AHOY THERE CAPTAIN

Ahoy captain!

Mary divulges how three women on a narrow boat got on recently

FOXTON LOCKS; MOST of us have visited and if we haven’t we’ve heard of them, and if you haven’t you should have as they are quite beautiful and an iconic sight. The largest run of locks in the world, 10 locks split into two lots of five locks which rise feet up the hillside, and right on our doorstep.

I’m quite fascinated by them and every month when we drop maga ines o hope that someone is in the lock so can have a quick gawp. And goodness knows why, because I’m claustrophobic and think I’d struggle when the boat is at the bottom of the empty lock; I want to have a go at them.

What I didn’t realise was that you don’t have to work the locks yourself (and that would be the fun/hard bit) as there are volunteers and lock keepers, particularly throughout the summer, who will operate the lock gates for you so all the boat owner needs to do is drive into the lock. There’s even someone to tether and feed the rope as the boat goes up and down so you can manage it alone. It takes almost an hour to get through all 10 locks and that’s without any delays or having to wait for another boat.

Undeterred, for almost three years I have been on at Kate and Lisa that we need to take a canal boat out and that it would be even better if we could spend the night on one. Lisa looks at me with utter horror every time I raise the subject as she is not keen on water, nor camping.

Covid came and went and eventually we got ourselves organised. Courtesy of Foxton Boat Services we had a boat for the day. Three women on a boat! So no overnighter, much to Lisa’s relief and we weren’t allowed to head north through the locks which, as we only had a day, made perfect sense and as we didn’t know what we were doing, probably even more sense.

We decided prior to boarding that we would head to Market Harborough so we would be on the final section of the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal which extended the line just over five miles from Debdale Wharf in 1809 and terminates at Market Harborough. ut first of all we had to learn how to handle a narrow boat. Kate and I had been on narrow boats, but decades ago. Lisa had never been on one; so complete amateurs all of us.

Sam Matts from Foxton Boat Services showed us round the boat and gave us clear and precise instructions. How to use the loo, boil the kettle - simple. Then turn the engine on, put boat into drive, how to steer, locate the ropes for tying up, the pole for fending o and learn the rules of the canal, and we were not to go on the roof. Apart from the roof these instructions were a bit more complicated; nothing insurmountable but we needed to concentrate.

You steer a narrow boat from the back. The driver stands at the tiller and I can assure you, despite our boat only being 36 feet long it’s a long way to the other end. To put it into perspective, our boat was half the length of the maximum boat allowed on this canal which is 2 feet. nd all narrow boats are 6ft 10in wide. That might seem narrow, but I can assure you at times it does not feel narrow at all. And the most important thing of all, which we chanted all day; lefty righty; righty lefty. Basically if you want to go left your steer right and vice versa. Sounds oh so simple, and it is - most of the time. A lengthy narrow boat takes a long time to change direction; they do not turn on a sixpence. But as Sam told us, our boat was half the length of a traditional narrow boat so twice as responsive and twice as manoeuvrable.

You stay in the middle of the canal whilst cruising as this is where the deepest water is. We had to slow down if we passed any moored craft from slow to dead slow and if you met another boat you do the same. And, vital this, with any oncoming traffic, you pass to the right so the port side (left)

of your boat is alongside their port side.

And that was about it. Oh yes, there was a universal key in the galley which must stay on the boat at all times and we needed it 10 minutes down the canal as there was a swing bridge we had to operate to get the boat through. What???? s ate was nearest the tiller she was first to steer. we set, very cautiously and slowly. Our maximum speed was 4mph; we were not doing that. We are three very capable women who run a successful company and produce a magazine every month; surely we are capable of handling a boat? Of course we are.

We motored serenely along with Kate getting more comfortable with the steering and, slightly longer than 10 minutes later (we were going very slowly) we got to the bollards on the tow path where we had to tie up to negotiate the swing bridge. We had decided that Kate would stay onboard and do the steering. would hop o and hold the boat on the rope (at this stage I was paranoid about losing the boat) and Lisa would work the swing bridge. And this is what we did. Kate managed to throw me a rope that wasn’t attached to the boat and we hadn’t realised how heavy the bridge was, but all rookie errors. Swinging the bridge meant the road was closed so we had an audience. nd then we were o again. ur biggest hurdle had been negotiated successfully and wasn’t too stressful. We were all surprised how narrow the canal was and were a bit concerned about how tight passing another boat would be. But onwards and upwards.

And then it was my turn to steer. Righty lefty, lefty righty all the way and on this quiet stretch I quite quickly got the hang of it, working the steering out and how long it took the boat to actually change direction. By now we were up to full speed and me being me found this frustratingly slow. But once I accepted it (there’s nothing you can do to go faster anyway) I could feel the stress levels drop, breathing calm and life slowed down. Slow travel has a lot going for it, meandering down a canal is relaxing, waving at dog walkers and other boaters. There was time to watch the lambs, spot the moorhens, watch the red kites, listen to the woodpecker, spot the ducklings and enjoy the scenery.

We had calmed down enough to be able to enjoy a cup of tea and some co ee cake whilst we motored towards Market Harborough. It was interesting to go under the bridges and talk about how in the old days a horse would have been pulling us along.

We all had a go at steering and encountered a few hazards. Passing other boats is tricky because the canal is very shallow when you pull into the sides. We grounded the boat a couple of times so had to use the pole to push ourselves o . That was not easy as the pole was long and unwieldy. It would have been easier to be able to nip down to the front of the boat to fend it o but the runners (if that’s what they are called) on the side of our hire boat were extremely narrow and we didn’t have a paddle anyway. But we managed with a bit of teamwork and brute force; and there was no shouting.

I managed to collide with a boat we were passing because righty lefty went out of the window at just the wrong moment, but no harm was done. We knew we had to turn the boat round when we got to the basin at Market Harborough as the canal ends there. We decided we would turn round before mooring for lunch and there were a few tense moments worrying about it. But there was no need. Kate executed a perfect circle in the middle of the basin just like the pros we now were and we were able to admire the gardens of the Market Harborough canal side properties before we moored for a spot of lunch. It had taken us nearly three hours to travel five miles and now we needed to head back.

We were all very surprised that this part of the canal was quite bendy, so you had to concentrate on the steering. Apparently it follows the contours of the land hence avoiding more locks. And that swing bridge on the way back? By now we were experts. Lisa and I did the swinging, Kate drove and all the cars and mothers and children coming out of school were amazed at our skill!

The boats are available for day hire from 9.30am-5pm for up to 12 people and cost £175 mid week or £220 at weekends and holidays. Foxton Boat Services Ltd 0116 279 2285

The life of a water gypsy

It’s all very well taking a narrow boat out for the day, or even spending a few nights on one. But what’s it like making one your permanent home? Mary finds out from Sarah Kennedy

SARAH AND SHANE Kennedy lived in Market Harborough and often used to come to Foxton to Route 61 for a drink. ‘We lived in the middle of the town so it was nice to come out here and relax,’ says Sarah. Both had pretty stressful jobs, Shane working at Gartree prison. ‘We used to watch the boats and decided that we would rent our house out when we retired and live on a boat for a while.’ A pipe dream maybe, but everyone needs them and why not dream?

Shane and Sarah had never even been on a narrow boat so it really would be a big leap of faith. Sarah had been brought up on the south coast with sea-going yachts, with the family having a boat on the Isle of Wight. ‘We spent a lot of time on it, sleeping on it too.’

This intrepid pair did have experience of camping though. ‘When we met we had a VW Camper van before we bought a house together so we both enjoyed camping and the nomadic life. We weren’t afraid of roughing it.’

They did lots of research, five years of planning, visiting boat shows and chatting to people who permanently lived on narrow boats.

And then fate took over; Shane became seriously ill. ‘That was it for me,’ says Sarah. ‘I knew it was now or never so I became the driving force behind it all. We sold our house and found a boat. And then both fell through.’ Undeterred the pair decided to try again and completed on their house sale, then moved into bed and breakfast at The Bell in Husbands Bosworth whilst they found a boat.

‘We had been in the house for 11 years so had a lot of stu to get rid of. We were o oading our possessions, including to our adult daughters. One of them had a shed so we were able to store a lot of stu in there until we knew what we were doing.’

Twelve weeks later they had bought a boat and their life was about to change. ‘We knew what we wanted; a 65-70 foot old, converted boat with a fixed bed which went across the boat. We didn’t want a bath and there were a few other provisos. Of course we ended up with the complete opposite! hane spotted her first, online. said no straight away. he was brand new, only feet with a non fixed bed. Shane persuaded me so we went to have a look. She was in the Evesham marina. As soon as I walked onboard I knew it was our boat. If felt just like a home, just right. She was an empty shell with a kitchen and bathroom and I knew that we could make her ours and there was so much we could add. Welcome to Tus Nua which is Irish for new beginning.’

With an 0,000 budget they did the deal and set o to Evesham marina to bring her home. That’s when the adventures began. ‘We had the joy of moving it! Neither of us had driven one before and it took us a week to bring it up

the River Avon to Stratford and on to the Grand Union canal which is where we are. It was hard going. I could feel every muscle. We didn’t know what we were doing so over heated the engine and managed to ground the boat as well. was doing a lot of walking with the dog, mainly to get o the boat and give us both some space. Whilst doing this at Warwick I got chatting to a couple on a boat and they gave us so much advice. They got us back on track, helped Shane with the engine, fed us and sent us on our way. And they have been lovely friends ever since.’

Shane and Sarah then spent six months continuously cruising. Mooring licences vary. A continuous cruising one means you can moor for up to two weeks in the same spot but then have to move on. They had intended to moor at South Kilworth in the new marina as it is near both their daughters but decided that it wasn’t for them as the boats were moored too close together. ‘It just wasn’t what we wanted.’

They had made friends at Foxton so when their mooring came up they went for it. This was a leisure mooring which means that as long as either the boat or the occupants move o at some point they can stay permanently. They come o their mooring, often for weeks at a time until the end of September when they will then settle for the winter. They chose this mooring as it has a nice garden so they can have some sheds for storage and can sit out. No one walks past it and it’s peaceful and quiet. They have access to running water, electricity and there’s an Elson point too (for emptying the toilet). There are nine boats altogether here and a strong community.

Sarah works from home so with good internet connections can work from anywhere on the canal. Shane works locally but they manage to move their car (remember you don’t travel far in a day on a boat) so he can access it. Or he uses a bike.

Living on a boat is definitely cheaper than living in a house but there are certain provisos to meet and costs, hidden ones as well. You have to bid for your mooring. The Kennedy’s cost about £2,500, this is an annual fee. Once you have your mooring no one else can use it and you can’t sub let it. You have to have a river licence which is charged per the length of the boat. The Kennedy’s is over £1,000 a year. Obviously the boat must be insured (no insurance no licence) and every four years the boat has to be taken out of the water and blacked, and a safety certificate is also needed every four years. ‘There is always something that needs doing on a boat, maintenance-wise and Shane in particular quickly learnt to be very handy.’ You don’t pay council tax, and electricity is much cheaper as there’s no standing charge and most of the usage is only 12 volt. Fire and carbon monoxide poisoning are two major hazards on a boat.

Virtually all narrow boat residents moor for the winter. It’s obviously not pleasant sailing in the rain and the wind can be a real problem, blowing you against the bank constantly. ‘I have never been cold on the boat,’ says Sarah. ‘She’s well insulated and we have a multi fuel stove that we light towards the end of September (depending on the weather) and keep lit until March. We don’t su er with condensation as we keep the boat well ventilated. It gets very hot in the summer though so cooking onboard is kept to a minimum.’

Shane and Sarah learnt an awful lot in those early years but have literally taken to life on board like a duck to water (sorry couldn’t resist that). They have all mod cons including a washing machine and have even got to grips with the toilet and showering facilities. ‘These can be a deal breaker.’

‘There are bad times. If it’s very cold or wet it’s not pleasant filling up with water or emptying the loo and that’s doubled if you are ill. So yes, it does get tough and winters are the worst but only if you make it so be positive and adapt. We love living afloat. ou are close to nature, very aware of the seasons and weather and we would never go back to living in a house.’