Great Canal Journeys

[Riley Blue]

Laurel Green said:

Tim's helmsmanship has certainly not improved.

Perhaps due the case of Riesling they puchased...

[nicanary]

Riley Blue said:

Laurel Green said:

Tim's helmsmanship has certainly not improved.

Perhaps due the case of Riesling they puchased...

Boat users are regularly stopped, arrested and fined for drunken navigation on British inland waters - I don't see why Europe should be any different. I suspect the programme was edited to make more of this, but all the same they do seem to knock it back.

Re the earlier comment about sawing at the wheel - I totally agree. Tim seems to find it necessary to constantly make adjustments to his course, for no apparent reason.

[Davel]

Especially when he spins the wheel lock to lock to take a minor turn.

Does he drive?

[Laurel Green]

Davel said:

Especially when he spins the wheel lock to lock to take a minor turn.

Does he drive?

Exactly what I was wondering - if he does I certainly wouldn't like his premiums.

[FiF]

Laurel Green said:

Davel said:

Especially when he spins the wheel lock to lock to take a minor turn.

Does he drive?

Exactly what I was wondering - if he does I certainly wouldn't like his premiums.

I think the problem he has is that after a lifetime of tiller steering, which is of course very direct and done largely by feel, wheel helms are devoid of feel and can be rather low geared. Add on something with forward control and it can be difficult to steer a really straight course, you regularly see hirers fishtailing about. Having said that, all it needs is a bit of application, figure out the straight ahead position of the helm, apply a bit of insulating tape to the wheel if it helps.

The other thing I wonder is that he's an Actooorrr, a real luvvie, so maybe it's a bit of adding to the part. Problem is he doesn't appear to be able to do the twiddle, and then get straight back to ahead, gets into a right old tank slapper.

On the situation with the hotel boat, I wondered if due to draught / channel they wanted him to pass starboard to starboard? Old boy was pissed off afterwards though. Pru standard response " wine o'clock!"

[The Mad Monk]

Laurel Green said:

Davel said:

Especially when he spins the wheel lock to lock to take a minor turn.

Does he drive?

Exactly what I was wondering - if he does I certainly wouldn't like his premiums.

I don't doubt the money he gets from the telly work, more than pays for his car insurance.

[M3333]

FiF said:

Laurel Green said:

Davel said:

Especially when he spins the wheel lock to lock to take a minor turn.

Does he drive?

Exactly what I was wondering - if he does I certainly wouldn't like his premiums.

I think the problem he has is that after a lifetime of tiller steering, which is of course very direct and done largely by feel, wheel helms are devoid of feel and can be rather low geared. Add on something with forward control and it can be difficult to steer a really straight course, you regularly see hirers fishtailing about. Having said that, all it needs is a bit of application, figure out the straight ahead position of the helm, apply a bit of insulating tape to the wheel if it helps.

The other thing I wonder is that he's an Actooorrr, a real luvvie, so maybe it's a bit of adding to the part. Problem is he doesn't appear to be able to do the twiddle, and then get straight back to ahead, gets into a right old tank slapper.

On the situation with the hotel boat, I wondered if due to draught / channel they wanted him to pass starboard to starboard? Old boy was pissed off afterwards though. Pru standard response " wine o'clock!"

Bloody French!! Made me chuckle. Enjoyed watching it. I miss our canal boat.

[Pan Pan Pan]

It may be down to his age, but for someone with apparently circa 50 years of boating under his belt, his boat handling skills seem to leave a lot to be desired. regardless of what type of boat they are in, he seems to park it, or enter / leave locks etc by sound.
On the latest series they seem to have edited out the bits where they moor up, because they may be a bit wince inducing, as he seems to barge into jetties, locks, banks, other boats etc, and sometimes at what seem like inappropriate speeds.

[Biker 1]

nicanary said:

Boat users are regularly stopped, arrested and fined for drunken navigation on British inland waters

I've done a bit of boating & never ever seen anyone pulled. Any statistics available?

Edited by Biker 1 on Wednesday 8th November 09:35

[Riley Blue]

Biker 1 said:

nicanary said:

Boat users are regularly stopped, arrested and fined for drunken navigation on British inland waters

I've don a bit of boating & never ever seen anyone pulled. Any statistics available?

During my weekend on the Thames in a friend's Dutch barge on just about every boat we passed there was alcohol being consumed and when we moored up at Goring for lunch it was party time. It really opened my eyes to life afloat, especially when I was shown the wine cellar on the boat moored next to us.

[nicanary]

Biker 1 said:

nicanary said:

Boat users are regularly stopped, arrested and fined for drunken navigation on British inland waters

I've done a bit of boating & never ever seen anyone pulled. Any statistics available?

Edited by Biker 1 on Wednesday 8th November 09:35

I'll admit my memory refers to life over 30 years ago, but when I lived in Norwich the paper would have court cases every week about (usually) holidaymakers getting nabbed. Not pulled over as such, but reported to the police and stopped at the nearest vantage point.

[CanAm]

FiF said:

I think the problem he has is that after a lifetime of tiller steering, which is of course very direct and done largely by feel, wheel helms are devoid of feel and can be rather low geared. Add on something with forward control and it can be difficult to steer a really straight course, you regularly see hirers fishtailing about.............

We hired a barge shaped boat on the Thames some years ago. It was VERY forward-control and with the back end doing the steering it definitely took some getting used to.

On a slightly different tack, when my recorded programme finished the other night, I found myself midway through a film on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It consisted solely of a camera stuck on the front of a boat, with no commentary or dialogue, and ran for almost two hours! I didn't watch it to the end.

[Bonefish Blues]

CanAm said:

On a slightly different tack, when my recorded programme finished the other night, I found myself midway through a film on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It consisted solely of a camera stuck on the front of a boat, with no commentary or dialogue, and ran for almost two hours! I didn't watch it to the end.

You'll melt when you see the one on the sledge then!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03cvhqv

[FiF]

Bonefish Blues said:

CanAm said:

On a slightly different tack, when my recorded programme finished the other night, I found myself midway through a film on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It consisted solely of a camera stuck on the front of a boat, with no commentary or dialogue, and ran for almost two hours! I didn't watch it to the end.

You'll melt when you see the one on the sledge then!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03cvhqv

Or the one going down Severn Valley Railway on the footplate of Flying Scotsman

Full video isn't on iPlayer now but a taster. https://youtu.be/buf4vQh5u6U

Or if you really are up for it, minute by minute Bergen to Oslo in full HD, All 7 hours of it.
https://youtu.be/z7VYVjR_nwE

[CanAm]

I think I prefer the old BBC film on a train's footplate, "London to Brighton in Five Minutes"

[Laurel Green]

A new two parter starts this evening at 8 o'clock.

[Bonefish Blues]

Obliged

[FiF]

Thanks, boating through Portugal, plenty of port then on top of "wine o'clock?"

[alfie2244]

Almost got the river to themselves...probably just as well with his steering and all that port

[Laurel Green]

The ancient site where they came to mate - just like Glastonbury.