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Canal Etiquette


Flibbertigibbet

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3 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I've never yet managed to make the search function find anything, myself.

However, if all the OP has to say to other canal users is "mind where you're chucking your rubbish and SLOW DOWN", I don't understand how he managed to enjoy his stay on the cut...

Yer, I hear you one that. A lot of forums have poor search tools and i doesn't help that thread titles on here aren't always constructively worded.

I tend to use googles "site:" command

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24 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

When did you last try? I'll wager it wasn't recently.

 

The (fairly) new search tool here works BRILLIANTLY.

I have to agree. The recently refurbished search function is so much better!

 

 

Howard

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32 minutes ago, howardang said:

The trouble with this diagram is that it is uncommon to find a suitably placed bollard or ring to attach your backsprings. Much better for novices is to show a narrow boat and the reality that the backsprings will be much shorter than yacht scenarios depict. I think this type of diagram, although correct for yachts in some seagoing marinas, can confuse beginners on the waterways. Much better, in my view, to use diagrams that are more representative of what a newcomer to the canals would face, hence the Boaters Handbook.

 

Howard

Up to a point ....   I think the key point is to help people think about the principles here, and then adapt them to circumstances. For example with a very shallow bit of water, I would try to get the bows in pretty tight, and secured with lines running fore and aft, and then a single line at the stern at 90 degrees. [I thought I had a better photo than this one]. Anyway, the lines at the bow stop the boat  moving back and forth, and the stern line stops the stern completely blocking the channel.  This works much better than the "standard" advice of a single bow and stern line at 45 degrees, which won't keep the bows still etc.dscf5874.jpg

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1 hour ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

Up to a point ....   I think the key point is to help people think about the principles here, and then adapt them to circumstances. For example with a very shallow bit of water, I would try to get the bows in pretty tight, and secured with lines running fore and aft, and then a single line at the stern at 90 degrees. [I thought I had a better photo than this one]. Anyway, the lines at the bow stop the boat  moving back and forth, and the stern line stops the stern completely blocking the channel.  This works much better than the "standard" advice of a single bow and stern line at 45 degrees, which won't keep the bows still etc.dscf5874.jpg

I wouldn't disagree with your points but beginners have to start somewhere and they firstly need to learn the basic principles. They can then be encourged to think about more unusual situations and adapt their knowledge to suit the conditions. This is a basic principle of good seamanship- something which even people who think they are experts, occasionally show their lack of knowledge. For some reason, some boaters on inland waterways will demonstrate a great depth of knowledge about engines and electrics, but it seems that they are reluctant to learn about boat handling in its many forms. Present company excepted, of course! :)

 

 

Howard

Edited by howardang
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4 hours ago, Athy said:

You'd be surprised. Passing canoes rock our boat more than passing narrowboats do.

True, a well known phenomenon.   Likewise a swan in hot pursuit of another can have a similar effect. So should we worry about a boat shifting a bit if water about?

Those who moan because their boat moves back and forth a bit should learn what a spring is and what it's for, likewise maybe they should have a day on the Broads then they would know about wash and displaced water. 

Phil 

Edited by Phil Ambrose
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2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

And where is this mythical pontoon in your diagram please? I never see them when out cruising the cut. I want to moor there!!

Pontoons........... examples

 

The cut at Torksey

img-2012.jpg

Not the cut - Gainsborough

20170610.jpg

No on the cur but with a narrowboat - Dunham on Trent

20170713.jpg

 

Edited by MartynG
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5 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

Here's one, and on Wisbech cut so I would argue it does count ...

 

dscf6253.jpg

 

I must say that if I set a spring line like that I would be 100% certain to trip over it getting on or off the back.  You obviously have a much better memory of where everything is than me!

5 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

Here's one, and on Wisbech cut so I would argue it does count ...

 

dscf6253.jpg

 

I must say that if I set a spring line like that I would be 100% certain to trip over it getting on or off the back.  You obviously have a much better memory of where everything is than me!

5 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

Here's one, and on Wisbech cut so I would argue it does count ...

 

dscf6253.jpg

 

I must say that if I set a spring line like that I would be 100% certain to trip over it getting on or off the back.  You obviously have a much better memory of where everything is than me!

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6 hours ago, howardang said:

Visit the Canal & River Trust website and download the free book The Boaters Handbook which will teach you nearly all you will be taught on the course, including how to moor.

Which says "Leave some slack in your ropes" ?

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Must admit in the years I have been cruising I have rarely had to use spring lines and certainly have not been unduly disrupted by passing boats. I think some boaters see a problem where none exists except in the mind.

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6 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

 

 

 

I must say that if I set a spring line like that I would be 100% certain to trip over it getting on or off the back.  You obviously have a much better memory of where everything is than me!

I too was quite pleased to remember when I got up in the morning.  Here we are at 0415, getting ready to depart.. Coffee and bacon butty approaching. dscf6270.jpg

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15 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Surprised no one commented, but looking ahead of Scholar Gypsy .....  now that's what I call a widebeam

The guy sitting on the pontoon? :giggles:

 

LadyG, i thought better of you! 

Edited by rusty69
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Thank you, all, for your very interesting and varied comments. Of course there will have been similar discussions before, and I'm sure this won't be the last. This shows that it is an important subject.

 

If you haven't already seen it, the "How to be a considerate boater" pages have a great deal of information that I have found useful in the past. (http://www.willowwrentraining.co.uk/considerate/howto.html)

 

This is what they say about passing moored boats:

 

Quote

 

Passing moored boats is easy. JUST SLOW DOWN.

Yes it is true that it is the responsibility of the moored boat to tie up correctly and it is true that many don't. But, regardless of that, if the passing boat slows down to engine tick over then it almost won't matter how well the boat is secured.

 

also:

 

Quote

Slowing to engine tick over is the way to pass moored boats but if you don't slow the engine down until you are on top of the other boat, then you will still be travelling too fast. As a general rule, (and there are many factors involved), if you are cruising at a steady walking pace, then it will take at least two to three boat lengths to slow down sufficiently.

 

I was honestly surprised at the number of boaters (hirers and others) who cruise past with hardly any reduction in their normal speed. Not a huge deal, but it is inconsiderate. Even tied up like a kipper, with springs normally reserved for rivers, you can sometimes hear the ropes groaning under the strain. And yet, it's clear that some just don't recognise it as a concern. I'm sure we have all seen boats cast adrift after their pins have been pulled out.

 

I was also dismayed by the amount of rubbish left along the canals. The GU near London is in a class of its own here, but this is even apparent out in the countryside. Some of it clearly not left by boaters, but equally, some definitely was. Fenders, plant pots, solar led flowers, a disposable barbeque, even a lifebouy were all items that we picked up or picked out of the hedgerow on our travels.

 

I'm quite sure that no one on the forum would do this sort of thing, but perhaps if we all encourage each other to clear up some litter as we go along and dispose of it properly we could all do our bit to help keep the canals cleaner and tidier. 

 

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This guy fairly bounced my boat about on the Lancaster last month with his speeding, good job I was moored on sheet piling with chains. He did slow right down to pass but the wash overtook him. When I first saw him he was not only throwing water onto the towpath, it was going over the hedge too. 

 

_IGP6015.jpg.1a646db73408f5cdfcc0928610f2da7a.jpg

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10 hours ago, Flibbertigibbet said:

I was honestly surprised at the number of boaters (hirers and others) who cruise past with hardly any reduction in their normal speed. Not a huge deal, but it is inconsiderate. Even tied up like a kipper, with springs normally reserved for rivers, you can sometimes hear the ropes groaning under the strain. And yet, it's clear that some just don't recognise it as a concern. I'm sure we have all seen boats cast adrift after their pins have been pulled out.

Well, if they were passing a group of moored boats, then they wouldn't slow down again to pass yours as they were going slow already.  If you're moored up in the middle of a couple of miles of moored boats, then I'm not surprised people didn't slow down.  Golden Nook on the Shroppie is the classic, and I'm afraid my opinion is that if you're going to moor there you have to expect people to go past at only just under cruising speed.  And people have been known to moor just round a bend, when you don't even know they're there till you've got past them.  Finally, if one is pottering along at 2mph, as many seem to do these days, there's no need to slow down at all.

I would be interested to know where you were moored, though.  Almost everyone who goes past my moorings slows right down - the only ones who don't sometimes are the day boats.

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I've been moored on the Coventry (part of the War forv5 years nowwickshire Ring) for 5 years now.

 

Each year fewer and fewr boats bother to slow down much, if at all.

 

Worst offenders are private boats, often locally based. Very few hire boats speed past.

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