Cruising Information
A narrowboat holiday takes you back through time on waterways mainly
built 200 years ago. They have unique features which make for a
fascinating journey.
Locks
Locks are a great opportunity to meet people and discuss the route
ahead. You will receive some instructions on lock operations at
your boat base, but for now, here's a quick guide.
To raise or lower your boat through a gradient, you take it into
the lock chamber which has gates at either end. Close the gates
then fill or empty the lock by raising or lowering 'paddles' or
small trap doors with an L-shaped winder (windlass). When the chamber
is completely full or empty, you push the solid wood balance beams
to lever the gates open.
You can't rush locks - each takes about 15 minutes - so there's
plenty of time to get it right. And when you've taken your boat
through two or three, you'll be wielding a windlass like an expert.
When going through narrow bridges the boat nearest the bridge
has priority. Aqueducts
give spectacular views over the surrounding countryside. Tunnels
are part of the fun of boating, and can vary from a few boat's
lengths upwards.
 Speed
Many routes are possible from each base. They vary from the
very leisurely, where no more than 4 hours need be spent in motion,
to the more energetic, which can mean travelling times of around
8 hours each day. On average your boat will travel at 4 miles
per hour, with a lock taking 15-20 minutes.
Four hours of cruising a day enables you to cover about 80-100
miles in a week with plenty of time for shore leave.
 Things
to do
The canals and rivers team with fish, and coarse angling is free
in Ireland. All around
there are animals and birds, and natural flora and fauna.
Golfers can enjoy any of the magnificent courses for which Ireland
is renowned.
See other pages in the Narrowboats section for further details
of boats and canals.
See also the Royal Canal and the Shannon-Erne
route pages for further details on routes.
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