Rochdale/Huddersfield Narrow ring hotel or skippered boat ideas

[Albion]

I am doing a bit of research for a friend of mine who has a terminal illness and, as a result, is in a fairly weakened condition. He and his wife have their own boat but doing this ring would be much too strenuous in his present state of health. What they are looking for is, ideally, a skippered boat where the skipper does the moving in the daytime and then leaves them for the evening/night to self cater (they have seen this idea elsewhere which is what gave them the idea) or a hotel boat with a small number of guests that could do this ring this summer. He is trying to fulfil as much of his canal bucket list as he can, while he can. Does any forum member know of such an operation that can/could/will do the ring this summer please?

Roger

[NickF]

Wow that's a big trip and hard work for a skipper! You would need a very active crew as well as a skipper. Also I know the Rochdale is in a bad way at the moment after the dreadful floods, I am not sure anyone knows when it will be open again.

 

I know http://www.wanderingduck.co.uk/sometime go into that area but I don't think they would do a ring.

 

Just another idea you could hire a Shire Cruiser and advertise on here for a free trip for a skipper and crew to take you round! Or even two shire cruisers so you have privacy when moored.

 

http://www.shirecruisers.co.uk/index.php

 

I have just noticed Wandering Duck is 70ft so they certainly couldn't do the ring.

Edited January 11, 2016 by NickF

[David Mack]

Hotelboat Earlswood did a number of trips over the Rochdale and Huddersfield in 2015. Their 2016 schedule isn't on the website yet, but maybe worth contacting them.

http://www.classicwaterwayholidays.co.uk/routes.php

[NickF]

Hotelboat Earlswood did a number of trips over the Rochdale and Huddersfield in 2015. Their 2016 schedule isn't on the website yet, but maybe worth contacting them.

http://www.classicwaterwayholidays.co.uk/routes.php

Interesting.... I had not seen them before, I see their boat is 70ft so that rules out doing the whole ring, you would have to do the Rochdale or the Huddersfield but not both as Earlswood will not fit on The Calder and Hebble or the Huddersfield Broad.

[Peter X]

The really energetic part is operating all those locks. If the OP's friend and his wife can live with the idea of a crew member sleeping on the boat, I'd love to do this trip this summer, subject only to avoiding one or two dates already fixed in my calendar. I've crewed for various people on this forum over the last year, and can take over steering when required. I think I've learned enough by now to single hand the whole trip, but it sounds as if the couple are still fit enough to helm the boat in the locks which would make it easier for me. Please PM me if this idea has legs!

 

Another possibility, more costly but you get the boat to yourselves overnight, is to find a professional skipper based in the area who will quote you to turn up for an agreed period each day to move you. There are a few people who do this I think, the going rate being maybe £100 per day, a bit more if they also supply an assistant to do the locks.

 

The Rochdale (and the Calder and Hebble) do indeed have serious unplanned stoppages at the moment, including a landslip into the canal near Todmorden and the collapsed bridge at Elland Bridge.

We saw some of the less serious ones as they happened on my trip on part of the Rochdale over Christmas as crew for Emerald Fox. See this:

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=81519

However I suspect CRT will find a way to get them open by the spring, not least so as to enable Shire Cruisers at Sowerby Bridge to fulfil their bookings.

[Albion]

The really energetic part is operating all those locks. If the OP's friend and his wife can live with the idea of a crew member sleeping on the boat, I'd love to do this trip this summer, subject only to avoiding one or two dates already fixed in my calendar. I've crewed for various people on this forum over the last year, and can take over steering when required. I think I've learned enough by now to single hand the whole trip, but it sounds as if the couple are still fit enough to helm the boat in the locks which would make it easier for me. Please PM me if this idea has legs!

 

Another possibility, more costly but you get the boat to yourselves overnight, is to find a professional skipper based in the area who will quote you to turn up for an agreed period each day to move you. There are a few people who do this I think, the going rate being maybe £100 per day, a bit more if they also supply an assistant to do the locks.

 

The Rochdale (and the Calder and Hebble) do indeed have serious unplanned stoppages at the moment, including a landslip into the canal near Todmorden and the collapsed bridge at Elland Bridge.

We saw some of the less serious ones as they happened on my trip on part of the Rochdale over Christmas as crew for Emerald Fox. See this:

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=81519

However I suspect CRT will find a way to get them open by the spring, not least so as to enable Shire Cruisers at Sowerby Bridge to fulfil their bookings.

Thanks everyone for your helpful comments so far. I will certainly forward the suggestions, and your offer of help Peter X as that may be a solution. They are both very capable of steering the boat and his wife would be capable of helping with locks as much as any lady just into her 70s is able to do. In 2010 she helped us move our new build Sagar barge from Brighouse to Newark Marina so the conditions oop north don't faze them. They have many years of narrow boating experience so that aspect is covered. It is just the physical aspect of a very arduous ring that is defeating them. We would help them ourselves if we were in the country but, unfortunately, we shall be boating in France in the summer as we normally do.

Careful monitoring of the repairs to the infrastructure will be essential of course but the Elland Bridge is probably the crucial stoppage with regards to length of repair time.

Roger

[Rod a mod from Tod]

Wow that's a big trip and hard work for a skipper! You would need a very active crew as well as a skipper. Also I know the Rochdale is in a bad way at the moment after the dreadful floods, I am not sure anyone knows when it will be open again.

 

I know http://www.wanderingduck.co.uk/sometime go into that area but I don't think they would do a ring.

 

Just another idea you could hire a Shire Cruiser and advertise on here for a free trip for a skipper and crew to take you round! Or even two shire cruisers so you have privacy when moored.

 

http://www.shirecruisers.co.uk/index.php

 

I have just noticed Wandering Duck is 70ft so they certainly couldn't do the ring.

Well i can quite easily steer and organize crew for the whole of the Rochdale canal leg and we'd get the bus/train home each evening. It starts to get more awkward and time consuming on the rest. Long shot i know but if some others can muck in on the other bits it could happen.

 

Where do your friends keep their boat? Is it to far to get it into the vicinity?

[Albion]

Well i can quite easily steer and organize crew for the whole of the Rochdale canal leg and we'd get the bus/train home each evening. It starts to get more awkward and time consuming on the rest. Long shot i know but if some others can muck in on the other bits it could happen.

 

Where do your friends keep their boat? Is it to far to get it into the vicinity?

That's kind of you and I will certainly mention it. It is all in the planning stage at the moment and is somewhat dependent on the results of a recent scan before they can flick the on-switch for the rest of this year's bucket list wishes. Their boat is moored on the Droitwich and is a 62ft Hudson which might make things a bit tight IIRC. When he was stronger they did do the whole of the Leeds and Liverpool but it was tight in places of course.

Roger

[Mac of Cygnet]

If the boat is really 62ft, with the front and back fenders up, then I'm afraid it will definitely not be able to do the ring. Your best bet is the Shire Cruisers suggestion, and Nigel Stevens may well be able to suggest someone to do the skippering/hard work, perhaps from among his permanent moorers.

[Peter X]

Yes, you're going to need a slightly shorter boat. I've read that the Calder & Hebble includes the shortest locks on the system, and would expect because of where they're based that all Shire Cruisers' boats will be an appropriate length.

[IanD]

Why not hire a boat from Shire and look for another couple (with enough free time) to share the trip with? Probably easier and more sociable -- the Shire boats are very comfortable for 2 couples with no need to convert the living area for sleeping every night.

[Albion]

Thanks all. I have passed all your suggestions and offers of help on. Yes, their own boat is too long for the trip and also the trip to get it there would be too arduous now. Shire look to be the only sensible solution.

Roger

[NickF]

Thanks all. I have passed all your suggestions and offers of help on. Yes, their own boat is too long for the trip and also the trip to get it there would be too arduous now. Shire look to be the only sensible solution.

Roger

I have used Shire Cruisers twice and reckon they are probably one of the best hire companies there is. My only tip would be that they still have a few boats powered by old air cooled lister engines which are very noisy by modern standards. Make sure you hire one with a newer water cooled engine. The ones with water cooled engines all say so in the specification on their website. (That is obviously a personal opinion, it may not be important to others)

 

All their boats are 57ft or less so are short enough for all the locks,

 

I hope it all works out for your friend.