Inland waterways

[AIDY]

I was having a few beers with an old mate in the week he has a boat on the Grand Union Canal. I kept refering to his pride and joy as a barge to which he would insist it was not, it was a canal boat.

Is there a difference ? Am i missing a vital point here.

TIA



<hr width=100% size=1>/forums/images/icons/wink.gif <font color=blue> Regards Aidy </font color=blue>

 

[Geoffs]

Recalling my memories from my inland waterways days, yes there most certainly is.

It's all a matter of beam. Technically a barge has to be 14ft in beam, which it may be on the Grand Union, as it's a wide canal (14ft wide locks). A boat of 12ft beam is a wide boat, and a boat 7ft beam is a narrow boat. All these descriptions apply to craft that are based traditional commercial carrying styles.

There are lots of narrow beam GRP and centre cockpit styles etc., that are generally referred to as canal cruisers. There are many new narrow boats that have been built to look like carrying boats, I used to have one, although the purist would say 'it's not a narrow boat if it hasn't carried a cargo as a working boat at sometime'.

A narrow boat if definetly NOT a barge/forums/images/icons/smile.gif.

<hr width=100% size=1>Old Chinese proverb 'Man who sail boat into rice field, soon get into paddy'

 

[pheran]

Pedantic I know but AFAIK the narrow boat is restricted to a beam of 6'10". To fit (just) into a 7 foot lock you see /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue>A convert to steel boats and displacement cruising - the only way to go</font color=blue>

 

[Bejasus]

It's still a barge./forums/images/icons/crazy.gif

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