The Inland Waterways Helmsman’s Certificate may sound a bit of a mouthful, but these one or two day courses are both useful and fun, with the whole accent on teaching you practical boat-handling and waterway techniques. We tried out a narrowboat course, then one on a river cruiser, finally finishing with the International Certificate of Competence, necessary if you intend cruising European waterways boat may wish to acquire some prior experience.

Top Lock Training offer narrowboat courses, either from their base at Marple in Cheshire, at the junction of the Macclesfield and Peak Forest Canals, or on your own boat if based locally. The company is run by Malcolm and Alison Allcard, and Malcolm has been a qualified RYA approved instructor for three years. Although the course assumes that student has no experience, it can also be beneficial for more experienced boaters.

They have two boats they can use, a purpose-built 55ft narrowboat, or a 33ft boat, and will offer you either, depending on your wishes.

Prior to setting off Malcolm helped prepare us for the course. He asked how much boating experience I had, and whether I would prefer the 55ft or the 33ft boat. He also made sure we were wearing the right clothing. It is important to be warm, dry and comfortable, as you are going to be spending many hours at the helm. In
fact on our day it was rain that was the problem, sheeting down almost continuously from leaden Pennine skies.

Lifejackets are the next decision. There is no hard and fast ruling on whether you should wear these on canals. At Top Lock they insist you wear them when working round locks, as they point out that the water in a filling lock is full of air-bubbles, which makes it less dense, and even less likely to support your weight. Since we had brought our own, we opted to wear them all the time. With wet decks, and a long, cold day in prospect, this seemed a sensible precaution.

At Canal Boat we use the automatic inflatable variety, as they are unobtrusive, do not hamper your movements, yet will give full protection should you fall in, even if you knock your head and are unconscious.

So the first of the pre-trip checks was to make sure the lifejacket is not damaged, and the gas canister is primed for use.

Malcolm then went through the rest of the safety checks. He talked about such matters as checking the gas, first aid, knowing where the fire extinguishers are and how to use them. He suggested that if you have a mobile phone that you keep it somewhere on the boat and not on your person, as if you fall in it is not much use any more. He also advised against walking along the side of the boat, pointing out that it is safer to walk though the boat at all times, and that you should avoid fending the boat off with your hands or feet.

He then handed us a piece of paper,
with four basic principles of
narrowboat handling:

• The boat pivots at the centre
(Most narrowboats pivot at about
1/3 to 1/2 along the boat, an
important point to remember when
manoeuvring).
• No gear - no steer
(you have no control of the boat
when the engine is in neutral).
• Limit damage
• Expect the unexpected

We were then ready to go. Malcolm showed us how to cast off without pushing off from the bank, by letting the bow ropes go, then reversing with a stern spring line to pull the bow out.

We were now ready to take set off along the Macclesfield Canal. The first hour was spent steering and getting used to the boat. One of its advantages is that it does not have a full-length cabin, so the helmsman has a good view of how the bow is responding.

We then practised stopping quickly, for example when meeting another boat coming through a bridge. On my previous boating holidays, this had always resulted in panic, going into full reverse, and ending up sideways across the cut. So we then practised thoroughly going gently into reverse, then going ahead, applying as little power as possible to keep the boat steady on course.

Then it was on to the bogey of all narrowboats - reversing. We have all been told it is impossible to drive a narrowboat astern in a straight line, but after half an hour of Malcolm’s patient instruction we were pointing our stern wherever we wanted to go - magic!

This was followed by coming alongside, with the basic ropework skills you need to moor up.

By this time it was time to turn round, firstly in a winding hole, then for good measure at a junction.

On the way back we were taught the procedures if you should go aground, with the boat pole left firmly in its place on the roof all the time.

After lunch we set off to go through the Marple Flight of locks on the Peak Forest Canal. Here we were joined by Ken Cook, who helps with the training courses. Whilst one student drives the boat, supervised by Malcolm, Ken instructs the other person in lock operation. He explained how a lock works, and the correct way to use them. How to hold the windlass properly and how to operate the ratchets, avoiding damage to your fingers.

Suddenly Malcolm stepped of and told me to take the boat through on my own. This was the first time I had been in sole charge of 55ft of narrowboat, and the fact that he considered I was capable of handling it was a tremendous boost to my confidence, and the highlight of the
day.

In fact if he does not think that a pupil is capable of handling the boat on their own, he will not give them a Certificate. And just to emphasise the point, the Editor was told to put his camera down for five minutes to show that he could stop the boat, turn it round, and bring it alongside. No paper without proof!

After this we were given plenty of chances to try mooring the boat, plus demonstrations of the different types of knots that could be used. Although I was beginning to wonder if I would ever remember any of them, they were all described in the excellent detailed Course Manual we were to receive later.

We then went back into the house where we discussed the day and received our Certificates.

Our time aboard had been excellent - we had covered a lot of ground, and I had gained mountains of confidence.

Malcolm has endless patience and had always listened to any concerns.

Courses can be run for single people, though two is the preferred number, because you learn from each other, and you may be invited to double up. For this reason they also suggest couples come together, even when one may be more experienced than the other. Three can come as a group.

If you have no experience they recommend a two-day course, with possibly one-day if you know something about the subject.