canal boats

[Nils Dahl]

Some years ago when my kids were small and I was a divorced Saturday father I was introduced to a watersports club in Islington, London.
The kids got bored as kids do but I was hooked and got into canoeing and sailling big time.
Through these activities i was introduced to another club in Hackney who ran three narrowboats as a community project for schools and interested people from the local community.
They were good enough to offer me a job with the exalted title of skipper with the boats.
I spent the next year pottering around the canals of London carrying schoolkids and teachers in the day time and hire parties evenings and weekends.
I had a great time although it could be tiring with long hours and demanding adults but it was all a part of the job and i wasn't complaining.
The other skipper had an interesting but embarrasing experience, for him anyway.
He was one of those guys who was shy around women, sexually inexperienced and for his age, fairly naive.
Anyway he had a weekend booking with a mixed group, men and women who, after the first night in the pub all got undressed and into bed with each other and were having group sex.
Men with women, women with women, men with men and chopping and changing.
As there were no individual cabins he couldn't miss what was happening.
When he got up to ask them to stop,they thought he was jealous and asked him to join them.
He was so shocked he left them to it and got a taxi home.
I had to go and pick up the boat the next day, minus the group

[Lou Barron]

First of all Vernonif you do ever get the chance to go on any of the canals TAKE IT its well worth it as for you NILS i have had the pleasure of boating on the REGENT CANAL stating at CAMDEN TOWNbut never got mixed up in any hankey pankey but that was in the day time

[Nils Dahl]

unfortunately charles, nor did I

[Wagga]

I used to own a canal boat called Lizzie Anne. I bought it jointly with my father in 1982. I was in the Royal Navy at the time and I was on board the boat when I heard that the Falklands had been invaded. I was on leave and because there were no mobile phones available at the time, a Policeman was sent to look for me along the towpath! I got the shock of my life when he found me in Wigan Locks.

I nervously wandered up the towpath with 10p in my hand to find a phone box. To my surprise, I was allowed to continue my holiday as it was only a few days to go.

If you are interested in finding out what happened next then have a look at my Autobiography, "Running For Home", Amazon Kindle Store. You can down load it on computer and also read the first few chapters for free.

[Tony Morcom]

Out of respect to all those who perished on the Royston Grange, all the posts that aren't duplicated have been moved to the appropriate thread thus leaving this thread for its intended purpose i.e. discussion about canal boats. All other unnecessary posts have been deleted to end the matter.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Inland voyage of discovery: Unique photos capture last generation to work Britain's industrial canals:

Hopefully this may be of interested to many ?

They were once vital industrial routes used to supply coal to Britain's biggest mines and home to hundreds of workers.

But now relegated to leisure use, a unique collection of photos of Britain's canals give a rare insight into lives of the last generation to work the inland waterways.

The new exhibition, An Inland Voyage, at the London Canal Museum includes pictures from the late 1940s and early 1950s before the use of the waterways changed forever.

LINK: Inland voyage of discovery: Unique photos capture last generation to work Britain's industrial canals | Mail Online

K.

[David Williams]

Eight berth,£900.00,thats a great price,
just over £100.00 each.
dave Williams.
PS Unless you were paying it all yourself.

[Don Rafferty]

First of all Vernonif you do ever get the chance to go on any of the canals TAKE IT its well worth it as for you NILS i have had the pleasure of boating on the REGENT CANAL stating at CAMDEN TOWNbut never got mixed up in any hankey pankey but that was in the day time

Got to fully endorse that comment...............out of everything that floats, the most fun, the most pleasure and the most relaxation has been on the canals.

[Calvin Kent]

Have a friend owns a narrow boat so borrow it for a few weeks most years. The main drawback is having to be berthed by noon in order to get the better berths alongside a pub. Oh happy days.

[colin twine]

i traveled down to the vidicatrix reuion this year by boat ( avery small one) river avon then the seven on to the sharpness canal had a great time stopped off at loads of drinking holes