Information Please!

[system 4-50]

Thank you for your kind "Good Morning" as you passed me stuck in the edge in the shallows, having met you at the worst possible moment on a blind corner bridge, but what I really needed to hear was that you had two more boats immediately and directly behind you, one which was crewed by a person who didn't fully understand what the tiller was for.

 

And good luck to you sir, on the AngloWelsh hire boat steaming through the Nantwich moorings at high speed, slowed only by your massive collision with the bridge which was not unexpected when you had no less than 4 people on your boat shouting "more left" & "more right" - at the same time! at you at the tiller. It was fun meeting you again later in the day and realising that you thought the throttle had just 2 settings, "on" and "off", again while travelling past moored boats.

 

And finally may I suggest counselling to you sir. Your lady partner clearly indicated that I should continue to come on first to the bridge but 3 seconds later you accelerated fiercely! I don't mind waiting but I would like to know what you intend to do...

 

After days of meeting very few at bridges or observing odd behaviour I seem to have made up for it in just one day!

Edited July 13, 2016 by system 4-50

[Graham Davis]

Are you sure the canals are the right place for you?

[NB Lola]

Me like, v funny

[Guest]

Thank you for your kind "Good Morning" as you passed me stuck in the edge in the shallows, having met you at the worst possible moment on a blind corner bridge, but what I really needed to hear was that you had two more boats immediately and directly behind you, one which was crewed by a person who didn't fully understand what the tiller was for.

 

And good luck to you sir, on the AngloWelsh hire boat steaming through the Nantwich moorings at high speed, slowed only by your massive collision with the bridge which was not unexpected when you had no less than 4 people on your boat shouting "more left" & "more right" - at the same time! at you at the tiller. It was fun meeting you again later in the day and realising that you thought the throttle had just 2 settings, "on" and "off", again while travelling past moored boats.

 

And finally may I suggest counselling to you sir. Your lady partner clearly indicated that I should continue to come on first to the bridge but 3 seconds later you accelerated fiercely! I don't mind waiting but I would like to know what you intend to do...

 

After days of meeting very few at bridges or observing odd behaviour I seem to have made up for it in just one day!

I don't get the title - what is the connection?

[Paul C]

Is the information you're after, the direct number for the Anglo Welsh Bunbury boat yard?

[Alan de Enfield]

Maybe "5 toots on the horn" would have provided the information you desired.

[system 4-50]

Are you sure the canals are the right place for you?

You're right, I've missed the smiley off -

Maybe "5 toots on the horn" would have provided the information you desired.

Now you are having a laugh. Rarely do I get the appropriate response to my toots! but I like to do them anyway.

[Peter X]

...

Edited July 14, 2016 by Peter X

[homer2911]

I've found when steering the motor of a pair for the NBT that meeting oncoming boats goes up to a whole new level of potential trouble. Fortunately most boaters' first reaction when seeing the high bow of the unladen motor coming at them is the correct one. They understand that it's usually a lot easier for them to stop than it is for us, and that if we do stop in a hurry the butty is liable to end up across the cut delaying their progress. So they find somewhere to lurk out of our way while 140 feet of boats glides past. But you do get the odd one who does something unexpected; two weeks ago going slowly into a tight corner with a bridgehole, a boat appears the same distance as us from it, and accelerates! I suppose he wrongly judged that he could nip through before we got there. Our man steering goes into reverse to reduce the impact, but of course there was a head-on bang. It must have made a bit of a dent in the other boat's bow, but he was quite cheerful about it; something along the lines of "Oops, sorry, these things happen". I don't remember whether it was a hire boat.

 

As the title suggests, a bit of information about the other boat's intentions or a hazard they know of can be very useful, but I suspect if everyone followed the COLREGS horn signals to the letter some people who. se houses are close to a tight corner might find it rather irritating.

 

OK - picture this scene - we're approaching the Shroppie Fly lock from down-stream, and historic boat Saturn is about to come down, so we wait. I'm on the towpath with the windlass, her indoors is battling a downpour and a ferocious wind, waiting for Saturn to exit the lock. There is nowhere for her to pull in and moor - remember there is a waterpoint just below the lock. Saturn's helpers are extremely put out when I insist that, after Saturn comes down the lock, we will go up, relieving my wife of her distress and leaving Saturn's butty to wait. So upset are Sarurn's boat crew that their skipper actually reverses back up to the lock and manages to close the bottom gate against us. Nice one buddy!

 

Working boat & butty crews can be a bit precious, as we have discovered before now at other locks on the system.

[jonathanA]

How did they manage to fill the lock with the paddles up

I assume that's what you did next ?

[FadeToScarlet]

But you do get the odd one who does something unexpected; two weeks ago going slowly into a tight corner with a bridgehole, a boat appears the same distance as us from it, and accelerates! I suppose he wrongly judged that he could nip through before we got there. Our man steering goes into reverse to reduce the impact, but of course there was a head-on bang. It must have made a bit of a dent in the other boat's bow, but he was quite cheerful about it; something along the lines of "Oops, sorry, these things happen". I don't remember whether it was a hire boat

They really weren't very happy. From a Facebook group:

 

First time I've posted on here but I am incensed

Traveling upstream on Staff&Worcs working boat towing a butty traveling at a fast pace met us in bridge 78... Nowhere for us to go except in the bushes which we did ... He hit us all along port side damaging 3 Windows

A quick I'm sorry I should of used my horn and off he went leaving us with a damaged boat and stuck in bushes !!!!!!? about to find out how good my insurance company is

[FadeToScarlet]

 

OK - picture this scene - we're approaching the Shroppie Fly lock from down-stream, and historic boat Saturn is about to come down, so we wait. I'm on the towpath with the windlass, her indoors is battling a downpour and a ferocious wind, waiting for Saturn to exit the lock. There is nowhere for her to pull in and moor - remember there is a waterpoint just below the lock. Saturn's helpers are extremely put out when I insist that, after Saturn comes down the lock, we will go up, relieving my wife of her distress and leaving Saturn's butty to wait. So upset are Sarurn's boat crew that their skipper actually reverses back up to the lock and manages to close the bottom gate against us. Nice one buddy!

 

Working boat & butty crews can be a bit precious, as we have discovered before now at other locks on the system.

Probably because, when working a pair, it's often quicker for everyone for the butty (Saturn in this case) to go down straight after the motor, especially if longlining.

 

The way I have done it: The motor goes into the lock, with the towline running back to the butty. The butty is brought into the lock mouth to wait against the top gate, held there securely and safely when the paddles are opened to refill the lock. It is then held against the bottom gates by the towline from the motor, as the lock empties, and when the lock is empty, the gates are opened, the towline which has been over the mitre drops to water level, and the butty is drawn out. Quick and efficient.

 

If a boat wants to come up between the pair, the longline has to be detached, the butty pulled backwards out of the lock out and moored somewhere sensible- assuming it's not loaded, and can get to the side- and only then can the paddles really be opened, otherwise the butty would be drawn back against the top gate.

 

There's a reason why people operating pairs can be "precious", and that is that it is a.different set of skills and knowledge that not many people have, and that disrupting the process can lead to it taking far longer than if you'd let them get on with it.

 

That said, closing the gate on you wasn't on.

 

Edit to add- here's a nice video showing longlining. The Saturn crew probably wont have been doing it in quite the same way, but it shows how involved but efficient it is. Hopefully you can see why someone wishing to come up between the pair would slow things down for everyone involved, including the person wishing to come up.

 

https://youtu.be/pNhEF1AdGaw

Edited July 13, 2016 by FadeToScarlet

[rrt2]

Thank you for your kind "Good Morning" as you passed me stuck in the edge in the shallows, having met you at the worst possible moment on a blind corner bridge, but what I really needed to hear was that you had two more boats immediately and directly behind you, one which was crewed by a person who didn't fully understand what the tiller was for.

 

And good luck to you sir, on the AngloWelsh hire boat steaming through the Nantwich moorings at high speed, slowed only by your massive collision with the bridge which was not unexpected when you had no less than 4 people on your boat shouting "more left" & "more right" - at the same time! at you at the tiller. It was fun meeting you again later in the day and realising that you thought the throttle had just 2 settings, "on" and "off", again while travelling past moored boats.

 

And finally may I suggest counselling to you sir. Your lady partner clearly indicated that I should continue to come on first to the bridge but 3 seconds later you accelerated fiercely! I don't mind waiting but I would like to know what you intend to do...

 

After days of meeting very few at bridges or observing odd behaviour I seem to have made up for it in just one day!

 

 

 

Nicly worded and much better than the usual standard we get to read

[RufusR]

I have praise for one widebeam owner / pilot I met last week , He started off being a complete idiot it seemed but ended up impressing me with his boat handling skills , we came through a blind bridge hole to be met on the other side by a big widebeam going absolutely sheets to the wind , never seen one go so fast , there was a young guy at the helm and lots of giggling girls on the stern with him , I can only summise it was a " now let me show you what she can do moment " in the girl impressing schedule . he was in the middle of the very narrow bit of the canal and there was literally no where to go , it looked like a nasty high speed collision was inevitable and I braced to the impact .

 

but in a split second the guy went hard over and hit the bow thruster hard and his boat literally shot across the canal side ways just enough for a small gap to open , I headed for the opening gap and closed my eyes ( figuratively speaking ) and begger me we missed him completely if just by milimeters , before either of us could say anything he was through the bridge hole and gone like a rat out of a drain pipe , while I had to calm my rapidly beating heart and mull over the " how the F did we get away with that " moment .