We keep the speed quite low so that the boat will turn into the narrow tunnel to get out of the harbour. The smaller boats are moored perpendicular to the quay so there is less space between them. If it was windy we would use a bit more power so that the boat didn't have time to be blown off course.

The camera is at the turn point into the tunnel and we are just about to put gentle port helm on to start the bow swinging. Waterdog seems to steer well at these low speeds and this may be because of the fairly even trim and the long shallow keel. The draft aft is 1.3m and the bow is about 0.3m higher than the stern. We adjust the trim with movable concrete blocks. As we fit out we either move ballast or take it out of the boat.

We have started the bow swinging towards the tunnel and I think I started a bit too early as I had to take some helm off during the turn.

Coming around quite nicely, aiming to brush this near side against the round corner, as Waterdog then skids slightly she should end up in the middle of the narrow passage.

We use the helm over to starboard and a small burst of power to stop the boat turning and get her in the centre of the tunnel. Both sides of the tunnel have a 0.6m step out with a sharp corner that is good to avoid, it can be seen just behind the starboard bow in this photo. Lorna is on the bow to look out for boats coming along the canal while I give a blast on the horn.

We turn to port to go to Belgium and starboard to go to France, this time it's port. Waterdog is not good at turning to port so we get the bow to port as soon as possible in the tunnel. Even so the tunnel is narrow so we cannot get the stern moving to starboard until nearly clear of it, so we end up taking a wide turn and come close to the far bank.