My Canal Boat Trip 2015

[JOhnGw]

The boat engine is under the floor and in Ernest's case is not a particularly quiet one no additional sound insulation. It can be quite noisy at the stern where the bedroom is but relatively quiet in the saloon at the other end of the boat and almost silent from the bow cockpit.
Other, boats may have either much quieter engines or "traditional" engines where the characteristic sound is much prized. There are even DC's of the sounds.

I can't remember at which lock the second video was made, being one in the last half of a flight of 29, but as far as i can tell it is simply a set of farm buildings.

Most joggers are indeed in a world of their own, mostly listening to as i-player or similar.

[jbeegoode]

A video of a ralley identifying each boat with unique sound would be fun. I haven't a clue what traditional sound would be. Mufflers? amplifiers? Glass pack lake pipes?

Sound is important to car enthusiasts, too. Mopar. The guy whom I bought my SUV from added a filter to boost horsepower. It makes a fun racing sound as I shift the five gears. It gives me a better, more mindful, feel of what I'm doing. The young guy probably thought that it sounded hot. I laugh, as I have noticed people look, sometimes wondering what hotrod thing it has. You see, I added a rear autolocker, which dramatically enhanced my off road performance. It chirps the tires on asphalt surfaces occasionally as it locks. I take off and it appears that the with the roar, I'm laying rubber as I shift through the gears, but actually, it's pretty doggy and feels like a stiff off-road vehicle to drive.
Jbee

[milfmog]

JB,

The traditional engine I think of for narrow boats was the "Bolinder" a single cylinder engine with a very distinctive sound that results from it's slow running speed and the way in which it misses ppower strokes when they are not required. There's lots of stuff on the web about these engines, but a quick reference I found is on On YouTube (loads more videos linked from here).

Have fun,


Ian.

[JOhnGw]

Quite right, Ian, although the National engine and the Lister JP2 are very popular in new replica traditional boats as they also have a distinctive sound.
There are plenty of virtually unused old JP2's around as they used power standby generators for old fashioned manual and Strowger telephone exchanges.

Edited to add:
There is now another video at https://vimeo.com/143121927

[jbeegoode]

Spey's Bolinder, Spey’s on the ice, said it all. This youtube stuff is fun to watch. I now see how it is, that you defined it as a “passion.”

The guy rocking the boat in:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qxwCucEC_A
Does it rock and lean?
Jbee

[Greenbare Woods]

The traditional engine I think of for narrow boats was the "Bolinder" a single cylinder engine with a very distinctive sound that results from it's slow running speed and the way in which it misses ppower strokes when they are not required.

That sounds a lot like the "hit and miss" engines that were used on American farms for a few decades before rural electrification.  They turned everything from the lady's clothes washer and churn to the threshing machines. 

[nuduke]

JOhn,
I'm assuming that the 'equation' on your mug on the gas street basin video was a rebus referring to the vessel's capacity rather than any actual equation! 

John

[JOhnGw]

It actually says   πnt   (pi N T) representing the fact that it is a pint mug.

[nuduke]

Exactly - reference to the capacity!
You were more patient than me to find the pi symbol in the post!
John

[Greenbare Woods]

I saw this picture on social media (Twitter) and thought of John Gw and his stories about canal boating.   This looks like a fellow operating a lock gate on one fo those narrow canals. . 

[BlueTrain]

That reminds me of when we were in the U.K. a few years ago, staying in Cropredy, just north of Banbury. The Oxford Canal runs through town, which is still used for pleasure boating. But I was surprised. I had known about canals in England but the thought of actually seeing one never entered my mind. Locally, in Maryland, there is the old C&O Canal, still useable in places with working locks, but the canal path goes all the way from D.C. to Cumberland, Maryland, a distance of 184 miles. That would be an interesting challenge for a long distance hike, that is, if you cared to visit Cumberland. There are a couple of places off the path not far from Washington where a little outdoor nudity is possible or used to be. Parking is chancy, though.