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Posh hireboat?

richardf

By richardf
in Holidays Afloat

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted
:lol: Crikey got to agree with you phylis, whenever I see the term, Widebeam narrowboat it make me cringe its as stupid as calling someone a Fat skinny bloke..........

Nearly as good as those Stowe Valley boats on brokerage where the unpowered one was regerred to as a "tug style butty", (or some other such nonsense!).

 

Not much market I guess for a "wide-beam tug style narrow boat butty" though !

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Jo_ Proficient

Jo_

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Hi

 

I think this would be near the top of my list

 

http://www.braidbarboats.co.uk/boathire/

 

Nigel

 

We hired Skye a couple of years ago so can back up Nigel's recommendation 100%!!!! She is a simply lovely boat and, unlike every other hire boat I've had, is like a real privateers' boat! Little stove at the front, pullout on double bed which takes width up to 5', etc. Peak Forest Canal up to Buxworth is a great route. Mind you, we don't know if your pal is wanting a boat which can sleep more than two. I don't know if your pal has boat experience; they're a bit wary about giving Skye to novices I think.

 

They're selling Skye so maybe your pal will hire, love and buy all at once! We bought our boat partly because Sky spoilt us for ever hiring anything else.

 

Jo

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Guest

Guest

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MJG, We too have booked an Edwardian Elite for April, called Hannah. Picking it up on 3rd April. See you there?

 

Hi Modge,

 

We are there from the 17th (The period we are away covers my birthday hence us being on our jollies then)

 

Our boat according to the invoice is called Helena.

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FredDrift Contributor

FredDrift

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Valley cruises on the Coventry seem to have a very well turned out fleet.

 

Mrs HN & I hired NB Taw Valley (49ft semi trad) last year - very well 'turned out' as you say. Externally, immaculate and internally it was very well fitted out and comfortable. If I had any criticism it would be the bench seating in the saloon but that is probably nothing more than personal preference and barely worth a mention. A nice boat indeed.

 

Beacon Park Boats on the Mon & Brec also have some very nice boats and a delightful, if sometimes very shallow, canal.

 

HN

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Neildudman Collaborator

Neildudman

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The thing is everyones 'posh' is different to all of you.

 

MY posh would be solid wood floors, bling kitchen, bling bathroom (Moonraker has a Jaquzzi bath) proper matresses, Heating, quality fixtures and fittings.

 

Some of the above dont have half of that and are running 10 year old boats.

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purplehaze Collaborator

purplehaze

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Well as you say its what an individual defines as 'posh', With a hire boat I would say that its down to several factors including good interior design, some boats lack storage, lovely boats but no thought of where you might put your clothes!! Ok we don't take that much but you still need somehere to put them, last year we were on a boat which had no shelves/drawers whatsoever, luckily I had a soft sided case which I could pop under the bed to hold my pj's etc. Others go overboard on storage and Black Prince are brilliant for this, so much in fact that it was day 3 before I found additional shelves!!!

 

I would say a 'posh' boat is one that allows all on board their own berth (no need to make one up at night) a good mattress, a good layout with good storage, for us two loos (two showers is brilliant as one of our crew could shower for England) and it must be clean. We once spent our first day on board cleaning all crockery etc plus the sticky kitchen floor (a firm that no longer hires from Stone)

 

Also of importance is how the boat handles, some are brilliant others not so good, I can't really comment as I do locks and don't steer but I have over the last 20 odd years picked up the muttering from the stern if the boat doesn't respond as the steerer would like :lol:

 

Little things that count, decent curtains, 240v supply, decent hairdrier, mirrors (once went on a boat with none)

 

Good hire boats - Napton, Blackprince, Ashby, and the Ginger boats at Stone (interesting exterior paint choice but brilliant boats)

 

We actually don't expect a 'posh' boat we just want a really nice place to spend a week on board, we often try to come up with a design for the perfect boat but we are still working on it, when we win the lottery maybe we will be able to have a go :lol:

 

Julie

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harleyj Collaborator

harleyj

Posted
Posted (edited)
The thing is everyones 'posh' is different to all of you.

 

MY posh would be solid wood floors, bling kitchen, bling bathroom (Moonraker has a Jaquzzi bath) proper matresses, Heating, quality fixtures and fittings.

 

Some of the above dont have half of that and are running 10 year old boats.

Somewhere to put the petite miniature beer bottles.

 

 

 

P.S. Did you find the best named town in England.(Canalside pub for lunch tomorrow-Friday)

Edited by harleyj
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RichardH Rising Star

RichardH

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Posted
Well as you say its what an individual defines as 'posh', With a hire boat I would say that its down to several factors including good interior design, some boats lack storage, lovely boats but no thought of where you might put your clothes!! Ok we don't take that much but you still need somehere to put them, last year we were on a boat which had no shelves/drawers whatsoever, luckily I had a soft sided case which I could pop under the bed to hold my pj's etc. Others go overboard on storage and Black Prince are brilliant for this, so much in fact that it was day 3 before I found additional shelves!!!

 

I would say a 'posh' boat is one that allows all on board their own berth (no need to make one up at night) a good mattress, a good layout with good storage, for us two loos (two showers is brilliant as one of our crew could shower for England) and it must be clean. We once spent our first day on board cleaning all crockery etc plus the sticky kitchen floor (a firm that no longer hires from Stone)

 

Also of importance is how the boat handles, some are brilliant others not so good, I can't really comment as I do locks and don't steer but I have over the last 20 odd years picked up the muttering from the stern if the boat doesn't respond as the steerer would like :lol:

 

Little things that count, decent curtains, 240v supply, decent hairdrier, mirrors (once went on a boat with none)

 

Good hire boats - Napton, Blackprince, Ashby, and the Ginger boats at Stone (interesting exterior paint choice but brilliant boats)

 

We actually don't expect a 'posh' boat we just want a really nice place to spend a week on board, we often try to come up with a design for the perfect boat but we are still working on it, when we win the lottery maybe we will be able to have a go :lol:

 

Julie

 

I concur with much of the above. Our boats are unliveried, Grace has been refitted to a 5 star standard including leather recliners.

 

On every turnaround without fail we remove every item of kitchenware and replace with a set which has been dishwashed to ensure no dodgy stickiness !

 

We provide a minimum of 3 hours training for first timers (and indeed anyone who wants a refresher)

 

Bedding is egyptian cotton, we have 2 towels per person and a fluffy dressing gown.

 

We don't charge for hidden extras, the price you see is the price you pay.

 

Plug over.

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chrish Gongoozler

chrish

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http://www.napton-marina.co.uk/EdwardianElite/index.asp

 

This is the boat type we have booked for April so we are indeed hoping they are nice.

 

We also passed a couple of Valley cruisers' boats this week and have to say they looked immaculate externally.

 

We have hired Napton boats for the last few years from both bases at Napton and Autherley and always found them to be excellent, well equipped and maintained, staff always very helpful and friendly. We have one booked again this year in August probably be our last time as our own boat should be ready in about twelve months time, can’t wait

 

Les & Chris H :lol:

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chrish Gongoozler

chrish

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We hired Skye a couple of years ago so can back up Nigel's recommendation 100%!!!! She is a simply lovely boat and, unlike every other hire boat I've had, is like a real privateers' boat! Little stove at the front, pullout on double bed which takes width up to 5', etc. Peak Forest Canal up to Buxworth is a great route. Mind you, we don't know if your pal is wanting a boat which can sleep more than two. I don't know if your pal has boat experience; they're a bit wary about giving Skye to novices I think.

 

They're selling Skye so maybe your pal will hire, love and buy all at once! We bought our boat partly because Sky spoilt us for ever hiring anything else.

 

Jo

 

Skye has been sold and the new boat is being finished off ready for the new season. Braidbar are building our new boat later this year and we had a meeting with Peter and Susan last week to discuss our plans. We had a look around the new hire boat and it is fabulous wouldn’t like to be the first to take it out though!!!!

 

Les & Chris H

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purplehaze Collaborator

purplehaze

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We are off with Napton narrow boats in May going from Autherley (again) crew of 10, we love their boats, we are going with Valley Cruisers in September, first time for us, they seem very strict re the time we can pick up the boat and how we can bring the boat into the boatyard, unlike Napton, Ashby and the Ginger boats where if its ready off you go. I wonder about the attitude of hire boat companies some are so strict about when you can arrive, we have gone from a couple that were so regimental that we will never use them again, I wonder if they know that their attitude puts people off.

 

As far as I can see if the boat is ready why not let it go out, we used Black Prince at Crick, no one allowed anywhere near the boats until 2.30, result a convoy all the way down the canal, stuck behind a novice and really irritating a fishing match. I doubt if we will go from there again.

 

Julie

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Guest

Guest

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We found Asby particularly good regarding the issue of pick time when we hired with them in Nov and Feb.

 

Ok quieter months but we had no problem and we could pick the boat up virtually as soon as it was ready - well before the std. 2.30pm.

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mayalld Veteran II

mayalld

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We are off with Napton narrow boats in May going from Autherley (again) crew of 10, we love their boats, we are going with Valley Cruisers in September, first time for us, they seem very strict re the time we can pick up the boat and how we can bring the boat into the boatyard, unlike Napton, Ashby and the Ginger boats where if its ready off you go. I wonder about the attitude of hire boat companies some are so strict about when you can arrive, we have gone from a couple that were so regimental that we will never use them again, I wonder if they know that their attitude puts people off.

 

As far as I can see if the boat is ready why not let it go out, we used Black Prince at Crick, no one allowed anywhere near the boats until 2.30, result a convoy all the way down the canal, stuck behind a novice and really irritating a fishing match. I doubt if we will go from there again.

 

Julie

 

That would be irritating.

 

However, looked at from the other side, what do you do if the new crews for all your boats arrive at 11:00, and you release the first boat at 11:30, and find that the crew of the last boat to be ready at 14:15 are annoyed that they had to wait longest.

 

There is also the question of whether the turnround is done properly. If you are turning the boat round, and know that the crew will be on board and off as soon as you are done, it adds pressure to complete the turnround quickly rather than properly.

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