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We tried Birmingham canals' new e-boats and it swept us away on a tide of happiness


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We tried Birmingham canals' new e-boats and it swept us away on a tide of happiness - Graham Young - Birmingham Live (birminghammail.co.uk)

 

 

As soon as we stepped aboard one of the brand new GoBoat e-boats at the heart of Birmingham's Canal Navigations system, we knew our leisurely journey would hardly rival Roger Moore's high-octane chase through Venice in the James Bond film, Moonraker. And, with a top speed of just 4mph, we certainly wouldn't be auditioning for a watery version of the Fast And The Furious.

But even though each GoBoat has been made from recycled plastic bottles and are all coloured grey, they are never dull - because they are simply brilliant with room for up to eight people around a wooden table sourced from sustainable forestry. As soon as you sit down for your induction they just feel right - super sturdy and already giving you an enchanting new view of city life just yards from Broad Street at the heart of the Westside entertainment district.

 

The bobbing boat engages your senses from the get-go, leaving you constantly wondering where you are going, what delights you will see and what might be coming around the next bend towards you. Passersby even talk to you as if you are that person in the city park with the cutest dog they've ever seen.

 

GoBoat's Birmingham location manager Steve Illidge is a gregarious former customer services expert who lives nearby on a canal narrowboat himself. Now in the dream job he never expected would come along, he greeted us like long-lost friends before asking who would be 'captain' for the day. My colleague Lily Fox immediately piped up 'Me' and she was the one filling in the online forms and putting on her brand new £7.50 'Captain' hat. Aye, aye, bab!

Joining us in the boat along with photographer Martin O'Callaghan, Steve explained the rules of life on the open water - which chiefly involves keeping to the right. Move the tiller to the left to steer to the right and vice versa and Bob's Your Uncle. Twist its handle one way to speed up, turn it the other way to slow down or even go into reverse.

 

Children are welcome by the way - and dogs, too. And you can even take your own picnic if you fancy a floating feast somewhere off the beaten track. Or if you want to make that business lunch extra special, why not GoBoat for it!

Captain Fox - who passed her driving test at the age of 17 - took to the tiller like the proverbial duck to water in our two-minute trial run with Steve on board. Satisfied that I would be in capable hands - we returned to base to drop Steve off before sailing away on our maiden journey. Here's what happened next...

 

Olivia Fox and Graham Young sailing a GoBoat past Sea Life Centre (right) towards the Library of Birmingham

 

Route One

The United States might have Route 66, but GoBoat has Routes One and Two. The first heads towards Wolverhampton (though you wouldn't be going anywhere near that far), whilst the second one takes you towards the Mailbox and then The Vale site at the University of Birmingham.

Steve says ............................................

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I remember back in the mid 70s, when Brummagem Boats operated from what is now the Tap and Spile pub, they had a fleet of small inboard engined steel open day boats which you could hire by the hour to navigate round the loops, but they can't have been a success as they didn't last long.

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It makes £99 a day for a day boat look good value. It will be interesting when Birmingham gets a little busier as the year progresses. Will CRT close the Loops to Narrowboats so just the trip boat and these hire boats can use them in safety 

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2 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

Isn’t this the same firm that hires from Paddington Basin? It will make it busy in Birmingham- very different to the London site 🤣

They also hire out at Kingston on the Thames and at Canary Wharf. It makes navigating between Paddington and Camden very ‘interesting’ especially as they are allowed to use Maida Hill tunnel.

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2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

It makes £99 a day for a day boat look good value. It will be interesting when Birmingham gets a little busier as the year progresses. Will CRT close the Loops to Narrowboats so just the trip boat and these hire boats can use them in safety 

And the canoes and rafts that are also operating from Port Loop.  We had some interesting trips with the pair last year as the group's out on the rafts couldn't understand that a motor and butty can't just stop dead when they suddenly cut in front of you 

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58 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

And the canoes and rafts that are also operating from Port Loop.  We had some interesting trips with the pair last year as the group's out on the rafts couldn't understand that a motor and butty can't just stop dead when they suddenly cut in front of you 

My wife described a narrowboat to a paddleboarder as "having the braking ability of a marble on lino with a mincing machine at the back".

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We've just spent the weekend moored in Birmingham City Centre and only saw one on the move on two occasions. Not surprising when the charges were £75 for an hour, £135 for 2 hours and £195 for 3 hours. Even allowing for the fact that they hold 8 people it's still a hefty price and would put off for example a single family of 4.

 

They just had two of them in operation and the rest were parked up at the beginning of the Oozells St Loop. Perhaps they get away with those prices in London but I doubt they will elsewhere.

 

 

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14 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

It makes £99 a day for a day boat look good value. It will be interesting when Birmingham gets a little busier as the year progresses. Will CRT close the Loops to Narrowboats so just the trip boat and these hire boats can use them in safety 

There used to be a day narrowboat operating out of Gas Street Basin called Victory.  I think it was operated by The Away Group and was about £120per day.  I have no idea why someone would spend £95 for an hour in an electric-powered bath tub.

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22 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

I have no idea why someone would spend £95 for an hour in an electric-powered bath tub.

 

@peterboat spent a lot more than that to build his own electric bathtub ...

 

Admittedly he had it for more than an hour, it was his testbed before he went electric drive on the widebeam.

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6 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

@peterboat spent a lot more than that to build his own electric bathtub ...

 

Admittedly he had it for more than an hour, it was his testbed before he went electric drive on the widebeam.

I have since sold it less the motor. But their is a twist, the new owner fitted a diesel back into it, then sold it! The new owner is removing the diesel and going back to electric!! Couldn't make it up!! I am giving the new new owner a hand to sort it out quite funny really 

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We saw one of these moored up on the VMs in Gas Street a couple of weeks ago, taking up as much space as it possibly could. About 8 people on it, and several open bottles of fizz. Not sure if it was doing a publicity shoot or something, as they didn't look like they were actually going to move it anywhere. 

 

 

 

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