[[File:Winding hole on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.jpg|thumb|A winding hole on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal]] A '''winding hole''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|ɪ|n|d|ɪ|ŋ}}) is a widened area of a canal (usually in the United Kingdom), used for turning a canal boat such as a narrowboat. In sea ports an area for turning ships is usually called a turning basin.
==Etymology== {{Wiktionary|winding}} The word is commonly believed to derive from the practice of using the wind to assist with the turn.<ref name="Deuchar 1997 13">{{cite book|last1=Deuchar|first1=Chris N.|title=A Boaters Guide to Boating|date=1997|publisher=C.N. Deuchar originally on behalf of the historic Narrow Boat Owners Club|location=[S.l.]|isbn=0953151204|page=13}}</ref>
Another etymology, however, is the Old English word for turn - "windan" (pronounced with a short I, as in windlass, a handle for winding (long I) gears)).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://seftonscanal.webplus.net/resources/t8%20winding.html|title=Winding Holes|last=Dundon|first=Les|website=seftonscanal.webplus.net|language=en|access-date=2017-07-18}}</ref> Much UK canal terminology comes from spoken rather than written tradition and from bargees who did not read or write.<ref name="Stewart 1994">{{cite book|last1=Stewart|first1=Sheila|title=Ramlin Rose: The Boatwoman's Story|date=1994|publisher=Oxford Paperbacks|location=Oxford, UK|isbn=9780192853028}}</ref>
It is also possible that the word has a similar derivation to that of the windlass, which derives from the Old Norse "vinda" and "ás"—words currently used in Iceland—where the modern word for "windlass" is "vinda".<ref name="Hilbertsson 2000">{{cite book|last1=Hilbertsson|first1=ritstjóri, Sævar|title=Ensk íslensk orðabók og íslensk-ensk orðabók|date=2000|publisher=Orðabókaútgáfan|location=[Reykjavík]|isbn=9979835206|edition=2000 [2.] útg.}}</ref>
==History== Because the average width of a canal channel ({{convert|30|to|40|ft|m|0|disp=or}}) is less than the length of a full-size narrow boat ({{convert|72|ft|m|0|disp=or}}), it is not usually possible to turn a boat in the canal. Winding holes are typically indentations in the off-side (non-towpath side) of the canal, allowing sufficient space to turn the boat, but can be on either side of the canal.
==Use== A winding hole consists of a "notch" in the canal bank. A turning boat inserts its bow into the notch and swings the stern round. In the days of horse-drawn boats, this was accomplished using bargepoles.<ref>{{cite book| last = Hankinson| first = John| title = Canal Cruising| publisher = Ward Lock| year = 1967| pages = 62–64}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Marsh| first = Bryan| title = The Inland Navigator| publisher = Penguin| year = 1985| pages = 140–141| isbn = 0-14-046666-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Yorke| first = Stan| title = English Canals Explained|publisher= Countryside Books| year = 2003| pages = 44| isbn = 1-85306-825-X}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|United Kingdom|Transport}} *Canals of the United Kingdom *History of the British canal system
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Canals of the United Kingdom}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winding Hole}} Category:Water transport infrastructure Category:Canals