Phil M

Hi Cuthound! Yes - thanks - I was with you! There are some on hire fleets with that set up too. It's just a shame that such a set up takes up so much space, adding probably at least 9ft to the length of the boat and presumably makes 24v electrics a necessity which is why I was wondering about a hoist instead with personal sling. Thanks for your thoughts!

Hi Cuthound! We saw the Lyneal Trust boat when we went past their wharf. It looked like a well thought out adaption, but more suited to a party than a couple! I was curious about more modest boats that could comfortably be crewed single handedly. Especially I was wondering if anyone has tried a tracked hoist rather than a lift. I have a few ideas! Thanks for the information though.

Hi! I'm Phil. I've been cycling towpaths for a while, and recently started to experience canals from the water. With my wife Valerie, we spent a week on the LLangollen in a hire boat and were rather taken with it. Valerie is a wheelchair user, so she had to stay on the boat most of the time, but was able to enjoy the constantly changing view. We are very tempted by the idea of our own boat. It would probably be 40 to 45 ft with a cruiser stern for the bike and wheelchair. I feel that a longer boat wouldn't be as easy to manage single handed. We wondered if any forum members have any thoughts on boat accessibility/ adaption for the disabled. Are there any disabled boat users out there who would lke to share ther experiences and wisdom?