As a reader might recall, I spend time watching YouTube videos created by narrowboat owners on the Cut in the U.K., the canal system. I live vicariously through them, lusting for that lifestyle while knowing it will never happen at my advanced age and deteriorated financial condition. Some narrowboaters are full-time residents, called 'liveaboards,' and some aren't, but they all struggle with winter conditions at this time of the year.
In the U.S.A., we have experienced a variety of nasty weather, from unseasonable tornados to extreme snowfalls and dangerously low, below-zero temperatures. But we are not alone in the world dealing with what must be one of the results of climate change. For the last half of December and most of January 2023, England has suffered from very heavy rain and very cold weather. The canal system has frozen for days, which results in hardship for those liveaboards because they cannot move their boats, so the humans must walk to water points, food stores, and places to empty their onboard toilet systems. Those who live on small boats, including narrowboats, and work near London have an additional problem this winter.Their largest river, the Thames, has begun to overflow its banks in places near London.
This is not good news for narrowboats, which, unlike larger and/or more powerful boats, are ill-equipped to deal with significant increases in water volume and increased river flow. If rivers overflow the banks, small boats can be lifted off the river and dropped on other non-water places...like sidewalks and parking lots. If this happens, a crane must be called in to lift the boats, which can weigh 20 tons or more, and place them back into the water, an expensive and time-consuming event, assuming the boat is not damaged.
This is not good news for narrowboats, which, unlike larger and/or more powerful boats, are ill-equipped to deal with significant increases in water volume and increased river flow. If rivers overflow the banks, small boats can be lifted off the river and dropped on other non-water places...like sidewalks and parking lots. If this happens, a crane must be called in to lift the boats, which can weigh 20 tons or more, and place them back into the water, an expensive and time-consuming event, assuming the boat is not damaged.
The narrowboaters have begun preparations for the rising river from the heavy rain, which is forecast to continue for two more weeks. Often, moving is not an option, even though the Thames has not frozen. Narrowboats are designed to run on the canal system, the 'cut,' which are mostly narrow, slow-running, shallow bodies of water. The Thames, on the other hand, is a proper river that is currently running quite fast with the added rainwater. This flow is beyond the navigational capacity of a low-draft narrowboat; moving one in these conditions could be disastrous.
