Has anyone ever taken their Dog/s on one?
Dog life jacket Y/N?
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Yes... didn't fit dog lifejackets on the river.
Now we use the sea he always wears one.
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>> Has anyone ever taken their Dog/s on one?
Canal? Yes.
>> Dog life jacket Y/N?
No, dog can swim like a fish. Stylishly too, life jacket would actively hinder her genetic swimming skills. Note some dog breeds can't swim at all and sink like an anchor, some can survive afloat for a fair while.
At sea? Hi viz dog life jacket at all times. Not to keep it afloat, but so you can see it and rescue it, very easy to lose sight of things floating in the sea.
Note of interest to remember: Nearly every case where someone has drowned trying to save their dog in water, the dog has survived unharmed.
Last edited by: Zero on Sat 2 Sep 17 at 08:20
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>> Note of interest to remember: Nearly every case where someone has drowned trying to save
>> their dog in water, the dog has survived unharmed.
Some years ago Mrs B and I were staying in York and walking through an area where the river runs through flood meadows. Heard a bloke hailing for help from the water. He'd gone in after his dog and couldn't get back onto the steep wet bank. Took some effort to locate a place where two of us could haul him out without serious risk of falling in ourselves.
The dog had got out on it's own and was being a trip hazard scampering round our feet.
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>>The dog had got out on it's own
4-paw drive!
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The best thing to remember about canal boat holidays is to not 'chat up' other travellers who are travelling in the same direction! If (and when) you fall out, they will have a habit at appearing at the next overnight stop over!
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Yes some folk do go overboard.
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I would go for the life jacket.
Though most dogs are very good swimmers there may be long stretches of canal bank which would be impossible for a dog to clamber out. Also, should it fall overboard in a lock there are many other dangers such as water turbulence and the danger of dog getting squished between boat and lock wall.
The doggy jackets I have seen do not seem to impair the dog's swimming ability. They normally have a large loop on the back so that the dog can be either grabbed by hand or boat hook.
Reaching down from a narrowboat or canal bank to a semi submerged dog is not that easy.
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We live by a canal. Our dog jumps in it all the time. I think he'd actually quite like to be a duck. Smells though, canal water on a dog. Have to hose him down when he's been for a swim.
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Mine likes nothing better than to leap off the locks gates into the canal, and from a sit and a good run up she can launch about 9 feet from the bank into the middle of the canal. Hell of a belly flop tho
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If you are hiring a narrowboat get one with an extra berth. This will avoid overcrowding, which is otherwise practically guaranteed (as compared with normal crowding, which is inevitable - they're not called narrow for nothing).
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>> No, dog can swim like a fish.
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Hmm, ever seen a fish doing doggy paddle?
Seriously dogs can swin though can tire quickly when swimming, a buoyancy aid is a good idea even on canals. They could fall in in a lock for instance.
>> At sea?
Agreed, a buoyancy aid is also easier to see.
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>> >> No, dog can swim like a fish.
>> >>
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>> Hmm, ever seen a fish doing doggy paddle?
My dog does not doggy paddle, it swims. Its designed to swim, head low in the water, body more or less submerged, and its webbed feet, yes webbed, give great propulsion. She can also retrieve from and swim under water. Think otter.
Tire quickly? Nope, she can and has swam, 1/2 mile, and do it repeatedly quite easily.
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>> My dog does not doggy paddle, it swims. Its designed to swim, head low in
>> the water, body more or less submerged, and its webbed feet, yes webbed, give great
>> propulsion. She can also retrieve from and swim under water. Think otter.
It's breed dependant though isn't it? A Lab/Retriever is one thing. Next door's b***** yappy dachshunds might be different - not that I ever see them walked.
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>> It's breed dependant though isn't it? A Lab/Retriever is one thing.
Yes, as I stated further up thread, some breeds have the swimming ability of an anchor chain.
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>> Next door's yappy dachshunds might be different - not that I ever see them walked.
Same with my neighbour's yappy spaniels. He's either sat in his man shed watching TV or making even more noise than his dogs with his wood working tools, or straight round the local pub after coming home. They used to be able to run around the small garden of theirs, but he's recently fenced that off and the only place they can run around in is in the back yard which is no bigger than 6' x 6' in size.
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"Canal? Yes."
It only takes a little typo for people to start thinking about boats.
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>> Yes some folk do go overboard.
Which raises another question!
Almost nobody wears life jackets on the canal - except for all of the Canal & River Trust employees. Probably more dogs do than people.
You are quite likely to fall in at some point. Everybody does, eventually, if they keep boating. The canals are mostly about 3 feet deep, even shallower near the bank. Generally, falling in is a laugh for everybody else and no harm ensues. But there are river sections on some canals, and wharves tend to be dredged, and can be much deeper. Then there are the locks, which are often more than 10' deep.
I never wore a life jacket until I slipped and fell in at Calcutt wharf, where we kept our shared boat for a while.
www.calcuttboats.com/webcam.html
The boats were at right angles to the mooring and tied together at the bows. Having moored the stern, I clambered along the gunwale to tie up the front. I slipped and fell between the boats. My feet never touched the bottom when I went under. I couldn't climb out and had to shout for help which was at hand. I was wearing a barbour jacket with the dead rabbit pockets that must each have had a gallon of water in. Without help, I would have had to hang on the the gunwale and make my way round the front and down the other side of a 60' boat to pull myself on to the wharf.
Thing was, I had a big lump on my head. I could easily have been knocked out and drowned. Same goes for falling into locks, where you (or somebody) necessarily has to get off the boat to operate them.
After that we had self-inflating jackets until we gave up boating to do other things.
Unfortunately any life jackets you are offered by the boat hire company are likely to be the bulky type -far less easy to wear and be active in.
Neither I nor any of my fellow crew members have ever fallen in at a lock - probably because extra care is taken. Like roads, they aren't dangerous per se, but accidents can be serious. An emptying or filling one has a lot of water rushing about. I love canals and industrial history, but if they had just been invented as a leisure pursuit then there would probably be railings around every lock, and life jackets and helmets would be compulsory. So take care, concentrate on what you are doing at locks, and don't get too drunk until you have finished boating for the day.
You can have a great time. Plan your trip, roughly, and get a Pearson's guide for the stretch(es) you are travelling - you will be able to work out where you are and they have lots of interesting information in them.
www.jmpearson.co.uk/
I'm no expert on dogs, but if yours is likely to jump in randomly then I would keep him restrained anyway, especially at locks, where I have noticed that a lot of people shut them in the boat. If they jump into a lock while the boat is in it there is a possibility of being squished - the boat weighs a lot.
Forgive me for the unsought advice if you have done canals before.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 2 Sep 17 at 20:15
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Thank you Manatee. I spent many years of my life wandering the Grand Union Canal and digging for Victorian pottery 'junk' along the Slough cut between West Drayton and Cowley. Happy days were they, but I have never set foot upon a narrow boat except for once for a minute or two. Your advice seems very acceptable to me esp: regarding locks.
As a nipper I use to run across the lock adjacent to the Shovel pub at Cowley even when the blighters were fair opened. A leap of faith if you will. Why as children did we have no fear?
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Another bit of gratuitous advice then.
You pass on the right of course as everybody kno, but drive up the middle the rest of the time. When you meet an oncoming boat, deviate so the left side of your boat is a foot or two, no more, right of the centreline - most people will comply without demur, do the same thing, and you will pass with a couple of feet between you. If you are too polite and get near the bank you will be constantly aground, smashing into submerged shopping trolleys, or picking up ropes and plastic sacks on your propeller, which are no fun at all to remove.
If you do run aground, don't rush for the pole to push off. If it goes on forwards, it will nearly always come off backwards. I rarely touched the pole at all.
Keep forward in locks when going down, you must keep the stern of your boat off the cill behind you. If you hang the stern on the cill you will unship your rudder (painful) and if you don't shut the paddles quickly enough the boat will literally sink at the bow (very inconvenient all round). I have never sunk one, but I did once (only once) knock the rudder out of the pintle.
Don't rush. Most boats have a comfortable speed, typically c. 3 mph. If you give it full beans, it will make a lot of noise, shake things out of the cupboards, pick up carp on the prop more easily (the prop pulls the back of the boat down, searching for water), use twice as much fuel, and you will go about 0.3 mph faster.
It's stressful if you are in a hurry, because you can't get anywhere fast whatever you do, so don't be too ambitious with your daily distance.
Canal route planner:
canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/canal.cgi
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When we walk on the local canal paths, we are usually faster than the boats we see. They catch up when we stop for the views.
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>>It's stressful if you are in a hurry, because you can't get anywhere fast whatever you do, so don't be too ambitious with your daily distance.
Loads of good advice there, but I think this is the best bit.
If you're worried about how long its going to take to get somewhere, or how far you've come today, then you chose the wrong holiday.
It takes as long as it takes, and you get as far as you get. Its the only way to enjoy it.
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>> It takes as long as it takes, and you get as far as you get.
And you'll be knackered when you don't get there
Max legal speed on the canal is not going to be your average speed for the day, the locks take time, usually a queue to get in, well down by year anyways
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>> You pass on the right of course
That's actually ambiguous. In nautical parlance passing something on the right (starboard) means leaving it on the right, ie you actually steer to port.
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I've never fancied a holly day in a narrowboat, because they are too, um, narrow 8-)
I have had some good boating holidays on Old Father Thames in cruisers such as this one:
imagenes.cosasdebarcos.com/barcosOcasion/7/0/9/2/freeman-boats-freeman-27-cruiser-28814120130567495669566949524566x.jpg
which we picked up from a Blakes boatyard in Oxford during the 1976 heatwave.
Geezer from the yard came out with us to explain the rude-imentaries, but my attention was distracted by the totally-starkers young ladies on the riverbank (Oxford, see)
I have entertained the notion of selling up and living on a boat in one of the creeks down 'ere www.cornwalls.co.uk/photos/helford-river-port-navas-4166.htm fool time, like a lot of peops do apparently but,
at 65 I've noticed that I'm not getting any younger so, maybe best to kick that idea into the long grass mucho pronto.
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Strange thouh I don't recall it being discussed on? Does anyone else on here sail?
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Sorry, not paying attention. Yes, I sail. Why?
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Just wondered if I am the only one. I don't have boat currently though i have a few opportunities to crew. Do you have a boat?
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Yes I sail too, friend has a boat in Southampton that we use.
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>> What boat is it Z?
Cant remember what make it is, its a 30 foot cruising yacht, monohull, twin fins, main sail, spinnaker, inboard volvo diesel engine, a not very good auto helm,
I do have the draught permanently imprinted on my brain - 1.58 metres.
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>> >> What boat is it Z?
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>> Cant remember what make it is, its a 30 foot cruising yacht, monohull, twin fins,
>> main sail, spinnaker, inboard volvo diesel engine, a not very good auto helm,
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I guess you mean twin bilge keel, then again 1.58m could be a fin keel on a 30ft yacht. I also guess you mean genoa, it may have a spinnaker though the normal fore sail will be a genoa or jib, much the same thing.
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Did it once for a week around the solent. Quite enjoyed it, the weather was lovely for sept and had some cracking nights out as well. Kept meaning to do one of the courses you can do (royal yachting association ?) but never got round to it. Should find time one of these days. Nearly ended up on a week around the carribean which would have been good but couldn't get the time off work.
Last edited by: sooty123 on Mon 4 Sep 17 at 08:20
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No, I sold my last one quite some time ago. I was never in one place long enough to look after it. Mind you, I'd also say I have no idea how I used to have the time.
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I had a small classic sailing yacht for 35 years, but sold it last year. It was the usual story, it took more time in maintenance than I ever spent actually sailing. In the end the insurance company said they weren't going to cover wooden boats over a 100 years old any more, so that decided it for me.
It went to a good home, I think, so it's someone else's turn to care for the nation's maritime heritage.
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Bad news for our family yacht which must be over 110 years old now and may have been "de-insured" off the Broads - or has anyone spotted Crystal afloat there recently?
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Sailed once on Redesmere in Cheshire with a pal in his family's dinghy. The bit that you steer with broke and we had to paddle back. About 55 years ago !
Rowed on Derwentwater...too much like hard work. Not bad for a lad from a seafaring family !
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Cousin sold his small yacht.I would have liked it about nine grand.To much on at home and me swanning around on the high seas is not my missus idea of fun.>;)
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I built myself a day sailing dinghy once. It was great fun to do that, but then I realised we are miles from any water. Plus it was now too big to get out of the shed I built it in. Forethought was never my strong point.
Anyway, I put it on a trailer, eventually, and took it to the local river. Obviously, it fell off the trailer twice on the way and I believe there are still some tyre marks on the road in various places from various unamused oncomers.
Once in the water, me and my friends grinned like loons as it went down the river like a bat out of hell, then decided it was time to get back to the car. No amount of tacking, shouting or cursing got it to make even one yard towards that destination.
In the end, my friend M was walking waist deep up the shallow river towing it, grunting and swearing, my friend K was was pulling another rope on the bank, but in his case waist high in nettles, grunting and swearing, and I was waggling the rudder feebly whilst trying to keep the nose pointing vaguely upriver. There may have been grunting and swearing there too, I don't recall.
Not long after that, it rotted away in the back garden, and now that I think about it, neither M nor K call these days.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Tue 5 Sep 17 at 19:43
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>> Not long after that, it rotted away in the back garden, and now that I
>> think about it, neither M nor K call these days.
I think you need to add a dog to complete that tale.
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I am now wondering about the wisdom of taking two Lab's on this trip. Our first canal boat trip at that. One of them, the eldest, is 9 yo but as fit as a flea and compliant. 5 bar gate leap still within her ability. The other, her sister, 18 months younger, wily, selectively deaf, non compliant to the nth degree, not fit due to a leg issue and WILL NOT do anything asked of her!! They are great together, but......
I see trouble or more importantly S T R E S S.
Panel??????
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>> I see trouble or more importantly S T R E S S.
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>> Panel??????
Only you know your dogs, only you understand the total dynamics of your pack and can gauge how it will perform under canal boat conditions.
There are times when the skipper will need total concentration, and he wont need a pack issue or a canine crew he can't rely on at those times. Or secure them within the cabin when required.
Me, Ive done it with a canine crew, its been fine.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 5 Sep 17 at 22:39
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Does that mean you took the dog watch?
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>> Does that mean you took the dog watch?
So called of course because, at 2 hours rather than 4, it is cur-tailed.
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Canal boat holidays - Fenlander
