River Canal Rescue will be raising the capsized narrowboat at Barrow, on the River Soar, on Wednesday 25 March. Torrential rain and surging water caused the boat to break its moorings, sending it down river to bridge 30 where it became wedged.

The vessel was left in a precarious position, with the bow in the air and stern in the water, see-sawing on the barrier.  A refloat could not be undertaken until flood waters receded, however as levels quickly went down, the barriers gave way, resulting in the vessel capsizing and becoming trapped between the bridge pillars and the barrier pole.

This multi-agency rescue will also involve Essex Boatyard and Crouch Recovery. RCR managing director Stephanie Horton explains: “The best way to undertake this recovery without the vessel overturning and sinking in the river is to use divers, airbags and plant machinery. We’ll inflate the airbags, right the boat and then pull it forward away from the bridge with airbags on it. We’ll then pump it out, make it secure and tow it to a safe location – Pillings Lock.”

From here, the boat will be lifted onto a transporter and taken to a local yard for storage and assessment.

Given the extreme weight of the boat, RCR is using four winches with a total of 20-ton capacity to pull it away from the bridge. Stephanie continues: “This ‘pulling power’ will be attached to plant machinery and we’re removing a fence in the field opposite to get access to the location without causing too much damage to the meadow.”

In order to prepare the rigging, Essex Boatyard practised on a narrowboat that was capsized at the same angle as the stricken vessel.

River Canal Rescue will be onsite from Monday 23 March, preparing equipment, strapping the boat and managing health & safety issues.

Why is the MNA supporting the RNLI?

The RNLI’s mission is to reduce accidental drowning by 50% by 2024; around 150 lives are still lost at the coast every year. Through a combination of communication, products and face-to-face interaction, the RNLI’s Community Safety Team is driving behavioural change in and around the water. These interventions are delivered at a local level by some 500 Community Safety Volunteers across the UK and Ireland.

Most of these volunteers are based in coastal communities, close to RNLI lifeboat stations and lifeguarded beaches.

However, two in three accidental drowning fatalities take place at inland waterways.

The RNLI is collaborating with the MNA to reach these inland communities and coastal areas where they currently don’t have representation and/ or require additional support.

Working in conjunction with the MNA’s Boat Club members and SeaVue Surveillance Scheme will enable the RNLI to reach wider audiences with safety messaging and signpost water users to additional resources and support available. In doing so, the MNA will play a valuable role in helping the RNLI reduce accidental drownings by 2024.

“I am really pleased to see the Merchant Navy Association Boat Club join forces with the RNLI to reach inland waterway users with safety messaging, helping to raise awareness of the Respect the Water campaign. MNA Boat Club members are former professional seafarers with a wealth of maritime experience and expertise so they are perfectly placed to support the RNLI’s prevention work in non-coastal waters. As a former Merchant Seaman and a Vice President of the RNLI, it’s great to see these two organisations working together to reduce accidental drowning in the UK.” Sir Robin Knox-Johnston CBE RD #PreventingDrowningTogether

The role

The RNLI is asking MNA Volunteer Ambassadors to promote safe practice on inland waterways and around the coast by communicating guidance to boat owners, watersports enthusiasts, marina operators, boat-hire companies, waterside pubs/restaurants and walkers. Using your maritime skills, knowledge and experience, you will be essential ambassadors for the RNLI’s safety messaging and Respect the Water campaign. This could be through passing conversation with fellow water users, discussing the latest means of calling for help and encouraging lifejacket use to distributing leaflets and posters to operators and venues.

Prior to getting out and about, the RNLI will discuss your locality with you to ensure there is no crossover with other volunteer networks.

Please note: there is no requirement to deliver safety presentations; should an individual/organisation require further advice, an RNLI Community Safety Volunteer will be available to deliver Advice Onboard sessions, Lifejacket Clinics etc.

See THE RNLI – WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU

Time commitment

As much or as little as you can offer

RNLI Respect the Water campaign

Respect the Water (RTW) is the RNLI’s national drowning prevention campaign. RTW is aimed at promoting safety advice to all who visit the coast and inland waterways, from walkers to commercial fishermen. RTW aims to show those most at risk the potential dangers of water, to encourage them to reconsider their actions, and adopt safer behaviour. Since 2017, it has focused on asking the public to fight their instincts and remember two memorable skills:

• floating which could save lives from drowning;
• and to call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.

The 2019 campaign launched on 30 May and ran through to the end of August with radio,  cinema and print advertising and social media content.

Support and resources available

On agreeing to be an MNA Volunteer Ambassador you will receive a pack with further guidance, key safety messages and printed materials (leaflets and posters) to distribute in your agreed areas. You will also be sent a tally sheet to record conversations/ interventions to enable the RNLI to monitor reach and impact. Additional resources can be requested at any time.

The links below provide additional information and downloadable resources.

▪ www.respectthewater.com
public facing campaign website with practical advice on how to float with stories of survivors who have followed the advice

▪ www.rnli.org/rtwresources
here you will find all the resources you need to support the national RTW campaign and advice on key ‘at risk’ activities (angling, boating, walking, kayaking, scuba diving, commercial fishing and walking) plus ‘How To’ videos on fitting, checking and maintaining your life jacket.

▪ www.rnli.org/safety
essential safety advice so you can make the most of your time on the water

▪ www.rnli.org/safety/what-we-can-do-for-you
additional safety advice provided by RNLI Community Safety Volunteers

MNA contact

For further information on the MNA Boat Club and its collaboration with the RNLI, please contact Clive Edwards: Email

RNLI contact

If you are interested in becoming an MNA Volunteer Ambassador, please contact Katie Beney in the first instance: Email

If you are based near a RNLI Lifeboat Station, Katie will put you in touch with the relevant  contact at the station. If not, she will remain your point of contact and be able to provide  assistance and resources to support your role.

Should you be interested in becoming a RNLI Community Safety Volunteer, working alongside your local RNLI Lifeboat Station, Katie will be able to make the relevant introductions.

Since the beginning of the year, storms Brendan, Ciara, Dennis and Jorge have battered the UK, causing problems for boat owners across the inland waterway network. During this time - from 1 January to 3 March - River Canal Rescue carried out 52 major rescues (categorised as submerged, partially sunken or grounded craft).

From their bases in Chester, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford and Stafford, RCR’s team of four rescue specialists and 12 supporting engineers worked flat-out, attending an average of around six rescues a week; all complex cases involving hands-on crews and head office support staff who monitored water levels, managed logistics and communication, and liaised with third-parties/stakeholders (often trying to pair up stricken boats with unaware owners).

Unprecedented rises in river/canal levels and sudden water surges across the country separated boats from their moorings, pushing them to new locations, often on towpaths and in fields, or wedging them against pontoons and other craft. Boats unable to cope with the downpours were soon reported as submerged.

A high number of calls were from boats on the rivers: Aire, Cam, Soar, Trent, Witham and Yare, and from vessels on the Aire & Calder, Calder & Hebble, Huddersfield Broad and Rochdale canals.

RCR reports that while some vessels were easily moved, others were trapped, unable to refloat until water levels receded or indeed rose again, and there are those posing more of a challenge.

Rescue co-ordinator, Tushka Horton, comments: “From the calls coming in, you could quickly identify the path of every storm and the destruction each left in its wake. Not every case was or is a simple boat raising; we sometimes had to use divers to help with the rescue or deploy a drone to find the vessel. Some could not be accessed with vehicles, others needed plant machinery to lift them which means liaison with third-parties such as the Canal & River Trust, landowners and the highways agency, and there were a few where we had to track down the owners and secure permission to attempt a rescue.”

Managing director, Stephanie Horton, continues: “These past few months have certainly been testing for boat owners and our staff alike, but we endeavour to act as quickly as we can to secure boats in trouble. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of these storms this year and we will continue to work with everyone to ensure they keep their vessels as safe as possible during these difficult times.”

Case Studies

Pillings Lock, River Soar

February - a houseboat at Pillings Lock on the river Soar. Moored next to a pontoon, the water levels rose so quickly the boat couldn’t adjust itself on its pilings in time. Water poured through the doors, causing it to list at a right angle and wedge itself on the pontoon. Despite attempts from a five-man team, the houseboat was too unstable to pump-out. A telehandler and tractor were used to brace the houseboat so further pumping out could be done.

River Trent

February – a 57ft narrowboat pushed onto river Trent towpath. A three man-team used ropes and scaffolding poles to manoeuvre the boat back into water.

River Soar

February – a narrowboat on the river Soar, left stranded on the barriers by bridge 30 at Barrow. Surging water caused it to break its moorings, sending it down river to bridge 30 where it became wedged. The liveaboard was woken when the boat hit the bridge and he had to be rescued from the boat.

The vessel was left in a precarious position, with the bow in the air and stern in the water, see-sawing on the barrier. Until flood waters receded, it was decided that a refloat could not be undertaken. Unfortunately, as the waters receded the barriers gave way, resulting in the vessel capsizing and becoming trapped between the bridge pillars and the barrier pole. Due to weight restrictions on Barrow bridge and the condition of the ground, the rescue is not going to be straightforward.

Leicester council and the tenant of the field opposite have agreed to access for heavy pulling equipment and divers are all in place. The rescue is now dependent on river levels, weather and authorisation from the Canal & River Trust.

Rochdale Canal

February – wide beam on Rochdale canal. water levels High water levels pushed boat onto tow path. The river rose so fast the boat floated onto the towpath and when levels receded, the boat was stranded. Rescue involved a three-man team, tirfors, rope, scaffold poles and a pump-out.

Hebdon Bridge, Rochdale Canal

February – narrowboat at Hebdon Bridge ended up wedged between CRT working boat and bank of Rochdale canal. The rescue team had to wait for levels to lower (in between the storms) and with pumps, manpower, tirfors, ropes and their experience, released the vessel.

Oh dear what have I taken on, promised to do an article on crimping cable and ended up with 49 photos some duplicates so let's see how it goes.

Let's start with what is needed

1. left to right: Heat gun for heatshrink; Crimper; Heat shrink insulation; Cable in this case 95mmsq; Termination 95mmsq with a 10mm hole; Vaper; Tea; Sharp knife.

I suppose the next item should be the termination. All terminations that we use on boats should be tinned copper and the size of the cable it will fitted to and the size of the hole should be impressed on the spade of the termination.

To make our lives easier it is better to buy ones where the cable entrance is slightly belled – that makes it easier to insert the cable. The hole for the cable is a close but loose fit.

2. termination

At the spade end of the tube is a hole the hole is useful as it allows you to see if strands are fully filling the barrel and the ends of the stands should be very visible but we will get to that later.

3. hole in the termination

Now we need to prepare the cable end to go into the termination, The easiest way I find is to put the cable along side of the termination so that its end is level with the centre of the hole and I mark where I am going to cut the insulation back to with my thumb nail.

Put the termination back on and pushing the cable into the termination it should look something like this:

12. strands about where they should be

Now comes the actual crimping, make sure the crimper has the correct moulds in. Put the cable into the termination and partially close the crimper so termination can just slide in. Position the termination so that it is set in the crimper so that the first crimp will be just behind the hole in the termination. While pushing the cable firmly into the termination, crimp the termination to the cable. Remove from the crimper when completed and it should look like this picture on right.