Boating In Britian

Introduction:
Britain is blessed with some 3,000 miles of navigable rivers, canals and lakes. Rivers are generally quite wide,  are subject to a flow of current,  have few locks, and where there are locks, such as on the River Thames, these are usually fairly wide, allowing the passage of boats of a wider beam (ie width)

Britain’s canals on the other hand are mostly quite narrow, with mainly unmanned locks only some 7 feet wide, thus restricting their use to boats with a narrow beam.

Lakes, such as those in the Lake District, or in Broadland, are not subject to any restrictions in terms of  a boat’s beam or draught (the depth of the boat under water) nor are they subject to tides, or currents although the larger lakes can become quite choppy in windy weather.

A wide variety of boats are to be found on Britain’s inland waterways, amongst which the following are most commonly seen:

On rivers and lakes there are many wide-beam cruisers, specifically designed for use on inland waterways – usually these have plenty of deck-space, and have a centre steering position (known as the cockpit), but some have the steering position forward (ie at the front) and many smaller ones have the steering position aft (ie at the back) The larger ones are usually powered by inboard engines, mainly diesel engines, while many of the smaller ones have outboard engines. You may also come across sea-going or estuary cruisers which are more powerful, better equipped for longer voyages and these days are often steered from a “fly-bridge” which is a secondary steering position on top of the cabin. This arrangement is fine on larger rivers and estuaries where there are no low bridges, but this, and their wide beam restricts their use of narrow rivers and canals.

There are also many smaller boats, many of which can be trailed behind a car, and these include small narrow-beam canal cruisers and estuary-going outboard cruisers. 

Concerns for the environment, and to reduce noise pollution too, electric-powered boats are becoming more popular, although at present most of these are “day-boats” without sleeping accommodation.

Of course the most environmentally friendly boats of all are those powered by the wind – ie sailing cruisers and sailing dinghies. I was brought up, and first learned to sail, on the Norfolk Broads where there are large stretches of open water to enjoy “clean wind” un-affected by trees on the river banks, so sailing is mainly popular only on wide rivers such as the lower reaches of the Thames, or in areas such as the Lake District or the Norfolk Broads, or on large reservoirs where dinghy sailing and racing is popular. 

Probably the most interesting craft to be found on inland waterways are the traditional  “Narrowboats”
measuring up to 70 feet long, steered from a position right aft (ie at the back) powered these
days by diesel engines and often beautifully and imaginatively decorated.

On wider waterways you may also come across varieties of former working barges, nowadays often converted to use as a floating and mobile home – these include traditional Thames barges, Peniche’s from France and Dutch Barges – however these are all wide-beam craft which restricts their use to wider rivers and lakes.

Operating a boat, whether it’s your own or a hired one, on Britain’s inland waterways isn’t difficult, and varies little from operating one on the vast network of European inland waterways, and in most cases it’s actually easier because Britains inland waterways are nowadays almost exclusively used by pleasure craft whereas the larger European rivers and canals are shared with commercial traffic and in some cases, on rivers such as the Rhone, the Seine or the Rhine,  navigating on them can  be quite challenging because of strong tides and lots of lots large commercial craft. The main consideration on Britain’s canals is the fact that, unlike most European waterways, most locks in the UK are un-manned meaning you need to operate them yourselves.

If you are a beginner in terms of boating then you might like to refer to our “Boating Basics” Guide, which although written mainly with those hiring boats on the mostly wider inland waterways of France in mind is nevertheless very useful for anyone new to boating on inland waterways anywhere.