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Running engine etiqeutte


sniffy

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And of course rule No 1 re boatiing and shipping. Start engine before casting off and stop engine after the boat-ship is securely tied up. How many times do you see folk stopping there engine whilst drifting towards a mooring place to moor up, suddenly panicking because the boat has overshot, stopped too short or got blown skewiff and out of control.  Or not so often but I've seen it happen, when they've gone and cast off before starting the engine, and then it won't start.   Don't panic!!! Capt Mainwaring.

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On 29/03/2017 at 09:34, Neil2 said:

I agree with that too.  Many years ago we were accosted by a home owner under similar circumstances to the OP's, we were simply mooring up and left the engine running, as you do, but this guy came running out within minutes.   I calmly explained the situation to the gentleman explaining that we had no intention of leaving the engine running once the boat was secured and he in turn apologised for his reaction.  To put it in context he had suffered a series of inconsiderate boaters mooring in the same spot who had continued to run their engines whilst stationary well into the evening and as we all know it can be surprisingly annoying.  But if you are in a boat you at least have the facility to move elsewhere, unlike a householder.

We live on a fairly busy main street and though the traffic noise isn't a problem, it is infuriating when someone pulls up outside the house and leaves the engine going, (why they do it I really don't know) so I sympathise with the occupiers of canalside properties. 

  

 

Regarding the first point, 'surprisingly annoying', I'm concluding that a significant proportion of boaters actually enjoy having their engines running whilst moored up. Or at best, simply don't find it annoying or they'd do it less. When I'm moored for a week in one place there is usually at least one boat that starts the engine and runs it for hours every day. I find the low and deep rumble inside my boat of another boat engine running  intensely annoying but I accept it is part of the deal if I choose to moor near other boats. Householders don't have a choice other than the major inconvenience and expense of moving house. Few householders by canals had any idea that a proportion of boats have a habit of running engines for extended periods whilst moored up.

On the second point, why they do it, I'd say some do it because engine heat is their only source of hot water. THis accounts for those who run the engine for an hour or two several times a day. Others I think are following received wisdom that to look after expensive batteries they need to be charged for at least two hours every day, and for eight hours once a week. And finally, I suspect there is a small rump of boaters with knackered batteries who have to run the engine to watch the telly. 

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
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2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Regarding the first point, 'surprisingly annoying', I'm concluding that a significant proportion of boaters actually enjoy having their engines running whilst moored up. When I'm moored for a week in one place there is usually at least one boat that starts the engine and runs it for hours every day. I find the low and deep rumble inside my boat of another boat engine running  intensely annoying but I accept it is part of the deal if I choose to moor near other boats. Householders don't have a choice other than the major inconvenience and expense of moving house. Few householders by canals had any idea that a proportion of boats have a habit of running engines for extended periods whilst moored up.

On the second point, why they do it, I'd say some do it because engine heat is their only source of hot water. THis accounts for those who run the engine for an hour or two several times a day. Others I think are following received wisdom that to look after expensive batteries they need to be charged for at least two hours every day, and for eight hours once a week. And finally, I suspect there is a small rump of boaters with knackered batteries who have to run the engine to watch the telly. 

And some run them when they don't need to at all but because other people seem to keep doing it.

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On 29/03/2017 at 10:11, bizzard said:

And some run them when they don't need to at all but because other people seem to keep doing it.

 

Yes. Or they start their own engine to mask the bloody annoying noise of a neighbour's engine. 

Other boat engines running are bloody annoying. One's own engine is fine. Obviously :D

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Seems to me there's no right or wrong answer here, folk on both sides need to be considerate of other's needs. I've no idea about the OP's engine, but some boat engines (and I don't mean Bollinders etc!) are unnecessarily noisy and smokey and generally antisocial, due to poor installation and maintenance. These people give boaters with quiet and clean engines a bad press!

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2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Yes. Or they start their own engine to mask the bloody annoying noise of a neighbour's engine. 

Other boat engines running are bloody annoying. One's own engine is fine. Obviously :D

Oddly enough, not everyone finds them so. On at least two occasions, when we have been running our engine at a mooring, another boat has moored nearby and I've gone over to them and asked if they mind us doing so. I've received answers like "That's fine, we're enjoying listening to it". One of them even came along to our boat and took a photo of the engine. As Mr. Berry said, you never can tell.

Incidentally, we have never had anyone, boater or otherwise, come and ask us to turn it off.

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1 minute ago, Athy said:

Oddly enough, not everyone finds them so. On at least two occasions, when we have been running our engine at a mooring, another boat has moored nearby and I've gone over to them and asked if they mind us doing so. I've received answers like "That's fine, we're enjoying listening to it". One of them even came along to our boat and took a photo of the engine. As Mr. Berry said, you never can tell.

Incidentally, we have never had anyone, boater or otherwise, come and ask us to turn it off.

Perhaps you couldn't hear them. :)

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On 29/03/2017 at 10:22, nicknorman said:

Seems to me there's no right or wrong answer here, folk on both sides need to be considerate of other's needs. I've no idea about the OP's engine, but some boat engines (and I don't mean Bollinders etc!) are unnecessarily noisy and smokey and generally antisocial, due to poor installation and maintenance. These people give boaters with quiet and clean engines a bad press!

 

Agreed. I avoid running my Bolinder Etc! engine when moored but not because it's anti-social. I find the continually repeating question from passers-by "Is it a Lister?" far more annoying than the knackered and smoky SR2 running in the boat in front of me.

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On 29/03/2017 at 10:28, Athy said:

Oddly enough, not everyone finds them so. On at least two occasions, when we have been running our engine at a mooring, another boat has moored nearby and I've gone over to them and asked if they mind us doing so. I've received answers like "That's fine, we're enjoying listening to it". One of them even came along to our boat and took a photo of the engine. As Mr. Berry said, you never can tell.

Incidentally, we have never had anyone, boater or otherwise, come and ask us to turn it off.

 

Ah yes I get this too. 

My record on shutting down the Kelvin, is FOUR separate boaters approaching me and saying "Hay we was listening to your engine, why you turn it off!"

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1 hour ago, b0atman said:

A fellow boater had this at Macclesfield whilst he was in the process of mooring up .There are signs around the system where CRT have deferred to neighbours saying not to run engines when moored. Why ?most probably because some boater/s probably ignored the 8 to 8 guideline many years ago.

 

There is a section on the Nantwich embankment south of the Aqueduct with 'no mooring' signs.  I understand this was because a solicitor bought one of the new houses below the embankment and threatened all sorts of action over his privacy being invaded.  BW caved in and put up the 'no mooring' signs.  This was fifteen or more years ago.  Now that the trees have grown up you can hardly see the houses and I raised this no mooring bit with the Waterways manager.  Apparently they have no record of the ban on mooring being put in place as they have lost a lot of records from that period. As far as they are aware the ban has always been there on this section, but they still don't see fit to remove it although they have no idea why it is in place.

Now more new houses have been built further south I asked if they were going to stop boats mooring there.  I was told that they most definitely won't be stopping any mooring.  We will see.

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On 29/03/2017 at 10:28, Athy said:

Incidentally, we have never had anyone, boater or otherwise, come and ask us to turn it off.

 

And that is of course, because it is a proper engine (almost) and sounds the part.

Unlike the tractor, dumper truck, digger or van engines pressed into service in most narrow boats, and sound bloody annoying.

:P

 

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1 hour ago, bizzard said:

And of course rule No 1 re boatiing and shipping. Start engine before casting off and stop engine after the boat-ship is securely tied up. How many times do you see folk stopping there engine whilst drifting towards a mooring place to moor up, suddenly panicking because the boat has overshot, stopped too short or got blown skewiff and out of control.  Or not so often but I've seen it happen, when they've gone and cast off before starting the engine, and then it won't start.   Don't panic!!! Capt Mainwaring.

Or if you like me, start a few minutes before unmooring and casting off and then the engine stops when your in the middle of the canal because you forgot to turn the fuel tap on! :-/

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2 hours ago, Neil2 said:

We live on a fairly busy main street and though the traffic noise isn't a problem, it is infuriating when someone pulls up outside the house and leaves the engine going, (why they do it I really don't know) so I sympathise with the occupiers of canalside properties. 

  

I have no sympathy at all for people who buy a house next to a canal and then moan about boats doing what boats do.

Diesel doesn't grow on trees! If I have to run my engine while moored I'm doing it for a reason. I will turn it off at 8pm and if needs be turn it back on again at 8am.

The terms and conditions of my licence allow me to do this.

A canalside householder has the 'right' to ask me to turn my engine off while I have the 'right' to ignore the request (demand?) if I choose to.

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1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

And that is of course, because it is a proper engine (almost) and sounds the part.

Unlike the tractor, dumper truck, digger or van engines pressed into service in most narrow boats, and sound bloody annoying.

:P

 

It takes all kinds I suppose. My bro in law lives on his boat but he bought it initialy as a hobby boat for me its unliveable as it has about as bad a collection of ideas on any one boat.

A tug deck which wastes him valuable space. A cross bed which are the invention of the devil. A clonking lister ha3. And a silly three foot draught, to mention just four when we sit on his boat my teeth rattle and he uses a petrol gennie to charge his batteries when stationary due to the noise.

Mine has a long cabin utilising all available space. A proper lengthways bed that never needs moving  ( that would do my head in )  6ft 6inches by 4ft 4inches which is good enough. A fantastic van engine that cannot be heard running if sat off the boat at the front and zero vibration and very little noise when sat aboard which gives instant response when moving and gennie built in. And a 1ft 10 inch draught so I can move when he is stuck and get alongside.

If I had moored where the op had then the bloke would deffo not have known I was there. Having said that its live and let live and I will let him live in his house with the noisey polluting power station feeding it from somewhere and he can live with my quiet power station on my boat, I NEVER run it out of hours ( CART ) rules when applicable.

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On 29/03/2017 at 12:49, mrsmelly said:

It takes all kinds I suppose. My bro in law lives on his boat but he bought it initialy as a hobby boat for me its unliveable as it has about as bad a collection of ideas on any one boat.

A tug deck which wastes him valuable space. A cross bed which are the invention of the devil. A clonking lister ha3. And a silly three foot draught, to mention just four when we sit on his boat my teeth rattle and he uses a petrol gennie to charge his batteries when stationary due to the noise.

Mine has a long cabin utilising all available space. A proper lengthways bed that never needs moving  ( that would do my head in )  6ft 6inches by 4ft 4inches which is good enough. A fantastic van engine that cannot be heard running if sat off the boat at the front and zero vibration and very little noise when sat aboard which gives instant response when moving and gennie built in. And a 1ft 10 inch draught so I can move when he is stuck and get alongside.

If I had moored where the op had then the bloke would deffo not have known I was there. Having said that its live and let live and I will let him live in his house with the noisey polluting power station feeding it from somewhere and he can live with my quiet power station on my boat, I NEVER run it out of hours ( CART ) rules when applicable.

 

I agree with you about the Lister HA3. Worst of all worlds. Neither vintage nor modern, and bloody noisy and unpleasant. 

Everything else wot u rote is rubbish though, as any fule kno.

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4 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I agree with you about the Lister HA3. Worst of all worlds. Neither vintage nor modern, and bloody noisy and unpleasant. 

Everything else wot u rote is rubbish though, as any fule kno.

:D Like I said it takes all kinds :lol:

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5 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

:D Like I said it takes all kinds :lol:

Indeed, and I can see some reasonable points in what you said - except for the bit about the cross-bed which is a boon: ours has a 4'6" wide mattress, but, being set crosswise, saves almost 2 feet in length which is very useful in our 45 foot boat. Its bottom third folds up so it can be left made up during the day and you can still get past it (though in practice we tend to scramble over it).

Mike, how would you define a vintage engine? Surely not on age alone, as fast-revving diesels were already being produced in the '50s if not before - the Mercedes OM636, recently mentioned in another thread, is an example. The HA and HB were built from about 1958 to 1970, so during the era of commercial carrying, and are slow-revving, so why would they not qualify? My engine, the Gardner 2LW, was built to a design dating back to 1931, but was in continuous production until 1973, then they made some more in the 1990s; so are the earlier ones vintage, and the later ones not? What about the RN DM2, a 1930s design which is still in production, sort of?

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2 minutes ago, Athy said:

Indeed, and I can see some reasonable points in what you said - except for the bit about the cross-bed which is a boon: ours has a 4'6" wide mattress, but, being set crosswise, saves almost 2 feet in length which is very useful in our 45 foot boat. 

Hmmm I can see your point then in a 45foot boat but bro in laws is 67 feet ( minus the stupid tug deck ) and only two berth so he didnt need to save 2 feet. He is a shortass though :D

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56 minutes ago, Victor Vectis said:

If I have to run my engine while moored I'm doing it for a reason. I will turn it off at 8pm and if needs be turn it back on again at 8am.

The terms and conditions of my licence allow me to do this.

A classic example of the "I know my rights" brigade behaving in a way that can only result in more rules and restrictions which will affect everyone who plays fair.

The CRT Terms and Conditions do not allow you to run your engine between 8 am and 8 pm when moored, regardless of the impact on anybody else.

What the licence terms do say is that you may not  run any electricity generator, including your boat's engine, between 8pm and 8am except where you are out of earshot of other people.  It is a big leap to assume from this that outside the hours of 8pm to 8am you are allowed to annoy anybody within earshot. In particular the terms also require you to behave considerately towards others (boaters and non-boaters alike) and not do anything which will cause damage or nuisance to any other person or their property. 

 

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5 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

And finally, I suspect there is a small rump of boaters with knackered batteries who have to run the engine to watch the telly. 

I suspect that it a growing number of people who can't be *rsed or cannot afford of replace their batteries.

The year before last I was moored and the owner of the boat behind knocked and asked if I minded if he ran his engine "so he could have  lights on". Last year I had two boat owners knock on on the boat to ask if I minded them running their engines, one so he could "watch the football".

Edited by cuthound
To unmangle the effects of autocorrect.
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Those of you that have "vintage" or "classic" engines almost certainly have the exhaust pointing at the sky.  I think a lot of the annoyance of diesel engines comes from the exhaust note particularly if it happens to be pointing your way.  There's a boater on our marina who regularly runs his engine and though it is six pontoons away the noise is really intrusive as the exhaust is pointing straight at us.  Far too many narrowboats have the exhaust directed sideways so when moored exhaust side on, any property on the towpath is getting the full force of it.  

  

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

A classic example of the "I know my rights" brigade behaving in a way that can only result in more rules and restrictions which will affect everyone who plays fair.

By the same token, those that live next to a canal and whinge about boats running engines etc affect boaters.

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1 hour ago, David Mack said:

The CRT Terms and Conditions do not allow you to run your engine between 8 am and 8 pm when moored, regardless of the impact on anybody else.

Where does it say this?

From Licencing terms and conditions, page 22:

4. Whilst the Boat is on the Waterway, you must behave considerately towards others (boaters and non - boaters alike) and in particular you must not:
(b) use any electricity generator, including the Boat's engine, at any mooring along the Waterway between 8pm and 8am, unless you are moored in isolation, out of earshot of other people.
We do not intend this Rule to stop you moving the Boat from the mooring.

 

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