Lots of folk ask me about hiring a narrowboat for a holiday so I thought I’d make a video about it. By coincidence, friends and fellow YouTubers Greg & Lou Virgoe, and John & Mandy, had decided to book a week’s hire – their first time on a narrowboat – so I tagged along to document the hiring handover.
At the end of May 2021, I attended a narrowboat trials day arranged by boat builder Ortomarine. Starting on the River Severn and going up the Droitwich canals, eight boats using a variety of power plants would have their fuel, efficiency and any solar input measured and compared. This video summarises what happened and the results.
The canals are an oasis of calm, peace and tranquility – and now of culture too, as The Piano Boat brings concert-hall level classical concerts to the inland waterways, courtesy Masa Tayama and Rhiana Henderson. Join me as I talk to them about the project, the hurdles they’ve had to overcome and their plans.
On May 29th this year, I was lucky enough to be invited to join Alan, Tina and Richard of NB Wobbly, to travel in convoy across The Wash with Jo, Michael and Lorna on NB Perseverance. This is quite an adventurous crossing for a narrowboat as they’re designed only for the flat calm waters of the canals or small rivers – and The Wash is pretty much open sea.
Partly because of a leak and partly because I never liked the tiles anyway, I have refurbished my shower cubicle with shower panels, stuck over the old tiles. This is the tale of how I did it.
Whether you’re a solo narrowboater or have plenty of crew aboard, there’s no doubt that at busy and long canal lock flights, a team of helpful volunteer lock-keepers can be a blessing to help you through. I spent a couple of days at Fradley Junction near Lichfield, talking to the volunteers as they prepare for the new boating season, and they explained what they do and why they do it.
Some footage filmed from summer-winter last year that I have now compiled, about the new cratch board and cratch cover I had made.
In part to prove I’m still alive, a brief selection of snowy scenes from the marina this morning.
A fireside chat where I update you on what my plans are for 2021 – which starts with taking a break for a couple of months.
I did a video about this very early on when I got the boat but I’ve changed the components since then so here’s the updated version.