Getting a first boat and an easy boat to handle

[McARDLE]

Hi, I’m looking to get a small NB to start my retirement on the waterways. I’m looking for something easy to handle as a novice single-handed, with the potential to go from long vacations to a potential liveaboard going anywhere on the system. I wondered if the community had any experience of the Little Boat range? Any thoughts would be most welcome, thanks. Best wishes

[Tony Brooks]

I always found a larger boat easier to handle than a small one, and more comfortable, but that might just be me.

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

I always found a larger boat easier to handle than a small one, and more comfortable, but that might just be me.

Seconded in many cases, especialy regarding small boats such as narrowboats, the longer are better to handle in many ways.

[Higgs]

1 hour ago, McARDLE said:

Hi, I’m looking to get a small NB to start my retirement on the waterways. I’m looking for something easy to handle as a novice single-handed, with the potential to go from long vacations to a potential liveaboard going anywhere on the system. I wondered if the community had any experience of the Little Boat range? Any thoughts would be most welcome, thanks. Best wishes

 

Couldn't be sure of an optimum size, but a smaller boat will allow you turn around in many more places. Under 40'. ??

 

 

[Tracy D'arth]

sailing small boats, below say 35 feet, is like sailing a bathtub. No fun at all.

[nicknorman]

Small boats tend to bob around a lot and like to go rapidly sideways in wind. Having helped a family get their small hire boat round a windy junction earlier this year, I would say definitely harder to handle in British weather than a medium sized boat of say 45 to 55’.
The little boat range seem to have a lot of boats with petrol outboard engines, I would definitely avoid that because petrol is expensive, difficult to obtain on the canals, dangerous to store on board and the engine doesn’t heat the domestic water nor charge the leisure batteries well.

 

People new to boating sometimes think it’s a bit like buying a car - get a nice new one! However with boats a quality second hand boat, with all its gremlins fixed, is likely to be a better option

[Higgs]

I have been on a perfectly adequate under forty-footer. No real nonsense in the handling, but the wind can create problems.

 

 

 

 

[McARDLE]

Thanks everyone for all taking the time to help with advice. Really interesting thoughts. Hoping to be back soon with an update on a first boat. Can’t wait! 👍

[Ken X]

Size definitely matters.🙂 We find a bigger boat tends to stay where you put it and is slower to react to external influences making it easier to control.  Smaller boats dart about like a weaver on piece work.  Day boats being a classic example.  Take one out on a trip and you will see what they're like.  The only caveat to make is that some Northern canals have shorter locks which may be a consideration.

[IanD]

42 minutes ago, Ken X said:

Size definitely matters.🙂 We find a bigger boat tends to stay where you put it and is slower to react to external influences making it easier to control.  Smaller boats dart about like a weaver on piece work.  Day boats being a classic example.  Take one out on a trip and you will see what they're like.  The only caveat to make is that some Northern canals have shorter locks which may be a consideration.

 

Indeed, this is how much room to spare a 60' boat has (i.e not even an inch with fenders down!) in the middle Salterhebble lock which I believe is the shortest... 😉

[enigmatic]

Genuine question, what do you mean by handling?

 

As others are pointed out, longer narrowboats actually tend to be better at staying in a straight line than shorter ones. Shorter narrowboats might in theory be able to fit round tighter corners, but the canal network was designed for 60 foot plus boats: it's only when winding that the smaller size is likely to make much difference. Shorter boats like cruisers with a proper boat shape are a different story. But all narrowboats are shaped a bit like a brick, and the swims at the bow and stern that make it slightly more boat-shaped and cut through the water slightly better tends to be longer on [better-designed] 50+ foot boats than 40 foot boats 

 

Shorter narrowboats weigh less, but heavier boats aren't especially difficult to pull in or forward on a rope and lighter steel boats not especially easy. I suspect the only time makes a big difference in favour of small boats is if you're "handling" the boats on a rope and pulling it in against the wind, which is pushing against you on 30 ft of cabin side, rather than 50 ft. But you try to avoid this where possible! 

[system 4-50]

My granddaughter, who was then in the 7th year of her age, was most impressed when she found she was able to pull my 20 ton  60ft nb to the bank edge with a rope!  (no wind).