tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16640455.post5240483033191900286..comments2023-12-14T18:23:45.496+00:00Comments on Hadar: Fenny Stratford to Cosgrove.Keith Lodgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03571593747071271185noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16640455.post-65376351159325652008-12-07T12:39:00.000+00:002008-12-07T12:39:00.000+00:00Hi grey wolf, Keith here. Unfortunately Jo got the...Hi grey wolf, Keith here. Unfortunately Jo got the name wrong. To link the 2 boats together they use what are called "cross straps" and not the "snubber" as she quoted. Cross straps are 2 short ropes, each with a spliced eye at both ends. They each hang from the T stud of the butty and then attach to the 2 Dollies on the stern of the motor. They are called "cross straps" because they cross over. This technique makes the pair of boats react the same as an articulated lorry and negates the need for a helmsman on the butty. It's disadvantage is that it is not very economical on fuel. Towing using a long line is more fuel efficient, as the butty works completely independently, and puts very little strain on the motor. The reason is that with the cross straps the bow of the butty deflects the push from the motors prop, decreasing it's efficiency. However it is fairly easy to control both boats whilst cross strapped. Techniques like this will be lost in time as less pairs operate. Unlike in the old days pairs are not easy to runs these days due to the amount of traffic on the canals. Long lining through locks is ok when all around know what you are doing. Very few people do that these days, only person I know is Roger Fuller and his family.Keith Lodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03571593747071271185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16640455.post-21244350812167949862008-12-05T14:00:00.000+00:002008-12-05T14:00:00.000+00:00You are most welcome Grey Wolf. Over the years the...You are most welcome Grey Wolf. Over the years there have been many, many books written about canal techniques and life afloat, which is wonderful, but none of those compare to the boatmen passing on their skills. Keith was taught by a man who was born and bought up on the old working boats, some 40 years ago. He knows a lot of the old techniques, but would be careful using or teaching them these days, because it would be so easy for someone to try and copy him and get it so horribly wrong. He still uses some of them himself when we are out and about on our own. The old techniques could be dangerous in the wrong hands, so it is worth being taught by an old boatman. With health and safety and the compensation culture today everyone has to be so careful.Keith Lodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03571593747071271185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16640455.post-24467502141909691582008-12-04T20:00:00.000+00:002008-12-04T20:00:00.000+00:00Thank you for that,i imagine that full or empty it...Thank you for that,i imagine that full or empty it is a bit of a handful. I hope all these techniques have been written down somewhere,it is so easy to loose such skills simply with the passage of time and the people who practice them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16640455.post-57076327438592420062008-12-04T15:45:00.000+00:002008-12-04T15:45:00.000+00:00Hi Grey Wolf. The boats were moving. The butty was...Hi Grey Wolf. <BR/>The boats were moving. The butty was strapped to the stern of the motor with what they used to call a snubber, therefore you do not need anyone on the butty steering. It is only when the butty is on a long line that a steerer is needed. it has to be said that single handing a motor and a butty is hard work and not for the faint hearted, but Gary has done it for a number of years now and knows what he is doing.Keith Lodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03571593747071271185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16640455.post-69962185000746211792008-12-04T11:43:00.000+00:002008-12-04T11:43:00.000+00:00were the working boats moving because the butty do...were the working boats moving because the butty does not seem to have anyone steering.I had herd that boats could be towed like that,presumably the rudder is tied off??Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com