Do you wave to people on canal boats?

[grannyinapram]

yabu - don't wave at strangers
yanbu - yes god damn it wave to the captain!

ps I've been waved to and I have waved. I am all for waving! I get sad if people don't wave back.

Our garden backs onto a canal. Love seeing boats go past a few feet away and always wave and sometimes a quick hello/Brief chat!

No, because why would you. But have been waved to while on a canal boat and awkwardly waved back.😬

yup, and steam trains

I wouldn't as it's a bit like waving at passing cars or waving at people who are looking out their window

I always wave! I love seeing canal boats chugging by, and DD always asks if the "captain" has seen any sharks in the canal (one did tell her that they'd seen a crocodile which she was very impressed by)

It's a small community that is very friendly.
Just wave.

Yes, can’t help it 😊

I don’t think having a week’s holiday on a canal boat counts being part of that friendly community. I was a bit ‘stop looking at us’ 😂

Of course you wave!

Where’s the harm if you wave ? Where’s the harm if you don’t ? Meh.

Yes my dad had a boat and my DC loved all the waves they got from people in other boats or walking along the towpath

If I have children with me I wave all the time

If I'm by myself I resist waving (my hand twitches though!) but I'm 100% wave back if someone on a boat waved at me!

I wave at emergency service vehicles to when the children are with me!

I quite often run along a canal towpath and always wave at the boats usually joke along the lines of ‘ you’ve got the better idea’ as always looks like such a lovely way to pass the time

yup, and steam trains
Yes, those too.

Oh yes. Any slightly unusual vehicle (ie not a car) gets a wave from me.

As a former liveaboard boater... unless you had small children with you, you wouldn’t have got a return wave from me.

Living on a boat on the towpath can feel like you’re living your life in public as it is, with people peering into your boat, jumping on board, saying things about you/your boat very loudly outside your window - not all of them terribly nice... Cruising is the best bit, and for me was the equivalent of “quiet time”; just me, the tiller, my windlass and the.... not so open water.

Sorry I know that sounds narky- and am sure some boaters love it. Just don’t be upset if others ignore your wave. It’s not personal.

I travel for miles if necessary to do so.

Though not in LOCK down obviously!

Hahaha!

@1Morewineplease

Not as friendly as you might think... we call it “the worlds longest village” (the liveaboard cruising community) - but it’s very split between super friendly, community minded folk and... loners.

And there are LOTS of loners. Some of them not very friendly at all.

Not usually (where I live I am 10 mins walk from a busy river and a (in non-pandemic times) busy canal, so I've lost the 'need' - it would feel like waving at cars. However I spent a lot of time on canal boats (owned by family), and always wave back - rather smugly tbh - when people do wave!

However, I do wave at trains (even though we live near lots of mainline trainlines too ;-))

Absolutely you have to wave! 😂

I wave to anyone that waves to me. It's nice.

Always!
Also to people on little trains, even if they then stop at a little station or little signal and you have to keep waving for an embarrassing length of time from too close a distance.

I always wave back to kids. I dont bother with adults

Always. I love a wave.