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Booking Conditions
Bookings Officer: Graham Hetherington
LNBP, PO Box 170, Gravesend DA13 0WE
Phone & Fax: 0870 240 6724
Email: gh.lnbp@virgin.net
Choosing Your Booking
1)
Skippered Bookings. We provide a qualified skipper to accompany your group. Our skipper can show you the ropes and help to make the most of your group’s time away - whether you are planning a holiday booking or one with social and educational objectives. The group must provide at least two adults per boat for the duration of the booking. Our skipper has a separate cabin on board and there is accommodation for a group of a MAXIMUM of 12 persons on board.
2) Self-Steer Bookings. It is possible to book our boats without having an accompanying skipper. Some of the more experienced leaders prefer this. We refer to this as ‘self-steering’ and it is only allowed when we have formally approved at least one of the adults on each boat in the group as a “Self-Steerer”. To become a self-steerer you must hold a valid Certificate in Community Boat Management [CCBM], or higher award. Often, all the adults with the group attend such a course before their hire. This person must be on board for the whole booking. In addition to the approved Self-Steerer, there must be at least one other adult on each boat for the duration of the booking. The rule of a MAXIMUM of 12 persons in the group still applies, and includes the self-steer skipper(s).
3)
Combination Bookings The number of persons in your group may require 2 or more boats and the above requirements apply to each boat: that is, each boat must have either skipper or an approved self-steerer together with at least another adult on board for the whole booking period. A Combination Booking is when there is one Project skipper and one self-steerer on each boat. This can be very re-assuring for a ‘new’ self-steerer.
Hirers
1)
LNBP does not accept bookings from hirers under the age of 18 years, nor will it approve a person under the age of 18 years as a self-steerer. Accompanying adults must be 18 years or over.
2) Hirers are not permitted to use the boats for sub-letting, for financial gain or any form of fee paying activites.
3)
In cases where the group contains handicapped members, the hirer will need to increase the number of accompanying adults to a satisfactory level. We do not have wheelchair access, nor can we accommodate severe physical handicaps.
4)
The children must not be younger than 8 years of age. Each boat has 2/3 cabins and can accommodate mixed sexes without embarrassment.
5)
The maximum number permitted on any boat at any one time is twelve persons [INCLUSIVE of accompanying adults and accompanying self-steerers, but exclusive of a skipper engaged by LNBP, who alone may constitute the thirteenth person]. This applies even to day visitors whilst the boat is moored and visitors from another boat if working in pairs.
6)
LNBP reserves the right not to accept a booking from, or to hand over a boat to, any person or organisation which it considers to be unsuitable and reserves the right not to give a reason for such action.
7)
All hires of six or more days MUST submit their cruise plan beforehand, and have this agreed.
Making a Booking
1)
LNBP will confirm your booking on return of the form and receipt of the Booking / Security Deposit of £25 per boat. The balance of the £100 deposit must be paid with the charge [at least] 1 month before departure.
2)
Payment must be completed not less than ONE MONTH before the start of the booking.
3)
Within 28 days after the hire period, LNBP will refund to the hirer the Booking / Security Deposit paid, less any extra costs incurred and / or costs of damage to, or losses of LNBP’s property, or that of a third party making a claim against LNBP during or as a result of the booking concerned. The total of such deductions, if any, shall be determined by LNBP at its sole discretion.
Cancellation
The hirer is free to cancel the booking at any time by writing to LNBP. The £25 part of the Booking / Security Deposit will not be refundable. You are advised to take out insurance cover against the possibility of cancellation; this could be due to illness of the leader, for example.
Financial Assistance
Covered by the Hire Charge
·
A suitably qualified skipper [unless a self-steer group]
·
Hire of the boat, gas, fuel for unlimited mileage
·
Toilet holding tanks pumped-out, and the boat fully cleaned
·
Use of the comprehensive inventory including buoyancy aids and pillows. See Inventory on Board
Not Covered by the Hire Charge
·
Additional toilet holding tank pump-outs. Tanks should be adequate for about 5 days. Additional pump-outs must be paid for by the group at the time, and as needed. Current cost is about £12 per tank and there are two tanks on each boat
·
Travel to and from the location of the boats
·
Provision of food / activities during the booking
·
Insurance for cancellation of the booking, for luggage or personal accident
Inventory on Board
......
All crockery, cutlery, cooking implements and utensils
·
Pillows are provided together with pillow cases
·
There is an emergency first-aid box and torch in skippers cabin
·
All boat equipment - gang-plank, shaft, boat hook, mooring pins, windlasses
·
A small library of canal books and maps
· Buoyancy Aids – these must be collected from the store before departure
With our skipper on board
All LNBP skippers are qualified, trained and experienced and come from all walks of life. They are able to provide an excellent service and have detailed knowledge of the boats and the routes.
Details of your booking are sent to skippers, who will contact you to discuss arrangements. This is the time to discuss the route, or any special requirements. You will find them anxious to make your booking as safe and enjoyable as possible. The Executive Committee of LNBP holds the skipper responsible for the safe navigation and use of the boat and for the safety of the groups on board.
Hirers are expected to support the skipper by carrying out lawful instructions he or she may give.
Every skipper enjoys the confidence of LNBP and we must therefore invest in the skipper the power to take overall charge during a booking, even to restrict cruising, or end a booking early.
Our skipper WILL
·
give instructions about safety
·
advise on routes / timing and so on
·
maintain the mechanical operation of the boat
·
operate the boat - with the help of your crew.
The crew will be encouraged to learn how to steer, work the locks, moor up and so on.
Our skipper WILL NOT
·
act as a minder, to enable the adults to go off on their own
·
organise the children / youngsters themselves, except for ‘boating’ purposes
·
do the cooking, washing-up or general cleaning except as to give advice as to the standard etc.
Please establish any eating arrangements with the skipper at the outset of the trip.
Skipper’s Privacy
Many of our hirers make real friends with the skippers. But a word of advice - please remember that this will be an exciting and challenging time for the group, but it is a serious job of work for our skipper. The skipper will need some time off during the day and the privacy of the skipper’s cabin must be respected.
Cleaning
Please endeavour to leave the boat as clean and tidy as you find it. In the interests of health and safety, some cleaning each day, as well as a ‘final’ clean, keeps the whole thing under control.
Self Steering
Once a self-steer has been assessed and holds a valid CCBM, the self-steerer remains on our list and provided there is no accident or damage incurred, there is no need to attend further courses during the validity period of their certificate.
Getting more adults trained makes further bookings for your group easier, and should be regarded as an investment.
Responsibilities of the Self-Steerer
·
Before departure, the self-steerer is required to fit out each member of the group [adults included] with a suitable buoyancy aid from the store. These are then carried on board.
·
During the booking, the self-steerer is responsible for the safe navigation and use of the boat, and the safety of the group.
·
The self-steerer skipper is required to complete the report at the conclusion of the booking
·
The self-steerer skipper must also report any accidents or incidents. Nil reports are required.
·
The self-steerer is required to regularly check and maintain the boat systems, including potential toilet pump-out situations.
·
The self-steerer skipper is responsible for contacting the boat yard in the event of untoward circumstances or mechanical failure.
Responsibilities of the Hirer
·
Before departure, the hirer checks the boat and inventory, noting any damage or defects. The hirer must return the boat in the same condition in which it was accepted.
·
The boat(s) WILL NOT BE READY FOR DEPARTURE UNTIL:
13.00 HOURS ON A MONDAY
17.00 HOURS ON A FRIDAY
This is NOT a flexible arrangement.
·
Your Group MUST keep clear of the boat(s) until given permission to board by the boatyard.
·
The boat must be returned by the hirer no later than the agreed time on the agreed date, and the boat must be cleared, vacated and locked up by 13.00 hours on Fridays and 17.00 hours on Sundays.
·
LNBP provides bookings throughout the year often with the boats going out almost as soon as they return. In fairness to all our hirers, we simply cannot allow any boat to return later than the agreed time for any reason. If, on a self-steer booking, the hirer for whatever reason fails to return the boat on time, the hirer accepts that LNBP has the right, at its sole discretion, to surcharge the hirer for whatever London Narrow Boat considers to be warranted or necessary to cover any extra costs that may be incurred, but not limited to any payment that LNBP may make to other hirers. If the amount of the Booking Deposit is not sufficient, to cover this additional charge, the late returning hirer agrees to settle the balance of the LNBP invoice.
·
Please note that LNBP does not accept as a valid reason for late return either that a) the hirer’s departure was delayed at the start of the booking, or that b) the amount of actual cruising time was reduced as the result of mechanical failure. See Fair deal for Hirers.
·
It is important on your self-steer booking to get your journey timing correct. We have sessions on route planning and waterways ‘rule-of-the-road’ during our CCBM assessment courses.
·
Self-steerers and hirers please note that it is illegal to cruise a narrowboat on the inland waterways after sunset and before sunrise. Sometimes, locks are closed between 20.00 and 07.00.
· The maximum speed limit is 4 mph. You will probably average 3 mph, and you should count each lock as the equivalent in cruising time to about a mile. A lock takes about 15 / 20 minutes to negotiate. You cannot hurry things along on the canals - but that is one of the joys!
Insurance Cover
·
Cancellation - we emphasise the Booking Conditions relating to cancellation
·
Cruising on the inland waterways CAN be dangerous. LNBP is not liable for any personal injury, or death, to the hirer or any member of the group, or of damage or personal loss of the hirer’s property, including motor vehicles parked at the location of the boats, unless the same can be proved to arise directly as the result of the negligence of LNBP
·
The same applies to prospective self-steerers or any other persons attending LNBP training courses or activities
·
We strongly advise you to take out adequate insurance cover
Fair deal for Hirers
The description of bookings and courses
LNBP will do its utmost to provide bookings and courses as described, but does reserve the right to make such changes as may prove or be considered necessary, and the Hirer and / or course member accepts such changes as if they were part of the original description.
Cancellation of a booking by LNBP
LNBP will do its utmost to provide the bookings that are confirmed. However, should the boat(s) booked be unable to be used for any reason, or if we are unable to provide a skipper, or if there are circumstances beyond the Project’s control which prevent the booking taking place, or if it is necessary for LNBP to cancel the booking for whatever reason, LNBP will refund the total of all payments made by the hirer to LNBP in respect of that booking, but LNBP will be under no further obligation or liability to the hirer, and the hirer will have no further rights in this respect.
Delay experienced by a hirer during a booking
In the event of a sustained delay either in departure at the start of the booking, or during the period of the booking as a result of mechanical failure, or if the skipper of the boat ends the booking early, LNBP will refund to the hirer a pro rata part of the charge based on the cruising time lost, providing the loss was occasioned by LNBP. LNBP will then be under no further obligation or liability to the hirer and the hirer will have no further rights in this respect. So long as the duration of the booking is not affected, restricted cruising for any reason shall not entitle the hirer to any refund of the charge. It is in the Hirers own interest to check with British Waterways to ensure that their chosen route is clear of delays, which are beyond the control of LNBP. e.g. a lock closure for urgent repairs by B.W.
Cancellation of an Assessment Course by LNBP
In the event of an Assessment Course being cancelled, every effort will be made to provide a further opportunity for such a course. If this cannot be arranged, LNBP will endeavour to provide a suitable skipper to enable the booking to proceed as a skippered booking at no extra cost.
London Narrow Boat Project
A Registered Charity, Number : 1047777
A Company Limited by Guarantee, Number : 2718582
Registered Office: Prospero House 46-48 Rothesay Road, Luton LU1 1QZ
LNBP is a member of:
National Community Boat Association
Inland Waterways Association
Guild of Master Craftsmen
and acknowledges funding from the Community Fund