 |
 |
|||
|
||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| You don't need any qualifications or experience to hire a canal boat, all hire firms give some instruction to new hirers. Some people do prefer to do a short boat handling course before hiring though and we list some providers and the usual accreditation below. | We've provided essential advice about boat handling and about working locks, and even offer a short booklet about Single handed Boating for the intrepid! | ||||||||||||||||||||
 The
RYA Helmsman's Certificate is designed to equip you with
the practical skills for correct and safe inland waterway's
cruising and so give you that confidence. Beginners will of
course benefit considerably from this training but experienced
boaters will also find it a very interesting and useful
exercise. This certificate also enables you to apply for the
International Certificate of Competence which you will need if
you want to cruise European waterways. |
The
Boatmasters Licence is a more advanced qualification for
those who wish to steer boats carrying paying passengers,
leading to the new M.C.A. (Maritime & Coastguard Agency) Grade
III licence which covers Class V passenger vessels on cat. A
waters. |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| If you are going on a canal
boating holiday on a hire boat you will need to be able to
cruise the boat, moor safely and probably operate locks. But you
don’t need any formal qualification or even boating experience. If you are going on a Hotelboat cruise you just need the ability to sit back and be pampered! |
 We've
advice and information here, plus remember that instruction is
always given by canal boating holiday firms, and some offer
short training courses. See our
Canal Training Course
Providers page, and the listings above, for more details.We've a full page about using locks. |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Steering a heavy boat up to 70
feet long through an opening only a few inches wider than the
boat, standing at the back using a tiller on a fairly narrow
canal does take a bit of getting used to, but most people adjust
quickly! Most boats have diesel engines controlled through a single lever which alters engine speed and selects forward, neutral and reverse gears, very simple to use. Steering is usually from the back of the boat, which makes it easy to see where the boat is, as well as where it's going! Most boats have tiller steering, push the tiller to the right and the boat swings left. It can take a little while for a heavy boat to respond, and it may keep on swinging due to its momentum even after you have pulled the tiller back. Unlike a car, due to water movements and canal bed shapes, a boat will not keep going straight even when the tiller is central, you need to keep on steering! River boats may have wheel steering from a front or central position. There is a speed limit of 4 miles per hour on most canals and many rivers, about an average walking speed, boats don't have speedometers. You must observe that limit, wash destroys canal banks and bumps other boat around and other canal users may get angry with you. Running the boat engine too fast won't make you go much faster, just make more noise and wash and use more fuel. On shallow canals you may notice a breaking wave building up from the stern even at 4 mph, if so slow down more. |
 You pass other boats on the right hand side, just like on roads
in most of the world. However you should keep towards the centre
of the canal if there are no other boats coming. Leave plenty of
space and slow down when you pass moored boats, the wash from a
boat can bump the moored boat up and down and even pull out
mooring pins. There are special turning places every few miles, known as 'winding holes' ( - pronounced like the 'wind' that blows!). The canal is usually deepest in the centre of straight sections and on the outer side of bends, try to avoid cutting across the shallow corners of bends. Your boat will steer more easily and travel more quietly in the deeper water. You may occasionally meet deeper traditional boats who want the deeper water, steerers will usually communicate via hand signals and shouting, though there is a system of horn blasts few people know it and fewer use! If another boat is behind you it is polite to see if they want to come past. If so, when there is a clear stretch of canal, move over to the side and slow right down to let them past. |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| You can moor almost anywhere on
the towpath side of canals, free of charge. Boats come with mooring ropes for and aft and steel 'mooring pins' and hammer. Don't block the towpath by putting your pins in too far from the canalside. Tie the boat up fairly tightly so that it doesn't move about too much when other boats pass. Many people put something light coloured on top of their pins so walkers can see them in the dark. Some regular moorings have steel rings or bollards to tie to. Mooring on the opposite side of the canal is not usually allowed since the land is often privately owned. |
 Any
towpath area where mooring is not allowed will usually be
signed. However don’t moor on tight bends, by turning places or
close to locks where you will get in the way of other boats
using the locks.Some people like to moor as far out in the country as they can, others prefer to moor outside pubs, or in the visitor moorings that British Waterways are providing in many villages and towns, but it's really up to you, that's one of the beauties of a canal holiday! River moorings are usually much more restricted and you normally should only moor on public moorings, which may be charged for. |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Locks are probably the most difficult thing to get the hang of, and they take the most physical effort! We've provided a page of detailed advice about working canal locks. | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
