How not to use a narrowboat
Discussion
IforB said:
Even if the camera boat had done something wrong (they hadn't really other than maybe been a bit cheeky in going for a mooring someone else was going for, which I will say you can see from the video, but he was the stand-on vessel and the narrow boat was the give-way one) there is still no excuse whatsoever for ramming another vessel.
I think the camera boat was not only closer to the mooring spot (it must have been because he was tying up before the narrowboat hit him) but it was on his side of the river (if that counts for anything). Either way the ramming is inexcusable; the narrowboat skipper had red mist, ego and stupidity all combined together.IforB said:
Digger said:
Anyone have a link to that boat and / or the technology that allows it to do that?
It is simply a powerful engine allied to a jet drive. Come in fast and drop the reverser buckets and give it the beans.Simpo Two said:
IforB said:
Even if the camera boat had done something wrong (they hadn't really other than maybe been a bit cheeky in going for a mooring someone else was going for, which I will say you can see from the video, but he was the stand-on vessel and the narrow boat was the give-way one) there is still no excuse whatsoever for ramming another vessel.
I think the camera boat was not only closer to the mooring spot (it must have been because he was tying up before the narrowboat hit him) but it was on his side of the river (if that counts for anything). Either way the ramming is inexcusable; the narrowboat skipper had red mist, ego and stupidity all combined together.IforB said:
Digger said:
Anyone have a link to that boat and / or the technology that allows it to do that?
It is simply a powerful engine allied to a jet drive. Come in fast and drop the reverser buckets and give it the beans.As for the Police boat, definitely jets rather than azipods. That's a fairly standard (if ballsy to do it against a Dock wall!) move. Loads of power on and just drop the buckets down. The arse end always rotates with the boat pivoting around the nose and the heavy back end wanting to still move forwards.
These probably have dual jet drives too.
KrazyIvan said:
If I may place myself in the cruiser, 'cos (a) I have one, and (b) I'd never deliberately ram another boat, I think the only thing I'd have done differently was anticipate the collision - no time to move my boat, but get round to the front sharpish and see if I could fend off Captain Asshole aboard the narrowboat Nautilus. Doubt I'd have stopped the impact but perhaps with a human body in the way he might have hit reverse a bit sooner.
Motto is - just like the roads, you have to be constantly aware. Even at 4mph.
FiF said:
My dad was in the navy in 1945 and told the story (no idea if it was true!) that Mountbatten was captain of HMS Kelly and his party trick was to come in at full chat then turn and slam it astern to stop in exactly the right place, presumably a fairly slow motion version compared to the jet boat seeing as it was 2000+ tons,, but got it wrong once and chopped the end off a pier.Meanwhile, back on topic, stopping that boat while going downstream and trying to maintain steering would have been difficult, but there was plenty of time to steer away and he was deliberately steering toward the cruiser - not the best thing to do when you have your name painted on the side of your boat!
I've seen plenty of people steering narrowboats (they aren't barges! PH, pedantry matters!) who have no idea what they were doing and flap about shoving tiller and power the wrong way, but he knew exactly what he was doing. Knob!
john2443 said:
I've seen plenty of people steering narrowboats (they aren't barges! PH, pedantry matters!)
It's not even pedantry, it's a simple matter of right and wrong. There's a series on C5 called 'Building Britain's Canals' which would be very good were it not for the fact that (for some reason I fail to fathom but it must be deliberate) insists on calling every narrowboat a 'barge'. So easy to get right. It's infuriating!Simpo Two said:
john2443 said:
I've seen plenty of people steering narrowboats (they aren't barges! PH, pedantry matters!)
It's not even pedantry, it's a simple matter of right and wrong. There's a series on C5 called 'Building Britain's Canals' which would be very good were it not for the fact that (for some reason I fail to fathom but it must be deliberate) insists on calling every narrowboat a 'barge'. So easy to get right. It's infuriating!Smollet said:
True, but apart from that I thought it was a good series and not the usual dumbed-down tripe we get.
It was. But the way they studiously avoided the term 'narrowboat' (if not by crushing ignorance which seems unlikely given the rest of the detail), makes me think it must have been done deliberately. Probably by the producer, though I can't think why. And what it means is that everyone who watches the programme to learn about canals will go away, see a narrowboat and say 'Gurr, barge!' - and also tell their children it's a barge. It's more than a name because if they hire an actual barge and try to get it through a narrow canal they will get a nasty shock! 'Ah you should have got a narrowboat' says the lock-keeper. 'What's a narrowboat?' they say...
FiF said:
Narrow boat coming downstream though I think, so not that easy to stop it, but equally no attempt to put helm on and avoid contact.
But he only gave it some beans in reverse the last few seconds, the guy was already parked in the spot 30 seconds before.Made no attempt to avoid the boat.
While having sympathy for the criticism of the use of the term barge when referring to narrowboats, presumably a TV producer might consider the average viewer attention span and want to avoid the steam train rivet counter approach, eg narrowboats, wideboats, tugs, inspection launches, Leeds and Liverpool short boats, Dutch barges. Just saying.
Back on topic, the narrowboat jockey subject of thread was certainly intent on 'barging' others out of his way.
Back on topic, the narrowboat jockey subject of thread was certainly intent on 'barging' others out of his way.
FiF said:
While having sympathy for the criticism of the use of the term barge when referring to narrowboats, presumably a TV producer might consider the average viewer attention span and want to avoid the steam train rivet counter approach, eg narrowboats, wideboats, tugs, inspection launches, Leeds and Liverpool short boats, Dutch barges. Just saying.
I half get that, but I don't think there is harm in using the term narrowboat, it's not overly complex, you can even say narrowboat a type of barge, throw in canal boat, canal tug. This barge was used on the Leeds and Liverpool canal which make it a L&L shortboat as they where not as long as most narrowboats. Whatever. Dutch barge? We're not in Holland now! 
Daniel
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