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Slow Down!! "I Can't!!"


Richard10002

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Working on my bow located gas locker yesterday, I had the bow line short, and stern line long, so the stern was several feet off the mooring, and the bow was easy to hop on and off.

 

I don't usually bother when boats go past fast.. it can be irritating and, every now and then, an unsecured door will bang shut, or a drawer open, but generally, no big deal.

 

However, I was chatting with a fellow boater, with the boat tied as above, and I saw "Jemima" approaching at speed and, as she got close, my boat surged and rocked quite significantly. Over the noise of his engine, I suggested he could slow down a bit:

 

"Sorry mate, I've got a big prop for rivers"

 

I shouted back that he could knock it out of gear. He shrugged his shoulders, raised his arms, and carried on towards the emergency he must have been racing to get to.

 

I wondered briefly how he goes about mooring his boat, when his speed would have to vary between the slowest his big prop can propel him, and stopped??

 

Given that his obviously well prepared and, presumably usual, response was ridiculous, I doubt whether he will be slowing down for moored boats any time soon, but I wonder if he knows how ridiculous it makes him appear?

 

I'll never see him again, no harm was done but, if he is reading here, can I suggest that he thinks up a better retort for those who complain about his contravention of good boating etiquette :)

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5 minutes ago, Richard10002 said:

Working on my bow located gas locker yesterday, I had the bow line short, and stern line long, so the stern was several feet off the mooring, and the bow was easy to hop on and off.

 

I don't usually bother when boats go past fast.. it can be irritating and, every now and then, an unsecured door will bang shut, or a drawer open, but generally, no big deal.

 

However, I was chatting with a fellow boater, with the boat tied as above, and I saw "Jemima" approaching at speed and, as she got close, my boat surged and rocked quite significantly. Over the noise of his engine, I suggested he could slow down a bit:

 

"Sorry mate, I've got a big prop for rivers"

 

I shouted back that he could knock it out of gear. He shrugged his shoulders, raised his arms, and carried on towards the emergency he must have been racing to get to.

 

I wondered briefly how he goes about mooring his boat, when his speed would have to vary between the slowest his big prop can propel him, and stopped??

 

Given that his obviously well prepared and, presumably usual, response was ridiculous, I doubt whether he will be slowing down for moored boats any time soon, but I wonder if he knows how ridiculous it makes him appear?

 

I'll never see him again, no harm was done but, if he is reading here, can I suggest that he thinks up a better retort for those who complain about his contravention of good boating etiquette :)

He probably considers it a reasonably non-confrontational response, unlike ‘I don’t care’, which would sometimes provoke a more violent reaction.

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Looking at both sides, yes it would have been courteous for him to slow down as a matter of course, but maybe he also hadn't noticed that you were not properly moored which almost certainly would have allowed your boat to move more than it would if you were properly alongside with tight moorings? I suspect it made the situation worse.  Just a thought. ?

 

Howard

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52 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Perhaps next time he should say “sorry I can’t hear you, my engine makes a lot of noise at full power!”

 

No surely that should be the OP's response as he speeds past the moored Jemima ?

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48 minutes ago, howardang said:

Looking at both sides, yes it would have been courteous for him to slow down as a matter of course, but maybe he also hadn't noticed that you were not properly moored which almost certainly would have allowed your boat to move more than it would if you were properly alongside with tight moorings? I suspect it made the situation worse.  Just a thought. ?

 

Howard

1) I agree that I wasn’t moored as tightly as I would be under normal circumstances, and I did say that I normally don’t let it bother me. I’ll never see him again, no damage is usually done, and wasn’t this time, so no big deal.

 

2) He couldn’t have failed to notice that something unusual was going on as my back end was sticking out at an unusual angle, and there were two of us standing by the boat, chatting. If I was approaching a situation like this, straightforward boatmanship would raise a question of some kind... 

 

3) I wasn’t particularly complaining about his speed, More his particular response/excuse to my polite query :) 

 

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1 hour ago, Richard10002 said:

He couldn’t have failed to notice that something unusual was going on as my back end was sticking out at an unusual angle, and there were two of us standing by the boat, chatting. If I was approaching a situation like this, straightforward boatmanship would raise a question of some kind... 

Yes, like you I don't bother too much about boats whistling by, though I might comment to my crew. I'd also check that my lines haven't fallen slack. But what really gets my goat is a boat charging past when we're in the middle of mooring and holding on to the centreline whilst doing so. If I see another boat in that situation, I may even drop into neutral whilst passing.

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2 minutes ago, BruceinSanity said:

 But what really gets my goat is a boat charging past when we're in the middle of mooring and holding on to the centreline whilst doing so. If I see another boat in that situation, I may even drop into neutral whilst passing.

Same here

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I never, ever pass moored boats, other than in tick over, which is adopted a good two boat lengths away.

Yet still, last week I was shouted at to "Slow down".

It seems to be the thing these days.

Rog

 

 

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2 minutes ago, dogless said:

I never, ever pass moored boats, other than in tick over, which is adopted a good two boat lengths away.

Yet still, last week I was shouted at to "Slow down".

It seems to be the thing these days.

Rog

 

 

Tickover is no use if someone's prop has too much pitch.

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2 minutes ago, nb Innisfree said:

Tickover is no use if someone's prop has too much pitch.

 

In which case drop into neutral,  or even briefly engage reverse to knock off some speed, before passing the moored boats slowly.

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Just now, cuthound said:

 

In which case drop into neutral,  or even briefly engage reverse to knock off some speed, before passing the moored boats slowly.

True, I was just pointing out the often used term 'tickover' as a means of going slowly enough past moored boats which of course doesn't always apply. 

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4 hours ago, Richard10002 said:

Working on my bow located gas locker yesterday, I had the bow line short, and stern line long, so the stern was several feet off the mooring, and the bow was easy to hop on and off.

 

I don't usually bother when boats go past fast.. it can be irritating and, every now and then, an unsecured door will bang shut, or a drawer open, but generally, no big deal.

 

However, I was chatting with a fellow boater, with the boat tied as above, and I saw "Jemima" approaching at speed and, as she got close, my boat surged and rocked quite significantly. Over the noise of his engine, I suggested he could slow down a bit:

 

"Sorry mate, I've got a big prop for rivers"

 

I shouted back that he could knock it out of gear. He shrugged his shoulders, raised his arms, and carried on towards the emergency he must have been racing to get to.

 

I wondered briefly how he goes about mooring his boat, when his speed would have to vary between the slowest his big prop can propel him, and stopped??

 

Given that his obviously well prepared and, presumably usual, response was ridiculous, I doubt whether he will be slowing down for moored boats any time soon, but I wonder if he knows how ridiculous it makes him appear?

 

I'll never see him again, no harm was done but, if he is reading here, can I suggest that he thinks up a better retort for those who complain about his contravention of good boating etiquette :)

Ive met him, his name is Richard Cranium.

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5 hours ago, dogless said:

Yet still, last week I was shouted at to "Slow down".

It seems to be the thing these days.

Rog

 

 

 

5 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wonder how much speed you actually lose in 2 boat lengths, say you are doing just over 3 mph?

 

I find the the trick is to carry on at cruising speed, then cut the engine to tick-over at the appropriate distance - a boat length or so.

This hardly makes any difference to the actual speed, but the reduced noise of the engine creates the illusion of slowing down -  so you don't get shouted at.

Then a gentle gradual touch on the throttle to cruising speed once past further adds to the illusion you are not in a hurry.

 

 

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7 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wonder how much speed you actually lose in 2 boat lengths, say you are doing just over 3 mph?

 

Enough, IMHO :)

 

You can generally tell by looking at your bow wave. Whatever speed I'm going at, if I knock it into neutral around 2 boat lengths, the bow wave reduces to a bit of a ripple, and boats hardly move when I pass them.

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1 hour ago, Horace42 said:

 

I find the the trick is to carry on at cruising speed, then cut the engine to tick-over at the appropriate distance - a boat length or so.

This hardly makes any difference to the actual speed, but the reduced noise of the engine creates the illusion of slowing down -  so you don't get shouted at.

Then a gentle gradual touch on the throttle to cruising speed once past further adds to the illusion you are not in a hurry.

 

 

 

I find doing this PLUS knocking out of gear just before your bow draws level reduces the draw on the moored boat to almost zero, whilst barely reducing your speed padt them at all. 

 

Highly recommended.

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18 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wonder how much speed you actually lose in 2 boat lengths, say you are doing just over 3 mph?

 

As an aside to slowing down, I find 3 mph seem fast for my boat. Probably due to subtle hydrodynamics ??

I have to get the engine revs up quite high to cruise at 3mph.

I can't see the bow wave - but the waves in the wake are obvious - and a guarantee to get shouted at.

....if I do I cut the revs and say sorry - with a cheerful wave.

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Just to reaffirm, it's not the bow wave that's the prob with heavy boats (though a canoe wave can be) it's the displacement of water which leaves a 'hole' in the water, water then returning into the hole creates a downhill flow which a moored boat tries to travel down and pulls on mooring ropes. It can't be avoided but it can be made to happen over a longer period of time by slowing down so reducing its effect. The heavier the boat the slower it needs to be. 

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8 minutes ago, grahame r said:

The proximity of the moored and moving boat is also an important factor so always giving moored boats as wide a berth as possible will also reduce harsh words in our peaceful envireonment.

Very true. In addition, the apparent speed of the passing boat is greater the nearer it is, especially when seen through a porthole. 

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2 hours ago, nb Innisfree said:

Just to reaffirm, it's not the bow wave that's the prob with heavy boats (though a canoe wave can be) it's the displacement of water which leaves a 'hole' in the water, water then returning into the hole creates a downhill flow which a moored boat tries to travel down and pulls on mooring ropes. It can't be avoided but it can be made to happen over a longer period of time by slowing down so reducing its effect. The heavier the boat the slower it needs to be. 

 

Indeed. The depth and profile of the canal bed will also determine how badly affected the moored boat is.

 

I have had plenty of opportunity to observe this, having a canalside house with an end of garden mooring.

 

The canal, from the end of my mooring to the adjacent bridge, is only about one foot deep at its shallowest, presumably where boats have pushed the silt to the non-towpath side.

 

When a heavy, deep draughted boat speeds past you can actually see my boat drop by a few inches, and when water levels are low, like at present, hear it crunch as it makes contact with the bottom.

 

So as most people cannot know the profile or how shallow the canal is beneath moored boats, unless they travel that bit frequently, the best strategy to avoid verbal abuse is to pass slowly, by slowing down in plenty of time and being prepared to drop into neutral if you see the moored boat begin to drop in the water as you approach it.

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I fondly remember one occasion when after slowing down to pass moored boats, making hardly any headway at all, I became aware of a small angelic looking child at a side hatch on one of the moored boats. As I drew level the small child let loose with the most dreadful stream of verbal abuse, including words I hadn't heard in a long time, culminating in "slow down you useless f'ing b*s*ard".

Mum and Dad were sitting on the stern deck of the immaculately turned out, privately owned, boat, with lots of beer tins and wine bottles around them.They both laughed and encouraged the child to more abuse.

My first thought was that they had stolen the boat, then I realised that he was probably a scrap metal dealer and this was perfectly normal, acceptable behaviour for his family.

The only light spot was the dobermann which actually looked pleased to see me - well, he probably was waiting for his next meal.

I felt sorry for the child, unless it follows Dad into the scrap business it's language will bar it from polite society.

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38 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

Indeed. The depth and profile of the canal bed will also determine how badly affected the moored boat is.

 

I have had plenty of opportunity to observe this, having a canalside house with an end of garden mooring.

 

The canal, from the end of my mooring to the adjacent bridge, is only about one foot deep at its shallowest, presumably where boats have pushed the silt to the non-towpath side.

 

When a heavy, deep draughted boat speeds past you can actually see my boat drop by a few inches, and when water levels are low, like at present, hear it crunch as it makes contact with the bottom.

 

So as most people cannot know the profile or how shallow the canal is beneath moored boats, unless they travel that bit frequently, the best strategy to avoid verbal abuse is to pass slowly, by slowing down in plenty of time and being prepared to drop into neutral if you see the moored boat begin to drop in the water as you approach it.

Yes if it's shallow there's less water so volume of water to 'hole' ratio is low, probably more hole than water in really shallow sections. 

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