|
Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 20, 2020 12:13:52 GMT
Lots of boats speeding past here in Nantwich today. I'm not the type to yell 'slow down!'. It just seems like unnecessary conflict to me. I have been tempted on occasion though!
Anyway I was wondering, does anyone on this forum indulge in 'slow down!' shouting? If you do, what sort of responses do you get from speeding boaters?
|
|
|
Post by kris on Sept 20, 2020 12:19:27 GMT
No it’s not worth it, unfortunately the sunshine has brought them all out again.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 12:20:00 GMT
Done it twice in five years, once to an older chap who sped it past me when I was working on the boat, I used swear words as he was going for it and I can only guess thought nobody was on the boat, as I was on rings it dull bounce the boat a bit.
Second time I had just pulled up and stepped off boat holding center line, boat behind so was waiting for him to pass before I tied up, he put his foot down and dragged my boat and me down the towpath, again I lost it and shouted some abuse.
Both occasions they have looked at me and then hastily turned away, I must look scary when shouting abuse..
If someone passes me and they don’t appear to slow down I usually just ignore them rather than be false and wave, boats tied up correctly, nice and tight so I don’t bounce around, no big deal.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 12:44:43 GMT
I always pass moored boats slowly but don't bother interacting with the speeders. I remember meeting someone who had an old, fragile wooden narrow boat who did usually interact with people who failed to show respect and slow down.
On one occasion he caught up with them at a bridge hole by foot and smashed their windows with his shaft.
Possible "issues" there so worth being careful if you do race around too much. One day you'll pass the wrong person.
To be fair I have not been on narrow ditches for quite a while now and it is definitely a different story on the narrows.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 13:53:31 GMT
Pointless exercise ... the racers keep on racing. Jane quite often thanks folks when they pass slowly. Last trip to Chester earlier this year, we passed the long line of moored boats at Golden Nook farm which takes about 45 mins in tick over. Chatting with moored boat owners, having a laugh sun shining, god's in his heaven. I have to keep dropping out of gear on these occasions as a large prop and good swim means we tend to move along well even in tick over ... but we're very nosy and like a good skeg. Suddenly the guy about 20th boat from the end leaps up in his boat, gesticulating wildly and shouting 'slow down'. I'm afraid I shouted back 'dick head ... I'm not even in gear' at which he ducked out of sight. I felt bad after, for permitting his bad mood to affect mine ... but he's just a shouter ... the shouters shout ... the racers race Rog
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 14:00:43 GMT
The only time I have heard any comment was when I was helping move a friend's boat and yes we were on a mover and he (friend) was not into crawling past moorings.
Bloke on a LTM (assume properly tied up) gesticulates and shouts "Slow Down" so Steve retorted "I'm afraid this is as good as it gets - if you don't like it then buy a caravan and it won't happen".
I quite enjoyed that while disagreeing on principle with passing boats at speed.
I must say I have been known to shout "speed up - you are going too slowly" at boats which are overdoing the slow down thing but I'm not convinced they understood the humour.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 14:05:03 GMT
I know all about the 'mooring properly' debate etc. but rather like the lycra clad cyclists who race by you at 30mph , it just seems disrespectful, inconsiderate and rude.
But I rather think those that do it will continue to do so whether shouted at or not.
Rog
|
|
|
Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 20, 2020 15:14:57 GMT
Pointless exercise ... the racers keep on racing. Jane quite often thanks folks when they pass slowly. Last trip to Chester earlier this year, we passed the long line of moored boats at Golden Nook farm which takes about 45 mins in tick over. Chatting with moored boat owners, having a laugh sun shining, god's in his heaven. I have to keep dropping out of gear on these occasions as a large prop and good swim means we tend to move along well even in tick over ... but we're very nosy and like a good skeg. Suddenly the guy about 20th boat from the end leaps up in his boat, gesticulating wildly and shouting 'slow down'. I'm afraid I shouted back 'dick head ... I'm not even in gear' at which he ducked out of sight. I felt bad after, for permitting his bad mood to affect mine ... but he's just a shouter ... the shouters shout ... the racers race Rog I must admit that if I'm unfairly challenged my usual response is either 'dick head' or 'knob head'. I use them sparingly, just a couple of times this year, to over zealous Covid Nazis. I've never been shouted at myself. A woman once looked at me and shook her head. I presume this was because she thought I was going too fast or equally, it could have been because she thought I was ugly.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 15:16:31 GMT
Maybe it was a disguised approval. She might have thought you were amazing and shook her head because she could not believe what she was seeing. ETA I didn't realise little narrow boats were subject to the whole slow down nonsense. It seems to me to be related more to vessels with a heavier displacement such as S(ado) M(asochism) Hudson's boats. I wonder if Telemachus has been hollered at for not slowing down or do they usually appreciate his disappearing quickly.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 15:54:13 GMT
Pointless exercise ... the racers keep on racing. Jane quite often thanks folks when they pass slowly. Last trip to Chester earlier this year, we passed the long line of moored boats at Golden Nook farm which takes about 45 mins in tick over. Chatting with moored boat owners, having a laugh sun shining, god's in his heaven. I have to keep dropping out of gear on these occasions as a large prop and good swim means we tend to move along well even in tick over ... but we're very nosy and like a good skeg. Suddenly the guy about 20th boat from the end leaps up in his boat, gesticulating wildly and shouting 'slow down'. I'm afraid I shouted back 'dick head ... I'm not even in gear' at which he ducked out of sight. I felt bad after, for permitting his bad mood to affect mine ... but he's just a shouter ... the shouters shout ... the racers race Rog We had exactly the same thing many moons ago on the Nene at a location that shall not be named. In the little 16' Mayland coasting by out of gear, old fella pokes his head out the hatch and yells "BLOODY SLOW DOWN!!" My response was along the lines of "I'm awfully sorry old chap I'm in neutral, I'd have to go in reverse to appease you" or words to that effect 😁 Only joking, short and sweet and may have had a couple of bits of Anglo Saxon sprinkled in 😵 I know of another cruiser owner who was shouted at by a nutter in March to slow down - he definitely couldn't slow down; on account of the fact he was under tow having had his outdrive shit itself on Well Creek. His mate towing him was on a narrowboat and go no such abuse despite being the one regulating the speed! Oh how we all laughed😬🙈🍻
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 20:28:38 GMT
Yesterday it seemed there were boats going past at 3 or 4mph all day long. Today it was a bit less busy, and for some reason more people seemed inclined to slow down a bit. Go figure, as they say.
I can understand that it gets frustrating when you get to a line of moored boats that stretches on and off for a half a mile, and at 1mph you know it'll take half an hour to pass them. And then maybe there'll be another line within a mile or two, in a busy region. I'm not sure what the solution is.
On one hand, even though I've tightened up my ropes I still got a fair bouncing around from speedy boats at times today. And I have to say, it does get pretty bloody annoying. But on the other hand, if someone has to reach their destination (water point, elsan, shop etc) by a set time, they will naturally want to press on- and after all, the waterways were intended to be highways, not static living areas.
It is what it is, I guess. Its nice when people slow down a bit, but I dont expect it, and I'm saving my canal rage for when its really needed.
|
|
|
Post by Telemachus on Sept 20, 2020 21:34:10 GMT
It (slow down shouting) seems to be a recent phenomena on the rural roads I take between Aberdeen and the gliding club. Drove back tonight. Firstly there is a tight corner with a nearby house (next nearest house is a mile or so away). It is on a B road but obviously a 60 limit, even though one can’t do 60 for much of the way. There have been a few signs over the years saying “SLOW DOWN” but obvs. I ignore them and go at the speed I think is appropriate, probably 30-40mph approaching the corner. This time there was a willowy (read eccentric looking) late middle aged woman standing at the side of the road outside the house, flapping her arm in a “SLOW DOWN” gesture. I stopped to ask what was up. She looked slightly flustered that I’d stopped, and said in an English accent “There is a sheep on the road just round the corner. It is very dangerous”. I thanked her and carried on, whilst being nearly certain there wouldn’t be a sheep. There wasn’t. Pretty certain she was just passing her evening getting a kick out of making cars slow down. Bear in mind this is the highlands, 7pm on a Sunday evening and I doubt there would be more than 1 car every 15 mins or so. Better than the TV i suppose
A couple of miles down the road is a small ribbon hamlet, maybe 10 houses. It’s been a 40 limit for many years. I’ve never seen anyone speeding through it. But today I noticed a very large handwritten sign in someone’s front garden saying “40MPH SPEED LIMIT”. It is just a few yards from the official 40mph speed limit sign. I wonder what is in the mind of someone doing that. Surely if one is going to ignore an official speed limit sign, why would they take heed of someone’s hand written rant?
Then onto an A road, it’s fast with very little traffic. There is a longish straight down and up and at the bottom is a house set right beside the road. It’s probably been there for 100 years or more. It was for sale a couple of years ago and some friends looked at it but dismissed it as being too close to the fast road. Obviously now been bought by white settlers. As I sped past I saw a small red sign that had obviously be professionally made. It said “slow down, children and animals in the road”. By the time I could read the small sign I was just a few yards away from it so absolutely zero chance of changing my speed significantly even if I’d wanted to.
I did want to go back and stick a hand written sign over it saying “you bought a house right next to a road with a 60mph speed limit. You need to keep your children and animals off the road, otherwise they will be killed”. Maybe next time I pass...
It’s a NIMBY thing. Move up from the Deep South into an idyllic highland retreat ... and then complain about everyone else doing what they have always done, or even existing. Other versions include buying a house by an airfield and then complaining about aircraft, buying a house by a canal and then complaining about boats. And yes, buying a boat and then complaining because when you are moored, other boats have the temerity to be moving. Definitely got worse this year due to the lockdown thing.
|
|
|
Post by Telemachus on Sept 20, 2020 21:44:13 GMT
Oh and I have been boating for about 50 years, I can’t ever remember shouting “SLOW DOWN” to anyone. What would be the point? We very rarely get shouted at, despite having deep draft that moves a lot of water and a relatively fast tickover speed, I think because the engine is very quiet. People just don’t hear us coming. So the only sound is the screaming coming from those boaters who perpetually have an open pan of boiling water perched precariously on the edge of the hob with their tiny babies playing on the floor just below the cooker, as we surge silently past.
|
|
|
Post by Telemachus on Sept 20, 2020 21:53:03 GMT
On one hand, even though I've tightened up my ropes I still got a fair bouncing around from speedy boats at times today. And I have to say, it does get pretty bloody annoying. Are you tied up to rings or piling? If so, it should be possible to tie your boat up and have a couple of fenders such that the boat doesn’t move around much. Only if you are on pins is that harder (because the pins tend to pull through the ground). Please do not take your cue for how to tie up by looking at other boats. 90% of them haven’t a clue! The main force acting on the boat is a fore/aft one, and yet so many people have their lines at 90 deg to the boat, which is the worst possible direction to resist a fore/aft pull. If you have you lines at 45degrees or so, they stand a chance of resisting the fore/aft pull. Or if you really want to tie you boat up properly, have additional long lines at a shallow angle (called springs) to take the fore/aft pull.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2020 21:58:38 GMT
On one hand, even though I've tightened up my ropes I still got a fair bouncing around from speedy boats at times today. And I have to say, it does get pretty bloody annoying. Are you tied up to rings or piling? If so, it should be possible to tie your boat up and have a couple of fenders such that the boat doesn’t move around much. Only if you are on pins is that harder (because the pins tend to pull through the ground). Please do not take your cue for how to tie up by looking at other boats. 90% of them haven’t a clue! The main force acting on the boat is a fore/aft one, and yet so many people have their lines at 90 deg to the boat, which is the worst possible direction to resist a fore/aft pull. If you have you lines at 45degrees or so, they stand a chance of resisting the fore/aft pull. Or if you really want to tie you boat up properly, have additional long lines at a shallow angle (called springs) to take the fore/aft pull. Yes, I've read about the benefits of springs. Tightening up the lines certainly helped today, and I think springs will help even more, but I dont have a lot of spare rope yet, so I'll add springs when I next moor up for 5 days, which I think will be a week on Monday.
|
|