Buy Boating Bits!

Our experience within the waterways industry combined with many years of happy boating has led to us developing a portfolio of products and services.

Our 'shop' will be launched some time during the cruising season and will include the alarms we use, on-board PCs, hatches, LED lighting and what we believe to be the strongest glue available!

 

Free RYA Inland Waterway Helmsman Course on longer bookings

To enhance your experience and get you off to the finest of starts, we're including a RYA Helmsman Course with all bookings of 2 month duration or longer, for you and another member of your crew - representing a saving of over £200.

We already offer a subsidised RYA Helmsman Courses for all customers, and we encourage those with little or no experience to participate as it extends the scope of our own basic introduction and is fully accredited and Internationaly recognised. 

Course content includes:

• Deck Work
• Mooring
• Ropes and knots
• Helmsmanship
• Boat Handling
• Personal Safety
• Boat Safety
• Engines
• Locks
• Bridges
• Tunnels
• Collision avoidance
• Care of the Environment 

An RYA Certificate is issued on successful completion of the course, and this can be used towards the International Certificate of Competence.

This does not replace our own thorough introduction to your boat.  We will still spend as much time as you need, in order to ensure you're fully confident and happy to set off on your Experience 'in full controll'.

 

Sheffield to Trial as a Hire Base

 

(Victoria Quays - Sheffield Canal Basin) 

We pride ourselves on our overall flexibility, offering totally flexible start and finish points for your Experience, anywhere on the Inland Waterway network, and indeed this will always be one of our foundation stones of operation.

However...

We have had numerous and repeated queries about operating some boats from Victoria Quays (Sheffield Canal Basin).

Sheffield is not generally thought to be an ideal start point as it takes a couple of days to get anywhere, and has links via some commercial waterways and tidal rivers - which for a novice can seem a little daunting.  For these reasons we've historically tended to avoid using Sheffield as a start point - unless one of our customers has chosen to end their Experience here.

Being customer guided we have taken your comments on board (excuse the pun) and have decided, subject to local agreements, to trial one dedicated boat as our 'Sheffield Hire Boat' for 2008-2009.  This will break with our 'start anywhere, finish anywhere' tradition, for the first time offering a 'start and end at Sheffield' Experience.

(Cooling towers at the disused Thorpe Marsh Power Station at dusk)

Having mentioned the potential downsides of having Sheffield as a start point, we reckon it's also worth mentioning some of the quite unique positive points, not least the remarkable insight into the local industrial and waterway heritage, glimpse into the last remnants of commercial inland waterway operations (large sand barges, and tankers abound on the Aire and Calder, don't worry, they're quite 'narrowboat friendly' and you'll seldom have any issues, if at all).

Sheffield also acts as an ideal start point to explore the under-rated delights of the Northern waterways - which, unlike the busy and often congested popular tourist waterways of the Midlands, offer miles of peaceful, quiet cruising on well maintained and pleasant canals and river navigations.

Although suited mainly for customers with experience of broad canal and tidal river navigation, we offer subsidised RYA Helmsman Courses for those with little or no experience.  Don't worry too much about your level of confidence or competence, our boats cost a fortune and we're not going to allow you to set off unless you are totally happy in all aspects of boat handling, navigation and safety.  As always, our overall aim is to ensure you get the very best of positive life-changing experiences during your time afloat, and we're here to ensure you set off happy and fully in control, not worried that something may go wrong if you meet the Rix Owl oil tanker on the river Aire (we've met her, she's big!).

Full details of our Sheffield Hire trial are available here.

 

 

Customer Blogging - Tell everyone what you think about us!

For 2008 

We're giving all customers their own Web Log (blog).

This will be live for all customers to participate in (all our boats have, dependent upon 3G access, full, free, wireless Broadband on board).  Keeping a log is something we always encourage anyone experiencing the Inland Waterways to do.  It not only helps you to remember what made your Experience memorable once you're back in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, but can also keep family and friends informed of your progress.

Easily maintained and updated via a simple link in the web browser of your boat, the Customer Blog is your opportunity to tell everyone about your Experience, and about us as your hosts :-)

Blogs are as anonymous as you'd like them to be.  Data Protection and Privacy terms apply.