Thoughts.

I have received the latest Boaters Update. I think that C&RT are trying hard on the communications front and by letting everybody knowing what they are doing, why and when they are doing it must only be a good thing. The fact that they welcome comments is also good. I hope that they get some good ones as well as what I expect will be the majority of bad ones. Helen and I have offered our services as 'Boating Buddies' where people in C&RT offices join you for a day to see what life on the canal is all about. They surely will do their job with more insight if they have been on the cut and hopefully relationships between 'us' and 'them' will be made and barriers broken down. If you are interested drop an email to Damian Kemp at,                                Damian.Kemp@canalrivertrust.org.uk

Picture from Canal World Forum posted by L. Hogg, of left to right Laurence Hogg (owner of 'Barnet'), Jonothan Ludford and Oddette Myall from the C&RT Office. This was a Boating Buddies trip from this time last year.

The last ask Update asked for thoughts on lock etiquette and this time they are asking for the same for moorings and asked whether you should share mooring rings? I can not for the life of me think why anybody wouldn't want to. Surely you would lose far to much space on a mooring. Once we left the Trent and have arrived at busier waterways I have been observing the speed of boats passing moorings and indeed the boats that are moored. I have come to the conclusion that boats appear to be travelling much faster if you are sitting inside your boat and only see them flash past a window. If you are outside and see the approach and passing it always seems to be slower. I therefore think that people do get a little uptight about the speed of boats, and sometimes this may be without justification. Of course some boats do speed, but again from my observations I think many do slow down but often not early enough so the bow wave is still as if on the higher revs and so still causes displacement and drag on the moored boat. Much better to slow down at least two boat lengths away. This obviously also depends on your initial speed, further away the faster you are travelling. I reckon that once you are abreast the moored boat you can increase speed again as the speed will obviously take time to pick up.

You wouldn't want to be sitting down to your dinner when this passed!

Looking at the moored boats I also see that many should take more care with mooring arrangements. For the best results I like to have a line leading a good distance ahead and astern, over two metres from the bow/stern. If I have a choice I also like to have this line leading from the off side of the boat. I see so many boats tied up with very short lines that are almost perpendicular to the boat and this will never give longitudinal stability (sounds good that doesn't it) to prevent surging as boats pass. You can use bow/stern springs instead of bow/stern lines but then can only use the towpath side leads and so not as much 'pull' into the bank. Rarely have I used bow/stern lines and a spring but this gives even better stability. Once again I think passing of moored boats is just a matter of treating others as you would want to be treated but before you start glaring pay good attention to your moorings, and keep them tight! It is no good tying up one day and expecting them to still be tight and keeping your boat still two or three days later.