Popular Post cuthound Posted November 23, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) Yesterday we took two ladies from CRT's admin team on a "Boating Buddies" day on DQ. One of them has just shared her feedback to her boss with me, copied below. "My experience of Boating Buddies took place yesterday on a cold, frosty, crisp November morning and just within these few hours (and this also being my first time on a narrowboat) - I'm well and truly hooked. The experience was really great and I would highly recommend all new employees joining the Trust to try out 'boating buddies' as soon as they can. For me personally, as my role is office based you get to hear some of the boating ‘lingo ‘from time to time but working within the administration side of the organisation, you don't always appreciate what the ‘real-life experiences’ are for our boaters on our waterways. I learnt quite a lot from the day – how to open and close the lock gates, winding the paddles up and down with a 'windlass' etc. - through to how boaters should position their boats safely within the lock chamber itself - avoid getting caught on the cills (and potentially sinking the boat)!....along with a whole host of other useful snippets of information. I had the opportunity to steer the craft, past other moored boats/under bridges - although my left and right hand moves definitely require refining ?….. but it was a fantastic opportunity to do something completely out of the ordinary. It was also interesting to hear first-hand how Boating 'etiquette' is so important to many 'a seasoned boater' but they tend to feel that this tradition appears to be in decline with ‘new boaters’ not adhering to the simple practices of a 'good morning’ or a ‘good afternoon' whilst passing on the water - my Skipper felt that some boaters can be inconsiderate when choosing places to moor – i.e. in too close to bridges or in Winding holes even. However of the most concern to him was boats not slowing down when passing moored craft – which is usual ‘etiquette - he just doesn’t want these common courtesies to drift away in generations to come. It was fantastic to see some of the beautiful wildlife along the canal - we were privileged to see a Kingfisher with its ultra-blue flashes of plumage catching our eye – it must have been our lucky day - our Skipper commented that was probably only the 10th King Fisher he had seen during his 40 years of boating - so maybe the sun was shining down on us? I'm looking forward to getting out on a boat again soon - maybe in the summer, when it’s a bit warmer - and this time try my hand at learning the art of 'tying knots'. Our hosts were absolutely great and a pleasure to be with – they were both warm and welcoming and made our day all the more enjoyable, we enjoyed meeting their Alsatian too named Zeus." I think these boating buddy days are an excellent opportunity for us boaters to help CRT see the issues we face. I also found out that the frontline staff do take criticism seriously. My charges for the day were surprised at the amount of offside vegetation and said they do not receive many complaints about it. Perhaps we boaters should notify CRT about these things directly, rather than just complaining on this forum? After all if we don't tell them what's wrong, how are they to know given they no longer employ lengthsmen? Edited November 23, 2018 by cuthound Spillung 14 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clodi Posted November 23, 2018 Report Share Posted November 23, 2018 It's really nice to read something positive for a change First time I've heard of Boating Buddies but it sound a really good idea. The more staff at the CRT get a glimpse of the 'real' side of the network the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBiscuits Posted November 23, 2018 Report Share Posted November 23, 2018 1 minute ago, Clodi said: It's really nice to read something positive for a change First time I've heard of Boating Buddies but it sound a really good idea. The more staff at the CRT get a glimpse of the 'real' side of the network the better. https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/boating-blogs-and-features/boating-team/boating-buddies That's rather the point of it! There are so few boaters signed up that many staff do not get a chance to go on a boat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthound Posted November 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2018 4 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said: https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/boating-blogs-and-features/boating-team/boating-buddies That's rather the point of it! There are so few boaters signed up that many staff do not get a chance to go on a boat. Indeed, I first signed up when they first launched it a couple of years ago and heard nothing from CRT. Then I saw the appeal for more boating buddies in a recent weekly update, responded to that and had a reply within a couple of hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanglewood Posted November 23, 2018 Report Share Posted November 23, 2018 Brilliant. More important professional development than anything that person could have got from an internal course on 'Managing Boater Expectations'. Thank you for hosting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DHARL2 Posted November 26, 2018 Report Share Posted November 26, 2018 Looks like it was a grand day out and a first rate chnace to pass your love of the canals to the office staff at CaRT. Am really glad that they enjoyed the day out (they will soon be hooked and become boaters themselves!!) as well as providing you with a copy of the feedback that they passed up the line! The Cuthound Clan did good! :-) BZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 I've just filled in the form. Such a good idea! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBiscuits Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 7 minutes ago, MaryP said: I've just filled in the form. Such a good idea! Good for you. I wish more boaters would too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keeping Up Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 On the form it at says "please bare with us" ... it's a bit cold to be doing that in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan(nb Albert) Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 9 hours ago, TheBiscuits said: Good for you. I wish more boaters would too. A couple of years back at the behest of Richard Parry, AWCC clubs were contacted to encourage the 2000(?) membership to volunteer for Boating Buddies. I can't speak for 100 or so other clubs but in my own three members signed up. Not one of them has been asked to undertake a trip ... Here is a link to a blog of my first trip - https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/news-and-views/blogs/sarina-young/my-trip-out Three of the C&RT people on that early trip are no longer with the Trust. Ian Lane, who went on to become West Midlands Regional manager is still with C&RT but has been sent to Coventry (in joke for those that know Ian). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 20 minutes ago, Keeping Up said: On the form it at says "please bare with us" ... it's a bit cold to be doing that in the winter. Spelling is another thing that C&RT are not very good at. There is a huge sign (30 yards long) outside the 'historic dry dock' at Newark, explaining the work that was done there - this work included 'corking'. (when drinking wine come under the heading of 'work' ?) I have informed C&RT, for which they thanked me, and they said it would be changed - however a couple of months later and it still remains unaltered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lampini Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 Sounds like an awesome idea.... we will certainly consider doing this in the spring, whenever they re-open our canal after the winter stoppage! ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthound Posted November 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 2 hours ago, Keeping Up said: On the form it at says "please bare with us" ... it's a bit cold to be doing that in the winter. I missed out then, perhaps it was because of the freezing weather ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasputin Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 Maybe it would be a good idea if the people taking CaRT staff out could also explain points of views other than their own, such as, it may not be all that important for very light boats to slow down when passing moored boats and lock positioning and techniques may be different for different types of boats or different people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuthound Posted November 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 2 hours ago, rasputin said: Maybe it would be a good idea if the people taking CaRT staff out could also explain points of views other than their own, such as, it may not be all that important for very light boats to slow down when passing moored boats and lock positioning and techniques may be different for different types of boats or different people. I did explain both of the above to our "boating buddies". I specifically mentioned that our current 60 foot boat gets drawn forward in an uphill lock far more strongly than the two 58 foot boats that preceded it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasputin Posted November 27, 2018 Report Share Posted November 27, 2018 19 minutes ago, cuthound said: I did explain both of the above to our "boating buddies". I specifically mentioned that our current 60 foot boat gets drawn forward in an uphill lock far more strongly than the two 58 foot boats that preceded it. excellent ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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