Never mind how to take corners. The stress on your face I find very entertaining..... Keep on boating. You've achieved more than I did when I tried......
20 of us hired two coal boats from Braunston back in 1969. We were told increase the engine speed when you need to get better steerage. (It does work but it also makes you go faster!) I did but still didn't get through bridge 122. Hit it fair and square. Still on the canals but very wary of that bridge and some other bends on the summit particularly bridge 131! In shallow water and close to the bank there are additional forces on the boat that make steering difficult. A helmsman course would be a quick way to learn or RUclips or practice. Good luck
Thanks for sharing the story. It is good to know that you also had trouble with the bridges. The tip about the banks is appreciated. You may find it hard to believe after watching the video, but I have done a helmsman course. I think it was a case of good course, bad student. I plan to get in a lot of practice of the tight corners in the coming years. Again, thanks for the comment.
Lynne, Gateshead Tyne and wear, am watching your channel , a think you did great their getting through all that with no experience, me dad steered one just on a holiday rented long boat, you had no other choice but to get it to your new mooring, keep it slow until you get the ropes of it. Nice boat in the summer it will be fantastic.
You need water to be flowing over your rudder for it to ‘bite’, otherwise you lose steerage and won’t turn. Obviously you don’t want to be going too fast, so just give a quick burst of throttle when you push the tiller over which will get the water flowing over the rudder to initiate the turn without speeding the boat up too much. eg at 20:33 when you push the tiller over, just give a quick burst of throttle and you’ll find the rear turns much more effectively (but not so much that you materially change boat speed).
I think you need more revs on corners, maybe try to pump the tiller back and forth to get a tighter turn.. great videos so far.. I love the sound of that Beta Marine engine.. fantastic!
Thanks. The next time I am on the Oxford summit trying to do those wiggles, I will try the more power and tiller pump approach. And yes, the engine does sound good.
I was told that anything more than 45 degrees on the tiller turns it into a brake. It's amazing how accurately you can position a huge narrowboat if you stop and use short blasts of thrust against the rudder. I'm enjoying your adventure, it brings back happy memories.
Thanks, yes, several other commenters have said about 45 degrees. I will be trying that. I am finding the 'physics' of the boat (the movement through water and the electrical systems on the boat) a bit of a challenge.
@Nicks-Wanderings Yes it's very confusing at first glance. Keep oil and water in your engine and look after your batteries. If they are lead acid you will only get 50% of the rated number of Amp hours and they will die if you leave them flat for any length of time. A Solar panel will help. Don't assume that your anodes are wired correctly, before you find they weren't ( a pro job), particularly for a marina boat. Be respectful of Propane safety rules and you won't go far wrong. Enjoy your lovely boat. That's a bit of a ramble, sorry.
@@keithhoughton4308 Thanks. I can do oil, water, and belts (one of the reasons I got a boat with an engine room - easy access). The electrics are still a bit of a mystery and are the next thing (after mastering cornering) on my 'learning list'.
Steering can be effected by low water, weed around your prop, wind and not enough revs to push water past the rudder. The thing is you will have the most amazing days and you will feel like a super skipper but tomorrow your balls it up 😂. When you think your a pro at boating it's time to get off the canal. Been fun watching your marina move 😊
I have already experienced that. I thought I was doing great on bits of the Grand Union, and then I entered the Oxford and it all went horribly wrong. (There will be a video out soon of me making an even bigger mess of moving around the marina.)
Watching the video I think it's over steering and not enough speed? It may be worth just checking your rudder is not bent? I envy your journey on the canals as I am missing our boat since we sold last year. We will be back very soon 😊
@@martinmusgrave4701 Thanks for the suggestion. Well, I know the rudder wasn't bent when it was surveyed (you will see the rudder and the prop in the next video), so if it is bent, that is down to me. I think the problem is, as some others have suggested, not enough speed.
OK, thanks. The message I am getting from a lot of comments, and this is what I will be trying, is slow into the corner, power out, pump the tiller and use the 50 p approach. I am looking forward to give that a go.
I’m wondering when making a right on a tight bend, stay close to the bend then when the nose get past the apex all you should need to do is swing the rear hard right keeping an eye on the nose. Same with bends to your left. Cutting the corner tight should give you plenty of room to swing the rear.
Nick. You are doing so well. As a newly myself, I just kept over correcting, Added to that, I would lose concentration because of the natural beauty. I am sure more experience of cruising will help. Great vlog
More power! Learn the pivot point, and power around. It seems as though your power plant has a separate throttle to the gearbox. The hire boats I've used had the single lever gear/throttle. I can imagine myself borking up a turn, and looking like a freak-out prioritizing fwd/rev and throttle. haha
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there are separate gear and power controls. The lefthand controller operates the gears and are a twist (left is reverse, centre is neutral, and right is forward). The righthand controller is the throttle and is a wheel that you turn.
To take these sharp bends I found one way was to slow right down. This decreases the momentum in the ahead direction making it much easier to add momentum in a different direction.
I stay wide, if a right turn, stay to left then start turning when bow is just before turning point and visa versa. Enjoying your experiences, keep it up.
Just curious, did you any sort of training to drive your narrow boat or did you just jump in at the deep end. I walk the Grand union near Foxton locks and see Helmsman training boats going out regularly,Judy wondered if you did that training.
Thanks for the comment. You may have seen me on a boat at Foxton Locks about 18 months ago, taking that course - good course, bad student. We used a 45 ft boat on the course, and the Grey Wagtail is 57 ft. The extra 12 ft makes a surprising amount of difference. I am full of respect for anyone handling a 70 ft boat. I have no idea how they do it. Before the course, when I was a kid, I spent a lot of time on small boats (mainly sailing-type dinghies and skiffs), and the biggest boat I used and was trained on was 27 ft. But all of that was many many years ago. So, yes and no. I did take a course, but it is a different game when you are on your own boat.
I would go quite close into the inside of the turn then do the 50p turn and you can do the old trick of rowing it round so pull tiller back to center then push away and repeat until its coming round like you want, also giving a bit more thrust past the rudder can make the bow turn harder but then you go a bit faster.
Thanks for the comment and I like the 50p idea. I will give that a go. I think I know what you mean by ‘rowing’ as another comment included something similar. Thanks again for the advice.
When going round tight corners try and cut the corner off more. You look like you're too near the middle or edge and therefore have little room too drift out as you go round.
It's in the works. My first plan was to let the camera on the front run, but the battery gave out after an hour (I couldn't control the camera from the stern). I tried a Bluetooth remote, but the camera was too far away. I am now on plan C, and if that doesn't work, I have a plan D. So, yes, in future videos, there will be shots from the front.
@@R.E.HILL_ For filming me it is quite easy. It is a camera on a pole and the pole has a magnetic base. The problem was operating the camera at the front of the boat.
@@Nicks-Wanderings Just in case it was unclear. What he's suggesting is to have the two camera's _On the same spot:_ Have both cameras _where you are._ One pointing at you and the other pointing forward. That is what I see some of the other boat channels do. Greetings from Norway.
@@solbu-1973 Ah! Thanks. I tried that.... All I managed to shoot was some 50 feet of roof. I tried a longer pole, but that was a dangerous as at the first bridge I nearly forgot to take it down.
More power, if you watch some of the RUclips clips filmed at the Braunston historic rally you’ll see 70ft working boats negotiating very tight corners using full power in order to speed up the turning action, All the best
Thanks. As you increase the power the turn will quicken, I can see that. But won't the increase in forward speed increase the turning radius? Knowing me, I am over thinking this....
What you need to do is reduce your power during your approach to a tight bend this will allow you to stop more easily if you need to give way to an oncoming boat, when you know your clear to proceed apply a good amount of power, this will result in your steering being much more effective and you will be able to change the direction of your boat as they pivot around the centre without greatly increasing your forward speed, try to keep to the centre of the cut as this is usually the deepest and steer round the bend rather than cutting across it, also make sure your prop is free from weed etc as this can reduce your turning ability.
@@DuncanLemon Thanks. So, slow in and power out. I will give that a try. Do you think the tick-over speed is a bit high? A couple of other people comnmented it was, and I am going to look at the throttle settings. At the end of one particularly frustrating afternoon of bad cornering, I did check for weed, everything was clear.
As others have suggested, give a short burst of throttle to help get the boat to turn, and rudder at 45 degrees maximum. The boat doesn’t steer well at low speeds or on tickover. I would also recommend booking yourself onto an RYA inland waterways helmsmanship course. It teaches an awful lot over two days.
Thanks for the advice. I did the helmsmanship course a couple of years ago - in a much shorter boat. The course was very good, but the student (sadly) was not so! The aim of taking the course was to put me off narrowboating. It failed.
The south oxford or at least that section from Stockton is shallow even for a my boat but my general rule is to steer the boat into the bend and "ignore" the bridge! I know, easier said than done driving a longer boat. Get to know your boats turning point and how it responds under certain speeds.
I 'ignored' the bridge on one turn and did quite a bit of damage to the cratch board and cover! As I think I said in another comment, I would really like to take the boat on a lake and 'throw it around', as that way, I would get to know the turning habits of the boat. I need a boat skid-pan!
Thanks for the comment and advice. Power seems to be the issue, and I will try more power. Thanks. And, yes, I had my first weed hatch diving experience. I couldn't find anything around the prop. (The canal water was surprisingly cold, even with some big pond cleaning gloves on which resemebled something out of All Creatures Great and Small.)
You want the nose tight on the bend to allow the back to rotate straight turn straight turn keep speed slow and only speed up to get more rotation try not to move the tiller to much and let the boat and water do the work
Yep, that was my experience, the boat was less responsive as the day went on. I now suspect it was 'tiller fatigue' - I was getting tired. I did check the rudder for weed, no sign, and I checked the prop - nothing.
@Nicks-Wanderings anything over 2ft 8 ins these days. My boat is 3ft draft, there are canals I will not do in summer now. That summit pound on the Oxford is very shallow in places.
it would be helpful if you had a camera facing in the direction of travel to see what you were talking about. Sometimes it is better to stay wide as possible but not always. Another thing is by being unsure people reduce speed and volume of water over the rudder and this causes the boat to snake making steering less responsive.
I have been trying to get a front facing camera working. I think I now have it sorted. If I have, future videos will have shots from the front. There is a trade-off between speed and steering and I’m yet to find the sweet spot for the boat - minimum speed, maximum steering.
Our boat is 65ft. My hubby said to me always line up the front first and then bring the back around. The 50p comments you've received are good to. Dont forget to turn the camera around a little more. Otherwise you are doing great. We assume you managed to get help with these locks 😊
Thanks for the comment and the help on steering. I did have a front camera for the trip, but I had trouble turning it on, and the battery would go flat in an hour if I left it running. I now have a cunning plan (which, if it works) will allow me to run the front camera from the stern.
Thanks for the comment. If my new camera rig works, I will be able to get shots from the front. So, if it works, you will get to see my close encounters of a bridge kind up close.
Maybe you are going a bit slow? if you are doing corners on tickover or just over you will really struggle to get the boat to turn, you can download a speed app on your phone. Whilst they are not 100% accurate, they'll give you a good guess. Canals are shallowest on the inside of a bend, if you cut the corner on meandering canals, you will dig in. However, can I say the same as others. You are doing great.
Thanks. I have wondered about speed. Many years ago I moved to a country that got a lot of snow every winter. And, being a Brit (0.5 inches of snow and the country grinds to a halt) I was terrified of driving in the snow and ice. The first big snowfall, a local took me to an empty parking lot and we spent a fun hour doing skids and doughnuts. I learnt a lot from that. I think I need to do something similar with the boat. Find a big wide bit of water and do doughnuts at different speeds.
Some lock helpers are volunteers with the Canal and River Trust (CRT), some are other boaters helping out as their boat is also at the lock, and some of us are lucky enough to have their own camera shy lock helpers on board.
Yes, I agree now, looking back at the videos. The engine already gives me 'heart palpations' because of a missing fourth beat (at first, I thought it was a misfire, but it isn't; it's because there are three cylinders). If the pause gets any longer, it is really going to worry me.
My father advised me on corners was to treat them like a 50p piece, turn, go straight a bit, turn again, go straight, turn again until you got round the corner that way you keep most of the boat in the centre of the canal avoiding the silty shallow edges and pray you dont meet anyone coming the other way!
@@Nicks-Wanderings yeah the key part of the boat to keep in the middle is the rear and the prop so do the 50p piece trick keeping the back into the deepest part of the water as you go around, also the "rowing" trick with the tiller is good so push it all the way over back to middle and all the way over again repeatedly until your doing the turn at the rate you want it can give you a good workout. I would also recommend looking into a boat handling course there are a bunch of them up and down the country accredited by the RYA and they can give you a good solid understanding of the best safest way to do things as a single handed boater.
Bridges on corners - welcome to boating. We usually encounter boats coming in the opposite direction. Don’t get me talking about wide beams thundering towards you. Aaagh! Top work though.
Thanks.... One bridge on the Oxford Canal was right on a corner, and I could not see around it, so I gave a blast of my horn. Good job I did, as there was a boat just out of sight. I also learnt to sound your horn before you go under the bridge. It was deafening.
Thanks for the comment. I am using three. Any shots of the bank are from an iPhone (the iPhone is about 3 years old), shots of me on the back of the boat are on an Insta360 Ace Pro, and I used an Insta360 X2 on a couple of occasions. You can see a list of the gear I use in the video descriptions.
@@coralraven4780 I am a Mac user (one of the first places I worked only used Macs) and so I can only comment on Mac software. I started with iMovie (free on Macs) and then moved to Camtasia for some of my work (instructional whiteboard videos for students). I now use Final Cut Pro. Camtasia and Final Cut Pro are both expensive and I think Final Cut works best for vlogs, and Camtasia for 'instructional' videos. I hope that helps.
Another issue maybe that your rudder is not very responsive. To navigate bends on the canal you should not have to turn your rudder through 90 degrees to get round.
OK, thanks. Some other commenters have said I shouldn't go beyond 45 degrees and that I am moving too much, and there is also the '50 p path' idea. I will be trying all of these....
You appear to be turning too early for the bends . You should try to go round the outside. You appear to be hitting the silt by your prop wash and boats turn slowly of the silt.
Thanks for the comment. I did have a camera on the front, but I couldn't operate it from the stern. I fired it up for the Braunston Tunnel and left it to run (the battery lasts just over an hour). I then devised a plan to operate it from the stern, but that didn't work. I am now on plan B-a very cunning plan. If plan B works, there will be footage from the front.
Thanks for the comment. I did for the Braunston Tunnel and in one of the other videos. However, I ran into battery and control issues which I now have a cunning plan to fix.
7:55 - The look of concentration is good ;) but it'd be better if more of the video was looking forward so that we could see what you're describing ? imho
Thanks for the comment. I did have a camera on the front, but I couldn't operate it from the stern. I did fire it up for the Braunston Tunnel and left it to run (the battery lasts just over an hour). I then came up with a plan to operate it from the stern, but that didn't work. I am now on plan B... a very cunning plan... If plan B works, there will be footage from the front.
@Nicks-Wanderings Lovely. ! more learning curve to cope with ! and another topic for a video ! ;) _____________________ As we sit here in our arm chairs we haven't a clue what goes on in the background.
I think you give to much steer. That’s what I did wrong in the beginning. And try the pumping movement when try to push over your stern. Otherwise it’s a joy to see your vlog
Thanks. As I said in one comment - I would like to take the boat on to a lake and do doughnuts so as to get the know it’s turning circle at different speeds.
Sorry but why do you spend the first couple of minutes showing what's coming up in the video, it makes it worthless to watch as you know what's going to happen
It’s my training. “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, tell ‘em what you told them”. It’s also to save you time. You get a sneak peak that is coming up so you can bail if it’s not what you are looking for from the video.
Great videos! Thank you, from Federal Way, Washington State.
Thanks.
Never mind how to take corners. The stress on your face I find very entertaining..... Keep on boating. You've achieved more than I did when I tried......
Thanks. This is what worries me.... I was told boating was relaxing. I am still waiting for the relaxing bit to kick in.
Hi Nick, started watching you from the start, yo will be an expert in no time 😂😂 haha 9:17
Thanks. It’s going to take some time. But the learning is half the fun.
20 of us hired two coal boats from Braunston back in 1969. We were told increase the engine speed when you need to get better steerage. (It does work but it also makes you go faster!) I did but still didn't get through bridge 122. Hit it fair and square. Still on the canals but very wary of that bridge and some other bends on the summit particularly bridge 131!
In shallow water and close to the bank there are additional forces on the boat that make steering difficult. A helmsman course would be a quick way to learn or RUclips or practice. Good luck
Thanks for sharing the story. It is good to know that you also had trouble with the bridges. The tip about the banks is appreciated. You may find it hard to believe after watching the video, but I have done a helmsman course. I think it was a case of good course, bad student. I plan to get in a lot of practice of the tight corners in the coming years. Again, thanks for the comment.
Lynne, Gateshead Tyne and wear, am watching your channel , a think you did great their getting through all that with no experience, me dad steered one just on a holiday rented long boat, you had no other choice but to get it to your new mooring, keep it slow until you get the ropes of it. Nice boat in the summer it will be fantastic.
Thanks.... I will get there....
I have just found your vlogs and I think you have done amazingly well don’t be so hard on yourself x
Thanks!
You need water to be flowing over your rudder for it to ‘bite’, otherwise you lose steerage and won’t turn. Obviously you don’t want to be going too fast, so just give a quick burst of throttle when you push the tiller over which will get the water flowing over the rudder to initiate the turn without speeding the boat up too much. eg at 20:33 when you push the tiller over, just give a quick burst of throttle and you’ll find the rear turns much more effectively (but not so much that you materially change boat speed).
Thanks. I will try that. The 'physics' of boat moving is fascinating and I have a lot to learn.
I think you need more revs on corners, maybe try to pump the tiller back and forth to get a tighter turn.. great videos so far.. I love the sound of that Beta Marine engine.. fantastic!
Thanks. The next time I am on the Oxford summit trying to do those wiggles, I will try the more power and tiller pump approach. And yes, the engine does sound good.
I was told that anything more than 45 degrees on the tiller turns it into a brake. It's amazing how accurately you can position a huge narrowboat if you stop and use short blasts of thrust against the rudder. I'm enjoying your adventure, it brings back happy memories.
Thanks, yes, several other commenters have said about 45 degrees. I will be trying that. I am finding the 'physics' of the boat (the movement through water and the electrical systems on the boat) a bit of a challenge.
@Nicks-Wanderings Yes it's very confusing at first glance. Keep oil and water in your engine and look after your batteries. If they are lead acid you will only get 50% of the rated number of Amp hours and they will die if you leave them flat for any length of time. A Solar panel will help. Don't assume that your anodes are wired correctly, before you find they weren't ( a pro job), particularly for a marina boat. Be respectful of Propane safety rules and you won't go far wrong. Enjoy your lovely boat. That's a bit of a ramble, sorry.
@@keithhoughton4308 Thanks. I can do oil, water, and belts (one of the reasons I got a boat with an engine room - easy access). The electrics are still a bit of a mystery and are the next thing (after mastering cornering) on my 'learning list'.
I find it so stressful just watching you
@@saufathau6827 Sorry about that... that was not my intention.
I found that pumping the tiller really helped on tight corners. Hard left straighten hard left straighten and so on.
Thanks. Several people have suggested that, and I will give it a try.
Steering can be effected by low water, weed around your prop, wind and not enough revs to push water past the rudder.
The thing is you will have the most amazing days and you will feel like a super skipper but tomorrow your balls it up 😂.
When you think your a pro at boating it's time to get off the canal. Been fun watching your marina move 😊
I have already experienced that. I thought I was doing great on bits of the Grand Union, and then I entered the Oxford and it all went horribly wrong. (There will be a video out soon of me making an even bigger mess of moving around the marina.)
Watching the video I think it's over steering and not enough speed? It may be worth just checking your rudder is not bent?
I envy your journey on the canals as I am missing our boat since we sold last year. We will be back very soon 😊
@@martinmusgrave4701 Thanks for the suggestion. Well, I know the rudder wasn't bent when it was surveyed (you will see the rudder and the prop in the next video), so if it is bent, that is down to me. I think the problem is, as some others have suggested, not enough speed.
Nice videos, thank you.
Glad you like them!
I think you're doing well so far ,enjoy it and don't worry to much about the little things. Time will show improvement and confidence. 👍😁
Thanks! My biggest concern is not being a risk to other canal users.
*you're, NOT "your". Basic grammar.
@@raybeer5213 I'm a fool
@@raybeer5213 is this in the captions? If you give me the time stamp, I will correct it.
Yep, slow down for the corners, gives the rudder a chance to counteract the long hull's tendancy to go straight ahead.
OK, thanks. The message I am getting from a lot of comments, and this is what I will be trying, is slow into the corner, power out, pump the tiller and use the 50 p approach. I am looking forward to give that a go.
You need more revs on when you go round a corner. The more water flow you have over the rudder, the more effective it will be.
Thanks. I am just working on a video where you can see me giving it plenty of revs.
Really smoothing the journey is...👍
Thanks
I’m wondering when making a right on a tight bend, stay close to the bend then when the nose get past the apex all you should need to do is swing the rear hard right keeping an eye on the nose. Same with bends to your left. Cutting the corner tight should give you plenty of room to swing the rear.
Thanks for the comment. This is the approach I am going to try. I will get there. The learning is all part of the fun.
Nick. You are doing so well. As a newly myself, I just kept over correcting, Added to that, I would lose concentration because of the natural beauty. I am sure more experience of cruising will help. Great vlog
Thanks for the comment. Over correction could be the problem. Gawping at the scenery and nature is definitely part of the problem.
More power! Learn the pivot point, and power around. It seems as though your power plant has a separate throttle to the gearbox. The hire boats I've used had the single lever gear/throttle. I can imagine myself borking up a turn, and looking like a freak-out prioritizing fwd/rev and throttle. haha
Thanks for the comment. Yes, there are separate gear and power controls. The lefthand controller operates the gears and are a twist (left is reverse, centre is neutral, and right is forward). The righthand controller is the throttle and is a wheel that you turn.
To take these sharp bends I found one way was to slow right down. This decreases the momentum in the ahead direction making it much easier to add momentum in a different direction.
Thanks. Several people have said the same and I will be trying this on my next outing.
I stay wide, if a right turn, stay to left then start turning when bow is just before turning point and visa versa. Enjoying your experiences, keep it up.
Thanks for the tip and the comment. I am finding the boat turns better to (I think) the left.
When I hired a boat and went up the north Oxford after I got the hang that a Narrowboat turns in the middle I found it much easier.
Ah! So you have done the Oxford Canal. It is a bit of a challenge.
It sure can be a bit on the narrow side in places,
Just curious, did you any sort of training to drive your narrow boat or did you just jump in at the deep end. I walk the Grand union near Foxton locks and see Helmsman training boats going out regularly,Judy wondered if you did that training.
Thanks for the comment. You may have seen me on a boat at Foxton Locks about 18 months ago, taking that course - good course, bad student. We used a 45 ft boat on the course, and the Grey Wagtail is 57 ft. The extra 12 ft makes a surprising amount of difference. I am full of respect for anyone handling a 70 ft boat. I have no idea how they do it. Before the course, when I was a kid, I spent a lot of time on small boats (mainly sailing-type dinghies and skiffs), and the biggest boat I used and was trained on was 27 ft. But all of that was many many years ago. So, yes and no. I did take a course, but it is a different game when you are on your own boat.
I would go quite close into the inside of the turn then do the 50p turn and you can do the old trick of rowing it round so pull tiller back to center then push away and repeat until its coming round like you want, also giving a bit more thrust past the rudder can make the bow turn harder but then you go a bit faster.
Thanks for the comment and I like the 50p idea. I will give that a go. I think I know what you mean by ‘rowing’ as another comment included something similar. Thanks again for the advice.
When going round tight corners try and cut the corner off more. You look like you're too near the middle or edge and therefore have little room too drift out as you go round.
OK, thanks for the tip. I will give that a go. Thanks.
Camera pointed towards the direction of travel..😉🙂
It's in the works. My first plan was to let the camera on the front run, but the battery gave out after an hour (I couldn't control the camera from the stern). I tried a Bluetooth remote, but the camera was too far away. I am now on plan C, and if that doesn't work, I have a plan D. So, yes, in future videos, there will be shots from the front.
@@Nicks-Wanderings I was thinking more from your view point.. don't need any elaborate setup for that.. 🙂
@@R.E.HILL_ For filming me it is quite easy. It is a camera on a pole and the pole has a magnetic base. The problem was operating the camera at the front of the boat.
@@Nicks-Wanderings Just in case it was unclear. What he's suggesting is to have the two camera's _On the same spot:_ Have both cameras _where you are._ One pointing at you and the other pointing forward.
That is what I see some of the other boat channels do.
Greetings from Norway.
@@solbu-1973 Ah! Thanks. I tried that.... All I managed to shoot was some 50 feet of roof. I tried a longer pole, but that was a dangerous as at the first bridge I nearly forgot to take it down.
More power, if you watch some of the RUclips clips filmed at the Braunston historic rally you’ll see 70ft working boats negotiating very tight corners using full power in order to speed up the turning action,
All the best
Thanks. As you increase the power the turn will quicken, I can see that. But won't the increase in forward speed increase the turning radius? Knowing me, I am over thinking this....
What you need to do is reduce your power during your approach to a tight bend this will allow you to stop more easily if you need to give way to an oncoming boat, when you know your clear to proceed apply a good amount of power, this will result in your steering being much more effective and you will be able to change the direction of your boat as they pivot around the centre without greatly increasing your forward speed, try to keep to the centre of the cut as this is usually the deepest and steer round the bend rather than cutting across it, also make sure your prop is free from weed etc as this can reduce your turning ability.
@@DuncanLemon Thanks. So, slow in and power out. I will give that a try. Do you think the tick-over speed is a bit high? A couple of other people comnmented it was, and I am going to look at the throttle settings. At the end of one particularly frustrating afternoon of bad cornering, I did check for weed, everything was clear.
As others have suggested, give a short burst of throttle to help get the boat to turn, and rudder at 45 degrees maximum. The boat doesn’t steer well at low speeds or on tickover. I would also recommend booking yourself onto an RYA inland waterways helmsmanship course. It teaches an awful lot over two days.
Thanks for the advice. I did the helmsmanship course a couple of years ago - in a much shorter boat. The course was very good, but the student (sadly) was not so! The aim of taking the course was to put me off narrowboating. It failed.
Remember the boat turns around it's centre, concentrate on getting the centre neatly round the corner and the bow and stern will be fine.
Thanks. Someone else was talking about 'pivot points', and I will look out for mine. Apparently, they move?
The south oxford or at least that section from Stockton is shallow even for a my boat but my general rule is to steer the boat into the bend and "ignore" the bridge! I know, easier said than done driving a longer boat. Get to know your boats turning point and how it responds under certain speeds.
I 'ignored' the bridge on one turn and did quite a bit of damage to the cratch board and cover! As I think I said in another comment, I would really like to take the boat on a lake and 'throw it around', as that way, I would get to know the turning habits of the boat. I need a boat skid-pan!
Turn before you think you need to turn and maybe as you turn power on a little more. Also have you cleared the prop or checked it?
Thanks for the comment and advice. Power seems to be the issue, and I will try more power. Thanks. And, yes, I had my first weed hatch diving experience. I couldn't find anything around the prop. (The canal water was surprisingly cold, even with some big pond cleaning gloves on which resemebled something out of All Creatures Great and Small.)
You want the nose tight on the bend to allow the back to rotate straight turn straight turn keep speed slow and only speed up to get more rotation try not to move the tiller to much and let the boat and water do the work
Thanks for the tips. I will give that a go.
I navigated the Oxford canal a few years ago and found it was so full of vegetation that tiller control became much harder as the day went on 🥴
That's what I was thinking. If the boat steering was harder to control later in the day perhaps debris was hung up on the rudder.
Yep, that was my experience, the boat was less responsive as the day went on. I now suspect it was 'tiller fatigue' - I was getting tired. I did check the rudder for weed, no sign, and I checked the prop - nothing.
You got a deep drafted boat on a shallow canal. Once you start turning open the throttle up to kick the stern around.
Thanks. How much would you consider 'deep draft'? I think it is 2 ft 6 in?
@Nicks-Wanderings anything over 2ft 8 ins these days. My boat is 3ft draft, there are canals I will not do in summer now. That summit pound on the Oxford is very shallow in places.
@@RobertUdy-r2l OK, thanks. In the next video, you will see the prop and the draft of the boat, and I will be asking for comments on it.
it would be helpful if you had a camera facing in the direction of travel to see what you were talking about. Sometimes it is better to stay wide as possible but not always. Another thing is by being unsure people reduce speed and volume of water over the rudder and this causes the boat to snake making steering less responsive.
I have been trying to get a front facing camera working. I think I now have it sorted. If I have, future videos will have shots from the front. There is a trade-off between speed and steering and I’m yet to find the sweet spot for the boat - minimum speed, maximum steering.
Keep to the centre of the cut and make sure you steer round the bend without cutting the corners
Thanks.... I will give that a go.
Our boat is 65ft. My hubby said to me always line up the front first and then bring the back around. The 50p comments you've received are good to. Dont forget to turn the camera around a little more. Otherwise you are doing great. We assume you managed to get help with these locks 😊
Thanks for the comment and the help on steering. I did have a front camera for the trip, but I had trouble turning it on, and the battery would go flat in an hour if I left it running. I now have a cunning plan (which, if it works) will allow me to run the front camera from the stern.
Countersteering?
I am not sure what you mean?
Would be better if you showed us these tight turns and bridges with a front facing camera.
Thanks for the comment. If my new camera rig works, I will be able to get shots from the front. So, if it works, you will get to see my close encounters of a bridge kind up close.
Maybe you are going a bit slow? if you are doing corners on tickover or just over you will really struggle to get the boat to turn, you can download a speed app on your phone. Whilst they are not 100% accurate, they'll give you a good guess. Canals are shallowest on the inside of a bend, if you cut the corner on meandering canals, you will dig in. However, can I say the same as others. You are doing great.
Thanks. I have wondered about speed.
Many years ago I moved to a country that got a lot of snow every winter. And, being a Brit (0.5 inches of snow and the country grinds to a halt) I was terrified of driving in the snow and ice. The first big snowfall, a local took me to an empty parking lot and we spent a fun hour doing skids and doughnuts. I learnt a lot from that.
I think I need to do something similar with the boat. Find a big wide bit of water and do doughnuts at different speeds.
Where do the lock helpers come from? Do you pay them ?
Some lock helpers are volunteers with the Canal and River Trust (CRT), some are other boaters helping out as their boat is also at the lock, and some of us are lucky enough to have their own camera shy lock helpers on board.
Sometimes weeds mess up propellers and rudders
Yes, I did suspect that, and I checked the rudder and prop - there was nothing obvious.
Swap your Nicholsons for Pearsons. Less confusion then.
Thanks for the tip. I will give it a try.
I does sound like it could be lowered a bit, as long as it doesn’t stall when put into forward or reverse
Yes, I agree now, looking back at the videos. The engine already gives me 'heart palpations' because of a missing fourth beat (at first, I thought it was a misfire, but it isn't; it's because there are three cylinders). If the pause gets any longer, it is really going to worry me.
My father advised me on corners was to treat them like a 50p piece, turn, go straight a bit, turn again, go straight, turn again until you got round the corner that way you keep most of the boat in the centre of the canal avoiding the silty shallow edges and pray you dont meet anyone coming the other way!
It is the edges that seem to be the problem. I get into those and the stirring goes.
@@Nicks-Wanderings yeah the key part of the boat to keep in the middle is the rear and the prop so do the 50p piece trick keeping the back into the deepest part of the water as you go around, also the "rowing" trick with the tiller is good so push it all the way over back to middle and all the way over again repeatedly until your doing the turn at the rate you want it can give you a good workout. I would also recommend looking into a boat handling course there are a bunch of them up and down the country accredited by the RYA and they can give you a good solid understanding of the best safest way to do things as a single handed boater.
Bow thrusters would be a help.
Thanks for the comment. I agree but isn't that cheating?
Bridges on corners - welcome to boating. We usually encounter boats coming in the opposite direction. Don’t get me talking about wide beams thundering towards you. Aaagh! Top work though.
Thanks.... One bridge on the Oxford Canal was right on a corner, and I could not see around it, so I gave a blast of my horn. Good job I did, as there was a boat just out of sight. I also learnt to sound your horn before you go under the bridge. It was deafening.
Wonder what camera you use, or is an iPhone sufficient?
Thanks for the comment. I am using three. Any shots of the bank are from an iPhone (the iPhone is about 3 years old), shots of me on the back of the boat are on an Insta360 Ace Pro, and I used an Insta360 X2 on a couple of occasions. You can see a list of the gear I use in the video descriptions.
@ Thank you so much, that’s so helpful, and for the editing info, I have wondered if I do vlogs, what I would use for editing.
@@coralraven4780 I am a Mac user (one of the first places I worked only used Macs) and so I can only comment on Mac software. I started with iMovie (free on Macs) and then moved to Camtasia for some of my work (instructional whiteboard videos for students). I now use Final Cut Pro. Camtasia and Final Cut Pro are both expensive and I think Final Cut works best for vlogs, and Camtasia for 'instructional' videos. I hope that helps.
Another issue maybe that your rudder is not very responsive. To navigate bends on the canal you should not have to turn your rudder through 90 degrees to get round.
OK, thanks. Some other commenters have said I shouldn't go beyond 45 degrees and that I am moving too much, and there is also the '50 p path' idea. I will be trying all of these....
You appear to be turning too early for the bends . You should try to go round the outside. You appear to be hitting the silt by your prop wash and boats turn slowly of the silt.
OK, thanks. I will master the cornering.....
Loving your vlog, but can you point camera forward sometimes so we can see what’s happening. Thanks
Thanks for the comment. I did have a camera on the front, but I couldn't operate it from the stern. I fired it up for the Braunston Tunnel and left it to run (the battery lasts just over an hour). I then devised a plan to operate it from the stern, but that didn't work. I am now on plan B-a very cunning plan. If plan B works, there will be footage from the front.
can the wider canal boats make it through these narrow locks?
Thanks for the comments. Nope, they can't. The Oxford Canal (the bit I have done) has no widebeams.
It would make it a bit more enjoyable if you had your camera forward every now and again
Thanks for the comment. I did for the Braunston Tunnel and in one of the other videos. However, I ran into battery and control issues which I now have a cunning plan to fix.
7:55 - The look of concentration is good ;)
but it'd be better if more of the video was looking forward so that we could see what you're describing ?
imho
Thanks for the comment. I did have a camera on the front, but I couldn't operate it from the stern. I did fire it up for the Braunston Tunnel and left it to run (the battery lasts just over an hour). I then came up with a plan to operate it from the stern, but that didn't work. I am now on plan B... a very cunning plan... If plan B works, there will be footage from the front.
@Nicks-Wanderings
Lovely.
! more learning curve to cope with !
and
another topic for a video !
;)
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As we sit here in our arm chairs we haven't a clue what goes on in the background.
@@richH1625 Yes, I am getting some great video ideas from the comments! Keep them coming!!
You need bow thrusters for tight turns
Isn't that cheating? 🤣
I think you give to much steer. That’s what I did wrong in the beginning. And try the pumping movement when try to push over your stern. Otherwise it’s a joy to see your vlog
Ok, thanks. Useful insight. I will try the pumping. Thanks for the comment and the advice.
YOUR SOUND IS OUT OF CYNC
Thanks for letting me know. Can you give me a time point?
Go slow on coming up to corners… it’s that simple… get to know your boat and the way it steers…
Thanks. As I said in one comment - I would like to take the boat on to a lake and do doughnuts so as to get the know it’s turning circle at different speeds.
Sorry but why do you spend the first couple of minutes showing what's coming up in the video, it makes it worthless to watch as you know what's going to happen
It’s my training. “Tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em, tell ‘em, tell ‘em what you told them”. It’s also to save you time. You get a sneak peak that is coming up so you can bail if it’s not what you are looking for from the video.
@@Nicks-Wanderings Personal opinion, but I don't like it, it's an Americanism where the intellique level is lower, it devalues your content.