bestyman

Thanks, Some great info there.

Thanks for the replies. Will have a look

Hi, Can anyone please suggest good place to hire for a weekend in early June? We have hired 4 -5 times before. There will be me and the wife and two "kids" 23 and 20, plus a small dog. Will need plenty of locks and pubs. From Leeds but happy to travel 100 miles. Hire price the cheaper the better, not bothered for a flash boat, but bigger is best. Thanks for any ideas.

Well I went To Lidl and they didn`t have canoes but they did have a dingy. I don't know much about these but it looks reasonably well made. It has 3 air chambers and holds 2 adults and 2 kids. Cost was £35. Its really just for a bit of fun on a warm day and if we like it we can always upgrade. Thanks

Thanks for all the replies. I'm off to Lidl to see if they have any left.

Hi, We have a campervan and often camp near rivers and canals. I was thinking of buying an inflatable dingy, perhaps with a small outboard. It would be something to do during the day and its often a good way of getting from camp to the town centre. We would probably use it at York quite often. Do I need a licence , insurance. life jackets etc? Do I need to pay to launch it or can I just blow it up and chuck it in? Are the rules different for a dingy that's rowed? Does it matter if canal or river? How much should I expect to spend ( probably a used one on ebay) for something that won`t sink. How many HP should the engine be? I do have some boating experience from previous canal boat hire. Thanks

Many thanks for all the helpful replies. We are hoping to get away for another long weekend early spring , so will be able to put this into practice. Its the turning around bit that was the biggest problem. TBH I used to think that the faster the boat was going then the quicker it would turn! Thanks again

Just got back from my third time on a canal boat. I have spend hours reading these forums but have a few questions. 1.If I want to turn around is it best to almost stop the boat, put the tiller almost on full lock (but not full lock) and rev the engine to just above tick over?Should the boat be positioned initially in the centre of the canal? I have seen others stick the nose of the boat in the bank and pivot on that, is this good practise? I have read the long thread on reversing so should be OK with that. 2. When moored near a lock and leaving is it best to reverse out first so that the back end of the boat does not scrape along the bank, or should someone physically push the front end out? 3. Is it necessary to moor up near a lock or is it OK to drop a passenger off somehow and just float about until the lock is ready? 4 Is it OK just to open one lock gate on a double lock. If going uphill its not so bad if you nudge the other gate but going downhill I imagine it could be a disaster. 5. When in a lock I have noticed two types of people, those who make a big deal out of the centreline and those who don't bother with it. Personally I don't see why its needed other than to pull the boat to one side to make room for another. I read the boating manual and I think it said to use it going up but not down? Cheers all.

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Hope you don't mind me asking here ( its sort of on topic), but could someone tell me where canals get water from please? Is it from a river? And what happens if the canal goes up a hill then back down again, how does the top bit fill up? Lastly, can canals overflow and flood surrounding land in bad weather? In case you ask why Im asking it's cos we hire one next week.

Thanks for all the help, So having a BBQ at the side of the canal is `usual` ? . We dont want to look silly ! Just one other thing, when we are half way through the holiday , how do we turn it around, the canal dont look wide enough for a 3 point turn to me . Cheers Mark

Hi all, Sorry to ask for what must seem like the obvious to you all but Ive never set foot on a narrowboat before ( but we did go look at a canal last month) Me, the wife and the inlaws have hired a canal boat mid May from Sawley marina for 3 days. We really have no idea so trying to find out as much as possible before we go So having read this site there are still some things we need to know. From Sawley it seems there are many routes, which one do we take for 3 days ( most pubs etc) ? We love to BBQ but figured a BBQ on the boat is not the done thing. I have a BBQ on a stand we take camping, can we just BBQ at the side of the canal ? Who owns the side of the canal and is it true we can park anywhere? Could the BBQ live on the roof ( its about half ironing board size) and do I need to take carpet to put it on? When needing to restock on booze and food is it a case of parking ( sorry mooring?) the boat and walking to nearest tescos? I have a tomtom that may help with this but still dont fancy a long walk in heat ( hopefully) carrying shopping for miles. Is the fridge on a 6 berth boat normal size? We get boat and lock tuition before hire but will probably go to some locks near where we live( leeds) and hopefully see them in action now the weathers a bit warmer. Thanks in advance for any tips or suggestions. Mark