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Walking down the gunnels


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I think we are getting carried away here.

Clearly such behaviour is not 'Illegal' in any proper sense, but it may well be a breaching the Hirers T+C's which will be formulated in part to meet Insurance requirements and which they have probably not read properly before signing.

 

I would be more concerned were the obvious potential dangers not highlighted as a matter of routine.

 

 

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There's nothing in law, but hire operators are now required as part of the BSS to have a safetry warning sign on the boat with a visual indication of the crew areas, and any area designated a crew area must have a non-slip finish. Crew areas are not deemed to be on the gunwales or the cabin top on the sticker provided by British Marine. The sticker also carries a warning to stay out of the tiller arc.

I believe the concern with people on gunwales (and cabin tops) is less about them getting wet but crushed, either between the bank and the boat or between the boat and a structure.

For the record, our gunwales are (and will remain) non-slip as there are times when they have to be used, but we always recommend going through the boat rather than over it to get from one end to the other.

 

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4 hours ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

There's nothing in law, but hire operators are now required as part of the BSS to have a safetry warning sign on the boat with a visual indication of the crew areas, and any area designated a crew area must have a non-slip finish. Crew areas are not deemed to be on the gunwales or the cabin top on the sticker provided by British Marine. The sticker also carries a warning to stay out of the tiller arc.

I believe the concern with people on gunwales (and cabin tops) is less about them getting wet but crushed, either between the bank and the boat or between the boat and a structure.

For the record, our gunwales are (and will remain) non-slip as there are times when they have to be used, but we always recommend going through the boat rather than over it to get from one end to the other.

 

Safety warnings on hire boats are sensible and I can see why it is now part of the BSS for hire craft, however as the OP suggested to actually tell the hirers that it is illegal to walk the gunnels is rediculous.

current H&S guidelines say that a ladder is for access only and not a working platform, to say that walking the gunnels is illegal is like saying it is illegal to use a ladder.

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On 10/06/2017 at 18:09, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Me too. It's a delight to boat in the quieter months as you put it. 

It is also a delight, just a different one, to boat in high summer and marvel at all the marina dwellers with grim and stressed expressions on their faces out on their once-a-year cruises on their £100k shiny boats getting stressed in case a fender gets scratched. 

There's a H*ds*n in our marina that has put his centreline across to the next pontoon so that he's not actually touching the one that he's moored to.

Makes me smile every time I walk past.

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I was brought up walking gunnels from 6-7 years old maybe younger, to adapt an old adage one hand for yourself and one for the cant. I can also testify to the dangers, reaching for a mug from the gunnel and the subsequent very close look at the prop I got made me a lot less blasé about the whole experience. I can only imagine the incidents we've heard of in the past few years of people getting injured after falling in has led to the hire companies covering their arses. 

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Thanks all for the comments, being in the Ts & Cs makes more sense.

I must admit on a day when it is chucking it down with rain the one thing I don't want to do is walk dripping through the inside of the boat although it could be argued that in the rain the gunnels are even more dangerous.

Perhaps it was because the boat I hired had side doors on both sides which did make walking the gunnels a little more tricky.

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