The Cambridgeshire waterways are a very relaxed place to be and there aren’t too many rules and regulations to remember. However, if you’re new to boating, these five tips should help your first cruise to go more smoothly.

1. Overtake at a Leisurely Pace

If you intend to overtake another craft, allow the boat ahead of you enough time to slow down. The skipper may indicate which side they would prefer you to pass them, although it is usual to overtake on the left because narrowboats cruise on the right. Make sure that you overtake slowly to avoid creating too much wash.

2. Keep Below the Speed Limit

Although the general limit on the inland waterways is 4mph, the usual speed for travel is slower. Cruising too fast will cause a wash to hit the bank, and will create waves that disturb moored boats.  The speed limit can be different on rivers and broader canals. On the River Great Ouse the limit is 4mph and 7mph; these are signposted. Tidal river navigation speed limit is 15mph. Remember also that a river current may increase or decrease your cruising speed. You should also slow down on the approach to locks, bends, junctions and bridges.

3. Give Way at ‘Bridge Holes’

If you meet another boat at a bridge, the boat closest to the bridge hole has right of way. Because of reduced visibility you should approach bridges slowly. If you need to give way, wait on the right side of the navigation, allowing enough room for the oncoming boat to pass yours. If someone gives way to you, be sure to acknowledge their courtesy with a nod or friendly wave. On a river, the boat coming downstream has right of way.

4. Learn One Sound Signal

A bridge hole, junction, tunnel or blind bend is the perfect opportunity to sound your horn and let other boaters know that you are approaching. There are a specific set of sound signals set out in The Boaters Handbook, but most boaters are simply aware that one long blast means “Boat coming through!”

5. Improve Your Skills

If you want to take a canal holiday, but feel a bit daunted at the thought of operating the boat, we operate a one day training course in boat handling. Two ladies who completed the course in September 2014 said:

“A brilliant course, has given me a lot more confidence. A most enjoyable day and very informative.”

“The best parts of the course were turning and mooring and seeing an otter.”

The course covers all the basics, including boat safety, deck work, helmsmanship, locks and mooring: RYA Inland Helmsman Courses. Alternatively, an instructor can accompany you for a day during your holiday and train up to three crew members.

Peggy ~ The Narrowboat Wife

Disclaimer: This cruising advice is for general guidance only. If you are unsure about any element of canal boat navigation and operation, seek advice or training from an experienced skipper.

The post Navigate Like a Pro-Skipper: 5 Essential Tips appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

Legging or leggin’ it means to propel a boat through a tunnel (without a towpath) by lying on planks and ‘walking’ along the walls or the roof. Toe rag is now sometimes spelled as tow rag because the original background story has long since been forgotten.

When you begin boating on the cut (the canal) you start to learn all sorts of weird and wonderful slang words and boating terms. Some of my favourites are:

Crack the paddles: A paddle is a ‘trap-door’ that allows or prevents water to flow through a lock gate.  So the phrase just means to wind the paddles up on a lock gate.

Strapping in: This means stopping the boat on a post of some sort using a rope.

Cheesing the ropes: Cheesing is to tidy your ropes by winding them into a lovely spiral shape.

 Fenland boater Amy, from M.BWillow says,

“Some things vary by area. In the Fens, paddles are known as slackers or penstocks and on the Severn a narrowboat is a longboat, and what we call a cabin shaft on the canals is a hookshaft on the Severn.  In the Fens we also call a dock or mooring a staithe, and a man-made drainage channel is a lode.

Amy is a huge fan of historic boats. She says, “Toe rag was used as a slang term to describe Severn canal boats and their steerers! No idea why! As the owner and steerer of my own Severner I find it interesting… if a bit offensive!”

Val Manning, author of the narrowboat novel The Other Side of Solitude says, “Not really canal-related, but a lane is called a drove. You also have a lot of Fenland place names relating to witchcraft, such as Wicken and Coveney.”

Other waterways words are used right across the network; such as butty, which is a cargo narrowboat that has no engine and is towed by one that does. A barge however is a canal or river cargo-carrying boat with a beam (12ft or more) that is about twice that of a narrow boat. The term is often incorrectly used to describe any boat carrying goods on a waterway.

The place where a canal narrows under a bridge is known as a bridge hole and a flight is a series of locks rising uphill with pounds in between them.  Inside each lock you will find a cill, which is a doorstep on which the lock gates sit.

A winding hole is a short length of very wide canal, used as a place to turn a boat around, and it is pronounced ‘whin-ding’; not ‘wine-ding’. It is so named because the wind can be used to help the boat to turn.

However, my favourite canal word is probably Gongoozler; meaning a bystander who enjoys watching the activities of boats and boater as they pass by.

What’s your canal lingo like? Do you have any favourite words or phrases? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

New to boating? You may also like What’s it Like to Actually Steer a Narrowboat?

https://www.foxboats.co.uk/whats-it-like-to-actually-steer-a-narrowboat/

For more ideas to add to this year’s holiday plans, sign up for digital updates from this blog. (We never share or sell email addresses – your details are safe with us.) Just look for ‘Follow Blog’ in the sidebar on the right and get insider knowledge about the Fenland Waterways.

The post Canal Lingo Those Toe Rags Won’t Tell You About appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.