasn't happened to anyone else, or isn't around the next bend , waiting for you. Ropes tend to lose their bouyancy when they're wrappedaround your prop.

 

Any river lock-keeper worth his salt might well think "This idiot thinks he knows it all because he's been through a few canal locks"

 

I certainly wasn't excluding wooden, or work boats from my description. I wasn't referring to their shininess, I was commenting on their bias towards accommodation against water-worthiness. A river cruiser or yacht however new or old, is designed to swim. A narrow boat is designed to float.

 

Twin engines on a canal are not appropriate. There are many instances, elsewhere, when you might be thankful of them.

[Machpoint005]

I only ever use a centre rope unless I am mooring up for the night except in Thames locks where centre and bow are sufficient.

 

Mooring up at night is about the only time I don't use a centre line! I find it by far the easiest way to look after the boat when waiting for a lock (assuming I can't just sit floating out in the middle).

 

You must have a crew the size of the Ark Royal's!

 

Ian

[Maffi]

Mooring up at night is about the only time I don't use a centre line! I find it by far the easiest way to look after the boat when waiting for a lock (assuming I can't just sit floating out in the middle). You must have a crew the size of the Ark Royal's!Ian

 

Which is what I said.

 

And no I am single handed.

 

Your first four paragraphs lead me to enquire how you'd like your ignorance to be described if not a "know nothing newbie"?Just because it's never happened to you doesn't mean it hasn't happened to anyone else, or isn't around the next bend , waiting for you. Ropes tend to lose their bouyancy when they're wrappedaround your prop.Any river lock-keeper worth his salt might well think "This idiot thinks he knows it all because he's been through a few canal locks"I certainly wasn't excluding wooden, or work boats from my description. I wasn't referring to their shininess, I was commenting on their bias towards accommodation against water-worthiness. A river cruiser or yacht however new or old, is designed to swim. A narrow boat is designed to float.Twin engines on a canal are not appropriate. There are many instances, elsewhere, when you might be thankful of them.

 

How did I know you would be the first to answer this.

Edited July 21, 2007 by Maffi

[carlt]

How did I know you would be the first to answer this.

 

You recognise that I'm always quick to correct the uninformed?

Edited July 21, 2007 by carlt

[blackrose]

Yes I am new to all this boating malarkey, only been at it for ten months, but having been through 650 locks and covered about 300 miles of canal and river I think I am getting the hang of it so we can dispense with comments about know-nothing-newbies.

 

Well you certainly fooled me. I thought you were an old sea dog when I saw you at Brentford!

[magnetman]

.

Edited July 22, 2007 by magnetman

[Maffi]

You recognise that I'm always quick to correct the uninformed?

 

I have learned a lot in ten months but admit to have barely scratched the surface. Uninformed.........I don't think so. Not everybody finds the norm easy so as I said "It's what works for the individual".

 

 

Well you certainly fooled me. I thought you were an old sea dog when I saw you at Brentford!

 

Old maybe, but thanks anyway.

Edited July 22, 2007 by Maffi

[down the north]

All,

I've read with interest the 'rope on the tiller pin'. No one has got round to the original use that this was put to. On certain flights of single locks, Birmingham, potteries, SUCanal, all top gates had 'strapping 'posts as an extension to the gate frame, shroppie had a fantastic large casting to cap it off, so if youre boating down tyrley, the stern line is used to pull the top gate shut ( assuming youre on a boat of 15 tons ish) standard 70 ft motor boat. The logical place for the rope was on the pin, so as you stepped off the boat going into the lock, rope in one hand, stepping onto the top of the strap post, a single turn round, pulling from the offside stud, and the gate swings to, and the forward progress is checked at the same time, ( done it loads of times in the 1980's )

So if I see a rope on the pin, I firstly assume the boater is going to strap in, or doesnt have a clue why its there. Grand Union practice was of course not to strap in, but it was common practice for the checking rope to be laid out in front of the chimney and can, on the cabin top.

 

To leave it there all the time,I consider bad practice, for the following reason. First its a trip hazard, and more importantly, if you need to throw a rope to someone , it goes better, and further if youre holding the whole rope in your hands, try it !

On those occasions when I need to throw a rope, it comes off the slide, loosen up 5 or 6 'circles, hold onto the loop then throw the circles with the walled or monkeys fist end leading.

I was a winning team member at the annual boatmans games at Ellesmere port years ago !

The other reason is that in days gone by, checking posts, ( not mooring bollards) were correctly positioned around locksides, and boaters got very good at throwing a looped rope around a post, then dropping the rope loop on the stern dolly, and checking the boat with the other end also on the same dolly. This trick i saw several times,and it was passed on by Mr Atkins ( senior).

Just watch the antics of boaters at locks attempting to throw a rope, it either falls woefully short, or goes out in a tangled heap hit the water with a resounding splash !

Practice it and you'll impress the punters at the slickness of operation, after all , why make hard work of it !

martin

[StoneHenge]

Interesting stuff that.

 

I must admit we always keep the stern rope attached to the starboard dolly, and have it draped over the back doors with the end draped back over about ten inches to make it easy to grab, and then have the centre line along the roof starboard side also.

 

Then if we know the mooring will be port side, it take ten seconds to swap them over ready. I've never hung it on the tiller, but as people have said, it's personal preference.

[DHutch]

Straping posts are a god-sent when theres just the two of us.

- As for throwing it further with it not being attached, i can reliably get our bow/stern lines out stright with the attach. Cant get much further than that.

[Chertsey]

Then if we know the mooring will be port side, it take ten seconds to swap them over ready. I've never hung it on the tiller, but as people have said, it's personal preference.

 

Not picking on you Stoney as lots of people have said the same ...

 

But far fewer things are simply a matter of personal preference than contemporary trendy relativism would have us think. For most things there is better and worse, and there are right and wrong ways to do things. Fine if you want to say 'I know it's wrong but I prefer it anyway' ... but not to say 'there is no right and wrong'. What is the point if we can't learn from centuries of experience of thousands of other people?

[David Schweizer]

Not picking on you Stoney as lots of people have said the same ...

 

But far fewer things are simply a matter of personal preference than contemporary trendy relativism would have us think. For most things there is better and worse, and there are right and wrong ways to do things. Fine if you want to say 'I know it's wrong but I prefer it anyway' ... but not to say 'there is no right and wrong'. What is the point if we can't learn from centuries of experience of thousands of other people?

Not quite sure what you are saying here WW, are you in favour of hanging the rope on the tiller pin or not?

[StoneHenge]

Not picking on you Stoney as lots of people have said the same ...

 

But far fewer things are simply a matter of personal preference than contemporary trendy relativism would have us think. For most things there is better and worse, and there are right and wrong ways to do things. Fine if you want to say 'I know it's wrong but I prefer it anyway' ... but not to say 'there is no right and wrong'. What is the point if we can't learn from centuries of experience of thousands of other people?

 

No offence taken whatsoever

[Chertsey]

Not quite sure what you are saying here WW, are you in favour of hanging the rope on the tiller pin or not?

 

Not

 

(and risk losing that pin?)

Edited July 26, 2007 by WarriorWoman