Slow Down! --- but I am only doing 4 knots!

[Vagabond]

I post this here as usually its the Oil burner who gets shouted at to slow down!

Picture the Scene, We are a 37 foot Prout Catamaran, de-masted and going through the French Canals heading home after a fun trip in the Med.

We are ambling along through the very pretty town of Montargis at 3.5 knots or 6kph which is the speed limit. We are only making enough wash to to maybe wake a sleeping duck when we pass an English Barge which must be about 70 foot and 40 tonne when this irate chap jumps out from his cabin and shouts at us to slow down.

When I asked him why he said that I was creating too mush wash! When I asked him what my miniscule wash was going to do to his 40 tonne barge he disappeared back inside. Needless to say the wash made no impact on him and as he was the smaller of the 4 barges moored up.

What is with the English on the canals? Ok, not all the English but it does seam to be the lone live/a/boards who have screamed at us for going too fast. 3 to date all English on large steel barges that even a Squadron at full chat couldn't disturb.

Is that why they are on their own because they are like a grumpy old Jack Russell who barks at everybody for being in his back yard?

 

[blueglass]

had the same experience once or twice in that area, but IMHO absolutely nothing compared with rowers on the Thames who have refined their abuse to an artform which beggars belief at times.

 

[mont]

The ones with signs hanging outside are even better .....

 

[nigelcarton]

From the ditch crawling side of the fense, these people are a pain in the arse, I deliver boats around the inland waterways system, and no matter how slow you go passed moored boats (mainly live aboards) you will always get some sad git stick his head out and tell you to slow down. Depending on my mood, the answer will be with cupped hand over ear " excuse me?" after he repeats "SLOW DOWN" louder, I reply "oh sorry, yeah its ten past four" or if I'm tired after been ditch crawling for days,its " buy a caravan you sad tw*t"
The sooner I can defect over to your side the better. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Sneds]

Good point, wash can be a pain if moored, but it is a boat!

 

[TrueBlue]

Ah, you\'re wrong there -

[ QUOTE ]
Good point, wash can be a pain if moored, but it is a boat!

[/ QUOTE ]

'tain't a boat it's a residence...

More and more folks are living aboard vessels as it's a whole lot cheaper than buying a house. So the residents have no wish to go cruising or use the waterway for boaty activities. They have little concept of water or navigation, or whatever.

They are just concerned that you are rocking their house, after all when bricks and mortar rock it's either an earthquake or someone playing their music really, really loud.

Going to get worse as they're moving onto rivers and buying widebeam houses.

 

[tazzle]

Re: Ah, you\'re wrong there -

Mmmm not sure ... my experience of tidal liveaboard folk is that they're a bit more tolerant than the above examples, and even if they don't move, quite like the tide and the odd bit of wash as it adds to the 'authenticity' or whatever.

 

[jointventureII]

Maybe, as its a catamaran, he sees 2 hulls creating wake therefore assumes the wash will be twice as bad, even though its usually much less than the equivalent length monohull

 

[Searush]

I can understand rowers having an issue with wash - their freeboard is miniscule & stability nominal unless blades are in the water. But barges???? Give me a break!

 

[nonitoo]

Don't forget that there are deeply unpleasant people in all walks of life and while on your 'normal' life you are insulated from most of them by your circle of friends and acquaintances (the notable exception being on the roads) on the water you have to rub up against them.

Best to just ignore the saddoes and enjoy the company of the majority you meet.

Tom

 

[tcm]

Re: Ah, you\'re wrong there -

yes. After three people telling me to slow down, i might well do something really ridiculous like er ...at leasy *consider* slowing down?

 

[oceanfroggie]

It's an inland thing! Nothing to do with nationality. If they are in some 150 year old rust bucket and anybody comes past in boat under 30 years of age, especially pastic, and no matter how slow they are there ready to wave the finger assuming anything unworthy of the 'heritage' badge having fun is about to pass them. Still I know plenty of fab barge skippers who are pragmatic about wake, and also a few finger wagging types too. We're a colourful species.

 

[Ratti]

It's just as well Powerskipper didn't come past at 25 knots.....

( See above )

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[oldharry]

The only time I got told to 'slow down' towing my caravan - was passing a marina! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[gideon]

I moved moorings recently from Hammersmith just above the bridge to a nice spot in Windsor between the Racecourse and Windsor Marina. The wash situation couldn't be more different. At Hammersmith, we frequently got weekend cruisers bound for le contenent rushing to beat the tide for headroom under the bridge, and wash so extraordinary that I once saw the cat tossed out of her box and into my hat. In Windsor of course things are much more sedate, a year now and not enough wash to roll the pencil across the chart table.

Richard

 

[Jaysay]

This is a very common occurrence on the English canal system with narrowboaters. I have never entirely understood it (you mean you buy a boat and complain when it wobbles about a bit?) though, to be fair, the shallowness and width of an English canal causes the effact of wash to be much more marked than on a river or in harbour. A lot of the time, the movement is caused by a failure to moor properly and use springs.
My theory is that leaping out and shouting at passing boats is the only excitement these people get; clearly they carry the disease with them across to the Continent.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

>>>
This is a very common occurrence on the English canal system with narrowboaters.
>>>
Remember that to shout at passing boats by law you must own, and wear, a flat cap

 

[reefknot]

I know these threads are quite old, but the main reason for the 'slow down' is if their boat rocks so does the T.V. satellite dish !

 

[stelican]

I know these threads are quite old, but the main reason for the 'slow down' is if their boat rocks so does the T.V. satellite dish !

TV, I thought they spent all their time painting flowerpots.

 

[Antony Collis]

I've had this.
While travelling along a narrow river (upper Medway) at about 3.5 knots a rather irate canoeist started shouting 'oi.....5 knots!!' I had been going slow because there were canoeists coming on in front of me and i had a GPS speedo and my boat does not give out any wash even at 5 knots..

Now i know that this guy has no idea what 5 knots looks like especially as he was travelling toward me in his canoe.