First time canal boat – Fox Narrowboat Fens

Have you ever been sailing?

Had a go on a motor cruiser?

Or are you mystified by nautical terms and the thought of complicated knots and navigating knowledge?

If you’ve already been sailing, or have some experience with a GRP motor cruiser, you may be wondering how different a canal boat can be. A narrowboat holiday can leave you feeling refreshed and re-energised. Even with no previous experience of boating our customers discover it’s easy to master a canal boat.

Setting Off

A narrowboat pivots somewhere near its middle; meaning when the bow goes left the stern goes to the right and vice versa. So when setting off from the bank it’s easiest if one of your crew pushes the bow out from the bank, and then walks back along the towpath to join the helmsman on the back deck. The boat is now pointed towards the centre of the canal and you can set off.

Steering

The first rule of canal boating is that boaters drive on the right. The second rule of canal boating is that we don’t call it “driving” but instead we say “steering!”

Even an experienced boater can find that the amount of control you have over the boat is directly linked to the number of spectators around! If nobody is watching you will have perfect control, and yet, mysteriously, if lots of people are watching you the boat can seem to have a mind of its own! (Fun fact: the word for a person who enjoys watching boats going by is a “gongoozler!”)

Tiller steering is different to wheel steering, but once you get the hang of it you will find a tiller easier to use. Push the tiller to the right to steer left, and to the left to steer right. You can’t steer at all when the boat is in neutral. Cruising forwards is fine, but there is a lot less control over the direction of the boat when the engine is in reverse.

Stopping the boat takes a lot longer than you might expect. To stop you will have to put the boat into reverse, but don’t expect it to stop any time soon. Steel narrowboats have a lot of momentum, so when you want to stop you’ll have to plan ahead. Everything happens much more slowly than it would with a light GRP cruiser, so although you may be aware that you are going to crash in five seconds time, you may not be able to avoid it if you haven’t put the engine into reverse in time!

It can also be trickier to steer on a windy day, as the wind may take the boat drifting across the navigation, but many of our local waterways are quite wide.

However, don’t let any of this put you off. You will be given full training before setting off from our hire boat base, and first time boaters generally enjoy their holidays without any mishaps or difficulty, taking to it like a duck to water.

Mooring Up

On the inland waterways stern and bow lines are only used for mooring. To moor up, slow the boat right down to tickover and gently steer towards the bank at a shallow angle. Gently putting the boat in reverse will bring it to a stop. Step off the boat holding the centre line (mooring rope). Official moorings will have mooring rings or bollards; but at a rural mooring you will need to use mooring pins.

Working the Locks

Before setting off our instructor will give you some basic training in boat handling and explain how to operate a lock. You will need an L-shaped tool called a windlass, (provided with the boat,) to open the paddles on the lock gates, which will either fill or empty the lock, depending on which direction you are travelling in. If you’re completely new to narrowboating ideally you may like one or two people to operate the lock, plus somebody to steer the boat. You will need to temporarily moor the boat to the bollards provided at the lock landing, while you set the lock, ready for your boat to go through.

Read: How to Work a Lock (Even if You’ve Never Done it) for a more detailed explanation, including our top safety tips.

Smaller locks are operated by you and your crew, and some larger tidal locks are operated by lock keepers.

“Lovely day on the waterways of Fenland, took a leisurely trip to Benwick from March.

Youngsters were left speechless with seeing Kingfishers, fish, heron and dragonflies.

Gavin’s instructional tutorial was easy to follow, and we soon chugged down the River Nene. Thanks to Paula and the team for a memorable day!” – Niki D. (Tripadvisor).

If you enjoyed reading these boating tips sign up for 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 we’ll send you stories, tips and advice about narrowboating around the Fens.

Image Credit: Fox Narrowboats

The post Is it Difficult to Drive a Narrowboat? appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.

Are you new to canal boating?

Are you planning your first narrowboat holiday?

Are you wondering if locks are really complicated?

Don’t worry. These simple tips will ensure that your first canal boat cruise goes smoothly, and that you impress your crew with your amazing lock operating skills!

Before you set off on your first cruise, make sure the windlasses are somewhere that you can reach them easily. A windlass is an essential L-shaped tool that allows you to operate the locks. How to use a windlass will be part of the narrowboat handover process with our friendly staff, who will be happy to answer any questions you have about working a lock.

If this is your first time narrowboating you may be wondering if it is difficult to operate a lock, and how many people will need to be involved. For an experienced boater a lock can be navigated single handed, but we wouldn’t recommend that, if this is your first time boating. If you have booked a narrowboat holiday with us, we are assuming you are bringing along some willing and helpful family and friends. Ideally you will need one or two people to operate the lock, plus somebody to navigate the boat.

As you approach the lock you will need to nominate a steerer to be in charge of the tiller. This person will first be responsible for guiding the boat towards the bank, so that one or more crew members can carefully step onto the bank. You will need to temporarily moor the boat to the bollards provided at the lock landing, while you set the lock, ready for your boat to approach. A lock is a structure that allows a boat to travel uphill or downhill to another level of the waterway. However, some locks, such as Lodes End Lock on the Middle Level waterways, are all on one level: Even when there is no difference in levels, you must still ensure that all gates are closed behind you.

The lock gates are opened by pushing a balance beam. After you have opened one gate you will need to cross the lock to open the other one. There is usually a bridge to cross on. When both gates are open, the steerer can untie the mooring ropes and gently, slowly guide the bow into the lock. As soon as the front of the boat enters the lock you will want to put the boat into reverse gear to slow the boat down to a stop. You may like to throw a mid-rope over (going down a level) or up (if you’re going up) to a crew member standing on the lock-side. Warn everybody that locks can be deep and dangerous places; we suggest no running next to a lock. At the hire base before you depart, our instructors will explain how to use a windlass to open the paddles on the lock gates, which will either fill or empty the lock, depending on which direction you are travelling in. The currents caused by this can be surprisingly strong, so the boat can be held steady with a loose rope around a bollard, or by using the engine to pull the boat against the current.

When travelling downhill it is very important to note the cill marker – a painted line on the edge of the lock that will guide you to keep clear of an underwater ledge, which is not visible until the lock is almost empty. The boat must keep forward of this point to avoid being caught on the cill, which can quickly cause a boat to get stuck, tip at an angle and sometimes even sink. Things can go wrong in a lock very quickly, so be sure that everybody knows their role, and that any children are safe while you operate the lock. Finally, after the lock has been emptied or filled, the paddles can be wound down, and the gates are opened to allow your boat to leave the lock chamber.

Always close the gates of a lock behind you. This saves water, and prepares the lock for the next boaters approaching to use it. If you see other boaters around before using a lock it is considered polite to wait and share the lock; this also saves water. At busy locations you may even have to wait to use a lock.

Having read this article we hope you now feel confident enough to nominate yourself to operate the locks with your crew! You may also like to read: What’s 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.

Image credit: Fox Narrowboats

The post How to Work a Lock (Even if You’ve Never Done it) appeared first on Fox Narrowboats.