Email: Hit by historic boat
The skipper of Lindsay at the time suggested the reason for 'playing pinball' with the boats moored on the visitor moorings was because the canal was shallow and it was windy. I do not dispute either of those facts however, the reason for his problems was, in my opinion, twofold.
The boat Lindsay appears to have very little ballast in the bow with the result not much of the bow is under the water. The sensitivity of a craft to the wind is, to a first approximation, proportional to the hull area above the water versus the hull area below the water, so having very little of the bow below the water is asking for trouble on a windy day. The height of the bow above the water also means it will reach where other boats can't so the potential for consequential damage is much greater than a normal narrowboat.
Secondly there was no provision for the crew to stand in the front of the hold (or on the bow itself) to fend off the errant bow with a short pole. So the question is why was this craft being moved on a windy day in this totally inappropriate manner? Might I suggest to whatever Trust it is that operates Lindsay at this point in time, that they remedy these problems before allowing the craft out in the future?
Damaging moored boats paintwork or even worse taking out their windows/portholes is not going to win friends for that particular Trust and will give the whole 'Heritage Boat' fraternity a bad reputation as well. Surely this the type of PR everyone wants to avoid?
The photo shows the pair Lindsay & Keppel in happier times moored near the south portal of Preston Brook.
Ralph Freeman