Questions about canal boat holiday hire

Answers to any questions you might have about a canal boat holiday with Crest Narrowboats should be answered below, however if you can't find the answers you're looking for please email or call us.

How can I make a booking?
You can either reserve your boat on-line, by telephone or by completing the booking form in our brochure. We require 25% deposit to confirm the booking, with the balance due 8 weeks before your departure date.
Once you submit the booking form on-line or sign the booking form in the brochure, you are then entering a legal contract and will be liable for the full cost of the holiday. It is recommended that you protect yourself by taking out our cancellation protection scheme, which will cover the cost of cancellation due to sickness or accident.

What is included in the hire charge?
A full inventory list is available here and the hire charge also includes gas, bed linen and VAT.

What is the Damage Waiver?
The Damage Waiver Scheme fee of £45 covers you in the event of damage, loss or accident to your narrowboat or its inventory during your holiday. It is non-refundable and avoids the requirement for a damage deposit payment of £500 to cover the insurance excess pending any claims.
Exclusions:
1. Speeding (reported or witnessed. The limit is 4mph).
2. Malicious, negligent or intentional damage to the boat, its inventory, third party property, the canal and its structures.
3. Damage to the rudder, skeg or transmission due to cill damage in a lock.
4. Return of the boat late or in an unclean condition.
In the event of any of the above being reported, we shall claim
the full cost of repairs, replacement or compensation.

What time is the boat available from?
Boats are available between 2.30pm and 4pm or from 9.30am on Wednesday departures. Boats should be returned and vacated by 9.30am, or 2.30pm on Tuesday returns. If a boat is returned late or unclean, it will cause a delay for the
next hirer. In this event, we reserve the right to charge additional costs.

Can I bring my pet? Well behaved pets are welcome, but please keep them off the furniture and bedding. There is a charge of £25 each and no more than 2 dogs please.

Can I bring my bike or canoe?
Both are welcome, but do be careful of storage on your holiday if you put them on the roof, as they can get pulled off by bridges or trees.

Can I charge my laptop and mobile?
There is a 12v socket on each narrowboat and inverters are also available to hire from the base, allowing you to use a normal plug (max 100 watts).

Will I have to fill up with diesel and water?
The narrowboat has a 100 gallon water tank which should be refilled daily from water points along the canal. Diesel fuel will be charged upon return of the boat and the cost per litre will be slightly lower than supermarket prices. (2010 – average cost £10-12 per day). The boats will typically use between 1.2-1.7 litres per hour depending on driving style. The central heating systems are oil fired, which will also use diesel during colder periods.

How do I get to the base?
Directions and information on public transport to Chirk Marina and Festival Park Marina hire bases are included in our base information sheets, which are sent out with your booking confirmation.

Where can I park my car?
All of our hire bases have free car parking, but we are unable to accept responsibility for loss or damage to customer’s vehicles.

Can I buy a map?
We provide a range of maps which are available to order on the booking form prior to departure. Additional guides and maps including Waterways World and Lockmaster Gateway series are available at our bases along with souvenirs.

Are bedding and towels provided?
For every fixed bed we provide an interior sprung mattress, duvet and cover, a pillow and pillow case, a mattress protector and sheet. For beds made up in the evening in the lounge area, we also provide bedding. We provide one towel per customer.

Can I hire a buoyancy aid?
Each narrowboat is equipped with a life-ring and buoyancy aids are available free of charge. These come in four sizes to suit toddlers to adults and will be individually fitted before you leave.

Can I go fishing?
Fishing is allowed on rivers and canals provided you have an Environment Agency rod licence, which is available on-line or from any post office (except when fishing is prohibited on rivers between 15th March and 15th June). Many clubs will not object to fishing from narrow boats but some may require you to buy a day ticket.

How old are your boats?
We introduce new boats regularly and retire our older boats giving us a young hire fleet (2005 currently our oldest narrowboat)

Do you sell your boats?
As we regularly renew our fleet, a selection of our boats are retired at the end of each season. For more information please click here.