South Staffordshire Narrowboat Co Ltd

 

 

 

National Community Boats Association

Operating the Ernest Thomas II Narrowboat

Providing day trips for the elderly, disabled & youth groups

Bookings: 01902 896 733

 

South Staffordshire Narrowboat Company
The Queens Award for Voluntary Service

Welcome

Where we go

Booking

Conditions

History

Photos

Volunteers

Contacts and

Links

 

©  South Staffordshire Narrowboat Co Ltd 2019 Registered Charity No 1000868

 

Supported by voluntary contributions

 

Member of the National Community Boats Association

Kendall and Wall customer using the lift to get off the boat
Ernest Thomas II along the Stafs and Worcs Canal
Ernest Thomas II narrow boat moored
Ernest Thomas II main cabin
Engelberg NResidential Home trip

Volunteers

The South Staffordshire Narrowboat Company Ltd is run entirely by volunteers who freely give of their time to provide day trips on the canal, which we believe benefits our passengers. Some of the volunteers operate the boat, and may take out a dozen or more trips a year, whilst others are involved in the general maintenance, painting, etcetera and rarely, if ever, steer the boat. Without them the cost of running trips could be prohibitive to some of the groups that we take out.

Our volunteers come in all shapes and sizes. The majority are male and over fifty, but there are several ladies who are actively involved. Many of the team have been, or still are, boat owners, with many years of experience on the canals. Frequently they are retired and can therefore give lots of time to the boat, but others have full time jobs, which means that they can only be actively involved at weekends.

They come from all spheres of society. We have engineers, doctors, accountants, landscape gardeners, electricians, builders, retired and the unemployed.

The boat is always operated by at least two crew members, one of whom is designated to be the skipper. All of them have received training in how to operate the boat in a safe manner and are familiar with all emergency procedures. Some of them are holders of a Boatmaster’s Licence and others hold the Certificate in Community Boat Management, a qualification required by the Marine and Coastguard Agency. As an Accredited Training Centre we are able to train any new volunteers up to the required standard.