Search results for tag #boating
Swan say "Got bread?"
But what does the fox say?
I saw this swan along the canal, today. It perked right up when it saw me boating along, because as far as the swan is concerned, boat=bread.
But not every boat. And as we all know from Psychology 101, intermittent reinforcement is the hardest kind of conditioning to break.
Feed them once and these birds will ALWAYS beg for bread—and hiss if there's none.
#CanalLife #canal #boating #boat #narrowboat #swan #MuteSwan #bird #waterfowl #wildlife
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A white mute swan in someone's back yard, standing on a green patch of lawn that's been trimmed short by hungry water birds. This patch is separated from the rest of the yard by a black, metal gate. Beyond the gate are trees, bushes. And plants that the waterfowl are not welcome to eat.
The yard ends at the canal, which has murky water in it.
The swan is looking at the photographer (who—from the angle—must be on the water). The swan's neck and head are tilted and rotated in a classic "Got bread?" query.
Nine hours of hard boating got me as far as a 40-minute car ride.
On average, it's 3 miles/hour, and 3 locks/hour.
The boat is big, so there were lots of nervous ducks and geese in the water, and nervous lambs on land. The first ducklings of the year were only 3 in number; the others either fell prey or failed to hatch. Also a nesting swan and nesting goose. Only one moor hen.
#CanalLife #canal #boating #boat #narrowboat #SlowSpeed #waterfowl #duck #duckling #goose #lamb #sheep #swan #MoorHen
Early milestones were stones with distances (in miles) to key towns chiselled in.
This "milestone" is steel. It was placed in 1819, and is now painted black and white—the traditional colours of everything that belonged to British Waterways.
15 years ago the UK government dumped those assets into a trust (Canal & River Trust). It's now responsible for maintenance and was given a decade to become self-funding.
#CanalLife #canal #boating #boats #narrowboats #milestone #funding #CRT @ukwaterways
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A steel milepost or milestone, painted black and white, standing alongside a grassy towpath and hedgerow that's starting to bud for spring.
The text on the milepost reads:
Sharlow 49 miles.
Preston Brook 43 miles.
R&D.
Stone.
1819.
Oil check.
Radiator check.
Fluid check.
Battery check.
Inverter check.
Fill the water tank.
Pump check.
Flush check.
Leak check.
Fender check.
Chimney check.
Shoreline disconnected.
Stern and midlines untied.
Over the winter, someone absconded with my bow rope. Next time I moor in a marina, I lock up all my unused ropes.
Thieves! I'm now thinking it was another boater in the marina—also that tried to break in.
#CanalLife #canal #boating #boat #narrowboat #rope #stealing #marina #BlackPrince
The "gusts of wind" in the weather forecast were so loud, they woke me up. Roaring.
Also, waves slapping the hull and dishes clinking as the boat moves.
I fear for my chimney and its rain hat. (I know what it's actually called, but since I assume that term has a racist derivation, rain hat it is.)
EDIT: chimney cowl. Thanks @mike
#CanalLife #canal #boating #boat #weather #UK #Midlands #storm #chimney
@ukwaterways
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Photo of a chimney cowl, with the chimney sketched in. It looks like a shallow, round, black cap, wider than the chimney below it, which keeps most of the rain pit of the chimney. Th cowl includes some pieces to fasten it over the chimney top.
There's an old-fashioned Vacant/Occupied dial on the boat's toilet door. This door is angular to fit the cabin wall's inward slant, or tumble, as it swings open.
The shower is in a walk-through room. Its wood doors don't lock. In an emergency, I want people able to move through in a hurry, not blocked by a locked door for fear of exposed naked bits.
(There've been no emergencies or nonconsenting nudity.)
#CanalLife #canal #boating #boat #safety #EmergencyExit #lock #door #exit #UK
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A brass toilet lock with a dial that says VACANT. It's mounted on an oak door that has an angled edge. This angled door, when it swings open, will clear the angled cabin wall. (The walls on a narrowboat typically angle inward. This is called the "tumble".)
For the stern hatch, I bought much larger, sturdier, brass sliding bolts.
Oak is hard wood, so it took a chisel and mallet, drill, hacksaw, and screwdriver to mount them. But it wasn't difficult.
Opening the hatch takes only 2 seconds—faster than I imagine it takes to open an airplane's emergency exit. It's satisfying to have a decent locking mechanism on the hatch that doesn't block emergency egress.🔥
#CanalLife #canal #boating #boat #narrowboat #safety #security #lock #bolt #FireExit #hatch
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At the stern hatch of a boat, a hand and thumb push a brass sliding bolt into its slot chiselled into an oak block. The block is attached to the overhead hatch.
Most of the boat interior is oak wood, and the metal parts are brass.
Along the upper-left edge of the hatch there's a door sweep, mounted upside down to keep out spiders.
I've been thinking about security. I need some bigger, stronger latches.
I think the culprit must have been interrupted by a passer-by.
Nothing was stolen but I can't think of another reason why I found the current latches broken.
#CanalLife #canal #UK #boating #boat #security #PropertyCrime #CRT
In England, canal companies preceded railway companies. Canals were dug along a level route. Later tracks were often laid alongside and overtop of canals.
I managed to get a photo of the Oxford North canal near Hillmorton, just as an oncoming train pushed into the frame. It's all high speed, and amazing that the canal itself is in focus.
In contrast to the trains, boats on the canal travel at 3 miles per hour.
#Canal #CanalLife #train #rail #railway #boating #narrowboat #boat #speed #velocity
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A canal lined with trees on both sides. Alongside the canal, some trees are greening, some not yet. My train is crossing a bridge with a low, white railing; it is blurred, due to the train's speed. To the left, a high-speed train entering the frame in a blur. On the right is a green field and some distant trees. The lower half of the photo is filled by train tracks. Some catenary wiring is visible against the sky, which is partly cloudy, partly blue.
I'm scheduling people to join the boat next week. We'll fare well along a stretch of tree-lined canal that has a few locks to operate.
They'll be relaxing days of enjoying the sights, the waterway, and the wildlife (ducks, coots, moor hens, geese, and swans). Oh, and there will be stimulating intermissions from all that relaxation: winding lock paddles up and down, filling and draining lock chambers, and pushing lock gates open and closed.