Lena 57' Cruiser Stern Narrowboat User manual

Lena
www.lena.bz
57’ Cruiser Stern Narrowboat
Users Guide
Lena
www.lena . bz

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Contents
57’ Cruiser Stern Narrowboat.................................................................................................. 1
General................................................................................................................................................5
STEERING......................................................................................................................................... 5
ENGINES ..........................................................................................................................................6
ON THE MOVE.................................................................................................................................6
MOORING........................................................................................................................................7
Mooring Up .....................................................................................................................................8
A couple of basic knots ....................................................................................................................... 8
The essential narrowboat knots ..................................................................................................... 9
Essential knot number two .............................................................................................................9
How do locks work? http://canalrivertrust.org.uk ...............................................................................11
What is a lock? .............................................................................................................................. 11
What is a flight of locks? ...............................................................................................................11
What is a manned lock?................................................................................................................11
How do you work a lock?.............................................................................................................. 11
Basic principles –things to remember..........................................................................................12
How long does it take?..................................................................................................................12
Engine Control...................................................................................................................................13
Starting the Engine........................................................................................................................13
Stopping The Engine .....................................................................................................................13
Forwards, Reverse & Speed Control .................................................................................................13
Engine revs - Speed .......................................................................................................................13
Passing other boats...........................................................................................................................14
Oncoming boat..............................................................................................................................14

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Overtaking another boat...............................................................................................................14
Other controls on the Engine Panel..................................................................................................14
Front Searchlight...........................................................................................................................14
Horn ..............................................................................................................................................14
Bilge Pump ....................................................................................................................................14
Electrics............................................................................................................................................. 15
A.C. Mains 230v Power .................................................................................................................15
Shore Power...................................................................................................................................... 16
D.C. Systems......................................................................................................................................17
Batteries........................................................................................................................................17
D.C. distribution ............................................................................................................................18
Heating..............................................................................................................................................19
Solid Fuel Stove.............................................................................................................................21
Lighting the fire .............................................................................................................................21
Bathroom Stuff..................................................................................................................................22
Shower ..........................................................................................................................................22
W.C. (Toilet) .................................................................................................................................. 22
Pump Out –Holding tank.................................................................................................................. 23
Towel rail.......................................................................................................................................24
Vanity unit..................................................................................................................................... 24
Kitchen (galley)..................................................................................................................................25
Electrical Appliances .....................................................................................................................25
Water ............................................................................................................................................25
Drinking water...............................................................................................................................25
Drain..............................................................................................................................................25

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Rubbish .............................................................................................................................................25
Beds...................................................................................................................................................26
Master Bed....................................................................................................................................26
Dinette Bed ................................................................................................................................... 26
Transvers Bed................................................................................................................................26

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General
Don’t worry if you’ve never been on a canal boat before, you don’t need a licence, the basic skills are
easy to pick up and there is no test to pass. If you are hiring for the first time, most companies will
give you training on how to steer your boat, daily checks, operating locks and safety instructions
before you set out on your own. I’m a little bit more
You’ll also find that the controls of a boat are very simple to operate: a throttle to apply power in
forward or reverse and a tiller to steer left and right.
If In Doubt Go Slowly !!
STEERING
River cruisers and Dutch barges are relatively straightforward to
steer and usually have wheel steering which will be reassuringly
familiar to car drivers, but you do have to bear in mind that boats
on the water react more slowly than cars do on the road, so you
need to think ahead more on the water –and they can take
longer to stop, too!
Narrowboats like Lena, are a little different because they are
steered from the rear by a tiller. Unlike a car’s steering wheel the
tiller operates in the opposite direction to the way you want to
go; push it to the right to make the boat swing to the left and vice
versa –this might sound confusing at first but don’t worry, you
soon get the hang of it.
The easy way to remember is that pushing the tiller to one side
or the other takes the bum end (stern) of the boat the same way. Push to right & the bum goes right,
left and it goes left. After a while the front end (bow) starts to go the other way. In fact that is
exactly what happens, because a narrowboat does not have a fulcrum (or point about which it
turns).
Many boats, especially narrowboats, take a little while to respond to a steering input and keep
swinging due to their momentum even when the wheel or tiller has been moved back to the centre,
so it’s best at first to make small steering inputs and learn to anticipate the boat’s movement – or
lack of it –but again that comes very quickly.
If a particular manoeuvre goes wrong don’t panic, just straighten the boat up, have a quiet rethink
and try again. Don’t worry, though, again it comes quite naturally with a little practise.
The Hull is made of 10mm think steel, you can’t do much hard to Lena, but you might do a little
damage to a ‘plastic’ boat (GRP). So try to miss them.
Steering is easy if the wind is low. If the wind gets up it can be hell.
Figure 1 - Tiller