Boaters' Update January 2013
Think of this page as your one-stop shop for up-to-date boating news. It's packed full of useful information about boating on canals and rivers as well important safety announcements and upcoming events. To make sure you don't miss out, sign up and we'll send you a monthly summary and reminder email.
This is the place to find the latest boating news and views. Of course, we don't want this just to be one way. Some of the articles below ask for your views so please send them to me, Damian Kemp. My job title is bit clunky but, in brief, I'm here to talk and listen to boaters. Drop me a line if you feel like it - maybe you'd like to share something with the boating world? I can also be found on our Facebook Boating page.
To sign up for your own monthly Boaters' Updates reminder and summary, please visit My Trust and, if you haven't already, create your own account. Once you're logged in, under the communication preferences tab, check the 'boating' box.
Editor's Letter
When I first joined BW (yes, we’re still allowed to admit it!), I had the assumption that come the start of November, everybody would start to wind down. With less boating being done and fewer people on the towpath the ‘stuff to do’ pile gets smaller. Or so I thought.
Winter brings even more extreme weather (you may have noticed) and associated hazards to manage. This doesn’t stop the maintenance teams getting their big toys out to do some big jobs. This year’s no exception. Hundreds of locks are being replaced or repaired, lots of brickwork fixed and inspections are all happening right now. There’s still a chance to go along to an open day to have a look at what’s going on.
Meanwhile, lots of planning is taking place for the months ahead. We’re hoping to double the number of volunteer lock keepers to 500 this year. If you’re interested, read all about in the News section below. We also want any boater who regularly cruises in the South East to give us their views on some ideas we’ve got for 22 popular visitor mooring sites.
On that note, some of you have dropped me a line over the last few weeks. Increasingly, would-be boaters are getting in touch to ask how much a life-aboard would cost them. It’s actually a really hard question to answer if a. you don’t live on a boat so have no direct experience to draw on and b. you don’t know the intricacies of living aboard. Fine, I say how much a licence costs and, if needed, how much a mooring will cost but that’s only part of the answer they need.
Luckily, help is at hand. I came across this great website that has a free application (once you register) to guide you through all the costs of buying and maintaining a narrowboat – www.livingonanarrowboat.co.uk. You can find out more about the budgeting software here.
Damian
News
Time to pick a lock
After the success of last year’s volunteer lock assistant campaign the Canal & River Trust is once again rolling out its program to help keep Britain’s canals running smoothly and we hope to build on the success of last year. We had more than 250 volunteers helping us out along the canals during the boating season last year, and we want to extend the invitation to others who want to get involved. We'd like to encourage more people to come forward and volunteer with the Canal & River Trust at more sites and help care for their local, historic waterway.
People don’t have to live right next to the canals to volunteer with us; we want people who live in the wider community to get more involved too. As well as helping boats to pass through the lock, volunteers can use what they know about the area and its surroundings to help us inform visitors about everything it has to offer. Volunteers will have the opportunity to spend their days outdoors, helping boats through locks and gaining real hands-on experience operating the locks.
Locks are built to last and can take most of what we have to throw at them, but it’s important to take care when operating them to minimise the potential for leaks. Lock volunteers need to be relatively fit as the role involves lots of walking and physical activity. A keen interest in canals and the environment is also a must with candidates offering at least one day per week between April and September.
There are no formal entry qualifications. It is an advantage to have a good knowledge of the local area. Relevant experience, such as working in a boating environment, is also useful. On-the-job training including basic life saving techniques will be provided for all successful candidates, as well as a uniform.
See the complete list of volunteer lock keeper locations for 2013
If you would like to apply to become a volunteer lock keeper or are interested in any other volunteer opportunities, please visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/volunteering where you can use the search function on the right hand side of the page to find opportunity’s near you. To maximise your search, please filter opportunities starting within next three months. If you are interested in any of the opportunities, click on the title of the opportunity(s) and complete the online form at the bottom of the page and your details will be sent to the recruiting manager.
The Magnificent Seven
The New & Used Boat Co have confirmed that they will be exhibiting seven different boats at the 2013 Crick Boat Show & Waterways Festival. This is believed to be a record number of boats on display from a single supplier at an inland waterways boat show – certainly in modern times!
The show, which takes place 25-27 May and is expected to attract 25,000 visitors, is organised by Waterways World in partnership with the Canal & River Trust and Crick Marina.
The seven New & Used Boat Co boats to be displayed at Crick will include two narrowboats (the Swallowtail from the Hanbury range and an Aqualine Madison), plus five traditional and Dutch Barge-style widebeams. These comprise the Hanbury Monarch & Emperor wide beam boats, an Aqualine Canterbury wide beam, the unique Brigantine design which was given its first public airing at Crick 2012, and the new Eurocruiser which has been designed specifically with continental cruising in mind.
Chris Hill, Managing Director of the New & Used Boat Co, said: “Obviously it’s fair-sized logistical challenge to get as many boats to Crick and staff them for the Show, but we felt that it was necessary since our full range is one of our unique strengths. Most boats in our range are available from stock which means that we also have over 15 demonstrators available to view at any one time and our comprehensive handover and excellent after-sales service backed up by experienced engineers is also a crucial part of our offering.”
Peter Johns, Show Director for the Crick Boat Show, said: “We are delighted that The New & Used Boat Co have demonstrated this vote of confidence in the Crick Boat Show in these difficult economic times. Boats are selling if not in quite the numbers of five or six years ago and it is encouraging for the whole industry for records like this to be set. We are close to selling out all of the available floating berths in the marina for the Show so the 2013 Show will live up to its reputation as being THE place to see the widest range of inland boats anywhere.”
For more information visit www.crickboatshow.com, call 01283 742962 or visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/crickboatshow.
Carbon Monoxide – take the experts’ advice very seriously
There’s no point in beating about the bush. It’s a killer. Boats are built to be watertight and, as such, they’re very good at keeping things in, as well as out. The experts at the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) have compiled lots of sound advice that you can’t afford to miss. You can read it all online or download a leaflet. If you only click on one link in this Boaters’ Update, make sure it’s one of these.
Snippets
It’s been a busy month:
- The Trust is running a very short online survey to find out how waterway lovers use the web. It’ll only take a few minutes to complete, so please spare a little time to take part.
- Chief Exec, Robin Evans, announced he’s standing down in May after 10 years at the helm.
- Some boaters are telling us that they’ll happily hand out leaflets promoting the Trust that encourage the reader to sign up as Friend. If you’d like some, email us at SupporterCare@canalrivertrust.org.uk or give us a call on 0303 040 4040.
- Plans have been announced for an Easter Boat Gathering at the National Waterways Museum from 29 March to 1 April. Boats from all around the country meet up in the historic surroundings of Ellesmere Port. If you’re interested you can take your boat – call 0151 355 5017 and talk to a duty manager to arrange your mooring for the weekend.
Views
Comment from the cut
Long-time boater, Tug Wilson, has kindly written a thought-provoking article spanning water management, maintenance, communications and dog poo:
Ever since the Trust approached me in early January, and, asked me whether I would like to write an article for the Boater’s Update, I have been agonising as to what to write about, which to those who know me may come as a surprise, as I am never usually lost for words or an opinion!
The first thing which I would like to say is that we, as major contributors to the Trust, need to acknowledge that the Trust is our charity, and we need to work together, to shape the Trust for the benefit of all – more below!
I am hoping that the future appointments of a new Chief Executive and a new Chairman will help to put some distance between the BW of the past and the Trust of the future. I also hope that the new leadership will inspire and enthuse the remaining directors and management, as it is often disastrous when a complete clear out of senior personnel occurs.
I am encouraged by the Trust’s efforts to engage with boaters over issues which we feel have not been addressed, or need further effort to resolve. I am not going to express my views any further, other than by saying that I firmly endorse the positive approach which Sally Ash, John Dodwell and others from the Trust are reportedly taking. The boaters meetings are a perfect example of boaters organising, engaging and embracing the Trust, and shaping the direction for the benefit of all. I applaud those who have bothered to involve themselves and who have made these meetings happen.
There are so many things which I could write about, for example, the BW that was, the Trust as is, maintenance, vegetation, moorings, moorers, water levels, fellow boaters – the list goes on almost ad infinitum, so where do I start?
As is often the case, it might be easier to imagine a future waterways utopia, where:
- Water levels are never an issue
- There is no weed or rubbish in the water
- Visitors moorings are both plentiful and not abused
- Towing paths are maintained for all and are free from rubbish
- Dogs are trained to clean up after themselves and use the assigned bins to dispose of their offerings
- All lock gates are watertight
- There is no overhanging vegetation, and the vegetation on both banks is sensitively managed to provide mooring opportunities, as well as a good habitat for wildlife, whilst invasive species, both flora and fauna, have been eliminated
- All structures, e.g. bridges, lock chambers, aqueducts etc. are sound, so that the Trust’s income is spent only on preventative maintenance
- The waterways are dredged to the required depth and the maintenance programme is adequately funded and equipped to maintain this depth
- No one ever never needs to leave their boat in a lock as there are always either visitors to the waterways who delight in operating locks for boaters, or, Trust supplied lock keepers
So, if you have not glazed over whilst reading my thoughts for an ideal future, you must be thinking that I am on some strong medication, drunk, involved in a bizarre dream or a combination of all of these, but are these ideals impossible to achieve?
Take my point about water levels and couple this with the point regarding dredging – it stands to reason that if the canals are dredged to design depth, then the pounds themselves would act as mini reservoirs, as an example, the 15 mile pound between Wooton Rivers and Devizes on the K&A was always supposed to be deeper than usual, I don’t know the exact specification, but I have heard people quoting figures of up to 8 feet in depth, all to help with supplying the flight at Caen Hill. I welcome the announcement of the long overdue dredging programme, but with a sense of caution, as previous campaign’s, such as the veg pledge started out well and then came to nothing. Maybe the Trust should publish the programme, enabling us to monitor what’s going on, and dare I say it – keep the Trust honest and hold it to its commitment to us!!
I have of course been flippant with the idea of dogs clearing up their leavings, however, their owners do need training. Maybe we boaters can start a campaign and / or develop other initiatives to tackle this particularly unpleasant issue. The Trust is unlikely to convert visitors into Friends if their memory of the trip to the bankside was “it was great to see all of the boats and stuff but the kids stepped in dog s#!t” , so something is required.
My points regarding the integrity of structures and watertight locks might seem fanciful, however, if we boaters could find time, and organise ourselves into work groups for, say, 1 or 2 days per month, we could, with the assistance of the Trust, volunteer to undertake activities like cutting back overhanging vegetation, especially the often neglected offside, remove rubbish, reed and weed from the water, help to maintain the towing path etc., enabling the Trust to divert its specialist staff, money and resources, to undertake the repair of the afore mentioned infrastructure. I am very keen to hear from people who would like to help in establishing and / or participating in, such groups. I can be contacted through Facebook.
I am going to restrain from commenting upon Visitors moorings as there is much debate upon this subject within the various forums, and I was not asked to write this piece simply to spout my personal views regarding mooring!
My wife has applied to become a volunteer lock keeper, and many visitors to the waterways seem to want to help with the operation of lock, so maybe my point regarding locks wasn’t a hallucination either!
Finally, a safe and happy New Year to one and all, and here is to enjoyable boating in 2013
Tug Wilson
What do you think? Do you agree that boaters could play a pivotal part in maintaining the waterways and educating other users? Is Tug’s waterway utopia your ideal environment? Drop me a line and I’ll post the best responses here in a couple of weeks. Damian
Responses
Well, thanks to Tug, my inbox has been stretched over the last couple of weeks.
K&A:
"The Long Pound just over 16 miles of it was built deeper, about 5ft 6ins (although it is now less than 3ft) to act as a reservoir supply for The Devizes Flight and Caen Hill by the canals engineer John Rennie. He also built the Summit Pound deeper but also wider as an extra reservoir. The problem with the Long Pound is that the banks have become porous partially due to the low water levels over the years, an extra challenge. WiltonWater was opened out and dredged to ensure a constant water supply for Crofton Pumping Station to pump into the canal for both directions, Wilton, the Summit Pound and the Long Pound have not been dredged for many, many years." Elaine, long time K&A volunteer.
Unsurprisingly, one of our own hydrologists, Mat Wells, had something to say on the subject too: "I noted in ‘Views from the cut’ a few comments about water management. The one about dredging the 15 mile pound of the K&A to use it as a reservoir caught my eye. This is something we’ve considered. However, in doing so the loss rate from the canal is likely to increase so the cost-benefit of doing so didn’t stack up. We’ve recently conducted a study on K&A water resources to identify cost-effective schemes to provide a more reliable canal (in water terms). As a result a feeder was reinstated and additional works took place on worst offending lock gates.
"Also note, we published some water management FAQ’s on the website. The objective is to try to show how we manage the water in our canals and also to help to dispel some of the myths – like using pounds as reservoirs."
Dog poo:
"I read Tug's article with interest. His thoughts on the mess left by inconsiderate dog owners made me think. This situation is awful when you encounter it. How can we begin to change attitudes? Stickers on boats? The ability to be able to offer a poo bag to a dog owner who wants one or to clear it up ourselves? Bins - Last year I lost count of the poo bags hung up in non-towpath side bushes!
"To see the problem at possibly its worst, go to the area around Kings Lock on the Leicester GU. My grandchildren went there recently and could not avoid stepping in muck! Happily that is now their impression of dog owners, not the canal system. A near miss I feel." Alan.
Tug's utopia:
This subject inspired a fair few of you to write in. Our first, entertaining, response is from Leigh: "Let’s face it; with the abundance of nature in these narrow bands of land winding 2000 miles of Britain’s green and pleasant land, we are already more than half way there, regardless of dog poo, leaky lock gates and overgrown vegetation. Never a day goes by that I don’t think, "I have woken up in paradise!" and if I spend more than a week without going top side (the other world as I call it), I could honestly think the end of the world has already come and here I am living in Paradise. Unfortunately the reflection in the mirror and the growing number of grey hairs and wrinkles, tells me that I didn’t gain immortality.
"Yes, you've guessed it. I'm a 'live-a-board-a' who continually cruises the waterway network. I'm just heading for 3 years, so a bit of a newbie here I'm afraid, I salute the long timers and hope to reach 30 years afloat myself god willing! But during these past 3 years I have crammed more into my life then the previous 50! If it helps my boating credibility as well, I endured the coldest winter to date and I don’t think I would be wrong in saying, the wettest year on record, without getting sick of candles, condensation and mud, mud, glorious mud! For me, the waterways are already utopia, but of course we all know that isn't the truth, but I'm sure you will forgive me thinking that after living and working topside in the concrete jungle of speed and noise for all that time previous, totally oblivious of this little world of fairies, toadstools, frogs and princes, when a four mile journey makes you feel like you've travelled to the ends of the earth! It's an Irish waterways imbued with all the charms of the lucky shamrock and the little folk.
"All romanticising aside, we are a two man crew and because of this, faulty locks, empty pounds, running aground can all be taken in our strides. Boat handling is much easier when there’s two of you. I must admit, for the first twelve months of my new life I did worry constantly about how I would cope if the unimaginable ever happened and I was left to deal with the waterways single handed. I'm only 5' 4" and not all that well built! What a total joy it would be if all those fears could be done away with knowing that this beautiful waterway system of ours ran without a hitch! I've dreamed of electronic lock gates! Now there’s a thought.
"I'm really in favour of us all getting involved in any way we can. I know that I always clear up any place where we stop, yes, including the dog poo. I have two dogs myself and walk 4 or 5 miles every day along the canal and surrounding nature areas. My solution to the poopy scoop problem is I carry a small shovel which is attached to the end of quite a fancy twisted walking stick. I must admit the many many people who have seen me walking always comment on this item, it’s been much admired and joked about. I hope the idea catches on, as I for one really dislike the hanging poo bags! Maybe an entrepreneur of the waterways could start a business selling such a tool? As for litter and the like, I have to say I don't see a lot. So the clear up days are certainly working in the places I go.
"My only concern with some of the volunteer work is the endless dreaded health and safety procedures! I used to be a member of a friends group where I lived before moving afloat, and you had to have a lecture on how to use a shovel and a fork before you could even pick one up! Arrrrg... if only we could be trusted to be sensible, grown up adults with more than half a brain. Jobs would take half as long and cost a lot less if we could just get stuck in and get the job done without the need for high viz and hard hats! Maybe we could cut through all this red tape if we each signed a clause saying we would be responsible for our own body members and promise we wouldn't sue if we lost any of them on a job we were doing."
Simon sent in his part serious, part humourous, thoughts: "Mr Wilson obviously has a top sense of humour, and has seen a great deal of cut life. Best of luck with his shopping list!
"Utopia would be never finding a really stiff lock gate when you are tired or on your own, a decent pub around the corner when you are ready for a break, moorings every time it chucks it down, and dare I say it – less of the ‘narrowboat elite’; the few private owners who consider ‘hire boaters’ a lower class who know nothing and are not fit for weeding their flower boxes.
"In our case we have met many private/permanent boaters, who are wonderfully helpful, friendly, welcoming and are willing to take turns at locks, and lend a hand with ropes at difficult/busy moorings, and show us new things. We have met others who refuse to allow you to temporarily moor alongside whilst queuing to prevent drift (in fear of the paint job?), treat us as serfs whose duty is to close the locks behinds them, and push past our craft to get to their favourite mooring, and snub general chit chat. One permanent boat resident chastised me with awful language for going past her perfectly manicured boat at about 1mph, but within 3 feet, totally unaware a group of drunk revellers were coming the other way midstream (and had been a total pain in the neck earlier in the afternoon), so I slowed and kept well out of their way.
"We have also met many hire boaters, from novices to idiots, learners to very experienced, with cheery friendly crews who once met wave you through the next, share locks and even refreshments when keeping a similar pace. What a great way to behave.
"After about 30 years of hiring narrowboats, all over the UK, we like to think we have a clue. We love the canals for a short break, and enjoy the people in the main. A camaraderie exists which you find rarely any where else, and there is an unwritten trust/respect. We are pleased to help newcomers, or the less fit or physically challenged (as others have helped us), and sometimes even pass on some knowledge or help a crew out of a scrape. Some times it is appropriate to warn boaters (private and hired) about issues ahead/behind too.
"We are also keen to use the Scouting adage – ‘leave things as you find them’, or better perhaps. We do clean up after our dog, ourselves, and also clean up odd bits of litter we find in passing. We reset paddles and gates if left incorrectly, and occasionally have rung to report level issues, obstructions and serious defects. We respect other canal users basically.
"I suspect there is as much likelihood of the dog pooh issue being caused by local walkers using the towpaths, rather than canal users. But I also think horse owners should be made to clear up after their charges too. I’ve never seen a horse on a narrow boat.
"Canals are mainly rural, or in pockets of green in urban areas, and perhaps the wider visiting public should expect wildlife and be educated to be responsible too. Rats leave diseases (Weils for one – which can be fatal), wild birds, hedgehogs, foxes, pigeons, feral cats, and other towpath residents hold all sorts of health issues. Then there is the water itself (not good), poisonous & stinging plants, algae, the health and safety issues of lock gates, lock keys (windlass), submerged shopping trollies, fly tipping, drug use, drunks, butane leaks on board
"So please don’t get too hung up about dogs – it seems to be a popular issue targeted by most councils and large bodies, but is out of proportion to the bigger issues, as most domestic dogs are immunised and fairly safe health wise. I would however like to stamp out the very minor issue of the ‘class system’: just because our hire boat doesn’t have a Jacuzzi doesn’t make us Vietnamese Boat People!"
When’s a boat not a boat?
A little while ago I wrote an article about the plethora of boating blogs found online. On that digital literary journey I came across some, shall we say, less common uses for a boat. Starting at the more obvious end of the spectrum, there’s a thriving community of boats selling canal-ware and useful boating stuff, such as www.nbhadar.co.uk and www.dracocrafts.com. That’s to be expected, right?
And I guess it’s not that odd that there’s a 5* hotel boat, www.ladyteal.co.uk, on the Leeds & Liverpool. What about a floating artist though, www.canalartist.com? Or a floating hair salon, www.thefloatingsalon.com? I also found an ice cream boat, www.icecreambarge.co.uk, and a cheese boat, www.thecheeseboat.co.uk. Just to be clear, the boats aren’t made of ice cream or cheese, that’s what they sell. Perhaps the most surprising, at least to me, was the Funion Bargee, www.mkpa.wordpress.com. It’s a boat belonging to the Milton Keynes Play Association. The name is the giveaway – it’s used to ‘bring play to children in the area… and help them appreciate the canal.’ Excellent!
I don’t expect I’ve even scratched the surface of unusual trades being plied from boats. If you’ve come across something unexpected (or consider your own boating business unique), drop me a line, including a web link if possible, and I’ll post them up here in a couple of weeks.
Responses
I was right, I hadn't even scratched the surface. Perhaps more embarrassingly, I actually omitted to include a theatre company that we have, and continue to, work with - The Mikron Theatre. I do hope they forgive me!
I was also made aware that there is a Pirate enlightening boaters around the canal system (LED lighting) www.baddiethepirate.co.uk.
The End.
PS Belated Happy New Year!
Damian
