we WRECKED our NARROWBOAT | DISASTER tiny home cruise | NIGHTMARE off-grid HOUSEBOAT REFIT 

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I've been a sailor for over 30 years and have never forgotten the words of my first instructor: "Never drive faster towards a structure than you're prepared to hit it." Words of wisdom that have saved my bacon several times but on a fast-flowing river, not always possible. We all learn from experience and remember, there are only two kinds of boaters: those that have run aground and those that lie about it.

Mate, we had EXACTLY the same thing happen to us yesterday on the Thames and we missed the bridge by a whisker. We watched this and really felt for you. You are not alone, it happens to the best of us. Keep your chin up.

“Welcome to the boat the James DIDNT build 😅 When I get back from the USA, there will be a coffee or three on their way. Love the content and humour. One observation, if the tiller is 90 Deg to the stern, you won’t steer anywhere, as the water is hitting the rudder straight on. Tie up, have a kiss and cuddle, and any damage is repairable. You are both safe at the end of the day. The Old Brdige can be repaired 😅

Trouble is when you give the engine loads you're drawing water from under the boat. to go too fast is always bad with boats cos you ain't got brakes and a boat steers from the rear.

Well done for being honest. A Lot of people would have edited bits out to make themselves look better in this superficial world we live in. Not just a lesson in boating.

You have our sympathies guys and congratulations for not panicking! We have ended up across the river twice this year due to the strong flow and both times kind people helped save the day! Don't beat yourself up Chris. This kind of thing can happen to anyone when the unexpected happens and I have been boating close to 60 years now. Ropes sticks and muscle can get you out of most sticky situations. No one hurt and so long as you learn from the accident, your skills will improve.

When you slow down approaching the bridge you lose steering, you need to keep the power on to allow you to steer. Counter intuitive but you need water flowing over the rudder to be able to steer. Well recovered don’t worry next time go for it, approach slowly then gun it to keep the boat lined up. 😊

I am so pleased you got the wombat moving. Probably the scariest video so far. More importantly, you two are safe.

CHRIS ! I think if Becca would of been doing it the same would of happened to her. The boat still floats and you alive that’s all that matters ! Big hugs to you lovely peeps xxxx

Hey Guys, don’t let crash put you off. This is how you learn, when going with the flow on a river, slowing down is the worst thing you can do, as you lose steering. If you had kept a bit more power on the back end probably wouldn’t have started to twist. At least no one was hurt, any thing else can be fixed. Keep up the good work with the channel, I always looked forward to your videos. Chin up guys 👍

Omg how stressful, I hired a narrowboat on the Llangollen canal , it was like bumper cars , really stressful but I still the love the idea of living on a narrowboat even though my experience was negative , rivers though look extra stressful and dangerous

I'm glad you finally made it through safely in the end, hopefully the cratch cover panel can be repaired without having to replace all of it.

Oh, always best to hit it with full speed if you are unsure. things happen much faster with more acceleration. Great job.

Hell. that looked stressful!! Well done you two, you really did a great job! Thanks for the video.....

Hi Becca, Chris, Loved you both sat on the Riverbank enjoying the moment at the start of the Vlog. On your journey home you were so unlucky having the current push you into the bridge. Poor Chris was stressed out, as anyone would be in this situation whilst Becca was staying calm, well at least on the outside, which must have helped Chris. What a great team, always looking out for each other. What an amazing rescue operation. You had some really nice people help you. I hope your boat is OK. Is the river tidal at that point (thinking about the current)? You both did an amazing job considering you were thrown into a new situation (by Mother Nature). I wanted to cheer when you and your lovely helpers got your boat off the obstruction. And what is more amazing, with all that stress you both were under, you still managed to document everything on video, which takes some doing (considering everything that was happening). I am really sorry you were put in that position, and I want to say thank you so very much for making a stunning Vlog about your "Adventures with a Bridge" . Take Care.

I have sold my tv and just watch crobot 24 7 excellent 👍👍👍

It was a real wake up call to see how dangerous boating can be. It was good of you both to show the reality of how difficult if can be. Glad you are both safe and chalk it up to experience guys. Live and learn and keep going xx

You can only steer if you are moving faster than the water, so counter intuitively, faster than you want is sometimes the only option when heading downriver. If its possible to turn upstream of a bridge, you can go through backwards whilst motoring into the flow, but what's the chance of having the space to do that in a narrow boat...

Think it's time to rename the wombat, go from whistling to wallowing 😂. May be worth getting tidal flow charts for that river, glad to see you get free in the end.

Don't panic Chris . You are learning how to handle your boat.

Well that was a lot more interesting than the usual lock navigating, bramble picking, general musing, that you get on other narrowboat channels :-)

Hey guys I bought you several coffees after watching this but it looks as though RU-vid haven’t give you anything. I’ve sent an email to them but just letting you know as this might have happened to others and you might not be being shown what’s been given to you. I sent a message with the coffee too and that’s not showing up. I’ve checked my bank and defo sent it. Ask them please where it is. I just wanted to buy you guys a well deserved drink after this ordeal. 🙏🙏🙌

You Guys Rock! this is a proper narrowboat channel ..... nobody died so all's good 🙂

Here's a rule of boating. NEVER approach anything faster than you are willing to hit it..

Just remember for future the back end of the boat when steering moves first so having the tiller facing the bridge when you were side on is pushing the back end up against the bridge even more. Hope that helps. If you think that flow is pretty strong the Nene is a total different level most of the time. 👍🏼

You guys need lessons on how to steer a boat. You were turning the tiller to the wrong direction. If you pull the tiller handle to you, it will turn the stern of the boat to the right, the same when pushing the handle away from you, it will go left when ever you go forward, but every thing will change when you are going in reverse.

yes she took the stack off... that you should of dun

What a smelly little bridge!! Looked like a proper tricky one. You BOTH handled that so well, well done 👏🏻 that must’ve been really scary, but try not to let it knock your confidence. Get back out there as soon as you can for a lil cruise to build it back up ❤ Excited to see you out there!

Well done for showing us that this happened. I've watched endless narrowboat commentaries and you'd think it was all moonlight and roses. And how heartening to see that people were so empathetic and helpful. Life's a long lesson and we all have lessons still to learn. Thank goodness you didn't suffer any personal injury and have lived to tell the tale and chalk it all up to experience.

Hope you didn’t have to much damage. Hang in there guys.

I don't think that was your fault. Of course with lots of experience you might have seen it coming and avoided it, but how to get that without making the odd mistake! Chin up ❤️

I really felt so sorry for you both this episode! Bless your hearts! ❤ You’re both ok and that’s the main thing! 🤗🌻xx

you're unfortunate in the decision to purchase without surveying; the engine isn't able for the river task any wind at all is going to cause issues and an angled bridge is a pain to narrow boats. my ex always cautioned turn engine off on bridge approach or idle and personally i would have idled the engine and hope to not lose steering ability knowing that the crash is most likely a bull pole or two to hand

You admit you failed but the river can be a tough challenge

Ohh the joys..

Thanks!

00:46 Very good.. 🔥🔥

😬🫣😖 I know that canal life is supposed to be at a gentler pace, but I didn't know that applied to the rescue services too! "Well, my lovely, if you're still alive in the morning, we'll pop over after breakfast. Get the kettle on ready." 😂 Edit: a weed hatch? That sounds ideal for stressful situations like that! 🤪

Wow glad you are both ok😮you handled the situation really well 😊all the very best

Damage could have been worse. Pride and confidence may be tarnished but a valuable lesson learned and also maybe a few friends gained. As a bonus we now have another 10 videos of repairing the damage and touching up the paint.

Time to give it up. Hope you don't drive a car.

had to laugh when you blamed the current & the wind lol Its like a mill pond with no breeze whatsoever. The movement of the trees give that away. Yes thats right, what movement? I am sitting on my 45' boat at 2.45am watching this. Must admit I am enjoying it. Cant wait to see what will happen next. Its very entertaining but I am not laughing at the damage. That will cost time and money to sort

Brings back memories of river life .. never ever will we leave the canals again

Sorry to see that you encountered so many issues, but if I can offer one piece of advice, let Becks steer, cause you just dont get it. Oh, and dont go go down the Avon from Stratford,. . . if you think Barford is bad. !!

Your wonderful video convinced me to never ever purchase a narrow boat. :) Ty.

hey your learning great stuff cool channel

I feel bad for laughing but that was a classic, glad you made it and hope your rudder is Ok 👍🏻🤞🏻

Omg that was a serious problem, glad you guys got through, maybe try and stay out of the current next time on the right. I noticed a warning sign on the bridge that must be saying don't come through here ?

These things happen I did similar damage in a tunnel, it’s a boat and nothing that cannot be fixed. Only other thing is please get some life jackets you cannot take chances on a river.

Some boats do ‘ave ‘em

sorry to say this but before you go on any rivers ( LEARN ABOUT TIDE AND WIND , do some homework, and maybe go on a boat handling course, rivers can be enjoyable but not to compleat novices. and where are your life jackets ?. Rant over, please take care its not the boats fault.

What an event. I do think you should have approached it much slower though.

That bridge needs some big bouncy bollards(triple b's 😘)to guide the boats through!

Nice one Never a dull moment on the crobot now moved on to demolishing bridges. That’s mental getting stuck like that I reckon its the footing of the bridge that you got stuck on they need to make it wider Especially after someone got killed there brilliant vid have a top week 🙂🔧🎸✌️

rip the narrowboat ended up like titanic but instead of a Iceberg it was a bridge😂

Wow that was exciting 😮 Can you do it again at the next Bridge ! …… I was worried you where going to get the rope caught around the propeller. ‘Holly the Cafe Boat’ got their boat ‘ZERO’ caught on a submerged object once . The CRT men came along and nearly capsized their boat . Until another Narrowboat pulled them off backwards. So it was just as well you got yourselves sorted before the so called rescue team. Try rocking the boat to see if that helps next time. Wishing you safe cruising from now on .

You have to remember that there is much more control when your boat is traveling faster through the water. To get the correct control on such a relatively fast flowing river, you must keep your speed high relative to the water. This might seem faster than you you might feel is comfortable if you look to the bank. It was disaster waiting to happen when you decided to go slowly, you were simply drifting with the river rather that cruising through it. Lesson learned I hope and no serious damage 🙏🙏🙏🙏

This is actually a very good video....All be it, a caution to other boaters. There is a saying "Horses for courses" and this demonstrates that Narrow Boats are designed for canals and not fast flowing rivers. You were very lucky to escape as you did. Persistence is the rule of the day, and quite honestly the language was very subdued considering the situation!! Everything in life is a learning curve, so please do not be discouraged, you have just learned something, with trauma or whatever else. Hope your adventures go a little smoother in future and good luck to you both. God bless your boat!! John

Y'know what. Why don't you just give it up. You bought a wreck. You'll be be working on it forever. Get a flat and a steady job.

Perhaps if you had spent less time on installing and grinning into cameras, and more time thinking about how to operate your boat, you wouldn’t have damaged a historic structure?

Thats was a bugger but look on the bright side i think you were just trying to compete with "The Taylors" 🙂 🙂

Was going to buy one till I watched your videos ,,wouldn't have one given now ,non stop stress ,canal boat stands for can't arrive now almost lost, brake out another thousand ,

You did well both of you, be proud 🙂👍

What a shame this happened to you ,I’m afraid you did not take notice of the water running you would have been better to go into the bridge backwards you may laugh but that way you would have control of the boat that way the tide would not be able to take you ,you then would have control of the engine to power you forward,I hope you understand what I’m saying I think you two have a lot to learn sorry to say ,you have a fear bit of damage but it all superficial and no one got hurt thank goodness you must be upset both of you ,bit of paint new nav light chimney will straighten front cover can be repaired I think ,feel for both of you ,take care,John 🇬🇧🌹👀🤔🫢😢😞😩😤😢😣😔😤

Chin up , your not the first and certainly not the last to hit that thing. (Silly place to leave a bridge anyway 🤭)❤

Wow that must’ve been blooming scarey. Can’t imagine it for a solo boater. Well done for persevering.

I recon your the most famous narrowboat vloger to date after that episode you're making History 😎😎😎😭😭😭

I’m by no means a boater but we do hire canal boats 4 times a year, I would say, you did very well, so many people struggle and get stuck, just most of the time it’s in a nice relaxing location on a canal. You guys were just unlucky at the location, it’s also much more tricky on a river so you guys will be absolutely fine! You kept calm and that’s the main thing! The only thing I would say, and this is obviously just how it looked in the video and I could be completely wrong! Is to remember they turn from the middle but steer from the back, so when you had the tiller pointing at the bridge and also trying to push away from the back with your bargepole you were fighting each other. Anyway, keep going, you guys have got this! Such a fun Channel, don’t forget how much you make people smile, you effect and help a lot of people that you have never met and that is a very powerful thing.

Give up!!!

We really felt for you when watching this. What an awful time you had and a horrible situation. You both kept so calm. Think I would have been swearing and shouting. You both handled the situation so well. What a scary time and that story of the boat a few years ago and the head getting caught....you've put me off ever going under that bridge.😮

Yeah, a gnarly situation. when you did go through I noticed you were tillered into the bridge, if you want to avoid hitting something with the back end, push the tiller away from the thing you don't want to hit. if you had tillered away you'd have made it through without hitting anything. it does look like a tough obstacle tho, the sort of thing you'd figure out with time. keep going, you're learning every step of the way.

Just think mate if you didn't have bad luck you'd have no luck at all 😂 Glad you got sorted in the end 👍

I think this must be one of your best videos, had me in stitches, do you rehearse or dose it come naturally. Think you have see the funny side of it even though it looked dangerous.

Good grief, that bridge is a menace! Chris you did the best you could in a very scary situation. I’m glad you both are unharmed. I thought for sure there would be a for sale sign . I’m glad there isn’t. You made new friends,how great is that😊❤.

Gutted for you both. Been watching you now for almost as long as your channel has been going. Remember that no one was hurt and it’s only stuff. It can all be fixed x

Oh my gawd what disaster! So sorry for the bad luck. Go figure you were trying to have a nice relaxing cruise, and the ghost of the beheaded cruiser jumped up and cursed The Wombat, and the guy in the little white cruiser. (Yeah I'm convinced that the bridge is being haunted by that spirit.) At least you both, and everyone involved are safe. I hope your propeller, tiller, and hull did'nt get damaged. It seems like the tiller is what was wedged in the back. Here's to better cruising days ahead! 🍻 🥂

Too fast on the approach, wrong tiller angle when going through and too slow to correct.

Well you were tested and you won…………… Ok you won ugly, but you won!

that wasnt your fault,its very easy done, i bet hundreds have done it

OMG 😮, that was a nightmare!

Welcome to the Barford bridge club! If/when you try to navigate this bridge again always go downstream through the upstream arch! We had a boat on the Great Ouse for 20+ years so know this navigation hazard well

all well that ends well, glad you all are ok

And I thought y’all cruising the waterways would be boring. I was wrong. It hurt me just watching it!!! 😢 I’m so sorry this happened to you but please don’t let it get you down.

I run aground on a massive houseboat in Australia and found manoeuvring weight in the boat and using some human power jumping on the appropriate end … then lots of left right on the wheel and up and down on the power got us off after a few hours trying after an overnight stuck! The jubilation when you are freed 🙌🙏

Boat means brake out another thousand 😢

Sorry to see the crash Have you checked the size of your prop? On my uncles narrowboat that he used to drive on a river. He put a larger size prop on it, so it would put more water over the tiller and you would have better steering.

At 5:25, you should have been steering hard over to the LEFT (Port), with the tiller hard over to the right, to bring the stern of your NB back over to the right to centre up on the archway and NEVER apply power as the repairs get more expensive the harder you hit. :(

Slowing down was the wrong thing to do, power up to give you steerage in the flow. Glad you got out of the mess in the end......

Great video 👍 love it , hopefully see you soon 😊

Just don't know what to say. Ouch maybe?

I can't watch these. Disaster after disaster.

Bloody hell, what a nightmare, We have had the same sort of problem, not at that bridge, but when the water level is low and a strong flow, that is always going to happen, a little curve ball :-) those lovely people helpin out, great! Good luck with the rest of your journey,

Good video but the suspenseful music is a little over the top

Whoo hoo! Another comment number 1 ! Keep floating crew!! Bad news about Barford bridge - it's a b*gger going downstream with flow - was the an SSA issued?? (Strong Stream Advice). Only tip I could offer - chimney off and nut it... need to be going faster than the flow to maintain any direction controls.. Hope all gets fixed... Dad managed to take the canopy clean off on his Elysian GRP 27 so don't worry - all is well ! Happy Boating!

I've had 30 years on canal boats and still things go wrong evern with local knowledge! And as you get older you also realise just what a dangerous place the canal actually is!!😬

WOW!!!! Becs to the rescue. What a woman! Seriously though I wouldn't have known what to do. Things can only get better from now on. Good luck guys

Phew! I think the best tactic is to approach dead slow then apply plenty of throttle just before turning to enter the arch. It’s water flow over the rudder you need for steering, not raw speed. But what do I know; if I ever owned a boat, I’d avoid any waterway with the word “river” in it for a good few years.

i said eww they gotta come rite out wen i saw ur batteries yu need optima redtops in there 3 should do and a split 3 way charge controller. You will never have another power issue as long as u own the boat they also have 5 year cover

drive it like you stole it 🙈