Single-handing on the canals is quite
common. Note my T-cleat for mooringbinoculars. This little cabin is also a useful
covered area in which to install the boat
instruments.
There are plenty of sea-boat experiences
which can usefully be transferred to canal
boat handling. For example, very few
narrowboats moor using springs: most
owners seem to use single lines straight to
the bank, bow and stern. This leads to a
lot of jerking when another boat passes.
Convention says that moving boats
should slow down when they pass
moored boats – but of course not
everyone does – and it’s the cause of a lot
of irritation both on the canal and in the
magazines and blogs. This ‘slow down
when passing moored boats’ discussion
seems to be getting more heated as more
boats are put on the canal system,
encouraged no doubt by popular TV canal
boat cruising programmes. There are
currently over 33,000 boats registered with
the Canal & River Trust, the inland
waterways administrative and licensing
body, and that’s more boats than there
were during the industrial revolution.
I’ve found that the obvious addition of
spring lines or of snubber devices
certainly helps prevent snatching and
reduces the chances of mooring pins
pulling out of the bank.
On the whole a narrowboat is more like
home and has more comfort than most
sailing boats. Central heating is quite
common, as is a wood-burning stove.
Most boats have plenty of 230V sockets,
with a hefty inverter to provide the power
when not hooked up in a marina.30 Practical Boat Owner • http://www.pbo.co.uk
BOATS
Environmental fact
You are allowed to empty ‘grey’ water
(eg from washing up) into the canal
but for toilet wate you need either an
Elsan-type ‘cassette’ loo or a holding
tank for pumping out to an approved
waste station later.