Narrowboat/Canal Boat Hire for Barge Holidays at Barton Turns, Staffordshire, UK        ***Houseboats now also available***
Boat Rental Canal World Forum Find a Holiday Inside the Narrowboats Inside the Houseboats Faq's and Notes Links	Route Planning  Range One of the first things you need to consider is range, or the distance the boat is capable of travelling in the allotted time.Narrowboats generally will have a maximum speed (legal) of 4mph, a typical cruising speed of 3mph and a practical speed of nearer 2mph over a day once locks etc have been taken into account. You also need to establish the number of hours you are likely to be travelling each day. Dawn to dusk at peak summer you may have 15 hours of daylight, in the winter months you may have half of that ( timeshare and hire boats are not fitted with navigation lights and therefore not allowed to travel after dusk ) . Allowances also have to be made for stops at shops, pubs places of interest etc… Assuming this is a holiday rather than a record breaking attempt, allow time for it to be just that, so that you are not having to work dawn to dusk on the return just to get back to the marina on time.  Maps & Guides Maps and guides you will find on the boat, but a little forward planning before arrival will help you make the most of you holiday. A  large map covering the general layout of the canal system  can help to put things in perspective and help sort out circuits ( preferable to turning the boat around and coming back by the same route. While guide books will give an accurate descriptions of the canal, advice on problems you might face as well as locations of facilities such as water points, waste disposal skips, shops and  pubs etc. While several companies produce guides the two main ones are by NICHOLSON and J.M. PEARSON & SONS. NICHOLSON guides are based on OS maps, which can be useful in trying to relate to say road maps and tend to cover larger areas per book than the J.M. PEARSON & SONS books, though detail can be small and difficult to read in poor light. J.M. PEARSON & SONS. guides are based on stylised line maps, also include major local features such as roads post offices etc…  Both provide a lot of information and are quite suitable for the purpose. My personal preference is for the J.M. PEARSON & SONS. guides as I find the layout easier to follow when you suddenly come across an unexpected  junction and have to make a decision on the spot, though do not be confused by the fact that north is not always towards the top of the page! Another option for the computer orientated is a useful bit of software called Canal Planner http://www.canalplanner.com  not quite as easy to use as Autoroute but still useful and with a lot of information available. Local information Any printed information runs the risk of being out of date and is limited to the editors view of things at the time the book was put together, so any local or more topical information you can get is always useful. Obviously having a chat with the marina staff before leaving is a good idea. Pay particular attention to the conditions of any river you might cross ( is the Trent in flood? ) or any planned maintenance on local locks. Canal forums such as http://www.canalworld.net  are also useful and can put you in touch with people who have cruised the canal recently or people who actually live on the canal. Also check the British waterways site http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk  particularly restrictions and stoppages http://www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages   Personal preferences Do get the party together before you leave and get some idea of the group’s interests. If you want to spend a day at  Drayton Manor or the Black Country Museum that is a day not travelling and you have to make allowances for that in your schedule.  Review Progress The best laid plans of mice and men fall apart so keep an eye on your progress. Weather conditions such as strong winds or heavy rain can impact badly on progress as can long waits at popular locks or similar delays. If  you are doing a circuit set a point of  “no return” about half way through your holiday, reviewing progress before that point so that you can at need  turn around, if it becomes obvious the circuit is going to be too much of a challenge.