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Waterway Map

waterwaymap.org

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Re: Waterway Map

#131
post #113
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I went straight into these comments hoping to find another HN (potentially narrow) boater! What's interesting and somewhat amusing is that this map has determined that the section of the Soar that joins with the Trent just north of Loughborough is apparently unnavigable. This time of year I'd generally agree.

(I made WaterwayMap.org) > What's interesting and somewhat amusing is that this map has determined that the section of the Soar that joins with the Trent just north of Loughborough is apparently unnavigable The boat views only use the OpenStreetMap `boat` tag. If a section of river is missing from WWM.org, then it's likely the tag is missing from the OSM waterway. You can fix that!

Hmm I investigated that and the missing sections on OSM are indeed tagged with boat: yes and motorboat: yes. I'll do a little more digging

PS. Despite using OSM for many years, I've never looked into editing it. Thanks for giving me the impetus to start! There are bits and bobs I've noticed aren't entirely correct as we move around the country, and now I'll be able to fix them where necessary.

Re: Waterway Map

#132
post #106
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the USA, this is likely sourced from the National Hydrography Dataset: https://www.usgs.gov/national-hydrography/national-hydrograp...

Nope, it's 100% OpenStreetMap data. (I made WaterwayMap.org)

OSM has some NHD imports.

Re: Waterway Map

#133
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s always baffled me how the regard that the average Englishman holds for itinerant folk is wrapped in a big if statement: if (boat) … # All good else: raise TravellerAlert()

bool boat = social_standing || affluence;

This isn't really true.

You get lots of people living on boats because housing is expensive (like my mother and stepdad).

You do get plenty of "crusty" boat people, but generally they keep themselves to themselves.

Maybe this is because people on boats are often in public and accessible places, where people will quickly complain.

Re: Waterway Map

#134
post #62
post #31

Who mapped these? In New Mexico we have a ton of dry arroyos that maybe have a couple inches of flowing water a few times a year. Zooming in at places I'm familiar with, a surprising number of them are mapped. I know of rez roads[1] nearby that aren't on OSM or any map I know of, but the ditch we used for cross country practice is. Wild! [1] Two-track dirt roads on the Navajo Reservation that are not regularly mainta…

I'm in Thailand, and zooming in to places I'm familiar with, a surprising number of rivers and waterfalls are completely missing. I suppose there are quite a few factors that affect data quality in different regions around the world.

Asia has much lower number of OpenStreetMap editors than say Europe.

Help is welcome! See https://www.openstreetmap.org

Re: Waterway Map

#135

Crazy detailed, but also kinda random. For my home area, there are small creeks/brooks (??? in German "Bach") which are literally just half a meter wide and in the middle of a forest on the map, but others which are flowing right through settlements are not listed.

Yes, https://www.openstreetmap.org has quite inconsistent detail as it relies on people mapping stuff.

And help is welcome, anyone can join and help with mapping!

Re: Waterway Map

#136
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’ve got the money for one it’s easy to buy (see a site called ApolloDuck for used prices) and register, though the specifics of registration depend on which waterways you want to be on (the Canal and River Trust covers the majority, the Environment Agency some key sections, and there’s some odd few others managed by their own agencies). It’s perfectly legal, but as Covid really proved access to services can be…

I see, thanks. And I'm also assuming I would need to get some special license to sail a Narrowboat? As a non-UK citizen (EU/Swiss), do you think it could be complicated to get a Narrowboat and live on it for half a year or so?

No, you don't need a licence to pilot a boat on most inland waters in the UK (there may be exceptions on busy commercial stretches).

It would not be complicated to get a boat, assuming you have the money. You basically need to buy a boat, pay for the relevant licences, make sure the boat has the correct safety certificate, and off you go.

You cannot just stop and tie up anywhere. You either need some private land where you will keep the boat, or you need to make sure you don't violate the rules of the public areas. There is a concept of "continuous cruising", which means you need to move on every 14 days (I think).

Anyway, not complicated, but requires a bit of homework. Easiest if you can find a mentor who is already boating in the UK to help you out.

Re: Waterway Map

#137
post #123
post #31

Who mapped these? In New Mexico we have a ton of dry arroyos that maybe have a couple inches of flowing water a few times a year. Zooming in at places I'm familiar with, a surprising number of them are mapped. I know of rez roads[1] nearby that aren't on OSM or any map I know of, but the ditch we used for cross country practice is. Wild! [1] Two-track dirt roads on the Navajo Reservation that are not regularly mainta…

> dry arroyos that maybe have a couple inches of flowing water a few times a year As you can see they are tagged as 'intermittent'. https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/380234870

Yes, sorry I didn't mean to imply that they were incorrect or shouldn't be mapped. I was just pleasantly surprised that someone had done that work.

Re: Waterway Map

#138
post #31

Who mapped these? In New Mexico we have a ton of dry arroyos that maybe have a couple inches of flowing water a few times a year. Zooming in at places I'm familiar with, a surprising number of them are mapped. I know of rez roads[1] nearby that aren't on OSM or any map I know of, but the ditch we used for cross country practice is. Wild! [1] Two-track dirt roads on the Navajo Reservation that are not regularly mainta…

You can go to https://openstreetmap.org/ , zoom in and enable the map data layer. History is accessible from the object pages.

Thanks, that is helpful. It looks like for some of the larger ones the editors left comments that dataset was imported from USGS quads which makes sense, while other smaller ones don't list any source information - possibly mapped personally by hiking with a GPS?

Re: Waterway Map

#139
post #48

I've been waiting for the day that HN would have something tangentially related to the English and Welsh canal system so I could gush about it. For those that don't know, we have around 2500 miles of (mostly) navigable canals around the UK. They were built during the industrial revolution prior to the invention of trains such that we could transport coal and other goods relatively quickly and without damage (consider…

Gush on! This is the kind of thing I love to occasionally see here. Wish I could live on the water, but slip fees are pricey and limited where I'm at. Best to you!

Re: Waterway Map

#140
post #48

I've been waiting for the day that HN would have something tangentially related to the English and Welsh canal system so I could gush about it. For those that don't know, we have around 2500 miles of (mostly) navigable canals around the UK. They were built during the industrial revolution prior to the invention of trains such that we could transport coal and other goods relatively quickly and without damage (consider…

First I've heard of this, but it's super cool! Can you suggest a blog or small web site to learn more about it?

For the history of the canals, wikipedia[1] has a pretty good page. The Canal and River Trust (CRT) is the current authority for much of the canal system in England and Wales, and they have a site[2] with plenty of little articles on individual little bits and bobs.

If you're after more of a modern angle - i.e., stories and insights from people that live on them (or just use them) today, there are many blogs from boaters, but I tend to not read them unles I come across a particular post addressing something relevant to me (usually repairs...). There are also tons of vlogs and youtube channels where people document their journeys which other people in the comments have mentioned, and even TV shows! I highly recommend Canal Boat Diaries by Robbie Cumming, though outside the UK I'm not sure where it can be found. He also has a youtube channel [3] which is less highly polished and a bit more 'real'.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_British_canal_s...

[2] https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/things-to-do/canal-history

[3] https://www.youtube.com/c/RobbieCumming

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