Your Helmsman

We had a good day of training from Guy on our boat at Bray, we had been very nervous operating the locks ourselves but after a day with Guy we now have much more confidence. He also taught about rope knots again something we had been struggling with. Thank you Guy good day.

We needed a boat move from Stoke to Tring. Found Your helmsman on the internet and the web page was very helpful, looking at dates available, and estimate of cost and time scales. I contacted Giles and he was very helpful and made everything straight forward. On the promised date the boat was collected by Giles and was carefully brought back to our marina, travelling 145 miles with 88 locks, the boat made it in the same condition it left stoke marina. We where updated daily on the boat move, and you can also follow the progress on Giles boat tracker. When we met Giles at our marina we was greeted and was given feedback on how the move had gone and how our boat handled the journey. The boat was handed back in good clean condition. We would highly recommend Giles for any boat move on cost and ease of booking system he has in place.

Your Helmsman (Giles Williams) was contracted to move my 55’ narrowboat from the northern part of the Macclesfield Canal to its home mooring on the Well Creek in West Norfolk. From the very first contact with Giles, via telephone, to the shaking of hands at the train station, his professionalism was apparent - what he said he did and did so sensitively and efficiently. His timings and costing were accurate and the boat was delivered on the very day (in late June) specified in an email written on 6th May! Clear guidance had been given on fuel consumption and costs for the diesel, navigation licences and possible mooring fees. Breakdown responsibilities were also detailed and the (thankfully) minor problems that arose were dealt with efficiently. As promised, Your Helmsman, clearly noted all the maintenance issues that would need addressing in his follow-up email which was sent promptly. He also commented on the fact that, overall, the boat performed well and gave several instances to illustrate this fact. Throughout the boat’s journey South and Eastwards, Giles gave regular updates on progress and made changes to his rest days (not part of the moving fee) to get the boat through lock stoppages ahead of the closures. Time was spent by Giles making sure that, on delivery, the boat was topped up with water, diesel and had an empty toilet tank. It was left beautifully clean, and was tidy inside and out. This was very much appreciated as the boat had been away in a marina for 6 months. Your Helmsman not only passed on all the invoices for the trip in a bespoke YH folder but also his Canal and River Planner with postcard-type photos and hand-written annotations: a thoughtful record of the boat’s ‘life” in 2024 and a tribute to his professionalism.Moreexpand_more

Giles moved our boat across the Thames last summer. As new boaters, he was extremely accommodating and happy to share his knowledge. He helped plan the trip, kept us in the loop every step of the way and executed the trip with perfect timing and precision. A nice extra touch was his written log of the journey that he left for us. We would highly recommend his services.

Giles helped us move our Narrowboat Boudicca from the River Great Ouse to the Northampton arm. We had never set foot on a Narrowboat before. Due Giles's expert guidance and support when he left us after our 8 day trip together we felt confident enough to go it alone We cannot recommend him enough for his professional and friendly service.

I enjoyed a wonderful training/coaching day with Giles on my new narrowboat. As someone with some sailing experience at sea but a total novice on canals, I felt that Giles adapted his coaching perfectly to give me the helming and other narrowboat experience I needed. His training manner was calm, clear and professional throughout, and I really valued the day despite the dreadful weather! In fact, I can give no higher recommendation of Giles’ services and friendly approachable manner, than to say that I have now asked him to move my boat over a five-day cruise with me as crew.

I booked a one day course to learn how to use a narrowboat and the canal network. I was very pleased with the tuition that I received. His rates were very reasonable, baring in mind that he had a long train journey to and from the boat.

Giles was an excellent helmsman. We asked him to take our boat Hetty Clare up the Thames, including the Brentford crossing, to arrive in time for our wedding. He completed the journey efficiently and provided many updates to keep our minds at ease. He even bought an additional mop and bucket to give her an extra scrub so she would look beautiful for our big day!

Very happy with Giles. He takes a lot of time and effort to plan the journey and gives updates daily. Boat arrived on time and was cleaned throughout Many thanks and 100 % recommended .

We were recommended Giles by the previous owner of our boat. We were able to get a course with him really quickly and we had an absolutely brilliant day with him. We found Giles to be friendly, super patient and very encouraging even when we made errors. He covered everything from boat and water safety, engine and other pre-cruise checks, the manoeuvring of the boat and locks amongst other areas. He goes through the RYA syllabus and is exceptionally knowledgeable. We were complete novices and felt so much more confident by the end of the exhausting but excellent day. Highly recommended and thank you for a super constructive and enjoyable day.

I was recommended Giles by the owner of a narrowboat I recently purchased. As I'm completely new to boating and couldn't take the time off work to move the boat from Marlborough to my mooring in Uxbridge, I reached out to him for availabilities and a quote. Giles is an absolute pro and a gent! He's meticulously organised and planned the route to a T. Very responsive and great communication throughout the whole experience, updating me daily on the voyage. He took great care of my narrowboat and arrived within the week as planned. I would highly recommend him to anyone needing their boat moved, and his website is really useful as his calendar is kept up to date so you can check his availabilities before reaching out. Thank you Giles!

I had a great day's coaching that left me feeling comfortable and ready to take on solo boating. Following a day with Giles I felt like I knew the ropes enough to go several miles and take on four locks by myself without a single problem. I thought conversation was easy, Giles' knowledge was exemplary and he was happy to adapt to where I had experience and where I didn't. If I was to need another day's coaching or if I wanted my boat to be moved, I'd be very happy to use Your Helmsman again.

Contracted Giles to move my nb from Surrey to Essex, fantastic communication, excellent service and I felt great value for money. Giles made me feel very comfortable in leaving my boat in his hands. Highly recommend. Robert. NB Zeus.

Delighted with service from Helmsman Giles Williams who moved my elderly 35ft narrowboat over five days from Nantwich to Lymeview marina. Informative daily reports and the boat improvement recommendations I requested are v thorough and extensive. A top professional.

Very professional boat mover. Friendly and punctual. Clearly loves cruising and tge waterways and really looked after my boat. A++.

Giles was the true professional from start to finish. All stages were well planned and explained meticulously. Contact was above and beyond expectation and any problem that occurred was dealt with in a similar fashion. Very reasonable rates given the responsibility involved. I would thoroughly recommend ‘ Your Helmsman ‘ for any boat move. Thank you Giles from a very satisfied and happy customer. .

Giles moved my narrowboat for me when I was laid up and couldn't reach it. His professional move was very, very much appreciated.