The waterways are full of a wonderful selection of varied craft much the same as the world is full of a wonderful selection of varied people. So why must the owners of narrowboats be so derogatory to cruiser owners, and cruiser owners be so derogatory to narrowboat owners?Wouldn’t it be an incredibly boring world if we all liked the same things and disliked the same things? We are all different by our very natures so it stands to reason that, as boat owners, we will all enjoy different boats. Some of us will enjoy GRP cruisers, some of us will enjoy narrowboats, and some of us will enjoy wooden craft. Each has their merits and each has their advantages on certain waterways. This however does not make one any better than another.
We enjoy cruising in our GRP cruiser as it gives us a great combination of outside space and inside living space, in a compact go anywhere (on the broad beam, rivers and coastal waterways) package. We never struggle to find a mooring and she can turn around anywhere we like. Having said that we also like to look at the selection of differing craft on offer at most visitor mooring spots. On the whole the majority of boat owners are the same in this sense, and enjoy their own craft whilst not looking down on others who may not be so well off. Yet there are the minority, who despite being nothing special, insist on being derogatory to all and sundry that may not have such a large or shiny boat as themselves.
Sad really and maybe they don’t understand that some of the smaller boats on the system give their owners exactly the same enjoyment as their hugely expensive and more often than not hugely impractical boat.
I get your drift, but on the whole narrow boat owners are very friendly. Its the massive fly bridge cruiser that think they are a cut above the rest and are the ones who think its ok to travel faster than normal past other craft, thus creating lots of wash. Its one-upmanship I suppose, that I have a bigger boat than you.
ReplyDeleteThere was also a time many years back. I was approaching Marlow lock going upstream. An elderly gentleman with his captains hat on had run aground in his extra large fly bridge cruiser, just before the cut. Another large fly bridge cruiser, again with the person at the helm wearing a captains hat, was pulling him off. I carried on travelling past in my small 17' boat with a 15hp outboard. Without a captains hat might I add. I moored up by the lock and this large fly bridge cruiser who had run aground, rammed me against the side and said I was pushing in. He broke my navigation light and I scratched his craft by pushing with my boat hook. The lock keeper called me over and asked what the matter was. I informed the lock keeper who I knew of what had happened, as my Dad was a keen fisherman and a great friend of his. He was told to pay me for my light and to move right to the back of the queuing boats for his stupid actions. I had my girlfriend and her elderly adoptive parents with me. They had been very frightened by the ordeal.
It takes all sorts I suppose but by far and away the people we have the most issues with are narrowboaters.
ReplyDeleteNot all of them may I add and we also do have some very good friends who are narrowboaters but you do get the odd one who is a complete Knob. Same with all sorts I expect.