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Braunston Historic Boat Gathering - This Weekend


alan_fincher

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2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Yesterday a particularly well known ex working boatman managed to come through the ladder bridge and hit the piling opposite so hard that s0me are reckoning the front rode up it so far the base plate was out of the water.  All describe it as by far the biggest knock they have ever seen at a Braunston show.

Positioned where we were today, (as shown in your picture) we saw more (full length) boats hit the piling (at least a bit) than those) that did not.  My general feeling having watched many others was that perhaps I'm a better steerer than I sometimes think I am. :P

I think there maybe a reason for so many boats not getting it right at the Ladder Bridge turn this year.

I understand it has been dredged.

Unladen and lightly ballasted working boats, especially ex GUs, have little depth in the water at the fore end.

They've all taken the turn as they have before, many of them many times, but owing to the increased depth, they are no longer gaining the advantage of the pressure of water that builds up at the fore end between the boat and the bank.

So maybe it's now a tough call to do this in one, but some will still make it.

I know. It's easy for me with 2.5ft under the water at the stem post, and only a 54ft boat.

But it's all worth thinking about.

James

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7 hours ago, JamesWoolcock said:

I think there maybe a reason for so many boats not getting it right at the Ladder Bridge turn this year.

I understand it has been dredged.

Unladen and lightly ballasted working boats, especially ex GUs, have little depth in the water at the fore end.

They've all taken the turn as they have before, many of them many times, but owing to the increased depth, they are no longer gaining the advantage of the pressure of water that builds up at the fore end between the boat and the bank.

So maybe it's now a tough call to do this in one, but some will still make it.

I know. It's easy for me with 2.5ft under the water at the stem post, and only a 54ft boat.

But it's all worth thinking about.

James

At least one GU boat appeared to come around easily in one yesterday, but it has an underclothes conversion so is deeper in at the front than the empty ones. Nuneaton and Brighton barely touched, but the butty helps push you around

 

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8 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Regarding your last comment, how good a steerer do you sometimes think you am? Like, did you hit the piling coming around? I bet you didn't! :)

With Flamingo it was only my second time around ever, and although prop changes have improved thins massive ly it is still effectively a part loaded boat that is often reluctant to hold back. Hence I go cautiously and don't hit things.

(Although I don't of course exercise the same caution with Sickle if it is you coming the other way on Reg - as you have found out in the past!)

Edited by alan_fincher
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I did hit the piling on Saturday afternoon but that was my first time steering through there with a full length boat. Sunday morning (or was it afternoon by then?) I was ready for it and managed to miss it. The Sunday parade was the first time ever that I had steered Nutfield through the whole parade route and it certainly was an experience!

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1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

At least one GU boat appeared to come around easily in one yesterday, but it has an underclothes conversion so is deeper in at the front than the empty ones. Nuneaton and Brighton barely touched, but the butty helps push you around

 

Sounds like that boat is "pants" :P

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1 hour ago, IanM said:

I did hit the piling on Saturday afternoon but that was my first time steering through there with a full length boat. Sunday morning (or was it afternoon by then?) I was ready for it and managed to miss it. The Sunday parade was the first time ever that I had steered Nutfield through the whole parade route and it certainly was an experience!

Ian, "The boy done good." :cheers:

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I think it was Hadley that came round behind us on Saturday, he must have missed the bank by millimetres but the steerer kept it wound on so I presume it was what he expected. Certainly didn't look worried he was going to hit anything.

When I came round in Scorpio it just seemed to keep going straight and I had to reverse back and try again, not sure if it was the wind blowing towards the locks or something on the blades.

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Many thanks for making us welcome as an exhibitor this year.

Well done to EMU for getting the best presented boat gong.

Only one video shot this year feat. Nuneaton & Brighton, Adamant, Casseopeia, Reginald, Panther (with TV crew), Progress and Sudbury.

 

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On 21/06/2017 at 12:29, nicknorman said:

Of course that is nothing to do with the fact that the entire extent of equipment on "historic boats" is no more than a coal stove and paraffin lamp, whereas modern boats are full of electrics, electronics and shore power connections.

 

Fact checking required!

All the 1930s built GUCCCo boats like ours were fitted with electric lighting from new, and had no reliance on parrafin!

12 hours ago, Rob-M said:

I've added a few pictures from Saturday to my Flickr album, I'll add some more when I get home next week.

 

https://flic.kr/s/aHskXCmDqm

 

 

I recognise that boat - thought we had crept around unrecorded

35513708836_f70cf768bd_k.jpg20170624_152400 by Rob Manning, on Flickr

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5 minutes ago, Starcoaster said:

"The engine, I believe, is a Glennifer DB2"...Seconds later, shot into engine room at totally not a Glennifer anything!

Norman was apparently using a three year old version of the commentator's notes, and was two engines out of date...

Yes, we need to do something about that

Richard

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27 minutes ago, Starcoaster said:

"The engine, I believe, is a Glennifer DB2"...Seconds later, shot into engine room at totally not a Glennifer anything!

Norman was apparently using a three year old version of the commentator's notes, and was two engines out of date...

 

21 minutes ago, RLWP said:

Yes, we need to do something about that

Richard

In my opinion the commentator should know his subject and not be relying on notes :captain:

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1 hour ago, pete harrison said:

 

In my opinion the commentator should know his subject and not be relying on notes :captain:

The notes have severely caught him out in the past.......

....... when there were two "Owls", one of which Fellows Morton and Clayton built, and the other of which is a very much newer boat.

It should have been fairly obvious the description he was reading didn't in any way match the boat being paraded, but he carried on anyway!

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13 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

The notes have severely caught him out in the past.......

....... when there were two "Owls", one of which Fellows Morton and Clayton built, and the other of which is a very much newer boat.

It should have been fairly obvious the description he was reading didn't in any way match the boat being paraded, but he carried on anyway!

It probably makes it worse when the notes are drawn up by somebody else.

Last year I stood on the bridge over Braunston Marina directly next to the Commentator during one of the parades and I was shocked on two counts, one being the quality of information and the other how highly regarded the Commentator was considered by those surrounding us. I do not know who the Commentator is or what qualifies him to carry out this role, but I did not stay on the bridge for long for fear of interupting :captain:

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On 28/06/2017 at 00:23, David Mack said:

Aren't the commentaries simply read out from the information provided by boat owners when booking in?

 

No.

I spent 20 minutes drafting an up to date description of REGINALD in particular including an explanation of the recent engine changes which I submitted with my Festival entry. All ignored.

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Having entered Belfast for the first time this year he was certainly reading out my history when we passed, and the description of Fulbourne sounded like the one I submitted a few years ago. 

For boats which have been there in previous years, perhaps they just use the information already on file and the updated version is ignored?

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