mrsmelly Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 So today at tickover passing four boats one of which was a small grp cruiser. As I got close to it I heard the distinctive sound of a suitcase gennie. I looked and could see the gennie inside the back bit of the boat enclosed over by the pramhood. The part of the hood tow path side was partialy open and I thought blimey thats a bit risky thinking the owner was one of the group of boaters talking on the towpath who we had just acknowledged but seconds later I saw him sat inside his cabin reading!! He is going to wake up dead one day for sure. My bro in law was with us on his boat and when I mentioned it later he said oh he always does it!! When do you intervene or do YOU just let Darwins law come into play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzard Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, mrsmelly said: So today at tickover passing four boats one of which was a small grp cruiser. As I got close to it I heard the distinctive sound of a suitcase gennie. I looked and could see the gennie inside the back bit of the boat enclosed over by the pramhood. The part of the hood tow path side was partialy open and I thought blimey thats a bit risky thinking the owner was one of the group of boaters talking on the towpath who we had just acknowledged but seconds later I saw him sat inside his cabin reading!! He is going to wake up dead one day for sure. My bro in law was with us on his boat and when I mentioned it later he said oh he always does it!! When do you intervene or do YOU just let Darwins law come into play? If it was in a suitcase the fumes wouldn't come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 12 minutes ago, mrsmelly said: So today at tickover passing four boats one of which was a small grp cruiser. As I got close to it I heard the distinctive sound of a suitcase gennie. I looked and could see the gennie inside the back bit of the boat enclosed over by the pramhood. The part of the hood tow path side was partialy open and I thought blimey thats a bit risky thinking the owner was one of the group of boaters talking on the towpath who we had just acknowledged but seconds later I saw him sat inside his cabin reading!! He is going to wake up dead one day for sure. My bro in law was with us on his boat and when I mentioned it later he said oh he always does it!! When do you intervene or do YOU just let Darwins law come into play? 4 minutes ago, bizzard said: If it was in a suitcase the fumes wouldn't come out. I personally feel that a situation like that is not for joking about. I think I would stop and just engage him in conversation and work around to see if he was aware of the risks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzard Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 5 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said: I personally feel that a situation like that is not for joking about. I think I would stop and just engage him in conversation and work around to see if he was aware of the risks. I dare say he's already been warned by other boaters and probably passers by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmelly Posted April 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 6 minutes ago, bizzard said: I dare say he's already been warned by other boaters and probably passers by. I think that will be the case. He was obviously moored with a group of friends from the area. Trouble is in todays society even politely intervening can end up with a sack in the mouth. That was about as bad as ive seen with a gennie fully inboard and canopy over with the bloke sat below it in the cabin with the rear cabin doors open between him and the gennie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rose Narrowboats Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 I had exactly the same dilemma today when passing a boat moored at Hall Oaks Wood. Trad stern, doors open, hatch pulled to with a suitcase generator sat on the footboard with exhaust pointing towards the deck. A slight change of wind and the fumes would be blown back into the cabin. I kept quiet too - not least because I was moving one of the hireboats, so my unsolicited opinion/advice would likely be even less welcome than usual. It seems the Boat Safety Scheme's current push on the dangers of CO from petrol engines has not yet reached out to all those who need warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st ade Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 There's a small steel narrow boat (Springer?) I walk past regularly whilst walking the dog. Generator on back deck, tarpaulin covering most of the deck, rear doors open. One morning I'm going to find the owner dead in his cabin. I've chatted with him, reasoned with him, how far do I take it? Where does my concern for a fellow human being cross into the nanny state and where does his "I'll be aright zur, thank ee kindly" lead to my "No you F**** won't, you can't breathe CO. At least not for long" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roland elsdon Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 I discovered long ago that telling people things they dont want to here just results in aggression, better sadly to allow darwinism to select. We all do dumb things some of us will die of it 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Hurley Posted April 16, 2018 Report Share Posted April 16, 2018 2 hours ago, roland elsdon said: I discovered long ago that telling people things they dont want to here just results in aggression, better sadly to allow darwinism to select. We all do dumb things some of us will die of it Natures way of strengthening the gene pool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearley Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 12 hours ago, Rose Narrowboats said: I had exactly the same dilemma today when passing a boat moored at Hall Oaks Wood. Trad stern, doors open, hatch pulled to with a suitcase generator sat on the footboard with exhaust pointing towards the deck. A slight change of wind and the fumes would be blown back into the cabin. I kept quiet too - not least because I was moving one of the hireboats, so my unsolicited opinion/advice would likely be even less welcome than usual. It seems the Boat Safety Scheme's current push on the dangers of CO from petrol engines has not yet reached out to all those who need warning. We moored behind a boat like that a few years ago. We had only stopped for lunch but when he decided to top up his petrol tank we thought it time to leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WJM Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 The only time that my CO alarm has ever gone off was when I was moored stern to stern next to another narrowboat who had a generator running on HIS back deck. The wind blew his fumes in through my back door! In these situations, rather than try to offer advice about generators to the unwilling I simply tell them that they should get a CO alarm, that they might learn something useful and it might save their lives. I generally have around four CO alarms running on my boat but the number varies because I often give one away whenever I come across someone who has none. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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