Bruce 2 : Hireboat 0

[JennyMorgan]

Private boat owners really have no excuse.

[annv]

The ones i recognize are arms held at shoulder height moving up and down for distress and for a tow a coiled rope in right hand held to a boat approaching. John

[Smoggy]

3 hours ago, Paul said:

am i the only one concerned with the title of this thread. I never realised that boating on the broads was a competition to see how many hire boats you can damage. 

Do you get a reward for a hat trick, footballers get the match ball, what could we give a boater?

Is there a league table? 

Do you put a little sticker on the cockpit wall when you "bag one" like the flying aces of WWII?

I thought the navigation bylaws require all skippers to do all possible to avoid contact. Silly me!

 

As the op I must remind the bit about being moored and having a snooze, avoidance was never an option on my part.

[rightsaidfred]

Sadly those that are to thick to respect speed limits only recorgnise one signal and thats a single digit.

As for those in distress most of those I have helped were day boats and with the last one the only thanks I got from the yard concerned after towing the boat back a couple of miles was keep out of it or words to that affect.

Fred

[Paul]

2 hours ago, Smoggy said:

As the op I must remind the bit about being moored and having a snooze, avoidance was never an option on my part.

And you think that's a defence? Asleep in charge of a vessel, must be worth a good keel hauling!

 

 

[Upcycler]

On 31/08/2020 at 06:52, MauriceMynah said:

So, two novice families (4 adults 4 children)  should not be allowed to have a broads holiday as the boat hired to them would be too big for them to handle? Discuss.

I have piloted a Cessna single prop, so a 747 would be like a walk in the park. 

[grendel]

7 hours ago, Upcycler said:

I have piloted a Cessna single prop, so a 747 would be like a walk in the park. 

hardly a fair comparison since a cessna can be flown by one person whereas a 747 has a crew of over 15 (with either 2 or 3 actual flight crew in the cockpit) that would be like saying you could pilot a cruise ship solo, while with careful planning a large cruiser can be handled solo, its far easier with the large crew it can carry to handle the ropes while the helm positions the boat.

[Vaughan]

On 31/08/2020 at 07:52, MauriceMynah said:

So, two novice families (4 adults 4 children)  should not be allowed to have a broads holiday as the boat hired to them would be too big for them to handle? Discuss.

OK, I'll discuss!

In my experience the easiest and kindliest Broads hire boat to drive, is the centre cockpit AF42, closely followed by the Solar (Bounty) 37 or 44 - even though it is a front drive bathtub.  This is all down to underwater shape.  A displacement hull with a long deep keel and a "hard chine" construction, a generous rudder and a large, coarse pitched prop.  There is no doubt that where purpose - built river boats are concerned, a long, heavy boat is much easier to handle than a small one.

There are good small ones too, probably the best being the Elysian 27 aft cockpit.  An old but iconic design.

Solo helming however, is a different subject from just boat handling.

Solo helming means thinking things out in advance and making preparations.  The placing of mooring ropes for quick access; leaving certain cabin doors pinned open, etc.  Solo helming needs enough experience so that you can take your time, and "let the boat do the work".  There is also no doubt that certain boats suit themselves to solo helming : others do not!

[TheQ]

On 30/08/2020 at 15:09, JanetAnne said:

Hands up those that have not cocked up a mooring or a manoeuvre whilst boating this year. 

I won't be amongst you 

Me.. haven't been out this year..

[Paul]

4 hours ago, grendel said:

hardly a fair comparison since a cessna can be flown by one person whereas a 747 has a crew of over 15 (with either 2 or 3 actual flight crew in the cockpit)

ah, but still only one person ever flies it, and 95% of the time that's the computer.

[grendel]

no computers on broads cruisers so that makes it more invalid

 

[JennyMorgan]

23 minutes ago, grendel said:

no computers on broads cruisers so that makes it more invalid

 

I suspect that Robin/London Lad's Independence, and a few others, are more than capable of navigating via satellites and computers! Perhaps BA will be suitably equipped this winter!  

[webntweb]

5 hours ago, Vaughan said:

In my experience the easiest and kindliest Broads hire boat to drive, is the centre cockpit AF42.

One of the first large boats I hired was an ex Woods King of Light AF42 in 1983 and was surprised how straight it stayed in reverse. I reversed the whole length of the back moorings at Woods and it stayed in a straight line for almost the whole distance.

As for all round handling I was really confident from the upper helm on Lightning (AF43 Diamond) which responded well even at the lowest speeds.

[MaceSwinger]

OK, I'll discuss!
In my experience the easiest and kindliest Broads hire boat to drive, is the centre cockpit AF42, closely followed by the Solar (Bounty) 37 or 44 - even though it is a front drive bathtub.  This is all down to underwater shape.  A displacement hull with a long deep keel and a "hard chine" construction, a generous rudder and a large, coarse pitched prop.  There is no doubt that where purpose - built river boats are concerned, a long, heavy boat is much easier to handle than a small one.
There are good small ones too, probably the best being the Elysian 27 aft cockpit.  An old but iconic design.
Solo helming however, is a different subject from just boat handling.
Solo helming means thinking things out in advance and making preparations.  The placing of mooring ropes for quick access; leaving certain cabin doors pinned open, etc.  Solo helming needs enough experience so that you can take your time, and "let the boat do the work".  There is also no doubt that certain boats suit themselves to solo helming : others do not!

I actually found the the Sumatras that Brinks hired as Sonata was pretty good for solo crusing. Open rear deck, long enough warps to lie down the (very small) gunwales, electric mudweight and decent all round visibility with the canopy removed (although that was a right ballache!)

Sonata was the first boat I solo'd, and although I'm not a novice, I didn't any real trouble, even if there was enormous scope for it!

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[Smoggy]

3 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

I suspect that Robin/London Lad's Independence, and a few others, are more than capable of navigating via satellites and computers! Perhaps BA will be suitably equipped this winter!  

It'd be the only thing that does navigate it..

[CambridgeCabby]

I would be astounded if there was any helm amongst us that has not made a total cock up of a mooring especially in winds similar to those encountered lately , whether they be private or hirer .

The newer larger hire craft have almost without exception bow thrusters fitted , many also have stern thrusters , ergo these larger craft are much easier to manoeuvre than smaller craft without the aids.

On Saturday last , Kate and I were moored up on Neatishead sheltering from the wind and spent a large portion of the afternoon taking stern lines from cruisers (including one privateer) and pulling them down into the dyke as the winds were causing helms great difficulty in achieving any semblance of being able to gain a mooring .

We literally went from boat to boat , passing the lines to other boats already moored to assist and without exception everyone was more than happy to help when we asked them , a perfect example of Broadland spirit .

This resulted not only in “self preservation” but also enabling others to relax and hanker down safely , and I must have turned down an offer of at least a dozen pints (yes I know unbelievable for me ) .

editted to add , hands sanitised after every time and social distancing respected 

[Tobster]

The Ideal 40 was the best handling hire craft I ever drove, very nearly turned on it own axis, and very stable on the rivers even in high winds.



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