Dangers of speeding

WHEN I first boated on the canals 40 odd years ago, there were two speed rules to obey, on a clear road no more than 4mph an hour, when passing moored boats no more than 2mph writes Rick.

All was well people smiled and waved as you passed, there was the odd person who didn't obey the rules but they were a tiny minority, in order to pass a boat at no more than 2mph you slowed down before hand, then slowly accelerated half way past that boat, or if passing a line of boats, the last one in the line.

I still adhere by these rules and more often than not get smiles, cheery waves and thumbs up from the boats I pass.

Selfish and irresponsible

Today there are a plethora of boats plastered in 'tick over when passing signs' because of this a lot of people new to the canals think that it is okay to steam up to a moored boat at 4mph hour or more, then shut down to tick over when their stem post is level with the stem post or stern of the boat they are passing, this is selfish, irresponsible and can be dangerous.

I will not hide behind a cloak of anonymity I run the fuel boat mentioned in Keith Gudgens article 'not too shallow'.

Could have been seriously injured

On Saturday a customer of mine could have been seriously injured and I was also put in danger.

I was travelling from Fradley Junction to Great Haywood on the Trent & Mersey, I had stopped to shop in Rugeley when a long standing customer passed my boat on his push-bike, having been shopping himself, as I set off again he rang me and asked me to pull alongside and supply him with some coal.

As I pulled alongside his boat he was standing on the offside gunnel waiting for me, he grabbed my back end line (for those not aware of working boat terminology, this is the line attached to the engine 'ole bulkhead, the equivalent to a modern boats midline) forming it into a loop he started to feed it through his cabin top ring as I walked along my gunnel between the boats to tranship the coal, looking back I saw a boat approaching at a rapid pace, possibly more the 4mph, I had an inkling that he was not going to slow down and warned my customer.

Easily lost fingers

The boat continued past at his cruising speed, my boat with it current load probably grosses around 35 tons, the drag from the passing boat picked up my fore end and dragged it across the canal away from my customers boat, tightening up the back end line and nearly pulling my customer's hand through his cabin top ring, if he had not had the presence of mind to let go and free his hand from the grip of the line he could have easily lost a couple of fingers, this while standing on the offside gunnel of his boat, he could also have fallen in the canal and suffered further injuries.

But this is not the end of it, I am now standing on the narrow gunnel of an open hold working boat that his heading across the canal towards a collision with a speeding boat, I have nothing to hold onto, all I could do is step across slippy coal sacks to the other side of the boat were I have wider planks to walk on. As it was, no damage was done but it could have been more serious.

Knowing the danger

The annoying part of all this is that earlier I had passed this same boat whilst it was being tied up by Tesco in Rugeley, although I had slowed down for the other moored boats to below 2mph, seeing a boat being tied up and knowing the danger of boats passing quickly, I gradually slowed down even more from two boats away until I passed at tickover, with a slow revving Lister and a 3 to1 box, my tickover is around 1/2 to 3/4 mph.

As far as I am aware the 2mph rule still applies, so perhaps the signs adorning so many boats should be changed to reflect this.