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Post by JohnV on May 5, 2019 16:58:12 GMT
welcome aboard Nemesis ...... ok, pleasantries over now for the argument I think to a certain extent it depends on the canal ...... even with the current levels of dredging you might have trouble standing up in the S&SY or the A&C I mentioned the lifejackets I carry on Sabina There is also a 6 man clamshell liferaft. In fairness however my present location is up the (tidal) river Hull (which particularly at the lower end is not somewhere you would wish to fall in, especially on the ebb)and my current cruising area is the Humber estuary, the tidal Ouse and Trent. some big buggers on the Hull SAM_1743 by mudlarker2, on Flickr
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2019 17:02:16 GMT
Thames management moved from TC to TWA in 1974 so we must have another old git on board Which is good. Would love to hear from @nemesis about boating on the Thames before I was born (1974).big fan of Thames history I have the badges and other memorabilia on my boats
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Post by thebfg on May 5, 2019 17:02:16 GMT
Welcome aboard.
My two although they can swim wear crewsaver style inflatable jackets when doing locks or bridges.
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Post by larkboy on May 6, 2019 8:19:22 GMT
Just seen this post on life jackets and it got me thinking about mine. I bought 2 adult and 1 junior 14 years ago when I bought the boat and they have basically sat in a cupboard inside the boat for all of that time, one of them still in its packet. The 2 adult ones are Ocean Safety and the junior one is an XM and all look like new. Never took to wearing them as we're on the non tidal Great Ouse and it's always pretty benign. However, neither I nor Debbie are youngsters anymore, and I, having fallen in in October a few years back have experienced the disorientation of cold shock It's made me think we should wear them, especially in the winter months and certainly in locks. Are these worth getting serviced, or should I bin them and start again. It does seem a waste to bin them as they've been kept indoors, but obviously they're no good if they don't work and I have no wish to find out they don't when I or Debbie falls in.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2019 8:32:19 GMT
welcome aboard Nemesis ...... ok, pleasantries over now for the argument I think to a certain extent it depends on the canal ...... even with the current levels of dredging you might have trouble standing up in the S&SY or the A&C I mentioned the lifejackets I carry on Sabina There is also a 6 man clamshell liferaft. In fairness however my present location is up the (tidal) river Hull (which particularly at the lower end is not somewhere you would wish to fall in, especially on the ebb)and my current cruising area is the Humber estuary, the tidal Ouse and Trent. some big buggers on the Hull SAM_1743 by mudlarker2, on Flickr Well I guess its better to over-prepare than not prepare at all. I bet speedboat guy has a regret or two. And I know what you mean about the Trent, I once went as far as Keadby - an impressive tidal range. Bit of a difference compared to the GU! But if anyone had suggested to me that I should be wearing a life-jacket on the cut I would have laughed. Still, there days if you don't wear a cycle helmet, people look at you in a funny way. And in the world of dinghy sailing, anyone not wearing some sort of safety device is not well-thought of. Larkboy, they are probably fine. But if they are the self-inflating kind can you still buy spare cartridges? Maybe you could take them for a test at the local swimming pool.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2019 8:34:44 GMT
Thames management moved from TC to TWA in 1974 so we must have another old git on board Which is good. Would love to hear from @nemesis about boating on the Thames before I was born (1974).big fan of Thames history I have the badges and other memorabilia on my boats This is how it was back then. The canal was moribund and neglected. Not many were living on it but nobody gave a god-damn if you did or you didn't. You stayed as long as you liked pretty much anywhere you liked. By contrast the river was lively and vibrant. All the locks were manned by a guy with pressed trousers and polished shoes and everything worked. If you kept a low profile then not much happened, but if you came to the attention of the river patrol guys it could get sticky. They all had the air of being ex-forces and one of them in particular hated me. However, it was easy to find a mooring - again, if you were good at keeping the peace a blind eye was turned to the fact you were living aboard. There was no such thing as the BSS, but the TC had their own rules and for a while they hassled me over that but I couldn't work out if it annoyed them more that I did as they said or not. One thing they did as an intimidation thing was to have all the locks set in your favour as you went along. The message seemed to be 'we've got our eye on you sonny'. But it was all worth it. The Thames is glorious. I miss it.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2019 8:48:35 GMT
Its lovely. I'm cruising up the Bourne End reach currently. Superb.
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Post by bargemast on May 6, 2019 9:53:57 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2019 9:58:06 GMT
Its scary. I spent a day recently towing this bloke down some locks as he had a little grp with no engine. Anyway when we got to destination I asked him about the rather large plough anchor he said "have it its much too big I never use it" I gave him £20 for it. He tried to give it back but I insisted. Never mentioned it to my phone but had adverts for anchors turning up soon after.
Worrying really.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2019 10:29:49 GMT
Welcome to the premier boat, caravan and moped related forum on the internet @nemesis No moderation here ... boy can you tell some days I wondered if you were a member of any 'inferior' forums ? And just to stay on topic, I've never worn any kind of buoyancy aid but have often considered buying a couple. The trouble is I only really think about them as we enter rivers, and we rarely do rivers. Rog
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Post by Jim on May 6, 2019 10:56:27 GMT
As can those huge invisible Bridge stanchions on the Thames.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2019 11:42:40 GMT
Welcome to the premier boat, caravan and moped related forum on the internet @nemesis No moderation here ... boy can you tell some days I wondered if you were a member of any 'inferior' forums ? And just to stay on topic, I've never worn any kind of buoyancy aid but have often considered buying a couple. The trouble is I only really think about them as we enter rivers, and we rarely do rivers. Rog Hi Dogless I am not a member of any other any other canal forum except 'canalworld', which I joined only a short time ago. Seems helpful enough. There is another forum I sometimes participate in but I'm pig-sick of the anally-retentive nature of it. It has nothing to do with canals. Don't worry, I am not 'in disguise'. Anyhow, a PFD can't hurt, nor are they expensive. Some people use one of these for obvious reasons: www.bigorangewatersports.co.uk/buoyancy-jackets/impact-jacketsI have seen respected-brand items go for as little as £20.00. Us sailor-types sometimes also wear a drysuit. www.bigorangewatersports.co.uk/sailing/drysuitsThese things are great when the weather is foul, you could sleep on the roof in a rainstorm and feel good about it. I mention it because they provide some additional buoyancy as well. They are not, however, particularly cheap but would be the dogs danglers on that horrid day in January when you had to move your boat whether you wanted to or not. If you ended up in the soup the only part of you which will get wet is your head. You can also wear any amount of thermals underneath it. One other thing - I have no relationship to Big Orange Watersports! I have bought stuff from them in the past and was never disappointed.
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Post by greenman on May 8, 2019 5:33:04 GMT
Just seen this post on life jackets and it got me thinking about mine. I bought 2 adult and 1 junior 14 years ago when I bought the boat and they have basically sat in a cupboard inside the boat for all of that time, one of them still in its packet. The 2 adult ones are Ocean Safety and the junior one is an XM and all look like new. Never took to wearing them as we're on the non tidal Great Ouse and it's always pretty benign. However, neither I nor Debbie are youngsters anymore, and I, having fallen in in October a few years back have experienced the disorientation of cold shock It's made me think we should wear them, especially in the winter months and certainly in locks. Are these worth getting serviced, or should I bin them and start again. It does seem a waste to bin them as they've been kept indoors, but obviously they're no good if they don't work and I have no wish to find out they don't when I or Debbie falls in. If they're still like new activate them and make sure they stay inflated for a couple of hours. If they're fine put a new re-arming kit on them and repack. Kits cost about £15-20
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Post by larkboy on May 8, 2019 8:47:48 GMT
Just seen this post on life jackets and it got me thinking about mine. I bought 2 adult and 1 junior 14 years ago when I bought the boat and they have basically sat in a cupboard inside the boat for all of that time, one of them still in its packet. The 2 adult ones are Ocean Safety and the junior one is an XM and all look like new. Never took to wearing them as we're on the non tidal Great Ouse and it's always pretty benign. However, neither I nor Debbie are youngsters anymore, and I, having fallen in in October a few years back have experienced the disorientation of cold shock It's made me think we should wear them, especially in the winter months and certainly in locks. Are these worth getting serviced, or should I bin them and start again. It does seem a waste to bin them as they've been kept indoors, but obviously they're no good if they don't work and I have no wish to find out they don't when I or Debbie falls in. If they're still like new activate them and make sure they stay inflated for a couple of hours. If they're fine put a new re-arming kit on them and repack. Kits cost about £15-20 Cheers, am already on it. Have blown them all up manually and all stayed up for two days. The CO2 cylinders were all ok and all weighed what they should. I just need to order the automatic activator cartridges and all should be well.
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Post by patty on May 10, 2019 18:30:04 GMT
I struggle with those lifejackets that u put on like a waistcoat and inflate when u fall in..just cannot seem to get them on right. Just spent a week going ashore in little rib boat so 'powers that b, Elf n safety' insisted but in the end someone had to help me get the jacket on every time...Gawd knows what I'd have done in an Emergency...
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