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Hello After hiring for over 10 years, all over the country, it’s about time we did the Thames. Our week’s hire of a narrow boat is at the end of March 2014 and picking the boat up in Aldermaston. Do you have any hints, tips and advice about what to do, or not. We hoped to head downstream, through Reading, Henley, and Marlow to Windsor. I have done many kinds of locks over the years, and have even conquered staircases! The Thames locks, reading another thread, seem to be vast, electric ones, and with us going in March I take it they will be unmanned, so is there anything I should be aware of, any tricks of the trade? Also about mooring. The last river we tackled, that may be too strong a word, was the Avon, from Bath towards Bristol. Lovely river but few places to stop and moor, it was a bit of an eye opener after canals, so what about mooring on the Thames? I suppose all this may be irrelevant if the weather is like it is at the moment. Is the Thames often impassable when water levels are high? And lastly is downstream as good as upstream, through Wallingford to Oxford, or is it just a matter of where you actually want to go, if you see what I mean. I look forward to your advice and knowledge. Jac

I first shared this idea with Daniel (site owner) and he suggested that I post it here to see what other people think, so please respond with short or lengthy comments or additional related ideas: My boat is currently stuck on the Leeds & Liverpool (near Wigan) due to a stoppage at Rishton which may take over 8 weeks to be sorted by CRT. This experience has made me wonder whether there is any way to contact other boaters who may be in a similar position and who might have a mooring on the Wigan side of the stoppage that they could swap with my permanent mooring near Skipton in North Yorkshire? I have tried to find a forum set up to deal with this issue but have failed so far. I suggested that CRT might help set something up but received a message from Sally Ash (Head of Boating at CRT) as follows: Using the internet to broker moorings swaps is an attractive idea which we have pondered in the past periodically. The conclusion today is that this would be a venture much better developed independently of the Trust and which didn’t limit itself to occasions when boats are stranded because of bad weather or emergency navigation restrictions. E.g. I have friends with a nice end of garden mooring on the GU in Hertfordshire and they’d love to spend a summer exploring northern waterways. For the Trust to investing its resources in such a venture would be hard to reconcile with our charitable objects which are about providing public, rather than personal benefit from navigation. Nevertheless, it’d be something that we’d be happy to help promote if a suitable scheme was developed. Having just found (and joined) the Canalworld website it seems to me that this would be an ideal place to host such a helpful new service and so I'm making this suggestion to you in the hope that you might be interested in taking it up. If so, I would suggest establishing a new section of the website where people with suitable and available moorings can advertise their availability to either boaters who are either a ) needing help in an unexpected situation (such as mine), or b ) who would like to stay awhile in a different part of the country. On reflection, the idea of "doing a swap" is rather restrictive and may not meet as many people's needs. Mooring "adverts" could perhaps be structured in a way to include some or all of the following: Canal Address Dates available Security Facilities available (electicity, water, rubbish disposal, toilets, toilet cassette emptying, parking, public transport links, distance from shops etc.) Fee payable (either to individual boater, or "site landlord") Comments on using the individual mooring (e.g. I'd put: friendly live-aboard neighbours, lovely farm setting etc) Contact details I hope that this idea will be greeted positively by other Canalworld Forum members, and at this moment my permanent mooring is currently vacant and I'd be happy to use it as a trial for this new service.

Hi everyone, I'm planning to move my boat on the K&A towards Reading and then on to London this spring (whenever weather permits). Two friends of mine would like to come along, but we won't all fit on my boat, so I suggested they could hire their own. Is it possible to hire boats one-way, ie. return them in a different location (like it is often done with rental cars)? I guess it would only be bigger operators offering this, maybe one of you has an idea. Alternatively, they could stay in B&Bs etc along the way I guess, but it wouldn't be ideal. Thanks for any tips!

Hi guys After many many years my partner is just in the process of finalising the purchase of a beautiful narrowboat. I did originally post for help but we are sorted now. Apologies to admin but thanks for letting me join the forum. Happy sailing

I have a 2 year old 25' Aintree Beetle that seats 8 and sleeps 4. It is moored in a marina on the Wey and Arun Navigation. If you have a desire to explore this area by boat and have a boat in the Midlands maybe, it would take you a couple of weeks to get down here! I am looking to do a boat swap with someone who has a bot in a populated area for a week or a fortnight. Read on for more details. There is a photographer called Duncan Raban who has created a 'kindness movement' on Facebook and has a page titled 'Just Say Hello' if you have Facebook check it out https://www.facebook.com/justsayhellotoday/ I seem to have become popular on this page and there is an impetus to move it forward. Duncan and I would like to take a narrowboat trip somewhere urban and populated to just say 'hello' to people. We have trained and experienced skippers at our disposal and as this campaign or movement is not generating any money it has been funded solely by Duncan since he was moved to start it. This is why I am offering a holiday boat swap if anyone may be interested. I am sure there are fine details to be worked out but it is not you or I renting out our boats but more lending it to a friend you don't know yet which I am sure does not invalidate our insurance or mooring rights. Maybe this is a silly idea that won't work out but it seems a waste of money for me to hire a boat when I have a perfectly good one sitting in the wrong part of England!

Website Name: Chiltern Canal Boat Holidays Website URL: https://chilterncanalboatholidays.com Website Description: Boat Hire Any other comments: A family run business offering canal boat hire for 7-day holidays and short breaks. Choice of boats available for 2 to 5 people. Based on the south Grand Union canal, our route runs through the beautiful Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire where you can explore the English countryside, with its traditional villages and historic market towns. Beginners welcome! All tuition provided.

I am asking for opinions please of a tentative business idea my partner has. He has recently retired as a police sergeant and is looking to combine his love and addiction of canals, by offering a service to other narrow boat owners. He has had a connection to the canal most of his life, going back to his childhood and has owned a narrowboat of his own for nearly 20yrs. Can you see a requirement/demand where you may require your boat moving for you to a new location, whether temporary or permanent. We know the problems of wanting to be one place but the car is in another and its such a hassle, going backwards and forwards. A further service offering, water top up, loo emptying, oil and fuel top ups, coal collection and general cleaning of inside and out. If there are any other services that you think may be of interest, please let me know. Thank you Gill