Self drive boat hire
Discussion
Hey guys,
Looking for a weekend away with the o/h with a difference in late august!
Rather than the standard hotel route I thought it would be cool to hire a boat for the weekend with some sleeping space and cruise the river for the weekend!
Anyone on here got a boat they hire out or any recommendations?
Can travel almost anywhere although thames would be ideal!
Thanks
Looking for a weekend away with the o/h with a difference in late august!
Rather than the standard hotel route I thought it would be cool to hire a boat for the weekend with some sleeping space and cruise the river for the weekend!
Anyone on here got a boat they hire out or any recommendations?
Can travel almost anywhere although thames would be ideal!
Thanks
The biggest operators are Blakes and Hoseasons, but there are also many smaller boatyards you can Google for.
Apart from location, the main decision is cruiser or narrowboat; either way I'd suggest you go for at least 4-berth which will give you extra room for luggage and/or save you having to fold down the table to make the bed.
Narrowboats are all aft-cockpit and tiller steering; cruisers can be front, centre or aft cockpit and have a wheel which you may find easier. Personally I like to be able to sit down but have my head in the open air (in many cruisers the helmsman is effectively stuck indoors!) but have a sliding roof in case it rains. Look carefully at the plans.
Finally, leave your internet 3G mobile satnav phone at home - because you can surf and text at home and this supposed to be a holiday - and take some wholesome board games instead. The two finest sounds of the day are the clink of mooring stakes being hammered in and the rattle of the drinks cupboard
Apart from location, the main decision is cruiser or narrowboat; either way I'd suggest you go for at least 4-berth which will give you extra room for luggage and/or save you having to fold down the table to make the bed.
Narrowboats are all aft-cockpit and tiller steering; cruisers can be front, centre or aft cockpit and have a wheel which you may find easier. Personally I like to be able to sit down but have my head in the open air (in many cruisers the helmsman is effectively stuck indoors!) but have a sliding roof in case it rains. Look carefully at the plans.
Finally, leave your internet 3G mobile satnav phone at home - because you can surf and text at home and this supposed to be a holiday - and take some wholesome board games instead. The two finest sounds of the day are the clink of mooring stakes being hammered in and the rattle of the drinks cupboard
My family has used Blakes many times for boating holidays from the norfolk broads to the aire and calder canal in Yorkshire.
http://www.blakes.co.uk/Web/Blakes/HomePage.aspx
As said before go for a 4 berth if there is the two of you as it could become very cosy otherwise.
It is also illegal to drink and drive your boat in the same way it is illegal to drink and drive a car.
http://www.blakes.co.uk/Web/Blakes/HomePage.aspx
As said before go for a 4 berth if there is the two of you as it could become very cosy otherwise.
It is also illegal to drink and drive your boat in the same way it is illegal to drink and drive a car.
sherman said:
My family has used Blakes many times for boating holidays from the norfolk broads to the aire and calder canal in Yorkshire.
http://www.blakes.co.uk/Web/Blakes/HomePage.aspx
As said before go for a 4 berth if there is the two of you as it could become very cosy otherwise.
It is also illegal to drink and drive your boat in the same way it is illegal to drink and drive a car.
Not at sea it's not!http://www.blakes.co.uk/Web/Blakes/HomePage.aspx
As said before go for a 4 berth if there is the two of you as it could become very cosy otherwise.
It is also illegal to drink and drive your boat in the same way it is illegal to drink and drive a car.
Get as pissed as you like in the English Channel. Then when you get pulled over, you can say "hello offishker, what's goin' on 'ere then", followed by a childish snigger.
They won't be too impressed, but neither can they do much about it.
One of our few liberties left.
maser_spyder said:
Not at sea it's not!
Get as pissed as you like in the English Channel. Then when you get pulled over, you can say "hello offishker, what's goin' on 'ere then", followed by a childish snigger.
They won't be too impressed, but neither can they do much about it.
One of our few liberties left.
We still come under the maritime laws that states you should be in control of your vessel so childish sniggers aside, passing out would probably be pushing your luck. Get as pissed as you like in the English Channel. Then when you get pulled over, you can say "hello offishker, what's goin' on 'ere then", followed by a childish snigger.
They won't be too impressed, but neither can they do much about it.
One of our few liberties left.
sherman said:
It is also illegal to drink and drive your boat in the same way it is illegal to drink and drive a car.
Indeed beware, there are numerous river police hiding in bushes and on the waterways, they sometimes also have 'un-marked' boats the same way CID has unmarked cars on the roads, ready to catch and prosecute reckless boatsman who are drinking more than 2.4 units. Congestion is getting so bad these days that random stops are happening all the time and breathalyzers are rife on the waterways.
However this is a good thing though, as it has now stopped people from being run over and accidents on the waterways have been halved since these laws have been enforced. The Thames stretch between Reading and Shepperton has only claimed 300 lives this year due to excessive drinking which is a 1/4 of the number it used to be before these drinking laws were in place.
I for one have never consumed any alcohol on the river and it is obviously a good idea to make a direct comparison with the roads
m0ssy said:
sherman said:
It is also illegal to drink and drive your boat in the same way it is illegal to drink and drive a car.
Indeed beware, there are numerous river police hiding in bushes and on the waterways, they sometimes also have 'un-marked' boats the same way CID has unmarked cars on the roads, ready to catch and prosecute reckless boatsman who are drinking more than 2.4 units. Congestion is getting so bad these days that random stops are happening all the time and breathalyzers are rife on the waterways.
However this is a good thing though, as it has now stopped people from being run over and accidents on the waterways have been halved since these laws have been enforced. The Thames stretch between Reading and Shepperton has only claimed 300 lives this year due to excessive drinking which is a 1/4 of the number it used to be before these drinking laws were in place.
I for one have never consumed any alcohol on the river and it is obviously a good idea to make a direct comparison with the roads
There is no legislation relating to boating that clarifies an acceptable limit and what Labour wanted to do never got past the consultation stage so we are still left with the old laws of drunk in control of a vessel.
For a prosecution to take place it would be down to the authority to prove that you were incapable of controlling the vessel and were placing it or persons at risk by your actions.
As there is no statutory right to require a breath or blood specimen or an offence of refusal they would have to rely on subjective observation or maybe the fact that you had just run over a set of sea cadets whilst singing a slurred sea shanty.
Even if you were daft enough to provide a specimen the onus would still be on the authority to prove that the level was sufficient to dangerously impair judgement or ability as no legislation is in place to dictate a safe / not safe level.
This is all good as far as Simpo is concerned as he needs a stiff drink before venturing to cross the wake of a sailing dinghy let alone go out to sea.
Someone is confusing 'daily allowance' with 'blood alcohol level' I think - it the latter that decides how legally sozzled you are.
Mind you I recently watched an Environment Agency working boat with barge alongside steer a decidedly pished course on the Old West and as I watched was astonished to see it strike a moored boat a glancing blow!
The photo below shows an excellent example of safe cruising. The river (perhaps ditch is a fair description) is totally calm (Simpo State 0) because there is no nasty wind. Furthermore both banks are within touching distance *at the same time*. This allows easy escape to dry land if required, for example if under concerted attack by killer moorhen.
MOTORVATOR said:
we are still left with the old laws of drunk in control of a vessel.
That's all you need IMHO.Mind you I recently watched an Environment Agency working boat with barge alongside steer a decidedly pished course on the Old West and as I watched was astonished to see it strike a moored boat a glancing blow!
MOTORVATOR said:
This is all good as far as Simpo is concerned as he needs a stiff drink before venturing to cross the wake of a sailing dinghy let alone go out to sea.
In times of such danger I'd prefer to remain sober such that I can quickly find the flares to summon a helicopter and find a knife to cut the tender loose from the sinking vessel... this also means I can give the bottle to my rescuers as a thankyou The photo below shows an excellent example of safe cruising. The river (perhaps ditch is a fair description) is totally calm (Simpo State 0) because there is no nasty wind. Furthermore both banks are within touching distance *at the same time*. This allows easy escape to dry land if required, for example if under concerted attack by killer moorhen.
Edited by Simpo Two on Thursday 14th July 10:23
Simpo Two said:
In times of such danger I'd prefer to remain sober such that I can quickly find the flares to summon a helicopter and find a knife to cut the tender loose from the sinking vessel... this also means I can give the bottle to my rescuers as a thankyou
Couldn't you just walk to the bank? Simpo Two said:
Someone is confusing 'daily allowance' with 'blood alcohol level' I think - it the latter that decides how legally sozzled you are.
Mind you I recently watched an Environment Agency working boat with barge alongside steer a decidedly pished course on the Old West and as I watched was astonished to see it strike a moored boat a glancing blow!
Personaly? I follow the guidance of The Royal Navy. When on boats, as long as I have consumed no more than a gallon of beer/half a pint of rum per day (obviously if food is involved, a touch more) than I'm happy MOTORVATOR said:
we are still left with the old laws of drunk in control of a vessel.
That's all you need IMHO.Mind you I recently watched an Environment Agency working boat with barge alongside steer a decidedly pished course on the Old West and as I watched was astonished to see it strike a moored boat a glancing blow!
MOTORVATOR said:
This is all good as far as Simpo is concerned as he needs a stiff drink before venturing to cross the wake of a sailing dinghy let alone go out to sea.
In times of such danger I'd prefer to remain sober such that I can quickly find the flares to summon a helicopter and find a knife to cut the tender loose from the sinking vessel... this also means I can give the bottle to my rescuers as a thankyou 
MOTORVATOR said:
That 2.4 units is the crux Jon.
There is no legislation relating to boating that clarifies an acceptable limit and what Labour wanted to do never got past the consultation stage so we are still left with the old laws of drunk in control of a vessel.
For a prosecution to take place it would be down to the authority to prove that you were incapable of controlling the vessel and were placing it or persons at risk by your actions.
As there is no statutory right to require a breath or blood specimen or an offence of refusal they would have to rely on subjective observation or maybe the fact that you had just run over a set of sea cadets whilst singing a slurred sea shanty.
Even if you were daft enough to provide a specimen the onus would still be on the authority to prove that the level was sufficient to dangerously impair judgement or ability as no legislation is in place to dictate a safe / not safe level.
This is all good as far as Simpo is concerned as he needs a stiff drink before venturing to cross the wake of a sailing dinghy let alone go out to sea.
errm sarcasm, tongue in cheek, eye rolls and winks are an indication of the intent of my post. Plus.... 300 people killed on the river? comeon motorvator, simpo get with the program There is no legislation relating to boating that clarifies an acceptable limit and what Labour wanted to do never got past the consultation stage so we are still left with the old laws of drunk in control of a vessel.
For a prosecution to take place it would be down to the authority to prove that you were incapable of controlling the vessel and were placing it or persons at risk by your actions.
As there is no statutory right to require a breath or blood specimen or an offence of refusal they would have to rely on subjective observation or maybe the fact that you had just run over a set of sea cadets whilst singing a slurred sea shanty.
Even if you were daft enough to provide a specimen the onus would still be on the authority to prove that the level was sufficient to dangerously impair judgement or ability as no legislation is in place to dictate a safe / not safe level.
This is all good as far as Simpo is concerned as he needs a stiff drink before venturing to cross the wake of a sailing dinghy let alone go out to sea.
TVR1 said:
Simpo Two said:
Someone is confusing 'daily allowance' with 'blood alcohol level' I think - it the latter that decides how legally sozzled you are.
Mind you I recently watched an Environment Agency working boat with barge alongside steer a decidedly pished course on the Old West and as I watched was astonished to see it strike a moored boat a glancing blow!
Personaly? I follow the guidance of The Royal Navy. When on boats, as long as I have consumed no more than a gallon of beer/half a pint of rum per day (obviously if food is involved, a touch more) than I'm happy MOTORVATOR said:
we are still left with the old laws of drunk in control of a vessel.
That's all you need IMHO.Mind you I recently watched an Environment Agency working boat with barge alongside steer a decidedly pished course on the Old West and as I watched was astonished to see it strike a moored boat a glancing blow!
MOTORVATOR said:
This is all good as far as Simpo is concerned as he needs a stiff drink before venturing to cross the wake of a sailing dinghy let alone go out to sea.
In times of such danger I'd prefer to remain sober such that I can quickly find the flares to summon a helicopter and find a knife to cut the tender loose from the sinking vessel... this also means I can give the bottle to my rescuers as a thankyou 
dr_gn said:
Simpo Two said:
The two finest sounds of the day are the clink of mooring stakes being hammered in and the rattle of the drinks cupboard
Doesn't that imply that Simpo Two advocates mooring the boat *before* consuming alcohol ? 
Fat Albert said:
In this case if you run aground you can simply get everyone on board to drink all of the alcohol and then urinate over the side, reducing the weight and increasing the water depth simultaneously
Good lateral thinking!But as alcohol is lighter than water would the boat get heavier as you peed?
I've seen a picture of a boat somewhere, named "Sir Roses Of The River"
I did a round the world yacht thingy back in 94-95, and there where 30 odd yachts taking part.
We where sat ashore in a bar somewhere like Tonga, I can't exactly remember
, and one of the participants at a table adjacent to ours, holding another conversation, obviously about this subject, leaned over and said "you Guys run a dry boat don't you?"
One of our Crew dryly replied, "Oh yes, we pump the bilges every day!"
I did a round the world yacht thingy back in 94-95, and there where 30 odd yachts taking part.
We where sat ashore in a bar somewhere like Tonga, I can't exactly remember
, and one of the participants at a table adjacent to ours, holding another conversation, obviously about this subject, leaned over and said "you Guys run a dry boat don't you?"One of our Crew dryly replied, "Oh yes, we pump the bilges every day!"
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