Boating Hazards

Ideally all boaters wanted an incident- and trouble-free trip and to arrive with all haste, not only to deliver the cargo but to be paid immediately afterwards, as was the custom. With any trip there were opportunities for problems to occur, from catching rubbish around the blades of a propeller to a broken towline. However, there were occasionally more serious hazards which threatened long delays or even the health of the crew. The causes of these were numerous – from the vagaries of the weather to navigational problems, and to delays created by others beyond the boater’s control.

Ice and snow

The most obvious examples of hazards were created by periods of extreme weather conditions, mainly ice, snow and droughts. Whereas most other delays were usually temporary, those from weather conditions tended to be lengthy and, in extreme circumstances, could run into months. This affected incomes and, consequently, food supplies for both people and animals, plus fuel for heating.

Fuel could be lifted from the cargo by boaters if they were carrying coal, but those transporting gas water, stone, timber etc, or running light, would eventually have empty coal boxes. Perhaps a few buckets of coal from the hold might not be missed but if others helped themselves under cover of darkness, the captain might find himself accused of theft by the merchant or trader when the trip was finally over. Boats lying at colliery wharves for loading had to wait until the thaw as pits didn’t load when iced up, although boaters might be able to scavenge some coal from pit banks. Raking the bed of a coal landing with a keb, which was a long-handled rake with its prongs at right angles to the handle, might lift a few lumps of spilt coal. However, the coal was still the property of its original owner and any boaters caught might face charges of theft. Some traders lived in wharf houses and so kept an eye on their precious coal or a night watchman might be paid to stand guard.

Another problem was the location where boats were held up during the weather event. We take it for granted today to have food available almost anywhere but back then food was more difficult to locate away from residential areas. To be trapped in ice or stranded in low water out in the countryside obviously created greater difficulty for boaters. In isolated country locations, local villages only supplied their daily customers due to the perishable nature of food in an age before refrigeration. Perhaps a farmer could help out with milk or eggs, if he had provision for his chickens to stay indoors to continue egg production throughout the winter. Boatmen working for carriers would be forced to ask their employers for an advance on future pay. Independent boatmen working under contract for coal merchants, industrial concerns and other traders would be forced to ask them for an advance on pay on their next delivery, otherwise they would need to dip into any savings put aside for future dockings.

Canal companies did own and run ice-boats but only when it was economically viable to do so. There was no point in breaking ice if another heavy overnight frost was going to freeze it solid again. So it was only when a partial or extended thaw was due that it was likely the canal companies would run the ice-boats. This presented an opportunity for boatmen to make some much-needed cash by hiring their horses to pull the ice-boats and, in some cases, be a crew member. Men would also be paid for clearing the towpath before the ice-boat could be run as it had to be made safe for horses first.

Right: A little-photographed and spectacular view of horse-drawn ice-breaking in progress on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Gargrave. By the look of the ice ahead of the boat, it had already been broken up and had probably refrozen, perhaps due to a heavy overnight frost. This image shows the horses clearly animated as they and their drivers run along the towing path, while a man on the boat braces himself against the centre handrail to rock it from side to side. The steerer can just be seen behind the handrail. Note how the bow rides over the surface rather than through it, so the weight of the craft bears down and crushes the ice.

Mike Clarke

Boaters working for carrying companies had to move when compelled to by their local officials, and boats followed the ice-boat in convoy. However, independent, selfemployed boaters working under contract could decide for themselves when they wanted to move; any threat of impending frost that might freeze the cut – and leave them stranded away from essential shops and stables – might compel them to stay put, much to the annoyance of canal company managers. If the cut froze overnight after breaking but not as thickly as before, canal company men with large mallets stood on the fore-end of the lead boat and smashed the ice as the convoy of boats slowly edged forward through the floes.Although frost and snow could happen any winter, there were certain times which stand out as exceptional, such as three years in succession in 1893, 1894 and 1895. During the 20th century, 1947 and 1963 were two of the worst known.

Drought

Although droughts most often occurred in summer, they could happen at any time of year, even in the depths of winter. On the canals water could be back-pumped to higher pounds to keep levels up, but on rivers it was just a question of waiting for much-needed rainfall, forcing boaters and traders to suspend traffic. On both rivers and canals, boaters might have had to carry reduced loads to get along, which unfortunately meant lower pay. One alternative was to lighten their boats into another craft to keep traffic flowing. Sometimes canal companies would provide a maintenance craft or, in some cases, even an ice-boat that could load several tons if a craft could not be hired from a local carrier.

Some rivers in certain places suffered from low water levels seasonally, as did particular sections of canal for geographical reasons. But one aspect was exceptional circumstances created by lengthy periods of low or no rainfall, and no amount of backpumping by steam engines at crucial locations could return the situation to normal without nature coming to the rescue with a break in the weather producing prolonged rain. In order to combat drought, the canal company would have to introduce ‘waiting turns’. This was a system of enforced lock operation at a flight of locks, whereby for every boat that went down a lock, a boat would then come up, and vice versa.

In other words, the maximum number of boats could pass through a lock but consuming the minimum amount of water. A typical notice for waiting turns was: ‘Owing to the shortness of water in the canal, when a boat is within sight, the water shall not be drawn off until such boat shall have passed through the lock.’

Waiting turns in periods of drought caused great difficulty for boaters and carriers alike. Coal orders bought at summer prices had to be loaded by a certain time before they expired, and, if empty boats were delayed loading while waiting turns, the merchants would lose their price reductions. The boaters would simply lose money because they were trapped above or below a flight of locks waiting for their turn, which might take days when stuck behind dozens, if not scores, of boats. One extreme example of drought occurred on the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal, which was closed between September 1943 and 21st December 1944.

Floods

As artificial navigations, canals were free from floods but there were a number of canals which had rivers flowing along part of their course. The Oxford was one that was prone to flooding from the River Cherwell, south of Banbury. The River Thames also flooded, preventing boats entering the river at Oxford, forcing a wait until levels subsided. The Leicester canals were also frequently affected by flooding from the rivers Soar and Trent, similarly affecting trade. On the Grand Junction Canal, the lower half was intercepted by several different rivers which interrupted traffic from time to time. Many wide navigations were also interwoven with rivers and subject to flooding, despite high banks to contain the water.

Floods could last for a few days or many weeks and so boaters just had to sit it out if loaded. If, however, the boaters learned in advance of loading that there were floods affecting a portion of their trip, they asked for new orders for destinations on other navigations to avoid unnecessary waiting. Just as with ice or drought, boaters forced to tie up might have had to ask their employers or traders, if working under contract, to supply them with advances on their pay to tide them over until the floods subsided.

Another problem with floods was the increased risk of boats capsizing fully laden in the rapidly moving water. Deeply laden narrowboats were particularly prone to this – tipping sideways to allow water to pour over the gunwale and sink it. It was not just the damage to the boat and boaters’ possessions but the loss of cargo to contend with. Even if the cargo was coal and somehow recoverable from the muddy riverbed, its immersion in detritus and contaminated water might have rendered it unfit for use or sale. Boats and their cargoes were rarely insured and the loss would have to be borne by the carrier. The navigation owners would not consider themselves liable for an Act of God such as a flood, and the operation of boats was the carriers’ responsibility. The tolls due on that particular trip would also be expected to be paid despite the loss, although canal companies might have been sympathetic enough to charge a reduced toll.

Gales

More rarely gales could disrupt traffic. One extreme occasion was in March 1916 when fierce winds, accompanied by a blizzard of snow, sleet and rain lasting over 24 hours, brought down telegraph poles and trees all over the Midlands and stopped traffic altogether. Because it was a time of war and cargoes needed to be delivered, the Royal Engineers were mobilised to remove obstructions – it took four days on the Coventry Canal before boats could access the collieries, and a fifth day for the whole canal to be back in operation.

Boats sinking

There were any number of reasons why a boat would sink, such as poor maintenance or accidental damage dislodging oakum, or springing a plank, to a sudden impact on a worn rivet against a lock. Whether it was these or other reasons, the boatman had to take swift action to save not only the boat but also its cargo, especially if it was likely to be damaged or destroyed by water. This was not always possible, especially if the damage was slight and the craft had time to slowly sink overnight while the crew were asleep, or if one or more of the bottom planks were knocked up when underway and the craft just nosedived into the canal bed.

The canal company and the carrier had to be informed as soon as possible as the sunken boat might be obstructing the navigation. Everything would be set up to raise the boat as soon as the men and equipment reached the location.

Poor state of canals

The condition of the canal and lack of adequate depth for unhindered navigation were a cause of complaint from both boaters and carriers. One carrier, L.B. Faulkner of Linslade, wrote in 1910: “The boatmen complain strongly of the state of your canal and say it is more like ploughing than swimming and that boats cannot bring anything like full loads without dragging the bottom. This is the cause of horses having bad shoulders and for which it would appear the canal company should be held responsible.”

Some traders could be more sarcastic. The Oxford Portland Cement Co Ltd of Kirtlington said to the Oxford Canal Co in 1913: “The new dredger seems to work so slowly that by the time it gets to here, we shall probably have no canal to dredge.”

Boaters complained as well. In 1914, Oxford coal merchants King & Co wrote to the Oxford Canal Co, “[The boaters] say it causes endless loss of time in passing other boats and from Napton they are continually rubbing the bottom which slows them down, overtaxes their horses and wears the bottoms of the boats. On the latter point we are the loosers [sic] by reason of extra wear and tear, and these men tell me that unless the dredger proceeds more rapidly there will be nothing done this way for years. We think it only our duty to the company to definitely inform you of this and we think these men’s testimony is to be believed.” One consequence of low water levels and poorly dredged canals was damaged boat towing lines, caused not only by the strain of pulling boats through silt and mud, but when one horse-drawn loaded boat met another. As one boat approached another craft, the one on the outside gave way to the craft nearest the towing path by slacking off the speed so its towline dropped into the water. As it lay on the bed of the cut, the boat passing over in a shallow and muddy canal could damage or cut through the line as it rubbed its way over the top. The bottoms of the boats also suffered damage over time after scraping the bed of the canal, especially the chines.

Canal breaches

When a boat sinks quickly and its steerer cannot get it out of the main channel, it can easily end up blocking the navigation for other boats. Luckily, while L.B. Faulkner’s boat Kite went down at Stoke Bruerne on 2nd February 1924, there was enough room for others to squeeze past, like this Fellows, Morton & Clayton steamer and butty. The reason why Kite sank isn’t known, although it might have been due to overloading. However, many other craft easily carried house coal stacked up between slack boards like that shown, so there could have been another reason. Kite was an old boat bought second-hand in 1907 from a firm of brickmakers based at Langley, near Slough.

Alan Faulkner

Above: Stoppages – whether due to planned maintenance work or some unfortunate accident – were a part of the canal scene; not strictly a hazard as such but more of an annoyance. There were occasions where boaters caused a stoppage by not following the bye-laws, then getting into an argument with others and refusing to back down. No matter how well boaters did their job, there were always unforeseen events to throw things awry. In this image taken during the summer of 1958, 21 pairs, many of which were British Waterways craft, were held up at Long Itchington Lock waiting for repair work to be completed.

C.P. Weaver

Although rare, canal breaches did occur and caused great delays to commercial traffic. For boaters at a distance, the news allowed other plans to be made, perhaps to divert traffic onto an alternative route to get to the intended destination. Those boaters closer to, or at, the location of the breach would have to wait a long time until the necessary repairs were completed. Otherwise boats were turned around and sent back, although that would entail extra tolls, whether the boats were loaded or not. Boats could only pass empty free of tolls if they returned within a month, fully laden, upon which a profitable toll could be charged. Loaded boats doubling back towards the loading point would have to pay another toll for the same load because of the water used at locks.

Carriers might argue that the breach was not their fault, so they should not pay tolls on the return trip, but the canal company might not be inclined to waive the fee as they were saddled with a potentially huge repair bill for the canal repairs, plus compensation for damage of private property. In one famous breach at Dudley Port on the BCN New Main Line on 9th September 1899, the repairs were estimated at between £40,000 to £50,000, a king’s ransom at that time.

Numerous annoyances

From time to time, one hazard was that the coal trade would fall slack for a number of reasons: perhaps a recession in the economy might affect industry or, if a drop in the price of coal at the pit was expected, traders would delay their orders. Coal prices in summer were cheaper than winter, so boaters relied on merchants buying coal at summer prices to keep coal traffic on the water at a time of the year when less coal was consumed. Any delay forced independent coal-boaters to look elsewhere for cargoes such as roadstone, then wait for the merchants to decide when to send in their orders.

At other times, when the coal wharves were full with summer-bought coal, a mild winter would reduce consumption so keep the coal trade depressed and the price down as the merchants wished to sell their stock. The effect was to reduce winter coal orders to the pit and, subsequently, any carrying orders issued to boatmen to keep the wharves topped up as they were already well stocked.

Poor boatmanship was, unfortunately, another hazard; for example, not fully lowering the paddles, allowing water to leak away over a long period (such as overnight), causing inconvenience to many others and risking a fine by breaking the canal bye-laws. This and the damage caused by misuse of the locks (such as broken paddle gear) inevitably caused delays.

One of the more unusual hazards occurred in November 1924 when a bull gained access onto the towpath near Enslow on the Oxford Canal. It then attacked two boatmen.

The ultimate delay was death itself, whether it be a boat horse for various reasons or a member of the boatman’s family, largely through accident such as drowning.

Boat horses could and sometimes did drop dead on the towpath. This set in motion a series of actions, the first being to prevent the dead animal from blocking the towpath, then contacting a horse knacker to take away and dispose of the carcass. The next priority was to quickly find a replacement so the cargo could be delivered if the boat was loaded. If the circumstances were right, a horse, pony or mule might be available to be hired, otherwise an animal would have to be bought. This created another problem over the expense and as to whether there was some way a loan or finance might be arranged. A trusted boatman might be able to ask a carrier he was working for to help out, with him paying back the loan by instalments per trip. A number of carriers who were short-handed with their crews would be amenable to this solution as it meant the boatman would be compelled to work for that carrier until the final balance on the loan was paid.