Hornblower

Regarding bridges and tunnels I remember a very small tunnel on the Droitwich Canal. I couldn´t even stand and look over the roof (its also very short). You can´t have anything but the pole and the plank on the roof. Another very small tunnel with low headroom is the Gosty Hill tunnel on the Dudley No 2. Edit: But I can´t tell you much about the depth, as the hireboats don´t go very deep.

Thank you for your answers. That are more companies than I expected. A boat that was originally planned as a private one sounds very good and I like the fotos. Also the very traditional "Willow" is amazing, I never thougt that you could hire a boat with boatman cabin and even a vintage engine!

Hey, most of the narrow boats we hired had a cruiser stern and one with a semitrad stern. I would like to try a trad strern but that seems to be quite rare among hireboats. Can anyone name companies who offer tradsterns for hire? Cheers

Thanks for your thoughts. That the bowshape doesn't make so much difference at canalpace will be right. But I would use it on canals and on rivers. I remember the turbulent water of the Thamse near limehouse basin. Another similar question: We just returned from another great journey, our 2nd on the Thamse. Beside our hired narrowboat we met a lot of grp-cruisers. It seemed to me that they were creating more waves than we did even when going at about the same speed. The only reason I can imagine is that a glide-hull seems to create more waves than a displacement-hull (at the same displacement speed). Am I right? (Not relevant for my future boat, I'm just curious.)

I like the sharp bows of river inspection launches (for optical reasons). But how is their bevaviour and handling compared to the "normal" more bulky bows of most of the narrowboats? One might think the sharp bows are more efficient, cut with less resistance through the water and make less waves. But I think it is the other way round, isn´t it? And is the handling different?

Finally I could contact Industry Narrowboats via Facebook and they gave me the informations and fotos I was looking for: It's a not finished replica of a Bridgewater tug. Meanwhile the boat was gritblasted and got a basic paint. Windows are ready to get installed. Industry Narrowboats plan to sell it for self fitout. Unfortunately I am far away of buying my own narrowboat. Here are two up to date fotos I got from Industry Narrowboats and an older one I found online:

While diging through my fotos I came along the one I posted here. Unfortunately I still don´t know anything about this boat and how it looks today (a request via mail to "Industry Narrowboats" wasn´t answered). Is anyone here who can give some newer infos about the boat or even better a foto? Cheers

I just want to "lift" this thread up, maybe there are new movies or series. At least I could see some docus on YouTube: Barging Round Britain Series 1, Great Canal Journeys Series 1&2, some with Fred Dibnah, Scenic Journeys on British and Irish Waterways and finally a documentary serie whith a female journalist enlighting different aspects of the canal network. That´s such a nice way to keep in touch from here. Unfortunately here in Germany I do not allways notice if there is a new movie, serie or documentary about the British canals, so maybe you can name some. Cheers

Thanks for the pics. Your bow and stern are not only efficient, they also look very elegant. Who built the hull? As bow for my narrowboat I often immagined a river-inspection-launch-style one (very sharp). How would that behave compared to a normal bow?

Interesting point, is a double curved swim really better than a straight one? I know that long swims are better but not often used with short boats because of the space inside. But if you ignore the missing space, would a long swim on a short boat have disadvantages with stability (rocking,...)?

Hello, I recently found an unusual bow-design on the web: Eco-Hull by ABC Boat Building. http://www.abcboatbuilding.com/extras.html (scroll down) It seems to have some hydrodynamic advantages, so it should be interesting for intensive cruising boats (hireboats and continous cruisers). But I think I have never seen one on the canals (even not on ABC hireboats). Is it new? Is it to expensive to build? Is it because of the nontraditional look? Has someone here such a bow? Cheers Hornblower

The tip to do at least one holiday on a NB before buying one is a bit late, isn´t it? I always like to immagine buying one and every time after a hireboat-holiday I know a bit better what would suit me best (size, layout, equipment,...). So one day ... Anyway, in Germany we say "Luck is with the brave ones." and living on a NB is a very nice option if your job is flexible enough.

ups... I mixed Thames / Themse (german name) ... even in the headline

I have some experiences with my GRP cruiser on the german river Elbe, which can have strong current at times. A long and heavy narrowboat is more difficult to maneuver but the challenge would ad to the adventure for me. I remember a situation some years ago when we had to wait on the Severn just in front of the lock into Gloucester dock. It was tricky because of the strong current but also exciting. I think we will only leave the Thamse if it is forbidden (showing red boards?). And even then we will enjoy the "extra fun" on the Kennet

When the conditions of the Thames and the Kennet & Avon are usually the same, I need a new Plan B... As there are no other options from Aldermaston Wharf, the hirecompany will have to book us spontaniously to one of their other bases around the system. They will prefer that to chancel our booking completely ... same with me. But anyway I hope that we can travel the Thames.

Thank you for the recommendations so far. When OldGoat says he could travel at that time in the past 12 years, that puts my mind at ease. But anyway we will be prepared to switch to the Kennet & Avon if the hirecompany says so on our startday. And indeed we try to get above Oxford. Maybe to the end of navigation, but thats quite ambitious for 2 weeks. We will see... In the internet I found some nice fotos of a waterway in Oxford that passes under a very old enclosed bridge and in front of an old impressing building (university or college?). Is that the river Cherwell or a canal? I want to take my kayak with me.

Hello, in October last year we did a marvelous tour on the Thamse from Reading to London and back. It was indeed one of the best of our numerous narrowboat holidays. So in mid April next year we plan to do the other way from Reading to Oxford. Can anyone tell me how the conditions on the Thamse usually are at that time of year? And of course some recommendations for places and attractions are appreciated Cheers from Germany

Hi, in "Waterways World" I read a short description of the narrowboat "Olinda", exhibited in Crick this year. Among other things it has a steeringwheel in the bow, the article shows a foto from inside. I am curious how it looks from outside, but couldn´t find any fotos in the web. The Shell was made by Aintree, the fitout by Dream Makers and the propulsion (diesel-electric) by Thames Electric Launch Company, but no one has fotos on their websites. Has anyone made fotos of that boat and would share them here or can link to a website? Cheers Hornblower

I live in Germany next to the Mittellandkanal which crosses Niedersachsen from west to east and links Berlin / river Havel / river Elbe with the river Ems and finally the Rhine. I haven´t seen the whole canal but some parts. The locks are described with a width of about 12 m. On my tours on the Mittellandkanal, the Elbe-Seitenkanal (from Mittellandkanal to river Elbe near Hamburg) and some rivers and canals around Berlin I saw different lockgates. Most of them are sliding into the lockwall. There are also guillotine-type gates and a ship lift near Lüneburg. It´s quite interesting to see so many different locks. Why are you interested in the european locks, Do you have a very-widebeam "narrowboat" with a width of about 14 m?! Cheers from Germany.

I just came across this thread and want to give a short belated report about our trip. The river condition was just perfect, nearly no current. Even the short part of the tidal Thamse between Teddigton and Brentford was easy (in the short time frame we had for the passage). The mooringsituation in London was OK (we stayed some nights in Limehouse basin). Unfortunately there was no time left for the "Lee and Stort" or the "Basingstoke". The weather couldn´t have been better and there was so much to see left or right of the river and the canals through London. One of the highlights was a trip with my kayak on the Thames from Limehouse to St. George Wharf and back, a fantastic adventure. We had a lot of marvellous narrowboat-holidays in the past 10 years and this one was definitely one of the best! Thank you for all the informations in this thread.

We would start from Aldermaston Wharf on the Kennet & Avon Canal. So we could leave out the Thamse if too dangerous.

The answer of the hirecompany was to always have an alternative route in mind and the Kennet and Avon would unlikely be unnavigable ... Navigable but treacherous? If I want to get to London via boat and off the mainseason I have no other chance. I think we give it a try. We are not new to narrowboating (including the Severn and Thamse near Oxford) so we shall be able to handle even "suboptimal" conditions.

Thanks for your replies. A chance about 70 to 30 in my favour doesn´t sound too bad. If the Thamse would really be unnavigable at that time we could take the Kennet & Avon as alternative. And I think that´s what the hirecompany would say. More interesting is what would be if the Thames gets unnavigable during our holidays so we can´t get back.

Hello, I just startet planning our Narrowboat-Holiday for autumn 2015. The idea is to start in Reading and get via Thamse to London and back. Maybe including a bit of "Lee and Stort" and "Basingstoke Canal". The date is fix: last 2 weeks of October 2015. My hope is that the mooring-situation in London at that time of year isn´t as bad as in the mainseason. My worries are if the Thames is not navigable at the end of October. What do you think? Cheers Hornblower

Thanks so long for the hints. From earlier tours through Birmingham I remember an abandoned building along the new main line just bevor the old main line crosses via aqueduct. Does anybody know what it is / was?