Tips on how to have good narrowboating manners

The waterways look set to be very busy this summer, so it’s more important than ever to have good boating manners.

Tuition is included in all our holiday packages. During your boat handover, as well as showing you how to operate your boat, our boat yard staff will explain the rules and how to navigate the waterways in a considerate way.

Here are our tips on how to share the space and be kind:

Considerate mooring

Be considerate to householders and moorers in nearby boats – avoid running your engine to charge your batteries or make hot water between 8pm and 8am, keep the music and TV volume down, and don’t come home late from the pub talking loudly. Sound travels amazingly well over water.
Shuffle up and share at visitor moorings – don’t leave big gaps between boats when you moor up
Don’t moor up next to locks, bridges or bends – this makes navigating the canals harder for others
Keep reasonable cruising hours – try not to push the envelope on cruising times. So don’t set off too early or carry on too late. We suggest mooring up by around 6pm.

Watch your speed

Keep your speed in check – the maximum speed on our waterways is 4mph. Ways to check you aren’t speeding, include making sure you aren’t creating breaking wash, and someone walking reasonably briskly on the towpath should be able to overtake you.
Don’t rock the boat – slow right down to tick-over when passing moored boats, so you don’t cause unnecessary movement and tipping
Don’t bang into other boats – however narrow the channel or strong the wind, you really shouldn’t biff other boats. If you do misjudge it, and someone yells at you, don’t make it worse by answering back. Just say you are sorry.

Take steps to save water

Share locks whenever possible
Make sure you close all lock gates and gate paddles
When you moor for the night in a short length between two locks, check that all the paddles on the lock below you really are fully closed. Otherwise you’ll end up having to call the Canal & River Trust out in the middle of the night when the water has gone down and your boat is tilting.

There’s more information on boating etiquette in The Boaters’ Handbook and video https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/boating/a-guide-to-boating/boaters-handbook