Barnfather

thanks for the replies. In response to someone earlier in the thread, the wake I encountered recently wasn't too dramatic - just hurled us around a bit. It was more a realisation that this will be a more common occurrence being based up there now, and how best to deal with it. It seems like the general view is to just to ride out the wakes impact and try and keep as on-course as possible (I don't think going stern-on to the wake would help, as I think it would propell me too close to the bank). I suppose you don't hear of recreational boats on rivers being capsized due to wakes, so I'm not quite so much worried about tipping over as much as wanting to know that I'm not doing something wrong at the moment I encounter one

Just moved my boat down the Trent from Sawley to Farndon/Newark. I have a Viking 23 narrowbeam cruiser. A few years cruising experience on canals/Soar/Upper Trent. On a trip to Newark In a previous year (different, smaller boat), myself and then wife were caught out by the water skiing zone on the Trent near Gunthorpe, where we were buzzed closely by a passing speedboat and it was a someone interesting experience as you can imagine. This time, I was at least prepared and whilst I was not passed by an idiot like last time, was overtaken at a slightly more moderate speed by a speedboat with trim setting so the bow was high out of the water and all his passengers were at the rear of the boat effectively digging a huge 'hole' in the water and causing a huge wake. I am fully aware of the optimal approach when passing a boat causing a large wake (almost at right angles to cross the wake), however when being overtaken and the wake approaches from behind, I am not sure the correct approach - other than bobbing around uncontrollably like a cork until you can get yourself inside the wake-boundaries. I figured I would ask now as being based in the area of trip boats, gravel barges, speedboats and so on, it would make sense to handle this properly. Also a question - are any boat types less effected by wakes than others? Or are the wider-beamed sports cruisers that are common up there affected equally?

Agree that actually claiming to be a CRT employee would be baaaad, but someone posed a question earlier in the thread which crossed my mind too, and that is....is it actually illegal? The waterways are public spaces, and people routinely volunteer to help people through locks on an ad-hoc basis, which presumably no-one has any objection to - especially if they have boating experience and offer beforehand. Where is the line drawn? Someone who tells a boater that they are working for the 'waterways' is fraudulent to a point, but unless they are advising people to put themselves (or others) in danger I can't really see how he could be charged with anything. And I would think any boater who has demands for money on river/canal-side is going to know they are not CRT anyway. It would be like me standing outside the gates of Harewood Hall with a hi-vis vest on and directing traffic to the official car park. Bonkers perhaps, but not really doing anything illegal (to my knowledge). Of course knocking on boats in the dead of night is a different kettle of fish, but again the charge wouldn't be impersonation of a CRT staff member but rather anti-social behaviour. I may be wide of the mark on this of course, and happy to be corrected!

Being in Coventry will give you that feeling

No, there was definately a post made on here a long time back on a thread about finding bodies in the canal. And someone said either they (or someone they knew) went to clear an obstruction via the weed hatch and had the face of a dead body staring back at them. Although I can see how this event was similar - although probably less of a surprise!!

Wasn't there a story from a year or two back about someone who went to clear their weed hatch and found a face (of a dead body) staring up at them?

Is there one co-ordinated number you can call in advance to check these things for a region/area - such as the soar, or nottingham to sawley - rather than calling individual CRT people? I'm surprised in this day and age, there isn't a 'real time' online system

"merely concerned with navigation" I wouldn't let them hear you say that

I had a similar issue, but being stuck on the Soar just passed Zouch. Ended up diverting to Loughborough, but will need to collect the boat as soon as the weather stabalises. It did bring home that the status of things like this are very hard to ascertain at the time they are happening, especially in relation to flood locks/gates.

Thanks for the replies. So basically, just use the levels as a general guide and don't take the actual figures too literally, which I figured was the case

Just been perusing the EA river station data, and am surprised at the current river levels of the Trent and Soar, even the 'highest recorded' levels seem relatively shallow to me. Is this because the monitoring stations are situated near the bank, and therefore at the shallowest part of the river? Dumb question I know, and I don't know why it hasn't crossed my mind before over the years of boating For example - Kegworth/Soar is listed as a current depth of 0.48m, which is only 1'6". The highest recorded was 1.31m (4'3"). Obviously, if the current river depth was 0.48m, it would be practically non-navigable, so I guess it must be because of the siting near the bank. Just thought I'd check here

To the OP - it's not really clear if you are planning on getting a narrowboat or cruiser (unless I've missed it, in which case apologies) I ask because if you principally want to navigate rivers then a GRP cruiser may be more appropriate for you. If you want to take in the whole system and liveaboard for any length of time, then a narrowboat would be better. One good thing about a cruiser (aside from its hull, which is more at home on rivers anyway), is the size/manoeuvrability of them, which can certainly help when finding mooring spots. To others - I don't want to start another tupperware/crawler debate by the way, jus' sayin' The other points made are all salient too - especially the additional need for lifejackets, VHF, charts etc when venturing onto tidal stretches. Personally, I much prefer river cruising to canals but your mileage may vary

The weather, plain and simple. On any opportunity to go out it was either raining or blowing a gale. On the times it wasn't, invariably the river was in flood from previous rainfall so we couldn't get out of the marina. I don't think we could stick another 'summer' like this one, as it becomes an expensive toy sitting in the marina if its not getting used, so fingers crossed we will have better weather in 2013 and lots of cruising opportunities!

When we bought our first boat it was pretty much on impulse, however given that we knew nothing about boating we did go about it via a boat dealer which yes, cost us a bit more probably, but also allowed us to buy with confidence and ask a myriad of questions. We bought from David Mawby, who has a yard based at Castle Marina in Nottingham. He is an expert on cruisers and local waters also, and often gets cheaper part-exchange boats in that may be perfect (and all come with full safety certificate). So my first piece of advice to the OP would be to pay David a visit and chat about what you want to get out of boating. I believe there can also be preferential rates at Castle Marina too, but don't know how much this would be. Whilst I think Birchwood 25's are great boats, I would recommend starting with something a little smaller and most importantly narrow-beam (up to 6'10"). This would be the most 'portable' solution, would allow you to potentially sample the canals as well as rivers and also will come in a little cheaper which may suit your financial situation. You can always upgrade to a bigger boat once you know its for you. You may find you much prefer the rivers and eventually upgrade to a bigger cruiser, or prefer the canals and start looking at narrowboats. Either way, you can do this without spending a fortune. Given your location preferences, I would probably get a boat and either moor at Castle Marina (centre of Nottm), Beeston Marina (on the outskirts of Nottingham) or Colwick Park Marina (just outside Nottm). The latter two will be cheaper. Any of them will allow a gentle cruise to Trent Bridge when needed. There is mooring at Trent Bridge either on the visitor pontoon or outside County Hall on the embankment. Mooring nearer to home will be easier for you to drive to, but will take a couple of days to get to Trent Bridge. Our boat is moored 1hr away from home, despite us being much closer to Newark which has marinas - simply because of the waterways we want to cruise on. So, in a nutshell my advice (which you can freely ignore any aspect of!) is : - Discuss with a local boat dealer and consider getting a cheap boat that way (including BSS) - Consider a narrow-beam cruiser, in order to try canals out (if you want to) - Base your boat in or near Nottingham in order to meet with friends, cruise to Trent Bridge.