Caledonian canal - a good introduction for a reluctant boater?

Danny Jo

Danny Jo

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. . . and do I really need to shell out £130 for a boat safety certificate?

My dear wife was thoroughly put off sailing by some shenanigans with me and three small children in a hired 30-foot AWB on lake Okanagan, British Columbia, some 20 years ago. (I made the mistake of handling a squall in the same way as one would in a dinghy - I mean, what's a little bit of water over the rail?)

She had vowed never to set foot on Freestyle, but I noticed her resolve waver last October when I announced I was sailing in fair weather to Bardsey - a place she longs to visit. In retrospect it was a good thing she didn't come, because getting back over Caernarfon bar in the dark, to beat the bad weather forecast, was difficult.

Thinking that some motoring on flat water would build her confidence, I asked whether she fancied a holiday in Scotland this year. "Where would we stay?" she asked. "Erm, on the boat, in the Caledonian canal," said I, a little hesitantly. "We could stay in a different place every night, it would cost less than B&Bs, and we would be in our own place." Much to my surprise, she agreed.

Now I find that in addition to the canal fee (about £190 one way), I need a boat safety certificate (£100 for the inspection, £30 for the certificate). On the other hand, the charge for staying in the canal over the 8 days allowed is only about £6 per day, which sounds like an absolute bargain.

Any tips or advice will be gratefully received.
 
You could be tempting fate here - a few years ago I saw a Westerly Centaur knocked flat by a katabatic gust on Loch Ness opposite Dores.....
 
Now I find that in addition to the canal fee (about £190 one way), I need a boat safety certificate (£100 for the inspection, £30 for the certificate).
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You seem to either not be telling us the whole story or you are misinformed.

Do you think all those foreigners,fishing boats and small naval ships have BSS Safety Certificates.

I think you will find you are allowed a total of 50 days in the canal in 12 months without a certificate. You are certainly allowed long enough for a two week holiday and I suspect thet the certificate might not be needed for vessels left in the basin near the sea lock.

No doubt reading the skippers notes will confirm however I believe that so long as you do not exceed the allowed period then no certifacate is required.

Your boat may be inspected at the sea locks for obvious electrical and other falts.
 
No you really don't. According to Scottish Waterways:


'In purchasing a Short Term Licence, you agree to allow our
people to carry out a safety check at any reasonable time.
If the Boat spends more than fifty-six days on our Waterways in
any one year, it must have a certificate to show compliance with
the Boat Safety Scheme requirements or a declaration of
conformity with the EU’s Recreational Craft Directive. '

HTH
 
[ QUOTE ]
You seem to either not be telling us the whole story or you are misinformed.

[/ QUOTE ] Thanks. But you've missed out the third alternative, that I have misread the information available. I'm not sure which it is, because I've revisited the site and failed to find the information I was reading yesterday. But I did find this: [ QUOTE ]
Owners using the canal for more than 28 consecutive
days must get a Boat Safety Certificate.
Boats using the canal for less than 28 consecutive
days will need to pass a (free) Dangerous Boat spot
check carried out by a person authorised by British
Waterways. The boat will be checked to see there is
no: • leaking fuel • leaking gas • damage to electrical
cables • no imminent danger of capsize or sinking.
We will require a Boat Safety Certificate to be produced [my emphasis] [edit, whoops, somehow deleted end of sentence which follows] for further licences.

[/ QUOTE ] Does that mean I can't use the Crinan to go home?
 
I have travelled through the canal around 8 times now, a couple of times I have purchased their 30 day ticket and have not needed a safety certificate. One word of caution however do watch out for the holidaymakers who have hired a cruiser for the week with little or no previous experience. Always let them into the lock first and follow carefully behind. Expect the worst to happen when these boats are approaching a lock or pontoon - it often does. Despite these occasional hazards the canal is a beautiful place for a holiday. I never tire of its spectacular scenery and love the journey through every time.
 
A friend took his wife on the canal and sailed up Loch Ness. It was wet, windy and unpleasant and she retired to her bunk in a panic. She never went sailing with him again! Loch Ness can be quite nasty now and again but the canal bits and smaller lochs are idyllic. On out way back from the Caribbean we went through and both agreed it was as beautiful as anything we had seen in our year away.
 
Would you consider the Crinan Canal? Some peeps could join by car, there's lots of interest nearby, and excellent tea and scones at the far end. In gentle motor-sailing weather, and well-sheltered behind the many islands, there's lots more to enjoy. Especially eating ashore when the mood strikes....

It occurs that this could be much more interesting than Ra Callie Canal.

If that seems a possibility, the Choochter Ascendency would, no doubt, be most willing to advise and welcome you both.

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Would you consider the Crinan Canal?

[/ QUOTE ] Thanks for the suggestion (and apologies if you saw my first reply - I completely misread your post). I do want to "do" the Crinan sometime, and I really enjoyed last years cruising up the Sound of Jura to Oban. It makes a lot of sense as a first trip out for SWMBO - especially as there would be no monsters to contend with.

As for the Choochter Ascendency, I think I'm going to have to resort to a PM.
 
Lakes between mountains are notoriously squally...

Also I don't understand your figures £190 + £100 +£30 = £320 / 8 = £40/day + £6 / day ??.

John
 
I agree about the hire boat avoidance tactic (oops!):
184200950_03b1bf8e59.jpg


...but the Caledonian Canal is beautiful and very easy to pass through. All the locks are operated for you - unlike the Crinan Canal where you need to provide your own elbow grease! Both are stunning but the Caledonian Canal offers the opportunity for a holiday which the Crinan doesn't (if you want to stay in the canal).

We did not need a safety inspection when we went through, and that's on a 50 year old wooden boat that looks a bit dodgy!

Freeestyle - hope you do it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Also I don't understand your figures £190 + £100 +£30 = £320 / 8 = £40/day + £6 / day ??.

[/ QUOTE ] That's me, I'm afraid - a master of ambiguity: " . . . the charge for staying in the canal over the 8 days allowed is only about £6 per day . . . " (For over read beyond.)

I should perhaps have made clear that my "cheaper than B&Bs" statement was made before I had looked at the actual costs, which for the first 8 days looks surprisingly similar to B&Bs for a couple sharing.

Knowing now that I don't need a boat safety certificate, it works out at about £24 per day for the first 8 days and £6 per day thereafter.
 
I can think of two ways to reduce the cost:
<ul type="square"> [*]Take your good lady with you on the return trip which qualifies for a 10% discount [*]Tell BW you're a charity burning obscene quantities of bio-diesel for no good purpose (worked for "Earth Race") [/list]
On a slightly more serious vein - my wife was intending to join me through the canal last September. She too is allergic to boats heeling and rough weather. I was glad she was otherwise occupied as I whistled up Loch Lochy and Loch Ness at hull speed under rolled genoa. Remember over half the length is relatively open water with high land on both sides.
 
Does that mean I can't use the Crinan to go home?
***********************************************

I believe you are allowed 2 periods of 28 consecutive days in any year. I would need to read the books to see if they lay down a period between these periods.

Yes you can do the circuit as you have 56 days to play with and are allowed a maximum of 4 weeks in one visit.

This does not usually present a problem for those that regularly do the circuit.
 
You could be tempting fate here - a few years ago I saw a Westerly Centaur knocked flat by a katabatic gust on Loch Ness opposite Dores.....
**************************..*******************

This is always a problem in waters surrounded by steep hills....Need the same precautions if you go sailing up Norwegian fjiords
 
The wind up Loch Ness tends to blow up it or down it, so the chance of an idyllic beam reach is unlikely. Also it does funnel the weather so it can be fairly strong. There used to be a couple of Fishers for hire at St Augustus - so when you have to 'beat' back up the loch, the iron topsail can take the stress out of it, especially with an unsure family. No idea what boats are around at the moment.

Also, don't take weather (even in 'the summer') for granted!

Lovely area though.
 
For prices, have a look at British Waterways website . You would be looking for a short term licence. One option to consider is the 1 month licence. This is valid for all Scottish canals, and would enable you to pass through the Crinan Canal as well. In fact, given reasonable weather, you could use the Crinan on bothe the outward and return trips, and have a fortnight on the Caledonian Canal.

I live just beyond the NE end of the Caledonian Canal, and use it most years to go to the West Coast. Its a beautiful trip, and well worth a visit, but note that Loch Ness can get pretty rough in strong winds.

As others have mentioned, you won't need a BSS certificate for a trip of this duration. In theory, the lock keepers at either end can come aboard to check that you are not about to blow up or sink. In practice, I've never been inspected. I think they have that power to enable them to weed out anything that looks really dodgy.
 
And don't forget to tell the wife:- don't worry about the monster in Loch Ness /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
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