The heat is on
When Jane, a licensed skipper, said, 'How about you put your "Dragon Cap" on, and I teach you to drive the boat!' I smiled, enamoured with the idea, and I felt a surge of butterflies in my stomach that night. Still, I got up bright and early and gathered up my 'dragon fang' hair and took control.
I felt calm and relaxed, and at first, I was oversteering and undercompensating with the tiller, until I got the hang of how it works.
You see, although I'm confident at the wheel, I haven't driven for many years, and driving a boat is a different kettle of fish from driving a car. The concept of steering the tiller in the opposite direction of where you need the boat to go is not natural, but with practice and observation, I quickly got the hang of it.
This is our fourth year living on a narrowboat, and it's more common than you might imagine for the man to drive the boat while the woman does the lock handling. However, we both must know how to drive the boat in case of an emergency, and it turned out that hubby was unavailable to do so, and we were lucky to have developed a lovely friendship with Jane over the prior weeks.
We'd stop by our mate John at North Kilbworth Wharf to fill up with diesel for our long cruise that we would do in stages to Fazeley, in Tamworth. He was pleased to see me driving.
Although it's a slow pace of movement along the canals, there's a fast pace of learning several aspects of driving, so safety checks of lights, rope handling, slowing down and stopping, reversing, and an understanding of the wind effect and how the boat operates in water were some pertinent lessons in preparation for navigating small bridges, tunnels, and canal locks.
While cruising, a few boaters went by and shouted, 'We just watched your vlog.' ... referring to this video courtesy of hubby @scubahead, from our YouTube vlog, We Be Cruising - JamCam and Cam, where I'm 'Jam Cam'...
Talk about pressure, eh?
Generally, boaters and volunteers at the locks are accommodating of new drivers because we all have to learn at some point. So even though there's no L-plate, it's a 'big little' boating community, and boaters recognise my boat from our channel, and they know exactly what's going on. Therefore, it's even more important that I observe all the canal rules of slowing down while passing moored boats and not driving like a lunatic on the cut.
In this short clip below, it's Day 3 of learning.
... and completing the Braunston tunnel as my first tunnel was a big achievement, because it's the longest tunnel I've been through as both a crew member and driver. There are several kinks in that tunnel, and it so happened that I encountered two oncoming boaters—the first one with novice day boaters who appeared to be clueless about tunnel rules and the etiquette of a rubbing strip on one side of the tunnel for when two boats are passing each other.
Jane was pleased with how quickly I took everything on board, and that I remained calm when faced with unexpected situations, so I got an ice lolly as a reward, while we moored up waiting for another boat to join me through the double locks down the Braunston locks, as it makes sense to save water and time.
This new venture of driving the boat will change the way we live on the canals, and for the next few months, I might find myself cruising Cygnet behind hubby in our other new boat, Second Chance. :)
Thank you for tuning in!
Images and video footage are my property.
What rocks my boat
My blog frequently features my minimalist lifestyle and adventures while living on my narrowboat.”
Irie love,
Milly
Steering the boat with a tiller in the opposite direction really requires mental training before it becomes a practical skill 👏
Yes, indeed! I've done the opposite movement on a kayak, so I understand the concept. However, I have a lot of 'play' with this response time of the tiller/rudder, so it's seeing in advance and then making the constant small adjustments, especially when going through the narrow stretches:)
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Oh, yay! I finally made it to 400 posts? Unbelievable!
Thanks for the stats :)
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The opposite steering would be confusing for me 😵💫. I feel like that would take some time to get used to.
Yeah, it does take a bit of focus and getting used to, and makes you feel as if you don't know your left from your right. I also find that after cruising for 9 hours straight... that confusion carries over into me doing other things in the wrong direction on the boat 🤣
Lol yeah I could see that happening. Doing anything for 9 hours straight often has that effect
😂
💯
I didn't realise you had a YT channel! The videos are so professionally made, why don't you upload to Hive as well? I'm sure many people will be interested in your boat life.
btw, I noticed there's no advert, you still not monetising yet?
Yes, we have a YouTube channel, and I'm surprised at how many narrowboaters watch canal videos.
It was monetised, but the channel took a beating when we were living on land. The viewings are back up now, so it should be eligible for monetisation soon 😍
Congratulations on your achievement!! Steering with a rudder takes some getting used to - in addition to all the rules. You deserve your ice lolly. That will be quite an adventure if you will man a boat yourself. Soon it will be second nature.
Thank you!😊
I got the hang of steering and navigating along the canals fast.
What I need to master is handling the locks and manoeuvring the boat through the locks as a solo traveller. Also, knowing what to do when I encounter situations like being stuck in shallow waters. That can be intimidating, especially if the boat spins crossways through the canals.
So far, so good, though, and I'm pleased that I took the plunge:)))
Yes- I can imagine that those things you mentioned might be daunting. I guess you will learn by observation or experience.
💯%
Some things cannot be taught, so understanding how the boat functions in normal situations will be useful, as long as I don't panic, and instead, use some logic to find solutions as needed.
Indeed - all the best wishes.
Thank you! It's been lovely chatting with you again 😍
Aww thank you @millycf1976 - same to you. I am slowly returning and hope to be here more frequently.
Same here 🙃😁✊
Your photos are spectacular. I can see it was an incredible experience 🤭
It was, indeed!
Thank you 😊
Wow, your adventure is interesting. I'm going to check out your YouTube channel to see more of your adventures. I loved your writing; it's obvious you have a great vibe! Cheers!
Oh, thank you for your lovely comment 😊
I trust that you'll enjoy the videos:)))
Sometimes the heat just makes everything harder to focus on, especially when you’ve got so much going on. It’s like your energy just melts away.
I tend to take things in stride, set achievable goals and work at them little by little:)
Such a great journey with your friend, it's really an advantage if you both know how to drive just in case.
Indeed!😊
Thanks for stopping by:)
What an inspiring journey! Learning to navigate the canals sounds both challenging and rewarding, cheers to new skills and calm confidence on the water.
You've summed that up well. It's amazing the things that can happen out of the blue. It's a great new soft skill, indeed, and super rewarding.
Thank you for stopping by 😊
That's a nice skill! I'm a bit slow of catching up with the recent happenings here in the platform. It's my first time knowing that you also do boating and have a YouTube channel. Maybe, it's because I often see you at the CCC. By the way, I've subscribed to your channel and watched your vlog. ♥
That's it wth the blockchain... sometimes life happens and we disappear or lose touch, but it's always nice to fall right back into routine and catch up with the people who with connect with around the world.
Thank you for subscribing, and I hope that you'll not only find it entertaining, but also see another side of the UK that many people are not aware of 😍
What a great adventure. I can see that you've enjoyed it a lot. I can't even stop smiling at that.
Thank you!
It's been an amazing journey, indeed 😊
You're welcome
Wow! I could feel the heat radiating off the screen! 😅 Your presentation is so immersive—it feels like I was right there with you, wandering around! Ha ha! I love the way you blended the humor with honesty. Looking forward to more of your everyday adventures!
!PIZZA
Your comment made me smile. Thank you 😊
It's a real learning curve, and on the canals, you never know how the day will unfold.
The good thing is that it's all at a slow pace, which gives us time to react when necessary.
Thanks for checking it out 😍
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@chrysanthemum(2/5) tipped @millycf1976
Come get MOONed!
well done mi querida negra, te fajaste ja ja ja
😁👍
I've limited experience of driving boats, but I know it's very different to a car. You have to anticipate where you need to be some way ahead. At least it's all happening fairly slowly.
Sail well!
Yes, you're so right.
Another thing I didn't realise was that there's a pull from the oncoming boat passing. So, that's another thing to look out for and keep a steady and firm control of the tiller to avoid an accident.
I've never been a water person, so learning about water currents has been interesting.
Exactly! That's a big bonus:)))
Interesting, living on a boat.
Yes, it is. In so many ways:)
Loved the article.
👍
Same as here that there still a doubt in trying everything even though you want to try that, but still our instinct always win.
Indeed!😊
Great adventure @millycf1976! Never drived a boat myself, but looks like a fun activity!
Dope you got the hang of it so fast! It's time to cruise rivers!
I'll stick to cruising with my skateboard haha!
Hey @knowhow92
Yeah, I never saw myself driving a boat before, but it's so much fun. A lot to learn and much to take into consideration while cruising on the cut, however, I've fallen in love with boatlofe all over again.
Hmmm, I'd be more keen to do rivers on a longer and heavier new boat that we have.
I find that quite appealing too. Maybe one day I'll give that a go.
Thanks for stopping by:)))
This is fantastic! You look so good at the tiller and engine controls! w00t! 😁
😁😊 Thank you!
I never imagined it to be so much fun.
😍
I've been on a narrowboat weekend and loved it. I let the others drive though! I helped with the locks and wot-not though. Sounds like you've nailed it!
Hehe! I agree with your choice there. If you're on it for just a holiday, then it's nicer to enjoy the ride and have fun doing the locks, since they're unique to the canals only. :)
Exactly!