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Silsden Boats experience


Idig

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7 minutes ago, Idig said:

Hi,

Have any of you hired a boat from Silsden Boats on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal? It seems a good choice for my journey, and wonder if anyone has experiences to share.

 

We had two great family holidays hiring on successive years from Silsden Boats and really enjoyed the experience. However, it was in 1978 & 1979!

 

Howard

 

 

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hired from them two years running, 2015 & 2016, before we bought into a share boat.

 

training is a 30min dvd watched in the office if you’ve never been on a boat before, and one of the staff walks you through your boat before you head off explaining where everything is and what checks need doing.

 

nice friendly bunch of folk, i’d use them again 

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We hired for a fortnight from them last April because our own boat is too long for the L&L locks. The 56ft nb was clean and well looked after and performed well. It compared favourably with other boats we have hired over the years and I think their prices are quite reasonable.  They were a good company to deal with from the initial booking to the actual holiday. 

 

Just one niggle is that after the hire I sent a very complimentary email but with a couple of comments about minor issues such as needing a couple of hooks to hang coats on by the back door etc and they didn't even have the decency to acknowledge my email let alone comment on it.

 

I would definitely hire from them again if in the future we decide to cruise there again.  

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Hi and thanks, - all of you!

Grassman: Maybe they were so busy mounting hooks they forgot to answer the e-mail:D

I'll let you know here on the forum if there are hooks when I get to their boat:)

What we plan, by the way, is going to Leeds and back. Would anyone know if that's doable for two dads and two ten year old boys? Are there any precautions as to mooring around Leeds, the way there are close to and in Manchester?

Also, if anyone would like to share views on going the opposite direction, that would be of interest, too.

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Our very first narrowboating experience, many years ago, was with Silsden Boats and everything was excellent. In the week we travelled west, beyond the Foulridge Tunnel, and back to the top of Bingley. This stretch is one of the most scenic on the system.

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2 hours ago, Idig said:

Hi and thanks, - all of you!

 

What we plan, by the way, is going to Leeds and back. Would anyone know if that's doable for two dads and two ten year old boys? Are there any precautions as to mooring around Leeds, the way there are close to and in Manchester?

Also, if anyone would like to share views on going the opposite direction, that would be of interest, too.

From Silsden we went west as far as Foulridge Tunnel and then east as far as Saltaire and back, but that was over 2 weeks as there was just the two of us and we don't do long days. I think with a crew of four that would be fairly easily achievable in a week. The many swing bridges on this stretch will keep your boys well occupied. Prior to me going I asked on this forum if that was the most scenic part and the consensus was that it is.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Silsden hirers have a terrible reputation with other users on that part of the L&L primarily because of their lack of training of new users and because they do tend to swarm in/out of the base on changeover day. 

 

We have shared locks with many silsden boats some good some bad but expect a bit of snootiness from the locals...

 

the Boat’s always look ok if sometimes a little battered in the usual contact areas.

 

whether you go east or west there’s plenty of great canal to do in a week 

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  • 2 months later...
On ‎19‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 21:40, Hudds Lad said:

hired from them two years running, 2015 & 2016, before we bought into a share boat.

 

training is a 30min dvd watched in the office if you’ve never been on a boat before, and one of the staff walks you through your boat before you head off explaining where everything is and what checks need doing.

 

nice friendly bunch of folk, i’d use them again 

We used then a few years ago, I thought the boat was OK and the service was OK too, but I didn`t think they were that friendly. We only had the boat for a short break (because my Mother in law had to get back for an appointment that evening) which on a daily rate is much more expensive, and so we asked what time the boat was due back on the last day. Friendly yards will often let you bring it back late if it isn`t booked out again, particularly when you`ve only had it for a short break, but the woman in the reception said it had to come back at 9.00 (or whenever it was) "because it was booked out". In fact it wasn`t because when we checked out I looked at the bookings wall...… Thanks for that, I thought to myself, that boat cost not far off £1000 for 3 (or was it 4 ? ) nights, and it wouldn`t actually have cost then anything for us to bring it back later in the day would it ? It was typical of the reasonably efficient but not friendly way they treated us.

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