Overtaking

[davel]

Cruising today from Carnforth to Garstang, well only made it to Galate because we came up behind a narrowboat just South of Lancaster which was going incredibly slow.

 

I was quite content to stay behind him at first because it was fairly bendy for a while and if I'm being followed by somebody who is obviously faster than me I prefer to let them past on a good straight.

 

But they didn't. They knew I was there as they regularly looked round to check in fact the last couple of miles seemed to be some one looking our way nearly all the time especially the chap who appeared to be taking lots of photos of us.

 

I don't like to beep my hooter or wave or crowd them to harass them into letting them past, but am I expecting to much from them thinking that they should wave me past at an appropriate place?

 

I was only just going over tickover and had to coast some of the time when he was going past moored boats and approaching blind bridges.

 

I kept a respectful two boat lengths behind them most of the time and never less than one boat length.

 

Was I being impatient or was he being inconsiderate?

[carlt]

Unless I am doing the speed limit I will let boats pass me.

 

If someone is going painfully slow then I will send someone to the front and ask the steerer to let me pass.

[Dr Bradley]

I give slow boats opportunity to wave me past and if it dosn't occur, I just go when the chance arises. Several times I've been waved past on bends or approaching bridge holes and had to decline, then they think I don't want passed when a suitable time happens. I prefer my judgement to theirs. I do find amusement at their anxious looks backward when travelling behind a slow boat.

 

Incidentaly, when overtaking watch out for the drag brining your stern and their bow together.

[soldthehouse]

Cruising today from Carnforth to Garstang, well only made it to Galate because we came up behind a narrowboat just South of Lancaster which was going incredibly slow.

 

I was quite content to stay behind him at first because it was fairly bendy for a while and if I'm being followed by somebody who is obviously faster than me I prefer to let them past on a good straight.

 

But they didn't. They knew I was there as they regularly looked round to check in fact the last couple of miles seemed to be some one looking our way nearly all the time especially the chap who appeared to be taking lots of photos of us.

 

I don't like to beep my hooter or wave or crowd them to harass them into letting them past, but am I expecting to much from them thinking that they should wave me past at an appropriate place?

 

I was only just going over tickover and had to coast some of the time when he was going past moored boats and approaching blind bridges.

 

I kept a respectful two boat lengths behind them most of the time and never less than one boat length.

 

Was I being impatient or was he being inconsiderate?

Tearaways

[casper ghost]

I thought only hire boats were fast enough to overtake....

Casp'

[matty40s]

it would depend on the depth of the canal/river.

I know when I can overtake, and I know when I can do the BW dredging..........


I once sat behind this prat at less than 2mph on the north oxford, he had this d-radio playing strange jazz on his hatch, very loudly, tried to overtake for ages through rugby, and his michael schumacher moves stopped this happening, my daughter was saying (daddy, can't you tell him to shut that carp music up). Every time we came to a straight, he would go fast enuff to stay in front, or maneouvere to stay there, every bend, he would sloooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww to 1/2 mph.
Hillmorton locks, fantastic, will beat him here.

So he took his acid tabs,radio to voll 11, and crossed the locks twice, nicking the vacated locks to stuff my chances.


we came out of the top about 30seconds after him. I just went full throttle as ### or no ###, I was going past.
He did say something as I passed him under the railway bridge, but unfortunately, my hearing aid was in the baccy drawer, and my concentration was on the canal.

Edited February 1, 2016 by DHutch

[LoneWolf]

Is there an etiquette to overtaking? I guess the boat behind could make it obvious they want to overtake by waving or getting very close but the boat in front should also offer to let them past if it's obvious the other boat wants to go faster.

I'm often unsure if people want to overtake me so i usually wave them past before they get the chance to shake their fist or turn purple with rage. Sometimes they decline (when there's plenty of room) & then stay too close behind which is irksome. i then pull over as if i'm mooring wait till they're out of sight & set off again behind them.

[RLWP]

There's a proper horn signal for this I believe, although I usually invent one, then smile and wave to show my intentions. If you go about it confidently and smile, most people assume you know what you are doing and let you through.

 

Richard

[Ange]

It was the photograph taking that got me - what was that all about? It wasn't just one photo either, it was many over quite a time period.

 

It'd be funny if there's a thread running parallel with this one on another forum complaining about tailgaters with photos of our boat!!

[LoneWolf]

There's a proper horn signal for this I believe, although I usually invent one, then smile and wave to show my intentions. If you go about it confidently and smile, most people assume you know what you are doing and let you through.

 

Richard

 

Is it to toot out the theme tune from Chariots of Fire?

[twocvbloke]

Maybe fit some indicators like on a car...

[RLWP]

Is it to toot out the theme tune from Chariots of Fire?

 

"Ride of the Valkyries"

[ditchcrawler]

It was the photograph taking that got me - what was that all about? It wasn't just one photo either, it was many over quite a time period.

 

It'd be funny if there's a thread running parallel with this one on another forum complaining about tailgaters with photos of our boat!!

You weren't steering President where you, I came down the Thames in front of her taking loads of photos of her steaming down the Thames.

[NB Alnwick]

 

>snip<

 

Was I being impatient or was he being inconsiderate?

 

Probably a bit of both - what was the hurry? If you needed to get somewhere quickly, why use a boat on a canal? For the most part of the network, it is quicker to walk . . .

 

If I ever find that I cannot make reasonable progress, I will pull in to the side at a convenient point to let pass any boats following closely behind but let us just consider the likely reasons for making slow progress:

 

If it is to exercise caution when approaching a hazard or to avoid disturbing or damaging moored boats then it would not be right to overtake.

 

If it is because the boat is deep draughted and the channel is shallow, then the boat going slowly may be severely restricted in terms of where and when it can pull over to let a faster boat pass.

 

If the slower boat is going slowly because the steerer has all the time in the world and is enjoying the view or just going slowly out of choice, then by not pulling in to the side and allowing boats to pass is inconsiderate behaviour in the extreme . . .

[canaldrifter]

Many, many years ago we came up to a working boat towing a butty. It was empty, but doing about 2mph and going to a rally at Braunston. We were doing the ring and needed to keep going. When we came to a long straight stretch I opened up the boat and began to overtake. Whereupon he opened his throttle and ran alongside us, forcing us to race him to a bridgehole.

 

We did get past, but then we were 'only' hirers (even though I owned a boat elsewhere) and of course he was very special and precious because he owned a working boat pair and didn't want to be overtaken by a mere hirer.

 

Now that I've been a professional hire fleet operator with boatmaster instructor qualification, (I'm now a retired continuous cruiser, just poodling about, never in a hurry), I've always remembered that lesson. If anyone comes up behind me going faster, for whatever reason, I slow down even more and wave them past. They might have a schedule (a ring or something to complete in limited time) but I don't.

 

Let 'em go. I prefer a more sedate way of life.

 

Tone

[matty40s]

I'm all for letting them go, but not the P sstakes when my tickover is faster than their passage.

 

it is one out of two boaters in the last 3 years who has really P ssed me off, and both of them knew exactly what they were doing, and both knew they were out of order.....

 

I don't get angry often, but they do get to know about it when I do, (cue "Go Daddy ")

[n.b.Goldie]

When following an unreasonably slow boat I put my bow to within about 6 to 10 feet of the other boats stern and send SWMBO up front to ask the steerer or 'loose us through'. SWMBO has a certain way of 'asking' and we have not been refused yet.

 

If you don't ask, you don't get.

 

Ditchdabbler

[GRPCruiserman]

Norman 20 or Yeoman 16, 20hp engine, just pick a straight bit and accelerate to 4mph, overtake when you catch them up and give it extra power as you pass the front of the 'swim' to stop getting sucked back. No problem.

 

One idiot accelerated severely near Dover Lock when I was already just passing his 'swim', if I'd not had the power to accelerate away he'd have had me in to his stern.

 

He then slowed back to about 1.5mph as my friend in his 40 foot narrow boat with a VERY large engine came up behind him. He tried the same thing when he overtook him but didn't reckon on the power my friend had and the perpertrator ended up getting blasted on to the side of the canal instead of sucking my friend into his boat.

 

We reported him to BW at the lift bridge and they had a quiet 'word'.

[Guest]

I was considering the best response to this scenario including gentle tooting of the horn. gently calling to the steerer, etc etc

 

but all things considered in the end think this is the best solution...

 

[jelunga]

love it. I have considered fitting an harpoon projector to the bow.

[Ange]

 

SNIP

 

I was only just going over tickover and had to coast some of the time when he was going past moored boats and approaching blind bridges.

 

I kept a respectful two boat lengths behind them most of the time and never less than one boat length.

 

Was I being impatient or was he being inconsiderate?

 

 

Probably a bit of both - what was the hurry? If you needed to get somewhere quickly, why use a boat on a canal? For the most part of the network, it is quicker to walk . . .

 

If I ever find that I cannot make reasonable progress, I will pull in to the side at a convenient point to let pass any boats following closely behind but let us just consider the likely reasons for making slow progress:

 

If it is to exercise caution when approaching a hazard or to avoid disturbing or damaging moored boats then it would not be right to overtake.

 

If it is because the boat is deep draughted and the channel is shallow, then the boat going slowly may be severely restricted in terms of where and when it can pull over to let a faster boat pass.

 

If the slower boat is going slowly because the steerer has all the time in the world and is enjoying the view or just going slowly out of choice, then by not pulling in to the side and allowing boats to pass is inconsiderate behaviour in the extreme . . .

 

I can't see how Dave was being inconsiderate in any shape of form Graham. As Dave said he was barely above tickover and had to coast at times to stay back from the boat. There were very few moored boats on that stretch of canal, the depth was pretty good for The Lancy and I'd be very surprised if the boat was deep draughted as it was a standard modern design. We're 2'4" and have yet to meet anyone on the Lancy with a deeper draught as it's a very shallow canal.

 

We have all the time in the world to get from A to B and are never in a hurry but it made it hard work for Dave to maintain a polite distance, which is a different issue altogether.

[soldthehouse]

Is it possible that they were trying to get a closer look at the only floating brewery on the Lancaster with a beautiful patina.

[Ange]

Is it possible that they were trying to get a closer look at the only floating brewery on the Lancaster with a beautiful patina.

 

[soldthehouse]

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:16Q5LZ7KxEa1FM:l

[5thHorseman]

"If I was in a hurry I would not have bought a boat I would have bought a Ferrari" is my attitude about boating.

 

If I am dawdling I wave people past at the first opportunity, BUT, and there is always a "but" if I am travelling at a goodly pace and the boat behind is wreathed in blue smoke with a bow wave that would do credit to a speed boat and there is a flight of locks half a mile away, then I am sorry they stay behind (because I know what is in their mind) .

 

5th