renting a narrowboat (nr. Oxford)

We are thinking about renting a narrowboat for a long weekend with my parents. Has anyone done this before? Any advice?

We are thinking about renting a narrowboat for a long weekend with my parents. Has anyone done this before? Any advice?

Harrison Ford did it last year and he had a great time.

Harrison Ford did it last year and he had a great time.

What's good enough for Harrison...

Harrison Ford did it last year and he had a great time.

 

I'm genuinely confused. Are you simply stating that a famous person enjoyed himself on a narrowboat?

It sounds fab, Sevans. I don't have any advice for you, but will be watching this thread with interest. My bf and I have talked about doing this for a while - but probably in the Brecon Beacons. Still, I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience. 

This is something I've always wanted to do too!
Sevens let us know what you find out. I hope you get the chance to go!

Hey there,

My husband and I went narrowboating 1.5 years ago. It was fun, but here are my observations: the double bed was very narrow - you're better off getting single beds for everyone. Also, don't rent the cheapest boat you can find! We did, and the motor was VERY loud.  If you check the websites that aggregate the available boats from various companies, you can see that some of them have ratings, and all of them will tell you which amenities are available onboard! Finally, buy a guide to whichever canals/rivers you'll be on. We borrowed one, it was invaluable for telling us our next source of water!

The only narrowboat rental in Oxford proper is College Cruisers, located in the Jericho neighbourhood, at the start of the Oxford Canal. (We didn't rent through them.) There must be lots in Banbury, however...?

hiya...we haven't actually rented a narrowboat but we do own one. it's moored at little venice at the moment. we absolutely love it...we've had it about a year now.

what kind of advice are you looking for? have you ever been on a narrowboat before? if not i would make sure the company give instruction on both navigating and operating locks. i would definitely recommend making sure you have a Waterways Guide.

let me know if there is any other information that would be helpful.
good luck!

Gershamabob and Kerry_H, can you tell me if it's feasible for one couple to manage the navigation and locks on their own?

hi chary....we do just fine with just the two of us. my husband does all the navigating (as i'm shite at it) and i do all the locks (a great workout!). some more experienced boaters manage to do everything on their own.

do keep in mind though even though you are going very slow (3 miles an hour) you do have to know what you are doing. a lot can go wrong....we've had friends that weren't paying attention and almost sunk their boat in a lock. we started out as novices but learned quickly as we bought the boat in Derby and took a couple of weeks to bring it down to london.

Thanks for the tips, Kerry! 

Hey there,

My husband and I went narrowboating 1.5 years ago. It was fun, but here are my observations: the double bed was very narrow - you're better off getting single beds for everyone. Also, don't rent the cheapest boat you can find! We did, and the motor was VERY loud.  If you check the websites that aggregate the available boats from various companies, you can see that some of them have ratings, and all of them will tell you which amenities are available onboard! Finally, buy a guide to whichever canals/rivers you'll be on. We borrowed one, it was invaluable for telling us our next source of water!

The only narrowboat rental in Oxford proper is College Cruisers, located in the Jericho neighbourhood, at the start of the Oxford Canal. (We didn't rent through them.) There must be lots in Banbury, however...?

Thanks so much for the tips. I'll check around Banbury, too.

Did you have prior experience? If not, how easy/difficult was it? How many days did you go for?

Thanks!

hi chary....we do just fine with just the two of us. my husband does all the navigating (as i'm shite at it) and i do all the locks (a great workout!). some more experienced boaters manage to do everything on their own.

do keep in mind though even though you are going very slow (3 miles an hour) you do have to know what you are doing. a lot can go wrong....we've had friends that weren't paying attention and almost sunk their boat in a lock. we started out as novices but learned quickly as we bought the boat in Derby and took a couple of weeks to bring it down to london.

It must be so fun to own one.
How many days would you recommend going for on a first outing? Did you take a 'course' of some sort to learn how to operate the boat, or was it pretty easy to figure things out? How many miles do you tend to go in a day?

We don't have any experience (never even set foot on one). It's been my husband's dream for a long time to live on one, though  My father is a sailor and lives on the water, so we wanted to show him a diffferent water experience.

hi sevans....as for length of time for your first trip....i would recommend going out for a week...the first few days will be getting the hang of it. if you live near a canal it would be helpful to go and watch boats go through the locks. the more you understand how they work the easier it will be to know what to do.

it's also useful to know a few simple knots. if your dad's a sailor i'm sure he'll be able to sort out which are the best knots to use.

we didn't have any instructions...but did spend some time with a friend on his boat. i do think most hire companies do a bit of instruction.

how much you travel in a day depends mostly on day length....and how many hours a day you want to be travelling. it is 3 miles an hour without locks....and each lock counts for one lock mile (2 miles of canal + 1 lock = one hour).

the lovely thing about travelling 3 miles an hour is you enjoy all the canal has to offer. it is such a relaxed pace....but your mind stays focused at the same time. we most likely will be living on our boat later this year. it really is a fantastic way of life.

we most likely will be living on our boat later this year. it really is a fantastic way of life.

My boyfriend and I are coming up on one year of living in our Dutch barge now (albeit on a completely different scale to a narrowboat, like comparing a hen's egg to an ostrich's!) and it really is a great way of life. The community in our mooring is absolutely a dream come true, and the DIY and ropes and systems and pumping in and pumping out is a lot of work but we really think it's worth all the hassle!

(we have a blog if anyone's interested in living aboard and what we get up to!)