Learning the Ropes

Could a training course improve your boating? The Inland Waterway Helmsman's Course is aimed at novice steerers and old hands alike. It is designed to give confidence to newcomers, and teach them the basics of boat handling, yet can still show experienced boaters something new. Julie Webb joined a group on the Oxford Canal.

Taken from Canal Boat and Inland Waterways February 2001, used with permission.

Jude, an ex-nurse, was a narrowboat novice when she and her husband decided to sell up and live on a 70ft boat. Her only boating experience, a week's hire on the Ashby Canal, had convinced her that she needed some proper training to increase her competence and confidence at the helm.
Giles, an insurance loss adjuster, had done some sailing and pottering in small motor boats. He was keen to introduce his young family to the joys of canals, but wanted to do this safely - and to have some form of certification which would be recognised abroad.
The third person on the RYA Inland Waterway Helmsman's Course was me, and my narrow-boating experience was similarly limited, having spent the last ten years at the wheel of a Shetland Family Four.
The course we attended was held at Willow Wren Training, one of over 50 schools approved by the RYA (Royal Yachting Association). Courses last either one or two days, and aim to give students the confidence to helm a vessel safely on inland waterways. Our training boat was Grebe, a 65ft Willow Wren hire-boat with a 46hp Perkins engine, based on the Rugby Arm of the North Oxford Canal.
It is assumed that most people attending one of these courses will have limited narrowboat experience, but according to our instructor Andy Newman, even old hands have come along, and been amazed at how much they have learnt. Often, he said, they find that there is a safer or more efficient alternative to the way they have been doing things for years.
I certainly found that the theory session explained many factors affecting the movement of a boat factors which I had encountered but never understood. These included the direction of rotation of the prop; proximity to the bank or another boat, which funnels the water through a narrow gap and exerts a force on the hull; and the way in which the design of the counter and swim influences these effects. Those of us less comfortable with the physics behind these principles were later given a practical demonstration of the theories, as Andy pointed out where a pull on the hull was affecting our steering, and advised us how best to compensate for it.
Several other points were covered while we drank a welcome cup of coffee before setting off. The parts of an engine and the boat itself were explained, as were the various pre-start checks necessary particularly checking the single-lever engine control is working properly. Leaving a busy mooring with ropes cast loose and all the crew on board is no time to discover the forward and reverse gears are not functioning as they should. The comprehensive course handbook, published by the RYA, and written by Andy himself, was a readily understandable guide to these essentials.
Our practice session was to take place on the Oxford Canal, travelling south towards Braunston. It was ideal learning territory shallow and bendy, with bridges, aqueducts, some stretches that were built narrow apparently just for the sake of it, and a flight of three double locks at Hillmorton.
It was also quite busy for an autumn weekday, no doubt partly due to the brilliant sunshine. We got lots of practice in passing boats underway, as well as stationary ones. We were introduced to the idea of "50p piece steering", which is going round a bend in a succession of straightish lines, rather than trying to take one long sweep at it. This was disconcerting to begin with, because you feel as though you might end up on the bank, but it made steering a long narrowboat on a bendy canal so much easier.
We were fortunate that there was an almost complete absence of breeze. Even so, Andy explained how driving the boat with the bows at an angle to the channel would take account of any wind effect; we were to straighten just before a bridge hole, and then resume the angle once through. He advised us to slow down slightly through any kind of narrows, to reduce the likelihood of sucking any accumulated rubbish into the prop but not to go so slowly that you lose steerage. This proved to be a difficult balance to strike, but not an impossible one. In particularly likely danger spots, the alternative is to knock the engine briefly out of gear just as the propeller passes through.
Each of us had a go at turning the boat in a winding hole, which involved getting the feel of the boat's behaviour when the engine was in reverse. It was confusing at first; since the hull's pivot point alters, the prop goes round the other way, and everything changes as a result. It is surprising, though, how you begin to get used to it, You feel that, with more practice, it would become automatic. By the end of the day, we had even overcome the strangeness of pointing the tiller away from the desired direction of motion - an alien concept to those of us raised on cars and wheel-steered motor cruisers.
Mooring was the next exercise. This was neatly accomplished by sending the bow into the bank, so that a crew member can get off safely with a bow line, while the stern was still in deep water so we could get the boat clear if the intended mooring place proved too shallow. Once the stern had been brought in using the tiller, the engine was, most importantly, put out of gear. This would protect the person stepping of! with the stern line should they slip into the water near the prop. The boat could then be pulled in and secured, and we could stop for lunch - ready to tackle the dreaded knots.
Actually, it took us only a few attempts to make a reasonably good fist of four of them: the T-stud knot, boatman's hitch, clove hitch, and finally a bowline, used for throwing a loop to a person overboard, or for making any secure eye in a rope, that can still be easily undone. During the rest of the lunch-break, Andy filled us in on safe boating in motor cruisers and on rivers, as well as the aspects of canal cruising which it was not possible to cover in practice that day - such as working through tunnels, or navigating at night, something you should only do if your vessel is equipped with the proper lights.
A large part of the afternoon was devoted to operating locks, with the emphasis on safety and efficiency, including tips on how to manage when you only have one crew member. For example, you can close the paddle on the non-towpath side first, before the lock is completely full. This leaves you ready to step back onto the boat after shutting the gate and towpath paddle.
Andy emphasised that locks are deep and dangerous places, where children are particularly vulnerable to accidents because they get excited and run around. They should always, he said, wear lifejackets, whether they are on the boat or canalside, as should any non-swimmers on board.
He explained that the first thing to do if an emergency should occur in a lock, is to close any open paddles. Then if a person has fallen overboard, you should throw a lifeline or lifebuoy. Or if the boat has become caught up or stuck, you should slowly open one paddle at the other end to reverse the process. He pointed out the two main dangers to watch for. These are when the stem of the boat gets stuck on the cill, and when the bow fender catches on the gate. The latter is a particular problem if the bow fender is too tightly fastened by chains, and will not allow the boat to float loose.
We were shown the correct use of the safety catch on the winding gear, were warned to keep scarves, ties, necklaces and hair out of the way, and reminded to remove the windlass when not in operation, so it could not spin and cause injury. "And don't let someone from another boat who is in a hurry try to hassle you," said Andy "They can be unnerving, but it's more important to do things safely than quickly."
The final lesson involved deliberately going aground in order to learn how to unstick ourselves, by using the techniques mastered earlier in the day reverse steering using short bursts of power, while keeping a sharp eye out for passing traffic, as you should during any manoeuvre. It also helps to move the crew to the opposite end of the boat to that which is stuck so their weight helps lift you off.
By the time we had successfully got clear of the shallows, and rewarded ourselves with a cup of tea, it was after five, and the sun was getting lower in the sky. We set off back to the Willow Wren base, still being bombarded by the indefatigable Andy with information about river buoys, local canal history sound signals, and novel methods of manufacturing lock gate paddles from plastic. There was an occasional instruction to the steerer, but noticeably fewer than on the outward journey.
Apart from heads buzzing with so many new skills in such a short time, what did my fellow participants feel they had gained from the course'
"It's given me much more confidence," said Jude. "I'm a lot happier and much more relaxed now."
Giles added: "One of the most useful things was leaming how the bow reacts to movement of the tiller. It was easier than I thought, once I got a feel for it. As far as general boat handling is concerned, it's taught me which of the things I knew were right, and which were wrong as well as a lot of new skills. And," he added, "it's been a great day out!"

What better introduction could there be to years of safe, confident and enjoyable boating, whether it is going to be in your own boat or hired craft?
A list of schools approved by the RYA is available from RYA House, Romsey Road, Eastleigh, Hampshire 5050 9YA.
Tel: 01703 627400. Most will offer training either in your own boat or the school’s, and most offer both one and two day courses. We learnt with Willow Wren Training, and their telephone number is: 01788 562 183, fax: 01788540540.