Canal Boat — November 2017

canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat November 2017 77

TONY BROOKS

What he doesn’t

know about canal

boats just isn’t

worth knowing

PHIL SPEIGHT

The country’s leading

canal painter and

an expert on paint

processes as well

TERRY ROBERTSON

TR Training’s man

really knows how to

handle a boat

MARTIN LUDGATE

Our Deputy Ed is a

guru on all things to

do with canals

ASK THE

EXPERTS

If you have a boating query our team of experts are here to answer it – ask your question online at canalboat.co.uk Alternatively, you can
EMAIL: [email protected] or WRITE TO Canal Boat, Archant Specialist, Evolution House, 2-6 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, RG40 2EG

‘The boat can

lose drive and

the exhaust

smoke. The cause is often

leaves around the prop’

It’s that time of year again where novice boaters

can become worried by fallen leaves in the

cut and be convinced something major and

expensive has gone wrong with their boat.

The boat can lose drive, the exhaust might

smoke and the engine sound different. The

cause is often leaves packing around the prop

so densely that it can’t function properly. To

confuse matters, as soon as you go into neutral

the leaves float away from the prop so it’s clear

when you look down the weed hatch.

Old hands know that a short burst of astern

is all that is required to displace the leaves so

you get drive back and continue. Unfortunately,

in some cases you have to do this every few

minutes until you get to a less wooded section

of canal. This is all perfectly normal and to

be expected.

It’s also a good time to test the strength of

the antifreeze in the engine and wet central

heating systems. Top up if weaker than 25%.

Do not exceed the recommended life of the

antifreeze; while it will still protect against frost it

might not against corrosion inside the engine.

Ask your questions and get the

answers online at Canal Boat’s

website – what’s more, you

can read other people’s questions and

answers by simply clicking on to

canalboat.co.uk

Ask online...

TONY BROOKS

Technical Consultant

I am considering fitting an anchor to my 56ft

narrowboat in preparation for river cruising.

As I normally travel single-handed, I feel

positioning an anchor at the bow would be not be easily

accessible in the event of an emergency. Is it acceptable

to fit an anchor at the stern? If so, how does one fit it for

easy access and day-to-day storage? Also, what size

and type of anchor would be suitable for my boat?

MARK KNIGHT, via email

TONY REPLIES: Whatever the various

tables etc. say, you need to be able to lift the

anchor and its chain so that will tend to limit

its maximum size. The exact maximum weight will

also depend upon where you stand to recover it and

how strong you are. I suspect 15 to 20kg would be the

maximum most people can recover.

Although you can use an all rope ‘rode’ (which

connects the anchor to the boat), having several metres

of chain at the anchor end helps it set into the bottom

and also adds extra weight. I think the exact lengths are

best left to whoever supplies the anchor.

The type of anchor for a narrowboat is probably not

that important because often it will be acting as a mud

weight. I doubt you would want to afford one of the

expensive light alloy ones.

Most narrowboats seem to use a Danforth-type

anchor because it will stand on end or lay almost flat

so does not get in the way on the boat as other types

can. I wouldn’t advise a grappling hook-type because

although they fold they may bounce over a riverbed

rather than dig in. It’s perfectly acceptable to deploy the

anchor from the stern, but on a trad design stowage

might be a problem. It needs to be ready to deploy in

an instant so the ‘rode’ needs to be permanently fixed

to a strong point on the boat, preferably towards or on

the centre line. This will help the boat avoid taking up

an angle across the current, but on a narrowboat this is

probably not so vital.

On a cruiser or semi-trad the anchor could lie on its

side in brackets alongside the semi-trad seats or the

outer edge of a cruiser stern. You might find there will

be room to store the anchor upright against the back

bulkhead alongside the door on a trad.

Again, use a securing bracket. Don’t assume the

T-stud or dolly will be a strong point unless it is bolted in

from below with a large load spreading washer under

the bolt head. The welded-on ones can snap off under a

heavier than normal load.

Unless you can arrange a chain locker people often

store the ‘rode’ coiled down into a bucket. Rope in first

then the chain. I have also seen it coiled onto the roof

with a Danforth anchor lying flat close to it.

A

Q

Anchors a weigh

How much weight can you lift?

A typical Danforth stowage