Anyone ever hired a canal boat?

[WelshMoth]

Just that really. DH has had basic skipper training but other than that we are really inexperienced. Most we've done is walk alongside a canal.

We'd love a little adventure though - need a break away!

We've only done day hire having never been on a canal boat before. It wasn't too bad just navigating the locks and there were people who helped us a long the way and they gave us a briefing before we started.

I would go for it though if you are nervous maybe try one for the day first.

Yes we did it was great fun! And we had no prior experience.

I would recommend you check the canal boat over before you set of though for obvious bumps/ paint damage etc and the company tried to keep our deposit for damage we didn’t cause... we did manage to get the deposit back but was unnecessary stress!

Any specific questions? We have a liveaboard narrowboat and have travelled on it for several years.

Yep and with no prior experience. Great fun.

Yes and it was brilliant-one of our best holidays ever. They explain everything beforehand and you can buy guidebooks for the stretch you do with water and poo emptying places and rules of the river.

Yep did it loads as a family when younger! Great fun but on last look it was quite expensive. Easiest thing to learn to drive, when you hire it there will be someone to show you how to steer, speed to (to 5mph haha) it reverse. And how to more up. If you hire on a route with locks they'll give you a lock key and an explanation on that. Go for it and enjoy

It was after a 2 week holiday on a hired boat that we decided, as soon as we could, to sell our house & car and live on a narrowboat. (Bearing in mind that one or other of our PILs was also aboard during the 2 weeks) and at the end I wept buckets and did not want to leave the boat to live in a house. 😁

Yes.
There is something very therapeutic about meandering along at a slow pace, on water.
You see things you would never see just from a canal towpath.
Canal boating folk seem to be a very amiable and patient group of folk who will be only too happy to help you, should you get stuck.
We were canal virgins too OP, but, once you get the gist of pointing the tiller(?) in the opposite direction that you want the boat to go, you've cracked it.
Go for it and enjoy.

Yes. It was a boat not a barge though. Caledonian Canal. Great fun.

We've done this a few times. No experience necessary. We absolutely loved it but you do need 2/3 responsible people to negotiate locks etc. Our two almost teenage sons were enough to help out while I drove the boat. I would love to do it more but it's so expensive to hire a boat that we've not been for a couple of years.