Lovely day out today (due to the company as well - kept me warm 
), pottered from Mountsorrel, up to a pub at Normanton - Upon - Soar, had a nice meal & pottered back. Bit cold, but nice day out. Any other Narrowboaters on here? I’m seriousley considering buying one to live aboard and am not that far off being able to afford my first used boat. I borrow my landlady’s as and when I require it, she’s happy to have it run, the oil circulated round the enine and the batteries charged so I just put back what fuel I’ve used and a bit more to keep her sweet. Be interested to see if their’s any other “boatpeople” on here .
Liberace ,
Ive been thinking about about giving it a try.
A few months ago I completed a one day Helmsmans Course , then last month I tried to spend a week end on the Lancaster ( but couldnt book a boat ).
I will try a quick weekend early next year , and if I like it then perhaps a weeks holiday.If I were to get hooked , then a share in a boat is a possibility…the next step of owning a boat ( alone ) isnt on the cards and ,full time liveaboard would point me in the direction of a Divorce court.!
I will give it a shot , before I can tempt my wife to try it.
I envy you…I found the boating during my one days course very relaxing.
Regards…Steady T.
My wife and daughter and I have been on the L & L from Chorley to Leeds and back, in hire boats, over two holidays. Me and my Mrs have also been from Worsley to Chester and back on a hire boat.
I have tried to get on a helmsmans course as well, but the nearest centre is miles away from here and they can never give me enough notice.
I don’t really think that you need much training anyway. If you can reverse a 45 foot trailer onto a bay, you can drive a narrowboat. After all, you can see where you are going with the boat and it reacts very quickly, unlike a trailer 
. All it takes is a bit of care and taking things slower to start with.
A pretty good site for info and links is Here. The webmaster is a freelance writer with Waterways World Mag’.
I would recommend hiring a boat for a weeks holiday. They are really expensive over the school holiday periods but are more reasonable out of the peak periods. The weather can be a bit of a downer, the main point, as far as I am concerned, is enjoying the journey for the journeys sake. If you set yourself a schedule, you will put yourself under stress trying to keep to it. Getting away from stress is the whole point of a holiday.
Not a narrowboater , but have always fancied living on one. i know a couple of full timers who work nearby the moorings but they go to the pub in their house on a sunday 
My passion is sailing boats. yachts rather than dinghys. I want to continue my studies and get a yachtmaster and navigation certificate. I tried an AA road atlas but it just didn’t give the exact results we wanted
Any yachting people here. Gin on the poop at 6 bells 
Not a yachty mate. I was an RYA Windsurfing Instructor for a long time though. I started when I lived in Cyprus and carried it on when I moved to Germany. About 9 years in total.
I became an open sea instructor, then did the competition instructors add-on, then when they changed the system became a level 3 and competition instructor.
I’ve got a shelf full of cups from the competitions I raced in, every flaming one a silver 
.
If I ever get the chance, I’ll take it up again, but I never seem to be home at the right time and have too much else to do when I am.