Tiller Sweep

[Chertsey]

I stand in front of the tiller on my cruiser, put the tiller in the middle of my back, hands in my pocket or drinking tea and steer with my back, of course this is only ok if heading straight or minor bends.

Waiting now for comments how bad this is....

Or turning the page of the map, or texting, or making a note in the log...

 

I'm lucky in that my boat will keep itself on course without being steered at all where the conditions are right, which is more impressive still. I even managed to walk round the gunnel to collect a cup of tea on my last trip, when the teamaker didn't fancy the gunnel walk. And of course that is probably more risky than 99.9% of the time spent standing in the arc of the tiller... But better than them falling in or me not getting my tea. I was going quite slowly :-)

Not bad at all, I'm sure lots of us have done that, and boy, don't it look cool?

 

Until the tiller slips from your back and the boat veers into the bank before you can retrieve the errant stick.

I don't think I would steer with my back when going that fast!

[MartinC]

 

If I had a boat built, I would have a longer (but not wider) sliding hatch than the customary square shape. Having boated extensively with and without, it does allow a second person to stand in safety, particularly if they stand lower than the steerer's step. It also makes access to and from the counter much easier in a modern trad. Apart from a less-traditional look, there is little downside.

 

 

 

Our boat has a square but wider hatch which, I understand, is a feature of a typical Paul Widdowson shell. Means Mrs C can stand in the rain alongside me and we are both clear of the tiller

[Sea Dog]

Why change sides often when, if facing directly forwards, there is no need to.

 

Well, one particularly good reason is that by moving your position on the boat towards the outside of a bend you can see further around it, thus allowing you to see upcoming hazards or oncoming boats much earlier. This is a technique all Police/Advanced Drivers and Motorcyclists will be well aware of.

[Athy]

 

Well, one particularly good reason is that by moving your position on the boat towards the outside of a bend you can see further around it, thus allowing you to see upcoming hazards or oncoming boats much earlier. This is a technique all Police/Advanced Drivers and Motorcyclists will be well aware of.

Yes, known in technical terms as "Looking where you're going", and definitely a Good Thing.

 

Habitués of the South Oxford will be well used to craning their necks this way and that in an attempt to see what's coming from behind the next bit of intrusive offside vegetation!

[Wanderer Vagabond]

 

Well, one particularly good reason is that by moving your position on the boat towards the outside of a bend you can see further around it, thus allowing you to see upcoming hazards or oncoming boats much earlier. This is a technique all Police/Advanced Drivers and Motorcyclists will be well aware of.

The advanced driver method is to actually move your vehicle towards the outside of the bend to increase your view (if safe to do so), which is what I tend to do with the boat. The difference in moving 4 feet across the stern of the boat compared with moving the boat 10 feet across the canal is negligible. The added advantage is that you can go in wide and come out shallow on the bends if there is something coming the other way. If you stick to your side (the right) going into a right hand bend you will swing onto the other side of the canal as you come out of it, unwise if there is something coming the other way.

 

The other driving method that is useful is to actually look where the canal is going beyond the next bend and see if there is anything coming in your sight. Someone moving smoothly behind a hedge could well be standing on the stern of a boat

Edited October 19, 2016 by Wanderer Vagabond

[Athy]

 

 

The other driving method that is useful is to actually look where the canal is going beyond the next bend and see if there is anything coming in your sight. Someone moving smoothly behind a hedge could well be standing on the stern of a boat

I guess that most of us do that wherever possible.

If they aren't standing on the stern of a boat, they must be levitating, which is unlikely, so assume "boat"!

[Dave Payne]

Yes, known in technical terms as "Looking where you're going", and definitely a Good Thing.

 

Habitués of the South Oxford will be well used to craning their necks this way and that in an attempt to see what's coming from behind the next bit of intrusive offside vegetation!

And some parts of the N Oxford between ansty and rugby, last time I went down I went down I was tempted to get my scissors out and trim some bush, zero visibility on some bends.

[Top cat]

Need more than scissors, chain saw more like.

 

T C

[Sea Dog]

The advanced driver method is to actually move your vehicle towards the outside of the bend to increase your view (if safe to do so), which is what I tend to do with the boat. The difference in moving 4 feet across the stern of the boat compared with moving the boat 10 feet across the canal is negligible.

 

I think you're just being norty now WV! Usually when you move your car your head goes with it, but whether the boat, car or your head move, or a combination of things, its where your eyes end up that counts. Positioning your boat well can help enormously, of course, but it isnt always sensible to have the boat on the left hand side of the cut , in the rushes, etc. Notwithstanding that though, position for position, there's at least an extra 3-4 feet to be gained by shifting the steerers position from the centre line. Bloomin' loads of extra visibility to gain over being on the inside line!

[FadeToScarlet]

If the boat is not on the outside, it won't go around the corner! Fun with a deep draft. Although get it right and it steers itself around, with the tiller held straight still.

[Richard T]

Some years ago a school teacher was killed in Birmingham when she was knocked off the stern of a narrowboat by the tiller when the rudder hit an underwater obstruction whilst reversing. She ended up wrapped round the prop - not a nice way to die.

We stand inside the stern doors when steering - Tyto is a trad boat with a large slide so we can have three people on the top step!! I change position regularly to suit wind, rain, sun oncoming boats etc.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Some years ago a school teacher was killed in Birmingham when she was knocked off the stern of a narrowboat by the tiller when the rudder hit an underwater obstruction whilst reversing. She ended up wrapped round the prop - not a nice way to die.

We stand inside the stern doors when steering - Tyto is a trad boat with a large slide so we can have three people on the top step!! I change position regularly to suit wind, rain, sun oncoming boats etc.

I don't think anyone misses the risk when the boat is reversing, I would have 18 ton of boat trying to push the tiller one way or the other if I hit anything, not much chance of stopping that. The question is how much force is put on the tiller arm by hitting an underwater obstruction whilst going forwards. If such a risk does exist I would suggest that actually holding the tiller rather than just resting your hand on it would also pose a risk of injury, breaking your wrist if the boat hit an underwater obstruction. My view is that the risk is minimal.

[ditchcrawler]

I don't think anyone misses the risk when the boat is reversing, I would have 18 ton of boat trying to push the tiller one way or the other if I hit anything, not much chance of stopping that. The question is how much force is put on the tiller arm by hitting an underwater obstruction whilst going forwards. If such a risk does exist I would suggest that actually holding the tiller rather than just resting your hand on it would also pose a risk of injury, breaking your wrist if the boat hit an underwater obstruction. My view is that the risk is minimal.

I like your sig.

[Athy]

And some parts of the N Oxford between ansty and rugby, last time I went down I went down I was tempted to get my scissors out and trim some bush, zero visibility on some bends.

So why didn't you?

[Dave Payne]

They are not very sharp.

[Chertsey]

I know some people who carry serious pruning kit, including loppers and saws. The trouble is you need a big unconverted boat to remove all the stuff you've chopped off.

[FadeToScarlet]

I know some people who carry serious pruning kit, including loppers and saws. The trouble is you need a big unconverted boat to remove all the stuff you've chopped off.

Anything you chop off is, legally, still the property of the person whose land the tree stands upon.

 

So, if it's in, say, an offside garden, you ought to chuck it all onto their lawn!

[1agos]

That's why you change sides often. You haven't got to face in one direction all day!

 

Can your OH not stand on the gunwales, if there's no room in the hatch? We do, or sit on the cabin-top, getting down where necessary.

I expect more accidents may have happened when peeps have slipped of the gunwale than steering from within the tiller arc. This I have witnessed twice, both times in a marina so no harm done.

 

 

 

 

A risk assessor would ask:

What is the likelihood of being propelled into the cut by the tiller.

Answer from this thread more likely when going in reverse.

 

Can the risk of being knocked into the cut by the tiller be eliminated.

Answer yes by standing on the top step etc.

 

but this then introduces another risk of injury for me( the cricked neck).

 

I suppose we all have all looked at the risk and adopted positions at the tiller as circumstances change. I change positions in & out of the hatch area on auto pilot as other boats approach or tight bends are navigated.

I'll never be beside the tiller in reverse or in locks.

 

Thanks for the discussion guy's.

[Sea Dog]

 

I suppose we all have all looked at the risk and adopted positions at the tiller as circumstances change.

Except some won't have given it a thought until discussions like this, so it's well worth the exchange of views.

[Athy]

Anything you chop off is, legally, still the property of the person whose land the tree stands upon.

 

So, if it's in, say, an offside garden, you ought to chuck it all onto their lawn!

It's not always practicable to do that. We do some pruning and lopping (the weeping willow over the narrow bit below Cropredy lock is one of our specialities), but there's a high wall between the canal and the garden in which that tree grows, so we tend to throw the clippings either into the water or into the towpath hedge bottom instead. I suspect that's what most people do.

[tree monkey]

Anything you chop off is, legally, still the property of the person whose land the tree stands upon.

So, if it's in, say, an offside garden, you ought to chuck it all onto their lawn!

To be strictly correct, you have to offer the debris/brash to the owner of the tree, if they say no you have to dispose of it, just throwing it under the tree is considered fly tipping

[Neil2]

To be strictly correct, you have to offer the debris/brash to the owner of the tree, if they say no you have to dispose of it, just throwing it under the tree is considered fly tipping

 

We have an apple tree that overhangs our neighbours garden and deposits fruit on their lawn. The first year we were here she did indeed call round and ask us if we wanted all the apples that had fallen on their side, explaining that she understood it to be the law. Being a professional Yorkshireman of course I said they could keep them if we got a pie in return and payment was duly received, and consumed. This little ritual now happens every year.

Edited October 20, 2016 by Neil2

[Athy]

 

We have an apple tree that overhangs our neighbours garden and deposits fruit on their lawn. The first year we were here she did indeed call round and ask us if we wanted all the apples that had fallen on their side, explaining that she understood it to be the law. Being a professional Yorkshireman of course I said they could keep them if we got a pie in return and payment was duly received, and consumed. This little ritual now happens every year.

How pleasing to read a tale of human beings behaving like human beings.

[tree monkey]

We have an apple tree that overhangs our neighbours garden and deposits fruit on their lawn. The first year we were here she did indeed call round and ask us if we wanted all the apples that had fallen on their side, explaining that she understood it to be the law. Being a professional Yorkshireman of course I said they could keep them if we got a pie in return and payment was duly received, and consumed. This little ritual now happens every year.

 

That's a lovely story

[ditchcrawler]

 

We have an apple tree that overhangs our neighbours garden and deposits fruit on their lawn. The first year we were here she did indeed call round and ask us if we wanted all the apples that had fallen on their side, explaining that she understood it to be the law. Being a professional Yorkshireman of course I said they could keep them if we got a pie in return and payment was duly received, and consumed. This little ritual now happens every year.

I have people who come and strip my bullace hedge and we get a jar of jam or bottle of wine, likewise the damsons